Zernio vs Linq

Zernio supports 57 of the 77 features compared here, and Linq supports 63.

Feature comparison

Feature	Zernio	Linq
iMessage messaging
iMessage	Supported	Supported
Group chats	SupportedGroups on ordered senders: reply, create, rename, photo, members. Not on the sandbox line.	SupportedPro plan. Up to 31 recipients. No read or delivery receipts in groups.
Group management	SupportedStart a group from a sender and add or remove participants; applied asynchronously.	SupportedAdd and remove participants and leave a group, iMessage groups only, 3-member minimum.
Group name and photo	SupportedRename a group or change its photo, one change per call.	SupportedSet display_name and group_chat_icon on group chats.
Mentions	Not listed	SupportedGroup chats only. Notifies iMessage recipients even in a muted chat.
Tapbacks	SupportedSix Apple tapbacks plus custom emoji (iOS 18+). Inbound reactions arrive by webhook.	SupportedSix classic tapbacks or any emoji, send and receive via reaction webhooks.
Threaded replies	SupportedreplyTo on sends; inbound messages carry the reply thread id.	Supportedreply_to with optional part_index. iMessage only.
Typing indicators	PartialSend only, 1:1 chats, about 15 seconds, after a recent two-way exchange.	SupportedSend and receive, in direct and group chats. iMessage only.
Read receipts	PartialMark a chat read inside an active two-way chat. Webhook docs list message.read for other platforms only.	SupportedMark chats read and receive message.read. One-to-one chats only.
Edit and unsend	SupportedEdit text within 15 minutes; unsend within 2 minutes removes the bubble for the recipient.	PartialEdit text up to 5 times within 15 minutes. Delete does not unsend from the recipient's device.
Message effects	Supported13 screen and bubble effects, such as slam, invisibleInk, confetti and fireworks.	Supported11 screen and 4 bubble effects.
Animated text effects	Not listed	Supportedtext_decorations animations: big, small, shake, nod, explode, ripple, bloom, jitter.
Stickers	PartialInbound stickers are typed as sticker. Sending stickers is not documented.	SupportedPeel emoji or images onto messages, send stickers, or place them inline in text.
Formatted text	SupportedInline *bold*, _italic_, __underline__ and ~strikethrough~ markup renders as rich text.	SupportedBold, italic, underline and strikethrough ranges, plus animated text. iMessage only.
Attachments	SupportedUp to 10 per message, each a public https URL of at most 256 characters.	SupportedUp to 10MB by URL, 100MB with pre-upload.
Live Photos	Not listed	Not listed
Rich link previews	SupportedOn by default; linkPreview: false sends links as plain text.	Supportedlink parts render as rich previews on iMessage and RCS.
Voice messages	SupportedvoiceNote: true on an audio file. Inbound voice messages come with a transcript.	SupportedDedicated voice memo endpoint renders the native iMessage voice bubble.
Contact cards	PartialcontactCard shares the sender's own card only.	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	PartialStatic location pins only. Inbound shared locations arrive without coordinates.	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	PartialSets the name and photo on the sender's contact card, which recipients see when they save it.	SupportedContact card API sets name and photo, shared per chat via Name and Photo Sharing.
FaceTime calls	Not listedInbound FaceTime attempts show in the thread as call-typed messages. No calling documented.	Not supportedDocs say the API does not place or answer calls.
Delivery status	Supportedmessage.delivered and message.failed webhooks; sends deferred for pacing show as queued.	Supportedsent, delivered, read and failed webhooks. Groups report sent only.
iMessage availability check	Not listed	Supportedcheck_imessage and check_rcs endpoints.
Focus and Notify Anyway	Not listed	Not listed
Numbers and delivery
Managed lines	SupportedZernio orders numbers on its delivery provider's Apple-registered infrastructure.	Supported
Dedicated numbers	SupportedUS or UK numbers, some active instantly; email-handle senders through the API.	SupportedPaid lines are dedicated. Provisioned by Linq, no self-serve number API.
Shared numbers	SupportedFree shared sandbox line for testing: contact writes first, 5 contacts, 50 messages a day.	SupportedFree Hobby tier uses a Shared Line, inbound-first, 20 contacts.
Bring your own number	PartialiMessage cannot run on a number you own. A sender held with the provider can be registered.	Not listed
Line pooling	Not listedOne sender per profile; docs suggest spreading contacts across senders by hand.	SupportedManaged load balancing (Pro): send without from and Linq picks and fails over lines.
SMS fallback	SupportedSMS or RCS from the same number when the contact is not on iMessage.	Supported
RCS fallback	SupportedSMS or RCS from the same number; the provider picks per contact.	SupportedOrder is iMessage, then RCS, then SMS.
Outbound-first messaging	SupportedOne new chat per 15 minutes per sender, warm-up from 2 to 50 a day, no links in openers.	SupportedFree Hobby tier is inbound-first. Docs recommend inbound-first flows to avoid flagging.
Calls on the iMessage number	PartialOrdered numbers include call forwarding. Placing calls from the iMessage number is not documented.	PartialAPI forwards inbound calls on the line; outbound needs caller-ID masking via another provider.
Other channels
SMS	Supported	Supported
RCS	Supported	Supported
WhatsApp	Supported	BetaSeparate WhatsApp API in beta. Access by request, no SLA.
Telegram	Supported	Not supportedNot offered
Slack	Supported	Not supported
Email	Not supportedNot offered as a channel. iMessage senders can use an email handle.	Not supportedNot offered. iMessage can be sent to Apple ID email handles.
Phone calls	SupportedInbound and outbound PSTN calls, SIP trunks, browser softphone, recording and transcription.	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	SupportedSame inbox send call and webhooks for iMessage, SMS, WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack and social DMs.	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	Supported@zernio/node	Supported@linqapp/sdk
Python SDK	Supportedzernio-sdk	Supportedlinq-python
Other SDKs	SupportedGo, Ruby, Java, PHP, .NET and Rust.	SupportedOfficial Go SDK.
CLI	SupportedZernio CLI, including iMessage inbox sends and reactions.	Supported@linqapp/cli: signup, sending, and a local webhook listener.
Webhooks	Supported	Supported
Signed webhooks	SupportedHMAC-SHA256 of the raw body in X-Zernio-Signature, keyed by your secret.	SupportedHMAC-SHA256, Standard Webhooks format, with replay protection.
MCP server	SupportedHosted at mcp.zernio.com/mcp, with OAuth sign-in or an API key.	Supported@linqapp/sdk-mcp with docs search and code execution tools.
Open source	PartialSDKs, CLI, n8n node and Chat SDK adapter are MIT or Apache-2.0. The platform is closed.	PartialSDKs, CLI and adapters are Apache-2.0 or MIT on GitHub. The messaging platform is closed.
Self-hosting	Not supportedHosted cloud service only	Not supportedLinq describes itself as fully managed, in contrast to self-hosted options.
Local testing	Not listedThe free sandbox still needs your own phone or Apple ID.	Not listedThe CLI streams webhooks locally, but tests still use a real phone.
Custom channel providers	Not listed	Not listed
Event replay	Supported7 attempts over about 51 hours, then dead-letter; any past event can be redelivered.	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	Partialn8n, Make and Zapier guides cover posting; Make's API call module reaches any endpoint.	SupportedLinq Blue works as a GoHighLevel messaging provider. No n8n, Make or Zapier found for the API.
CRM integrations	SupportedHubSpot: inbox contacts and messages sync to HubSpot timelines.	SupportedVia Linq Blue: GoHighLevel, HubSpot and Salesforce.
Built for AI agents
Agent framework	PartialWorkflow engine with AI and handoff nodes; the workflow docs do not list iMessage.	PartialNo own framework. Maintains a Vercel Chat SDK adapter and OpenClaw and Hermes plugins.
Agent framework integrations	PartialVercel Chat SDK adapter (iMessage not listed) and an OpenClaw skill.	SupportedLinq-maintained Vercel Chat SDK adapter, plus OpenClaw and Hermes Agent plugins.
Streaming replies	PartialChat SDK adapter streams by editing on Telegram only.	Not supportedDocs say the Chat SDK adapter buffers streams into one final message.
Agent group chats	Not listed	Not listed
Human handoff	PartialDashboard inbox and workflow handoff nodes; no iMessage-specific handoff documented.	Not listed
Audit logs	SupportedAppend-only log of team-management actions; Enterprise adds broader audit logs.	SupportedDashboard Activity page plus account-change webhooks with actor and origin.
Message history API	Supported	Supported
Plans and compliance
Free plan	SupportedFirst 2 connected accounts free; free iMessage sandbox (5 contacts, 50 messages a day).	SupportedHobby: $0, up to 20 contacts, through the CLI.
Public pricing	Supported$200 per iMessage sender per month, plus the connected-account fee.	SupportedPro from $260/mo. Enterprise is custom.
No per-message fees	PartialiMessage pages say no per-message fee; an outbound meter of $1 per 10,000 after 10,000 starts Oct 2026.	Supported
Uptime SLA	Not listedSite states 99.97% uptime; no contractual SLA found.	SupportedContractual SLAs on the Enterprise plan; marketing cites 99.95%
Isolated infrastructure	Not listed	SupportedDedicated lines across 4 data centers on paid plans; Hobby uses a shared line
SOC 2 Type II	SupportedSOC 2 Type II report in the trust portal, by access request.	SupportedType I and Type II, reports for 2022, 2024, 2025 and 2026.
GDPR	SupportedGDPR documentation in the trust portal; public DPA.	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

Which should you choose?

Choose Zernio if you need bring your own number, Telegram, Slack and streaming replies.

Choose Linq if you need mentions, animated text effects, polls and chat backgrounds.

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