Photon vs Project Blue

Photon supports 75 of the 77 features compared here, and Project Blue supports 42.

Feature comparison

Feature	Photon	Project Blue
iMessage messaging
iMessage	SupportedManaged cloud lines, or your own Mac with the local provider	Supported
Group chats	SupportedOn the Business plan (dedicated lines)	SupportedSend to groups of 2 to 32 by API. Not on trial accounts, and group sends do not sync to the CRM.
Group management	SupportedCreate groups and add, remove or leave members; Business plan (dedicated lines)	PartialGroups are created by sending to a set of numbers. No add or remove member endpoints documented.
Group name and photo	SupportedRename groups and set group photos; Business plan (dedicated lines)	PartialgroupName can be set when a group is created. No group photo documented.
Mentions	SupportedSend @mentions in multipart messages and read mention ranges on inbound	Not listed
Tapbacks	SupportedSix native tapbacks plus emoji reactions, send and receive	PartialSend or remove the six classic tapbacks on inbound iMessages. Receiving reactions is not documented.
Threaded replies	Supported	Not listed
Typing indicators	Supported	PartialSend only, iMessage only, into an existing conversation. Inbound typing events not documented.
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	Supported4 bubble and 9 screen effects through the effect field. iMessage only.
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	SupportedImages, videos and vCards by URL.
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	SupportedAudio files sent as voice memos, plus AI text-to-speech voice memos.
Contact cards	SupportedvCard or structured contacts, plus the bot's own native contact card	SupportedVCF files through mediaAttachmentUrl.
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	SupportedSet, read and share a line's Share Name and Photo card by API.
FaceTime calls	Not listed	PartialFaceTime Audio only, outbound and inbound, on FaceTime-enabled accounts. Not on trials.
Delivery status	SupportedSent, delivered, read and send-error fields per message	PartialMessages carry a status field such as delivered. Webhooks cover only inbound and outbound messages.
iMessage availability check	SupportedCheck if a number or email can get iMessage, SMS or RCS before sending	Supported
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	SupportedNo iPhone, Mac or SIM needed. Lines are set up remotely, usually within one business day.
Dedicated numbers	Supported$250 per line per month on Business	SupportedA dedicated line per rep, never shared. New lines are requested by API and provisioned by the team.
Shared numbers	SupportedFree and Pro route each user through a managed shared pool	PartialTrial accounts only: a shared line that can reach verified numbers.
Bring your own number	SupportedYour own Apple ID when self-hosting on a Mac, and your own number for WhatsApp Business	SupportedExisting numbers can be ported to Project Blue's carrier partner.
Line pooling	SupportedBusiness: auto-scale adds lines and a routing endpoint balances users	SupportedSends without lineId are load balanced across your lines.
SMS fallback	SupportedOn every plan per pricing; carrier rules apply to fallback traffic	SupportedFalls back to SMS from the same line when iMessage is unavailable.
RCS fallback	Supported	Not listedHomepage describes fallback from iMessage to WhatsApp to SMS. RCS fallback is not described.
Outbound-first messaging	SupportedBusiness plan, up to 50 new contacts per line per day	SupportedLines are sold as outbound-ready. Guidelines rule out mass outbound iMessage.
Calls on the iMessage number	SupportedPlace and receive SIP calls from the line people already text	SupportedDialer and FaceTime Audio calls from the same number as the messaging line.
Other channels
SMS	BetaStandalone SMS and MMS numbers with 10DLC in the 2.0 beta; SMS fallback on iMessage lines today	Supported
RCS	PartialSent on the iMessage line when the recipient cannot get iMessage	PartialRCS for rich media was rolled out in 2026. The API lists RCS as inbound only.
WhatsApp	SupportedWhatsApp Business, one-to-one, on the Business plan	PartialHomepage lists WhatsApp as a fallback step. No WhatsApp option in the API, and llms.txt says it is not a WhatsApp API.
Telegram	Supported	Not supportedNot offered
Slack	Supported@spectrum-ts/slack provider on npm and GitHub	PartialSlack notifications for inbound replies. Not a messaging channel.
Email	BetaYour own domain with DKIM, SPF and inbound MX in the 2.0 beta	Not supportedDeveloper page says it is not a general email API.
Phone calls	SupportedSIP calls on iMessage lines; the 2.0 beta adds calls on SMS numbers	SupportedCloud dialer with inbound, outbound, routing, recording and voicemail, plus a browser calling SDK.
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	PartialOne send endpoint covers iMessage and SMS. Calls and FaceTime use separate endpoints.
Developer tools
REST API	SupportedREST API for projects and lines; sending over REST in the 2.0 beta	SupportedREST API with Bearer keys and an OpenAPI spec.
TypeScript SDK	Supportedspectrum-ts, plus low-level iMessage and WhatsApp SDKs	Partial@tryprojectblue/dialer is a browser SDK for phone calls only. No messaging SDK.
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 and outbound message events and inbound FaceTime call events.
Signed webhooks	SupportedHMAC-SHA256, plus Standard Webhooks signatures	Not listedWebhook docs do not mention signatures.
MCP server	SupportedHosted MCP server, plus an MCP server for the docs	SupportedRemote MCP server with OAuth 2.1, plus an optional Claude Code plugin.
Open source	SupportedMIT: spectrum-ts, imessage-kit and most SDKs	PartialThe dialer SDK is MIT licensed on npm. The platform is closed.
Self-hosting	SupportedRun the open-source core on your own Mac and number, no Spectrum Cloud	Not listedHosted service on Project Blue lines. Self-hosting is not mentioned.
Local testing	SupportedTerminal chat UI provider, no phone or number needed	Not listedTrial accounts send real messages to verified numbers; docs say they are not a simulator.
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 supportedDocs say webhooks have no retries and failed deliveries are not replayed.
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	SupportedGoHighLevel conversation provider with workflow actions and triggers. llms.txt also lists Zapier.
CRM integrations	Not listed	SupportedHubSpot and Close CRM. Salesforce is not listed.
Built for AI agents
Agent framework	SupportedSpectrum is a multi-channel agent framework with streaming replies	Not listed
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	PartialReps reply in the CRM inbox and can join group threads. No agent handoff controls documented.
Audit logs	BetaAPI logs and traces in the 2.0 beta dashboard	Not listed
Message history API	SupportedList and get messages per chat	SupportedList and get messages, inbound and outbound, with filters.
Plans and compliance
Free plan	SupportedUp to 10 users on shared lines	PartialFree trial on a shared line to verified numbers. Some endpoints are off on trial.
Public pricing	Supported	Supported$166/month per line billed annually, or $199/month per line on a 12-month plan.
No per-message fees	SupportedNo per-message fees for iMessage, WhatsApp or Telegram; SMS, voice and email are metered in the 2.0 beta	SupportedFlat per-line pricing with unlimited texting under fair use.
Uptime SLA	SupportedContractual SLA on the Enterprise plan	Not listedSite cites a 99.9% uptime record and a public status page. No contractual SLA found.
Isolated infrastructure	SupportedEach line runs in an isolated, dedicated environment	PartialEach rep gets a dedicated line that is never shared. Other infrastructure is not described.
SOC 2 Type II	SupportedStated on photon.codes	Not listed
GDPR	SupportedPrivacy policy covers GDPR rights and SCC transfers	PartialPrivacy policy lists GDPR and UK GDPR rights. No DPA found.

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, threaded replies, read receipts and edit and unsend.

Choose Project Blue if you need FaceTime calls and CRM integrations.

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