Photon vs myCRMSIM

Photon supports 75 of the 77 features compared here, and myCRMSIM supports 29.

Feature comparison

Feature	Photon	myCRMSIM
iMessage messaging
iMessage	SupportedManaged cloud lines, or your own Mac with the local provider	SupportedSent through your own iPhone and a supported Mac running the myCRMSIM app.
Group chats	SupportedOn the Business plan (dedicated lines)	SupportedCreate iMessage groups from contacts and follow them in the inbox. No voice notes to groups yet.
Group management	SupportedCreate groups and add, remove or leave members; Business plan (dedicated lines)	PartialGroups are created in the dashboard. Adding or removing members, and API support, are not documented.
Group name and photo	SupportedRename groups and set group photos; Business plan (dedicated lines)	Not listed
Mentions	SupportedSend @mentions in multipart messages and read mention ranges on inbound	Not listed
Tapbacks	SupportedSix native tapbacks plus emoji reactions, send and receive	Not listed
Threaded replies	Supported	Not listed
Typing indicators	Supported	Not listed
Read receipts	SupportedMark chats read and receive read events; group receipts are best-effort	Not listed
Edit and unsend	SupportedEdit within 15 minutes and unsend within 2 minutes (Apple limits)	Not listed
Message effects	SupportedAll bubble and screen effects, including invisible ink	Not listed
Animated text effects	SupportedPer-range effects such as bloom, shake, explode and jitter	Not listed
Stickers	SupportedPlace image stickers on any bubble with position, scale and rotation; sticker events inbound	Not listed
Formatted text	SupportedMarkdown rendered as native bold, italic, underline and strikethrough	Not listed
Attachments	SupportedFiles up to 100 MiB by default, including Live Photos	SupportedOne attachment per API message, up to 5 MB.
Live Photos	SupportedHEIC still plus MOV companion uploaded as one Live Photo	Not listed
Rich link previews	Supportedrichlink() asks Messages to render its own preview	Not listed
Voice messages	Supported	SupportedVoice notes arrive as a native iMessage audio bubble.
Contact cards	SupportedvCard or structured contacts, plus the bot's own native contact card	Not listed
Polls	SupportedCreate, vote, add options and receive poll events; all managed plans	Not listed
Chat backgrounds	Supported	Not listed
Location sharing	SupportedFind My requests and live location; Business plan	Not listed
iMessage apps	SupportedCustom and live app cards; iMessage mini apps on the Business plan	Not listed
Live app cards	SupportedEdit an app card in place and render live UI without a new bubble	Not listed
Sender name and photo	SupportedShares the agent's name and photo automatically; Business plan	Not listed
FaceTime calls	Not listed	PartialFaceTime Audio calls from the contact record. Needs calling enabled on the line and a calling plan.
Delivery status	SupportedSent, delivered, read and send-error fields per message	SupportedStatus lifecycle queued, webhook_sent, accepted, sent, delivered or failed per message.
iMessage availability check	SupportedCheck if a number or email can get iMessage, SMS or RCS before sending	Not listed
Focus and Notify Anyway	SupportedCheck if a recipient has Focus on, then trigger Notify Anyway	Not listed
Numbers and delivery
Managed lines	SupportedSpectrum Cloud runs the Mac fleet; no Mac needed	Not supportedYou supply the iPhone and a Mac, or rent a cloud Mac from partner HostMyApple.
Dedicated numbers	Supported$250 per line per month on Business	PartialEach line is your own SIM and Apple ID. myCRMSIM does not supply numbers.
Shared numbers	SupportedFree and Pro route each user through a managed shared pool	Not listed
Bring your own number	SupportedYour own Apple ID when self-hosting on a Mac, and your own number for WhatsApp Business	SupportedUse your own iPhone and keep your existing number.
Line pooling	SupportedBusiness: auto-scale adds lines and a routing endpoint balances users	Not listedSeveral iMessage numbers can be assigned to users in one HighLevel sub-account. Automatic balancing not documented.
SMS fallback	SupportedOn every plan per pricing; carrier rules apply to fallback traffic	SupportedThe iPhone falls back to SMS from the same number when a connected SMS setup is in place.
RCS fallback	Supported	PartialWorkspace routing sets primary and fallback channels, including RCS. Each channel needs its own device and plan.
Outbound-first messaging	SupportedBusiness plan, up to 50 new contacts per line per day	SupportedRecommended limit of 50 new contacts per day per Apple ID.
Calls on the iMessage number	SupportedPlace and receive SIP calls from the line people already text	PartialFaceTime Audio from the line in the dashboard. The calling page says details are pending confirmation.
Other channels
SMS	BetaStandalone SMS and MMS numbers with 10DLC in the 2.0 beta; SMS fallback on iMessage lines today	SupportedFrom your own Android phone and SIM.
RCS	PartialSent on the iMessage line when the recipient cannot get iMessage	SupportedFrom a supported Android phone.
WhatsApp	SupportedWhatsApp Business, one-to-one, on the Business plan	SupportedFrom your own WhatsApp account and phone.
Telegram	Supported	Not supportedNot offered
Slack	Supported@spectrum-ts/slack provider on npm and GitHub	Not supported
Email	BetaYour own domain with DKIM, SPF and inbound MX in the 2.0 beta	Not supported
Phone calls	SupportedSIP calls on iMessage lines; the 2.0 beta adds calls on SMS numbers	PartialDashboard calls on SMS lines in the US and Australia only. Other Android calls stay on the device.
Apple Messages for Business	BetaListed as available in the 2.0 beta	Not supportedNot offered
Unified channel API	SupportedOne Spectrum SDK across channels, and one REST model in the 2.0 beta	SupportedOne messages endpoint across SMS, WhatsApp, iMessage and RCS, with workspace routing.
Developer tools
REST API	SupportedREST API for projects and lines; sending over REST in the 2.0 beta	SupportedREST API with OAuth 2.0 and scoped JWT tokens. Sends are capped at 30 messages per 15 minutes per workspace.
TypeScript SDK	Supportedspectrum-ts, plus low-level iMessage and WhatsApp SDKs	Not listed
Python SDK	Betaphotonhq-api on PyPI, for the 2.0 beta API	Not listed
Other SDKs	SupportedGo client for Advanced iMessage; Rust and Go clients for the 2.0 API	Not listed
CLI	Supported@photon-ai/cli manages projects, lines, users and billing	Not listed
Webhooks	Supported	SupportedInbound webhook per workspace, plus delivery status lookups.
Signed webhooks	SupportedHMAC-SHA256, plus Standard Webhooks signatures	PartialCustom headers such as a shared secret are sent with each delivery. No HMAC signing documented.
MCP server	SupportedHosted MCP server, plus an MCP server for the docs	Not listedThe features page describes an MCP server, but the API page FAQ says MCP is a planned capability.
Open source	SupportedMIT: spectrum-ts, imessage-kit and most SDKs	Not listed
Self-hosting	SupportedRun the open-source core on your own Mac and number, no Spectrum Cloud	Not listedYou run the iPhone and Mac; the platform itself is hosted on AWS.
Local testing	SupportedTerminal chat UI provider, no phone or number needed	Not listed
Custom channel providers	SupporteddefinePlatform plugs any interface into the same Spectrum API	Not listed
Event replay	SupportedCatch up on events after a disconnect from a durable sequence	Not listed
OpenTelemetry	SupportedOpt-in messaging traces in spectrum-ts, and traces in the 2.0 beta dashboard	Not listed
No-code integrations	Supportedn8n community nodes and a Dify plugin	SupportedHighLevel, Make and Zapier.
CRM integrations	Not listed	SupportedHubSpot, Salesforce and Zoho.
Built for AI agents
Agent framework	SupportedSpectrum is a multi-channel agent framework with streaming replies	PartialSimi AI prepares campaigns, messages and follow-ups for a person to review. Not an autonomous agent.
Agent framework integrations	SupportedVercel Chat SDK, Mastra, LangChain, Convex and others	Not listed
Streaming replies	SupportedAI output streams into one iMessage bubble, edited in place	Not listed
Agent group chats	BetaAgents find other agents and add them to a group chat (2.0 beta)	Not listed
Human handoff	BetaA person can reply in a conversation from the 2.0 beta Inbox	SupportedSimi plans need a person to review and launch them, and teammates can pick up conversations.
Audit logs	BetaAPI logs and traces in the 2.0 beta dashboard	Not listed
Message history API	SupportedList and get messages per chat	SupportedList inbound and outbound messages across all four channels with filters.
Plans and compliance
Free plan	SupportedUp to 10 users on shared lines	Not supportedSupport article says there are no free trials. A 30-day money-back guarantee is offered.
Public pricing	Supported	SupportediMessage is $29/month per line for 1 to 10 lines, $19 for 11 or more.
No per-message fees	SupportedNo per-message fees for iMessage, WhatsApp or Telegram; SMS, voice and email are metered in the 2.0 beta	SupportedFixed monthly cost with no per-message billing.
Uptime SLA	SupportedContractual SLA on the Enterprise plan	Not listed
Isolated infrastructure	SupportedEach line runs in an isolated, dedicated environment	SupportedMessages go out through a device you connect, not a shared gateway.
SOC 2 Type II	SupportedStated on photon.codes	Not listed
GDPR	SupportedPrivacy policy covers GDPR rights and SCC transfers	Not listed

Checked on each provider's own site and docs on 2026-10-25. “Not listed” means the provider does not mention it.

Pricing

Which should you choose?

Choose Photon if you need group name and photo, mentions, tapbacks and threaded replies.

Choose myCRMSIM if you need FaceTime calls and CRM integrations.

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