Tuco AI vs Linq

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

Tuco AI

iMessage follow-up for opted-in leads from your CRM
Starting price
$149/month (Starter, 1 line) plus $335 setup
Free plan
None; docs say no free trials or refunds

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

Feature comparison

FeatureTuco AILinq
iMessage messaging
iMessage
Supported
Supported
Group chats
Not supportedTuco's llms.txt says it has no group chats.
SupportedPro plan. Up to 31 recipients. No read or delivery receipts in groups.
Group management
Not supportedNo group chat support
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
SupportedSend six classic tapbacks by API; inbound reactions, including custom emoji, arrive as message.reaction.
SupportedSix classic tapbacks or any emoji, send and receive via reaction webhooks.
Threaded replies
Not listed
Supportedreply_to with optional part_index. iMessage only.
Typing indicators
PartialStart and stop typing by API, best effort. Inbound typing events not documented.
SupportedSend and receive, in direct and group chats. iMessage only.
Read receipts
Supportedmessage.opened webhook with readAt when the recipient has read receipts on.
SupportedMark chats read and receive message.read. One-to-one chats only.
Edit and unsend
Not listed
PartialEdit text up to 5 times within 15 minutes. Delete does not unsend from the recipient's device.
Message effects
Not listed
Supported11 screen and 4 bubble effects.
Animated text effects
Not listed
Supportedtext_decorations animations: big, small, shake, nod, explode, ripple, bloom, jitter.
Stickers
Not listed
SupportedPeel emoji or images onto messages, send stickers, or place them inline in text.
Formatted text
Not listed
SupportedBold, italic, underline and strikethrough ranges, plus animated text. iMessage only.
Attachments
SupportedUp to 2 files per message, 25 MB each. Not allowed on the first message to a contact.
SupportedUp to 10MB by URL, 100MB with pre-upload.
Live Photos
Not listed
Not listed
Rich link previews
Not listed
Supportedlink parts render as rich previews on iMessage and RCS.
Voice messages
SupportedvoiceNote sends one audio file as a native voice note bubble.
SupportedDedicated voice memo endpoint renders the native iMessage voice bubble.
Contact cards
Not listed
SupportedSend .vcf files as media parts.
Polls
Not listed
SupportedCreate, add options, vote and read tallies, with poll webhooks. Not as a chat's first message.
Chat backgrounds
Not listed
SupportedColor, animated or photo backgrounds, in direct and group chats.
Location sharing
Not listed
SupportedRequest, read and stop Find My shares. Live location is a $79/mo add-on on Pro.
iMessage apps
Not listed
SupportedPro plan. Cards from your own Messages extension, or Linq-hosted cards (Experiences).
Live app cards
Not listed
SupportedUpdate App Card replaces a delivered iMessage app or Experience card in place.
Sender name and photo
PartialLine name and photo are set by Tuco staff, at most 3 changes per line per month.
SupportedContact card API sets name and photo, shared per chat via Name and Photo Sharing.
FaceTime calls
PartialFaceTime Audio calls as a $100/month per-line add-on. Tuco's llms.txt says it has no FaceTime.
Not supportedDocs say the API does not place or answer calls.
Delivery status
Supportedqueued, sent, delivered, failed and fallback statuses, with sent, failed and fallback webhooks.
Supportedsent, delivered, read and failed webhooks. Groups report sent only.
iMessage availability check
SupportedSingle, round-robin and bulk checks, about 70 per line per day.
Supportedcheck_imessage and check_rcs endpoints.
Focus and Notify Anyway
Not listed
Not listed
Numbers and delivery
Managed lines
SupportedEach line is a real iPhone with an eSIM that Tuco hosts. About 48 hours to activate.
Supported
Dedicated numbers
SupportedOne Apple identity per line. Lines can be ordered by API.
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
PartialDocs say existing numbers cannot be ported in, but a Linq migration page offers to port Linq numbers.
Not listed
Line pooling
SupportedSends without fromLineId round-robin across active lines.
SupportedManaged load balancing (Pro): send without from and Linq picks and fails over lines.
SMS fallback
PartialThrough your Twilio, GoHighLevel or webhook provider, or P2P SMS from the line once support enables it.
Supported
RCS fallback
Not supportedRCS not offered
SupportedOrder is iMessage, then RCS, then SMS.
Outbound-first messaging
SupportedOutbound to opted-in contacts. Cold lists are refused, and first messages cannot carry links or files.
SupportedFree Hobby tier is inbound-first. Docs recommend inbound-first flows to avoid flagging.
Calls on the iMessage number
SupportedCalls go out from the same number the line texts from. 500 minutes per line per month included.
PartialAPI forwards inbound calls on the line; outbound needs caller-ID masking via another provider.
Other channels
SMS
PartialSMS through your own Twilio, GHL or webhook provider, or P2P SMS from the line in its eSIM country.
Supported
RCS
Not supportedNot offered
Supported
WhatsApp
Not supported
BetaSeparate WhatsApp API in beta. Access by request, no SLA.
Telegram
PartialTelegram bot for team notifications and replies. Leads are not messaged on Telegram.
Not supportedNot offered
Slack
PartialLead conversations appear as Slack threads the team can reply from. Not a channel to contacts.
Not supported
Email
SupportedmessageType email sends email, and an email bridge sends iMessages from your inbox.
Not supportedNot offered. iMessage can be sent to Apple ID email handles.
Phone calls
SupportedOutbound calls with recording, inbound forwarding and a click-to-call API (beta, +1 numbers only).
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
SupportedOne send endpoint with messageType imessage, sms or email.
PartialiMessage, RCS and SMS share one API. WhatsApp is a separate API with its own keys and SDKs.
Developer tools
REST API
Supported
Supported
TypeScript SDK
Not listedThe iMessage API page shows npm install @tuco-ai/sdk, but no such package is on npm.
Supported@linqapp/sdk
Python SDK
Not listed
Supportedlinq-python
Other SDKs
Not listed
SupportedOfficial Go SDK.
CLI
Not listed
Supported@linqapp/cli: signup, sending, and a local webhook listener.
Webhooks
SupportedSent, failed, fallback, opened, reply, reaction, AI draft, handover, call recording and DNC events.
Supported
Signed webhooks
SupportedHMAC-SHA256 in the X-Tuco-Signature header.
SupportedHMAC-SHA256, Standard Webhooks format, with replay protection.
MCP server
Supportedtuco-mcp on npm, run locally with an API key, with about 90 tools.
Supported@linqapp/sdk-mcp with docs search and code execution tools.
Open source
Partialtuco-mcp is MIT licensed on npm. The platform is closed.
PartialSDKs, CLI and adapters are Apache-2.0 or MIT on GitHub. The messaging platform is closed.
Self-hosting
Not listedHosted on Tuco hardware. Self-hosting is not mentioned.
Not supportedLinq describes itself as fully managed, in contrast to self-hosted options.
Local testing
PartialSimulate runs a goal bot against a transcript without sending. Message sends have no sandbox.
Not listedThe CLI streams webhooks locally, but tests still use a real phone.
Custom channel providers
PartialSMS fallback can route through your Twilio, GoHighLevel or a custom webhook.
Not listed
Event replay
Supported30-day webhook delivery log with replay from the dashboard or API, plus one automatic retry.
PartialRetries for 30 minutes; after that, re-fetch chats or ask Linq for a manual replay.
OpenTelemetry
Not listed
PartialW3C trace IDs on every response and webhook for OTel backends. No export of Linq spans by default.
No-code integrations
SupportedGoHighLevel, n8n, Zapier and Make.com.
SupportedLinq Blue works as a GoHighLevel messaging provider. No n8n, Make or Zapier found for the API.
CRM integrations
SupportedHubSpot, Salesforce, Close and Pipedrive. One CRM per workspace.
SupportedVia Linq Blue: GoHighLevel, HubSpot and Salesforce.
Built for AI agents
Agent framework
SupportedHosted goal bots and Knowledge Base replies with tools, in copilot or autopilot mode.
PartialNo own framework. Maintains a Vercel Chat SDK adapter and OpenClaw and Hermes plugins.
Agent framework integrations
Not listed
SupportedLinq-maintained Vercel Chat SDK adapter, plus OpenClaw and Hermes Agent plugins.
Streaming replies
Not listed
Not supportedDocs say the Chat SDK adapter buffers streams into one final message.
Agent group chats
Not supportedNo group chat support
Not listed
Human handoff
SupportedCopilot drafts need approval, and conversation.handover fires when the AI stops for a person.
Not listed
Audit logs
SupportedActivity log of workspace changes, including MCP tool calls.
SupportedDashboard Activity page plus account-change webhooks with actor and origin.
Message history API
SupportedMessage history, conversations and replies endpoints.
Supported
Plans and compliance
Free plan
Not supportedDocs say there are no free trials, paid pilots or refunds.
SupportedHobby: $0, up to 20 contacts, through the CLI.
Public pricing
SupportedStarter $149/month, Growth $299/month, plus $335 setup per line.
SupportedPro from $260/mo. Enterprise is custom.
No per-message fees
SupportedNo per-message fees. AI credits and extra call minutes are billed separately.
Supported
Uptime SLA
Not listedGrowth lists a 4-hour support SLA. No uptime SLA found.
SupportedContractual SLAs on the Enterprise plan; marketing cites 99.95%
Isolated infrastructure
SupportedEach line runs on its own iPhone and Apple ID on dedicated Mac hardware, with no VMs.
SupportedDedicated lines across 4 data centers on paid plans; Hobby uses a shared line
SOC 2 Type II
Not supportedSecurity page says Tuco does not hold SOC 2.
SupportedType I and Type II, reports for 2022, 2024, 2025 and 2026.
GDPR
SupportedGDPR page with data rights and Standard Contractual Clauses. DPA availability listed.
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

Tuco AI

Starter is $149 a month for 1 line and Growth $299 a month for 2 lines, each with a one-time $335 setup fee per line and no per-message fees.

Pricing model: flat per line, plus AI credits and call minute packs

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 Tuco AI if you need FaceTime calls, bring your own number, Telegram and Slack.

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

Frequently asked questions