Telnyx vs Linq

Compare Telnyx and Linq side by side: iMessage features, channels, developer tools, pricing and compliance, checked on each provider's own site.

Telnyx

Low per-part SMS pricing with carrier fees at cost
Starting price
$0.004 per US SMS part plus carrier fee
Free plan
Trial account with $5 testing credit

Linq

iMessage, RCS and SMS API with flat monthly pricing
Starting price
$260/month (Pro)
Free plan
Hobby: $0, up to 20 contacts, used through the CLI

Telnyx supports 36 of the 77 features compared here, and Linq supports 63.

Feature comparison

FeatureTelnyxLinq
iMessage messaging
iMessage
Not supportedNo iMessage support
Supported
Group chats
Not supported
SupportedPro plan. Up to 31 recipients. No read or delivery receipts in groups.
Group management
Not supported
SupportedAdd and remove participants and leave a group, iMessage groups only, 3-member minimum.
Group name and photo
Not supported
SupportedSet display_name and group_chat_icon on group chats.
Mentions
Not supported
SupportedGroup chats only. Notifies iMessage recipients even in a muted chat.
Tapbacks
Not supported
SupportedSix classic tapbacks or any emoji, send and receive via reaction webhooks.
Threaded replies
Not supported
Supportedreply_to with optional part_index. iMessage only.
Typing indicators
Not supported
SupportedSend and receive, in direct and group chats. iMessage only.
Read receipts
Not supported
SupportedMark chats read and receive message.read. One-to-one chats only.
Edit and unsend
Not supported
PartialEdit text up to 5 times within 15 minutes. Delete does not unsend from the recipient's device.
Message effects
Not supported
Supported11 screen and 4 bubble effects.
Animated text effects
Not supported
Supportedtext_decorations animations: big, small, shake, nod, explode, ripple, bloom, jitter.
Stickers
Not supported
SupportedPeel emoji or images onto messages, send stickers, or place them inline in text.
Formatted text
Not supported
SupportedBold, italic, underline and strikethrough ranges, plus animated text. iMessage only.
Attachments
Not supported
SupportedUp to 10MB by URL, 100MB with pre-upload.
Live Photos
Not supported
Not listed
Rich link previews
Not supported
Supportedlink parts render as rich previews on iMessage and RCS.
Voice messages
Not supported
SupportedDedicated voice memo endpoint renders the native iMessage voice bubble.
Contact cards
Not supported
SupportedSend .vcf files as media parts.
Polls
Not supported
SupportedCreate, add options, vote and read tallies, with poll webhooks. Not as a chat's first message.
Chat backgrounds
Not supported
SupportedColor, animated or photo backgrounds, in direct and group chats.
Location sharing
Not supported
SupportedRequest, read and stop Find My shares. Live location is a $79/mo add-on on Pro.
iMessage apps
Not supported
SupportedPro plan. Cards from your own Messages extension, or Linq-hosted cards (Experiences).
Live app cards
Not supported
SupportedUpdate App Card replaces a delivered iMessage app or Experience card in place.
Sender name and photo
Not supported
SupportedContact card API sets name and photo, shared per chat via Name and Photo Sharing.
FaceTime calls
Not supported
Not supportedDocs say the API does not place or answer calls.
Delivery status
Not supported
Supportedsent, delivered, read and failed webhooks. Groups report sent only.
iMessage availability check
Not supported
Supportedcheck_imessage and check_rcs endpoints.
Focus and Notify Anyway
Not supported
Not listed
Numbers and delivery
Managed lines
Not supportedNo iMessage support
Supported
Dedicated numbers
SupportedLocal, national, toll-free and short code numbers in 130+ countries
SupportedPaid lines are dedicated. Provisioned by Linq, no self-serve number API.
Shared numbers
Not listed
SupportedFree Hobby tier uses a Shared Line, inbound-first, 20 contacts.
Bring your own number
SupportedHosted SMS text-enables numbers whose voice stays with another provider
Not listed
Line pooling
SupportedNumber Pool spreads sends across long code and toll-free numbers, with Sticky Sender
SupportedManaged load balancing (Pro): send without from and Linq picks and fails over lines.
SMS fallback
Not supportedNo iMessage support; RCS can fall back to SMS or MMS
Supported
RCS fallback
Not supportedNo iMessage support
SupportedOrder is iMessage, then RCS, then SMS.
Outbound-first messaging
SupportedBusiness-initiated SMS; US A2P traffic needs 10DLC or toll-free verification
SupportedFree Hobby tier is inbound-first. Docs recommend inbound-first flows to avoid flagging.
Calls on the iMessage number
Not supportedNo iMessage support
PartialAPI forwards inbound calls on the line; outbound needs caller-ID masking via another provider.
Other channels
SMS
SupportedSMS and MMS on long code, toll-free, short code and alphanumeric senders
Supported
RCS
SupportedRCS Business Messaging with agent registration by API
Supported
WhatsApp
SupportedWhatsApp Business API, including coexistence and business calling
BetaSeparate WhatsApp API in beta. Access by request, no SLA.
Telegram
Not supportedNot offered
Not supportedNot offered
Slack
Not supported
Not supported
Email
SupportedEmail API with sending and inboxes, generally available since August 2026
Not supportedNot offered. iMessage can be sent to Apple ID email handles.
Phone calls
SupportedVoice API, TeXML and SIP trunking
PartialAPI does not place or answer calls; it forwards inbound calls. Calling lives in the Linq Blue app.
Apple Messages for Business
Not supportedNot offered
Not listedAI context page mentions it, but no product page or docs were found.
Unified channel API
PartialShared messaging profiles, but SMS, RCS, WhatsApp and email each have their own endpoint and payload
PartialiMessage, RCS and SMS share one API. WhatsApp is a separate API with its own keys and SDKs.
Developer tools
REST API
SupportedREST API v2 with a public OpenAPI spec
Supported
TypeScript SDK
Supported
Supported@linqapp/sdk
Python SDK
Supported
Supportedlinq-python
Other SDKs
SupportedGo, Java, Ruby and PHP; a .NET SDK is on GitHub
SupportedOfficial Go SDK.
CLI
SupportedTelnyx CLI, plus an Agent CLI with setup commands
Supported@linqapp/cli: signup, sending, and a local webhook listener.
Webhooks
Supported
Supported
Signed webhooks
SupportedEd25519 signatures over timestamp and payload
SupportedHMAC-SHA256, Standard Webhooks format, with replay protection.
MCP server
SupportedRemote MCP server for API actions, plus a docs MCP server
Supported@linqapp/sdk-mcp with docs search and code execution tools.
Open source
Not supportedClosed platform; SDKs and CLI are MIT-licensed
PartialSDKs, CLI and adapters are Apache-2.0 or MIT on GitHub. The messaging platform is closed.
Self-hosting
Not listed
Not supportedLinq describes itself as fully managed, in contrast to self-hosted options.
Local testing
PartialOnly for Telnyx AI Assistants, through the Assistant Chat API or web chat widget
Not listedThe CLI streams webhooks locally, but tests still use a real phone.
Custom channel providers
Not listed
Not listed
Event replay
SupportedWebhook Deliveries API lists failed deliveries with the original payload; 3 retries plus failover URL
PartialRetries for 30 minutes; after that, re-fetch chats or ask Linq for a manual replay.
OpenTelemetry
PartialEdge Compute functions, which host Agent SDK agents, export logs over OTLP
PartialW3C trace IDs on every response and webhook for OTel backends. No export of Linq spans by default.
No-code integrations
SupportedZapier
SupportedLinq Blue works as a GoHighLevel messaging provider. No n8n, Make or Zapier found for the API.
CRM integrations
SupportedAI Assistants connect to Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive and Zoho CRM
SupportedVia Linq Blue: GoHighLevel, HubSpot and Salesforce.
Built for AI agents
Agent framework
SupportedAI Assistants run conversations over calls, SMS, WhatsApp and web chat; Agent SDK in beta
PartialNo own framework. Maintains a Vercel Chat SDK adapter and OpenClaw and Hermes plugins.
Agent framework integrations
SupportedVercel AI SDK provider, Vercel Chat SDK adapter, LiveKit Agents plugin, LangGraph via Agent SDK (beta)
SupportedLinq-maintained Vercel Chat SDK adapter, plus OpenClaw and Hermes Agent plugins.
Streaming replies
PartialAssistant Chat API and web chat stream replies as SSE; SMS, RCS and WhatsApp replies are not streamed
Not supportedDocs say the Chat SDK adapter buffers streams into one final message.
Agent group chats
PartialGroup MMS with up to 8 recipients (US and Canada) that an agent number can join
Not listed
Human handoff
PartialVoice AI Assistants can warm-transfer calls to a person; no agent inbox for text
Not listed
Audit logs
SupportedAudit Logs API for account changes
SupportedDashboard Activity page plus account-change webhooks with actor and origin.
Message history API
SupportedRetrieve messages by ID and search message detail records
Supported
Plans and compliance
Free plan
PartialTrial with $5 credit; SMS only to one verified number, 100 a day
SupportedHobby: $0, up to 20 contacts, through the CLI.
Public pricing
Supported
SupportedPro from $260/mo. Enterprise is custom.
No per-message fees
Not supportedBilled per message part, plus carrier fees
Supported
Uptime SLA
SupportedCustom SLA on committed and Enterprise plans; Telnyx lists 99.99% for core voice and messaging
SupportedContractual SLAs on the Enterprise plan; marketing cites 99.95%
Isolated infrastructure
SupportedDedicated infrastructure on the Enterprise plan ($5,000 a month minimum)
SupportedDedicated lines across 4 data centers on paid plans; Hobby uses a shared line
SOC 2 Type II
Supported
SupportedType I and Type II, reports for 2022, 2024, 2025 and 2026.
GDPR
Supported
SupportedDPA covers GDPR and UK GDPR, with Standard Contractual Clauses.

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

Pricing

Telnyx

Pay as you go per message part, with carrier fees passed through at cost and no platform fee.

Pricing model: per message

Source

Linq

Hobby is free with up to 20 contacts through the CLI, Pro starts at $260 a month with a 7-day free trial, and Enterprise is custom.

Pricing model: flat monthly, no per-message fees

Source

Which should you choose?

Choose Telnyx if you need bring your own number, email, local testing and streaming replies.

Choose Linq if you need iMessage, group chats, group management and group name and photo.

Frequently asked questions