Photon vs Tuco AI

Photon supports 75 of the 77 features compared here, and Tuco AI supports 41.

Feature comparison

Feature	Photon	Tuco AI
iMessage messaging
iMessage	SupportedManaged cloud lines, or your own Mac with the local provider	Supported
Group chats	SupportedOn the Business plan (dedicated lines)	Not supportedTuco's llms.txt says it has no group chats.
Group management	SupportedCreate groups and add, remove or leave members; Business plan (dedicated lines)	Not supportedNo group chat support
Group name and photo	SupportedRename groups and set group photos; Business plan (dedicated lines)	Not supported
Mentions	SupportedSend @mentions in multipart messages and read mention ranges on inbound	Not supported
Tapbacks	SupportedSix native tapbacks plus emoji reactions, send and receive	SupportedSend six classic tapbacks by API; inbound reactions, including custom emoji, arrive as message.reaction.
Threaded replies	Supported	Not listed
Typing indicators	Supported	PartialStart and stop typing by API, best effort. Inbound typing events not documented.
Read receipts	SupportedMark chats read and receive read events; group receipts are best-effort	Supportedmessage.opened webhook with readAt when the recipient has read receipts on.
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	SupportedUp to 2 files per message, 25 MB each. Not allowed on the first message to a contact.
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	SupportedvoiceNote sends one audio file as a native voice note 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	PartialLine name and photo are set by Tuco staff, at most 3 changes per line per month.
FaceTime calls	Not listed	PartialFaceTime Audio calls as a $100/month per-line add-on. Tuco's llms.txt says it has no FaceTime.
Delivery status	SupportedSent, delivered, read and send-error fields per message	Supportedqueued, sent, delivered, failed and fallback statuses, with sent, failed and fallback webhooks.
iMessage availability check	SupportedCheck if a number or email can get iMessage, SMS or RCS before sending	SupportedSingle, round-robin and bulk checks, about 70 per line per day.
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	SupportedEach line is a real iPhone with an eSIM that Tuco hosts. About 48 hours to activate.
Dedicated numbers	Supported$250 per line per month on Business	SupportedOne Apple identity per line. Lines can be ordered by API.
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	PartialDocs say existing numbers cannot be ported in, but a Linq migration page offers to port Linq numbers.
Line pooling	SupportedBusiness: auto-scale adds lines and a routing endpoint balances users	SupportedSends without fromLineId round-robin across active lines.
SMS fallback	SupportedOn every plan per pricing; carrier rules apply to fallback traffic	PartialThrough your Twilio, GoHighLevel or webhook provider, or P2P SMS from the line once support enables it.
RCS fallback	Supported	Not supportedRCS not offered
Outbound-first messaging	SupportedBusiness plan, up to 50 new contacts per line per day	SupportedOutbound to opted-in contacts. Cold lists are refused, and first messages cannot carry links or files.
Calls on the iMessage number	SupportedPlace and receive SIP calls from the line people already text	SupportedCalls go out from the same number the line texts from. 500 minutes per line per month included.
Other channels
SMS	BetaStandalone SMS and MMS numbers with 10DLC in the 2.0 beta; SMS fallback on iMessage lines today	PartialSMS through your own Twilio, GHL or webhook provider, or P2P SMS from the line in its eSIM country.
RCS	PartialSent on the iMessage line when the recipient cannot get iMessage	Not supportedNot offered
WhatsApp	SupportedWhatsApp Business, one-to-one, on the Business plan	Not supported
Telegram	Supported	PartialTelegram bot for team notifications and replies. Leads are not messaged on Telegram.
Slack	Supported@spectrum-ts/slack provider on npm and GitHub	PartialLead conversations appear as Slack threads the team can reply from. Not a channel to contacts.
Email	BetaYour own domain with DKIM, SPF and inbound MX in the 2.0 beta	SupportedmessageType email sends email, and an email bridge sends iMessages from your inbox.
Phone calls	SupportedSIP calls on iMessage lines; the 2.0 beta adds calls on SMS numbers	SupportedOutbound calls with recording, inbound forwarding and a click-to-call API (beta, +1 numbers 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	SupportedOne send endpoint with messageType imessage, sms or email.
Developer tools
REST API	SupportedREST API for projects and lines; sending over REST in the 2.0 beta	Supported
TypeScript SDK	Supportedspectrum-ts, plus low-level iMessage and WhatsApp SDKs	Not listedThe iMessage API page shows npm install @tuco-ai/sdk, but no such package is on npm.
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	SupportedSent, failed, fallback, opened, reply, reaction, AI draft, handover, call recording and DNC events.
Signed webhooks	SupportedHMAC-SHA256, plus Standard Webhooks signatures	SupportedHMAC-SHA256 in the X-Tuco-Signature header.
MCP server	SupportedHosted MCP server, plus an MCP server for the docs	Supportedtuco-mcp on npm, run locally with an API key, with about 90 tools.
Open source	SupportedMIT: spectrum-ts, imessage-kit and most SDKs	Partialtuco-mcp 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 on Tuco hardware. Self-hosting is not mentioned.
Local testing	SupportedTerminal chat UI provider, no phone or number needed	PartialSimulate runs a goal bot against a transcript without sending. Message sends have no sandbox.
Custom channel providers	SupporteddefinePlatform plugs any interface into the same Spectrum API	PartialSMS fallback can route through your Twilio, GoHighLevel or a custom webhook.
Event replay	SupportedCatch up on events after a disconnect from a durable sequence	Supported30-day webhook delivery log with replay from the dashboard or API, plus one automatic retry.
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, n8n, Zapier and Make.com.
CRM integrations	Not listed	SupportedHubSpot, Salesforce, Close and Pipedrive. One CRM per workspace.
Built for AI agents
Agent framework	SupportedSpectrum is a multi-channel agent framework with streaming replies	SupportedHosted goal bots and Knowledge Base replies with tools, in copilot or autopilot mode.
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 supportedNo group chat support
Human handoff	BetaA person can reply in a conversation from the 2.0 beta Inbox	SupportedCopilot drafts need approval, and conversation.handover fires when the AI stops for a person.
Audit logs	BetaAPI logs and traces in the 2.0 beta dashboard	SupportedActivity log of workspace changes, including MCP tool calls.
Message history API	SupportedList and get messages per chat	SupportedMessage history, conversations and replies endpoints.
Plans and compliance
Free plan	SupportedUp to 10 users on shared lines	Not supportedDocs say there are no free trials, paid pilots or refunds.
Public pricing	Supported	SupportedStarter $149/month, Growth $299/month, plus $335 setup per line.
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 per-message fees. AI credits and extra call minutes are billed separately.
Uptime SLA	SupportedContractual SLA on the Enterprise plan	Not listedGrowth lists a 4-hour support SLA. No uptime SLA found.
Isolated infrastructure	SupportedEach line runs in an isolated, dedicated environment	SupportedEach line runs on its own iPhone and Apple ID on dedicated Mac hardware, with no VMs.
SOC 2 Type II	SupportedStated on photon.codes	Not supportedSecurity page says Tuco does not hold SOC 2.
GDPR	SupportedPrivacy policy covers GDPR rights and SCC transfers	SupportedGDPR page with data rights and Standard Contractual Clauses. DPA availability 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 chats, group management, group name and photo and mentions.

Choose Tuco AI if you need FaceTime calls and CRM integrations.

Frequently asked questions

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