Photon vs OpenClaw imsg

Photon supports 75 of the 77 features compared here, and OpenClaw imsg supports 38.

Feature comparison

Feature	Photon	OpenClaw imsg
iMessage messaging
iMessage	SupportedManaged cloud lines, or your own Mac with the local provider	SupportedRuns on your own Mac signed in to Messages
Group chats	SupportedOn the Business plan (dedicated lines)	SupportedSend by chat ID, identifier or GUID; group metadata in JSON output
Group management	SupportedCreate groups and add, remove or leave members; Business plan (dedicated lines)	PartialCreate chats, add or remove members, leave or delete; SIP-off injected helper only
Group name and photo	SupportedRename groups and set group photos; Business plan (dedicated lines)	Partialchat-name and chat-photo; SIP-off injected helper only
Mentions	SupportedSend @mentions in multipart messages and read mention ranges on inbound	Not supportedRPC send.multipart rejects mention parts; no other way to send mentions is documented
Tapbacks	SupportedSix native tapbacks plus emoji reactions, send and receive	SupportedSix standard tapbacks without the helper; GUID-targeted and emoji tapbacks need the helper
Threaded replies	Supported	PartialReply metadata is read without the helper; sending replies needs the SIP-off injected helper
Typing indicators	Supported	PartialSIP-off injected helper only; docs say it often fails with an entitlement error on macOS 26
Read receipts	SupportedMark chats read and receive read events; group receipts are best-effort	PartialMark chats read via the SIP-off injected helper; outbound status stops at delivered
Edit and unsend	SupportedEdit within 15 minutes and unsend within 2 minutes (Apple limits)	PartialEdits and unsends are observed without the helper; sending them needs the SIP-off injected helper
Message effects	SupportedAll bubble and screen effects, including invisible ink	PartialBubble and screen effects via send-rich --effect; SIP-off injected helper only
Animated text effects	SupportedPer-range effects such as bloom, shake, explode and jitter	Not listedFormatting covers bold, italic, underline and strikethrough only
Stickers	SupportedPlace image stickers on any bubble with position, scale and rotation; sticker events inbound	Partialsend-sticker sends or attaches stickers, iMessage only; SIP-off injected helper only
Formatted text	SupportedMarkdown rendered as native bold, italic, underline and strikethrough	PartialBold, italic, underline and strikethrough ranges; macOS 15+, SIP-off injected helper only
Attachments	SupportedFiles up to 100 MiB by default, including Live Photos	SupportedSend files through Messages automation; read attachment metadata and paths
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	Partialsend-rich --url sends an Apple URL preview balloon; SIP-off injected helper only
Voice messages	Supported	PartialNative voice bubbles need the helper (--audio); otherwise audio sends as a plain file
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	PartialCreate native polls, vote and unvote; SIP-off injected helper only
Chat backgrounds	Supported	PartialRead only: chat-background status reads local background metadata
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	Partialname-photo share sends your Messages Name and Photo to a chat; SIP-off injected helper only
FaceTime calls	Not listed	Not listed
Delivery status	SupportedSent, delivered, read and send-error fields per message	SupportedRPC message.send_status reports pending, sent, delivered or failed
iMessage availability check	SupportedCheck if a number or email can get iMessage, SMS or RCS before sending	Partialhandles.check and whois query IDS for iMessage reachability; SIP-off injected helper only
Focus and Notify Anyway	SupportedCheck if a recipient has Focus on, then trigger Notify Anyway	Partialnotify-anyways on a message via the SIP-off injected helper; Focus status not documented
Numbers and delivery
Managed lines	SupportedSpectrum Cloud runs the Mac fleet; no Mac needed	Not supportedRuns on your own Mac
Dedicated numbers	Supported$250 per line per month on Business	Not supportedNot offered; uses the Mac's own iMessage account
Shared numbers	SupportedFree and Pro route each user through a managed shared pool	Not supportedNot offered
Bring your own number	SupportedYour own Apple ID when self-hosting on a Mac, and your own number for WhatsApp Business	SupportedUses the Apple ID and numbers signed in to Messages on your Mac
Line pooling	SupportedBusiness: auto-scale adds lines and a routing endpoint balances users	Not supportedsend cannot pick the outgoing number or account when several share one Apple ID
SMS fallback	SupportedOn every plan per pricing; carrier rules apply to fallback traffic	PartialText-only direct sends retry once over SMS only if iMessage lookup fails before sending
RCS fallback	Supported	Not listed
Outbound-first messaging	SupportedBusiness plan, up to 50 new contacts per line per day	Supportedsend --to works for new recipients; chat-create also IDS-checks new handles (helper)
Calls on the iMessage number	SupportedPlace and receive SIP calls from the line people already text	Not listed
Other channels
SMS	BetaStandalone SMS and MMS numbers with 10DLC in the 2.0 beta; SMS fallback on iMessage lines today	PartialThrough Text Message Forwarding from a paired iPhone
RCS	PartialSent on the iMessage line when the recipient cannot get iMessage	Not listed
WhatsApp	SupportedWhatsApp Business, one-to-one, on the Business plan	Not supportedNot offered
Telegram	Supported	Not supported
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 supportedNot offered; iMessage can be sent to Apple ID email addresses
Phone calls	SupportedSIP calls on iMessage lines; the 2.0 beta adds calls on SMS numbers	Not supportedNot offered
Apple Messages for Business	BetaListed as available in the 2.0 beta	Not supported
Unified channel API	SupportedOne Spectrum SDK across channels, and one REST model in the 2.0 beta	PartialiMessage and forwarded SMS share one CLI and JSON model; no other channels
Developer tools
REST API	SupportedREST API for projects and lines; sending over REST in the 2.0 beta	Not supportedNo HTTP API; JSON-RPC runs over stdin and stdout with no TCP port
TypeScript SDK	Supportedspectrum-ts, plus low-level iMessage and WhatsApp SDKs	Not listedNo SDK listed; IMsgCore is a Swift library
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	PartialIMsgCore is the reusable Swift core library in the same package
CLI	Supported@photon-ai/cli manages projects, lines, users and billing	SupportedHomebrew (steipete/tap) or signed GitHub release builds
Webhooks	Supported	Not supportedNo HTTP webhooks; events stream as stdout NDJSON or JSON-RPC notifications
Signed webhooks	SupportedHMAC-SHA256, plus Standard Webhooks signatures	Not supportedNo webhooks
MCP server	SupportedHosted MCP server, plus an MCP server for the docs	Not listed
Open source	SupportedMIT: spectrum-ts, imessage-kit and most SDKs	SupportedMIT
Self-hosting	SupportedRun the open-source core on your own Mac and number, no Spectrum Cloud	SupportedSelf-hosted only, on your own Mac
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	PartialResume watch from a message rowid cursor; edits and unsends need a history refresh
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	Not listed
CRM integrations	Not listed	Not listed
Built for AI agents
Agent framework	SupportedSpectrum is a multi-channel agent framework with streaming replies	PartialNo framework of its own; it is the iMessage channel of the OpenClaw gateway
Agent framework integrations	SupportedVercel Chat SDK, Mastra, LangChain, Convex and others	SupportedOpenClaw's iMessage channel spawns imsg rpc and speaks JSON-RPC to it
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	Not listed
Audit logs	BetaAPI logs and traces in the 2.0 beta dashboard	Not listed
Message history API	SupportedList and get messages per chat	Supportedhistory, search and stats read the local Messages database
Plans and compliance
Free plan	SupportedUp to 10 users on shared lines	SupportedFree, MIT-licensed software
Public pricing	Supported	SupportedFree; no paid tiers found
No per-message fees	SupportedNo per-message fees for iMessage, WhatsApp or Telegram; SMS, voice and email are metered in the 2.0 beta	SupportedFree software
Uptime SLA	SupportedContractual SLA on the Enterprise plan	Not supportedMIT license, provided without warranty; uptime depends on your Mac
Isolated infrastructure	SupportedEach line runs in an isolated, dedicated environment	SupportedRuns on your own Mac
SOC 2 Type II	SupportedStated on photon.codes	Not listedSelf-hosted; compliance is up to whoever runs the Mac
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 mentions, animated text effects, Live Photos and contact cards.

Choose OpenClaw imsg if its pricing fits better: it does not support anything here that Photon lacks.

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