Photon vs rustpush

Photon supports 75 of the 77 features compared here, and rustpush supports 39.

Feature comparison

Feature	Photon	rustpush
iMessage messaging
iMessage	SupportedManaged cloud lines, or your own Mac with the local provider	SupportedRegisters as an Apple device and talks to Apple's servers directly; read from source, no docs
Group chats	SupportedOn the Business plan (dedicated lines)	SupportedConversations carry a participant list and optional group name
Group management	SupportedCreate groups and add, remove or leave members; Business plan (dedicated lines)	SupportedChangeParticipants messages add or remove members
Group name and photo	SupportedRename groups and set group photos; Business plan (dedicated lines)	SupportedRename and IconChange messages set a group's name and photo
Mentions	SupportedSend @mentions in multipart messages and read mention ranges on inbound	SupportedMention message parts
Tapbacks	SupportedSix native tapbacks plus emoji reactions, send and receive	SupportedSix classic tapbacks plus emoji; sticker tapbacks are receive only
Threaded replies	Supported	Supportedreply_guid and reply_part on messages
Typing indicators	Supported	SupportedTyping message type
Read receipts	SupportedMark chats read and receive read events; group receipts are best-effort	SupportedRead and Delivered message types
Edit and unsend	SupportedEdit within 15 minutes and unsend within 2 minutes (Apple limits)	SupportedEdit and Unsend message types
Message effects	SupportedAll bubble and screen effects, including invisible ink	Supportedeffect field on messages
Animated text effects	SupportedPer-range effects such as bloom, shake, explode and jitter	SupportedBig, small, shake, nod, explode, ripple, bloom and jitter
Stickers	SupportedPlace image stickers on any bubble with position, scale and rotation; sticker events inbound	PartialSticker tapbacks are received; the code marks sending them as unsupported
Formatted text	SupportedMarkdown rendered as native bold, italic, underline and strikethrough	SupportedBold, italic, underline and strikethrough
Attachments	SupportedFiles up to 100 MiB by default, including Live Photos	SupportedInline data or MMCS (iCloud) file transfer
Live Photos	SupportedHEIC still plus MOV companion uploaded as one Live Photo	PartialReceived attachments carry a Live Photo flag; uploads always set it to false
Rich link previews	Supportedrichlink() asks Messages to render its own preview	SupportedLinkMeta with LPLinkMetadata rich link data
Voice messages	Supported	Supportedvoice flag on messages
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	SupportedSetTranscriptBackground sets or removes a chat background
Location sharing	SupportedFind My requests and live location; Business plan	PartialFind My clients read friends' and items' locations; OpenBubbles says sharing live location is unsupported
iMessage apps	SupportedCustom and live app cards; iMessage mini apps on the Business plan	SupportedExtension app balloons with template layouts
Live app cards	SupportedEdit an app card in place and render live UI without a new bubble	SupportedUpdateExtension messages update a sent app balloon
Sender name and photo	SupportedShares the agent's name and photo automatically; Business plan	SupportedShare Name and Photo, including contact posters
FaceTime calls	Not listed	SupportedCreate, ring, join and leave FaceTime sessions
Delivery status	SupportedSent, delivered, read and send-error fields per message	SupportedDelivered and Read receipts plus error messages
iMessage availability check	SupportedCheck if a number or email can get iMessage, SMS or RCS before sending	SupportedIDS lookups validate targets before sending
Focus and Notify Anyway	SupportedCheck if a recipient has Focus on, then trigger Notify Anyway	SupportedNotifyAnyways messages; StatusKit shares and receives Focus status
Numbers and delivery
Managed lines	SupportedSpectrum Cloud runs the Mac fleet; no Mac needed	Not supportedA library; you register your own Apple ID and device identity
Dedicated numbers	Supported$250 per line per month on Business	Not supportedNot offered
Shared numbers	SupportedFree and Pro route each user through a managed shared pool	Not supported
Bring your own number	SupportedYour own Apple ID when self-hosting on a Mac, and your own number for WhatsApp Business	SupportedYour own Apple ID; a phone number registers through an iPhone running a relay app
Line pooling	SupportedBusiness: auto-scale adds lines and a routing endpoint balances users	Not listed
SMS fallback	SupportedOn every plan per pricing; carrier rules apply to fallback traffic	Not listed
RCS fallback	Supported	Not listed
Outbound-first messaging	SupportedBusiness plan, up to 50 new contacts per line per day	SupportedSend to any handle after an IDS key lookup
Calls on the iMessage number	SupportedPlace and receive SIP calls from the line people already text	PartialFaceTime on the same Apple ID; no phone calls
Other channels
SMS	BetaStandalone SMS and MMS numbers with 10DLC in the 2.0 beta; SMS fallback on iMessage lines today	PartialSMS message type, sent through text forwarding from a registered 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 supported
Phone calls	SupportedSIP calls on iMessage lines; the 2.0 beta adds calls on SMS numbers	Not supportedNot offered; FaceTime only
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	PartialiMessage and forwarded SMS share one message type; no other channels
Developer tools
REST API	SupportedREST API for projects and lines; sending over REST in the 2.0 beta	Not supportedRust library only; no HTTP API
TypeScript SDK	Supportedspectrum-ts, plus low-level iMessage and WhatsApp SDKs	Not listedRust crate only
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	PartialThe library itself is a Rust crate; no other language bindings found
CLI	Supported@photon-ai/cli manages projects, lines, users and billing	Not listed
Webhooks	Supported	Not supportedLibrary only; your code receives messages directly, no webhooks
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	PartialSource under SSPL v1; the Mac validation-data module is a closed-source stub
Self-hosting	SupportedRun the open-source core on your own Mac and number, no Spectrum Cloud	SupportedRuns inside your own application
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	Not listed
CRM integrations	Not listed	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	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	SupportedMessages in iCloud sync for chats, messages and attachments
Plans and compliance
Free plan	SupportedUp to 10 users on shared lines	SupportedFree source under SSPL v1
Public pricing	Supported	Not listedNo prices or commercial license terms published
No per-message fees	SupportedNo per-message fees for iMessage, WhatsApp or Telegram; SMS, voice and email are metered in the 2.0 beta	SupportedNo fees; free source
Uptime SLA	SupportedContractual SLA on the Enterprise plan	Not supportedSSPL disclaims all warranty
Isolated infrastructure	SupportedEach line runs in an isolated, dedicated environment	SupportedRuns in your own process and infrastructure
SOC 2 Type II	SupportedStated on photon.codes	Not listedSelf-hosted; compliance is up to the operator
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 contact cards, polls, managed lines and dedicated numbers.

Choose rustpush if you need FaceTime calls.

Frequently asked questions

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• rustpush vs Linq
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• Chert vs rustpush
• Miss Blue vs rustpush
• Bland vs rustpush