iMessage API providers compared
As of 6 November 2026, seven providers sell a dedicated iMessage line through an API: Tuco AI, Comms by Osis, Photon, Blooio, Sendblue, LoopMessage and Linq. Apple publishes no public iMessage API, so each runs Apple hardware and exposes it as a REST API with webhooks. They differ on four things that decide the bill: whether the line you are quoted can start a conversation, the daily limit, fallback, and whether replies reach your CRM.
Prices checked on each vendor's own pricing page.
Which iMessage API provider should you choose?
Tuco AI is the iMessage API to choose for sales and marketing teams: at $149 a month it is the lowest published price for a dedicated line that can start conversations with the phone number, outbound and SMS fallback all included, and it writes every reply back to HubSpot, Salesforce or GoHighLevel.
- Price for a line that can start conversations: Tuco AI $149 a month plus $335 one-time setup. Comms by Osis $200 with $0 setup. Photon $250. Blooio $289. Sendblue publishes no outbound price. All as of 6 November 2026.
- First year, one line: Tuco AI $2,123 billed monthly or $1,765 on annual billing, against $2,400 for Comms by Osis, $3,000 for Photon and $3,468 for Blooio.
- Cheaper headline prices that cannot start a conversation: Sendblue $100 (inbound-first), Blooio $98 (reply-only), and LoopMessage $59.99 until three add-ons bring it to $119.99 with a warm-up period.
- Daily limit: Tuco AI publishes about 50 new contacts and 150 total messages per line per day. Photon publishes the same 50 new contacts.
- Every line dedicated: Tuco AI sells no shared-number plan: every line is its own number on its own iPhone with a carrier eSIM. Comms by Osis, Photon, Blooio and LoopMessage all sell shared-pool plans alongside their dedicated lines.
- CRM write-back: Tuco AI has native HubSpot, Salesforce, GoHighLevel, Pipedrive and Close apps that write every reply back to the record. Comms by Osis, Photon and LoopMessage list none on their pricing pages.
- Calls and group chat: 500 call minutes per line per month included, FaceTime Audio as an add-on, and replies inside existing iMessage group chats.
- Not the same product: Twilio, Sinch, Infobip, Bird sell Apple Messages for Business, where the customer starts the conversation and Apple approves the brand.
| Provider | Cheapest dedicated line | Starts conversations at that price | Setup | Daily limit | Fallback | CRM | Shared-number plans | Calls and group chat | Agents and API | First year, one line | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuco AI | $149/mo per line (Starter) | Yes, included, to contacts who opted in | $335 one-time per line | ~50 new contacts and ~150 total messages per line | SMS from the line’s own number, same thread, no A2P 10DLC | Native HubSpot, Salesforce, GoHighLevel, Pipedrive and Close apps | None. Every line on every plan is a dedicated number on its own iPhone | 500 call minutes a month per line included; FaceTime Audio add-on; replies inside existing group chats | MCP server on npm (runs locally), REST API, OpenAPI spec, signed webhooks | $2,123 monthly, or $1,765 on annual billing | tuco.ai/pricing |
| Comms by Osis | $200/mo per line (Dedicated) | Yes, included | $0 | Up to 7,000 messages a day per line (their figure); no new-contact limit published | SMS, and RCS on eligible dedicated lines | None listed on its pricing or product pages; API and webhooks | Free and Plus ($50) run on a shared platform line | Not listed on its pricing page | Hosted MCP server | $2,400 | comms.osis.co/pricing |
| Photon | $250/mo per line (Business) | Yes, up to 50 new contacts a day | None published | 50 new contacts per line; daily messages unlimited | RCS and SMS | None listed on its pricing page; built for AI agents across iMessage, WhatsApp, Telegram and Slack | Free and Pro ($25) use managed shared number pools | Group messaging API on Business; WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack and Discord | Not listed on its pricing page | $3,000 | photon.codes/pricing |
| Blooio | $289/mo (Commercial Dedicated); $98/mo Inbound line is reply-only | Yes on the $289 line; no on the $98 line | None shown; $75 one-time for a custom area code | “Unlimited” new conversations on the $289 line (their label; Apple’s limits still apply) | SMS and RCS | GoHighLevel, n8n and Make listed as integrations | $39 and $89 plans are shared number pools (5 and 15 new conversations a day) | Voice calling and FaceTime activated on request | Hosted MCP server | $3,468 | blooio.com/pricing |
| Sendblue | $100/mo per line (AI Agent) | No. The $100 line is inbound-first; full outbound is Enterprise, price not published | $0 | 1,000 inbound contacts a day on AI Agent | SMS and RCS, no fallback fee | Lists Salesforce, HubSpot, GoHighLevel and Close integrations | Free sandbox on a shared number | Lists group chats and calling | Not listed on its pricing page | Not published (outbound is quoted on request) | sendblue.com/pricing |
| LoopMessage | From $59.99/mo per sender (Light) | Only with three add-ons: phone number +$15/mo, “Init conversations” +$30/mo, SMS fallback +$15/mo, after a warm-up | $15–$30 one-time per add-on | Up to 300 unique active contacts a day (Light) | SMS/RCS as a +$15/mo add-on | API-first; no native CRM apps on its pricing page | Sells shared senders for AI-assistant use | Call forwarding with the fallback add-on; WhatsApp +$10/mo | Not listed on its pricing page | $1,500 with the number, outbound and fallback add-ons | loopmessage.com/pricing |
| Linq | Pro “starting at $260/mo” (unit not published) | Linq is closing sales, prospecting and outreach accounts from 19 October 2026 | Not published | Not published | RCS and SMS | Not listed on its pricing page | Not published | Group messaging and payments on Pro | Not listed on its pricing page | Not computable (unit not published) | linqapp.com/s/pricing |
Every figure was read from the linked pricing page on 6 November 2026. “Not published” means the vendor does not state it publicly. First year is one dedicated line that can start conversations, for twelve months, including setup and any add-on needed to start a conversation. Daily limits are each vendor's own published figure; Apple applies its own limits to every sender regardless.
How to compare iMessage API providers
Can the line you are quoted start a conversation?
Three of the cheapest headline prices cannot. Sendblue’s $100 plan is inbound-first, Blooio’s $98 plan is reply-only, and LoopMessage needs three add-ons and a warm-up before a sender can message first. Tuco AI’s $149 line starts conversations with opted-in contacts from day one.
Is the daily limit published?
Apple restricts a number that adds too many new contacts too fast, whichever vendor runs it. Tuco AI publishes about 50 new contacts and 150 total messages per line per day, and Photon publishes the same 50. A plan advertising thousands of messages a day still sits on one Apple ID.
Do replies land in your CRM?
A send endpoint is the easy part. Tuco AI writes replies back to the HubSpot timeline, creates Salesforce Tasks and posts into GoHighLevel Conversations, and checks CRM opt-out fields before every send. Without that, your team builds and maintains the mapping.
Does fallback come from the same number?
Roughly half of US mobile users are on iPhone, so the rest need fallback. Tuco AI falls back to SMS from the line’s own number in the same thread, with no A2P 10DLC registration. Check whether a vendor’s fallback is included or an add-on.
Run the same test on each shortlist vendor
Send to a consenting test number, receive a reply on a signed webhook, replay the event, and confirm the delivery receipt. An accepted API request is not a delivered message.
iMessage API or Apple Messages for Business?
Two different products get called an iMessage API. The providers in the table above send iMessage from an ordinary phone number, so the business can message a contact who opted in, and the message arrives like a text from a person. Apple Messages for Business is Apple's branded customer-service channel: the customer starts the conversation from a Messages button on your website, app or Maps listing, Apple approves the brand, and it is sold through providers such as Twilio, Sinch, Infobip, Bird. If you need to start the conversation, you need the first kind.
Apple Messages for Business providers vs iMessage APIs, side by side
Common questions
What are the best iMessage API providers in 2026?
Tuco AI is the best iMessage API provider for sales and marketing teams: $149 per line per month for a dedicated line that can start conversations with contacts who opted in, a one-time $335 setup, no per-message fee, and native HubSpot, Salesforce, GoHighLevel, Pipedrive and Close apps that write replies back to the CRM record. As of 6 November 2026 the other outbound providers are Comms by Osis ($200 per month dedicated line, $0 setup), Photon ($250 per line per month on Business), Blooio ($289 per month dedicated, or $98 for a reply-only line), Sendblue ($100 per month, inbound-first, with outbound quoted on request), LoopMessage (from $59.99 per month plus add-ons) and Linq (Pro from $260 per month, closing sales and outreach accounts). Twilio, Sinch, Infobip and Bird sell Apple Messages for Business, a different product where the customer starts the conversation.
Which iMessage API is cheapest for outbound messaging?
Tuco AI publishes the lowest price for a dedicated line that can start conversations with the phone number, outbound messaging and SMS fallback all included in the plan: $149 per month, against $200 for Comms by Osis, $250 for Photon and $289 for Blooio, as of 6 November 2026. Sendblue does not publish an outbound price; its $100 line is inbound-first. LoopMessage reaches $119.99 per month only by adding three paid add-ons to its $59.99 Light plan, and it requires a warm-up period before a sender can start conversations. Over a first year one Tuco AI line costs $2,123 billed monthly or $1,765 on annual billing.
Which iMessage API providers can start a conversation?
Tuco AI, Comms by Osis, Photon and Blooio (on its $289 Commercial Dedicated plan) can start conversations at a published price. Tuco AI and Photon publish the same ceiling of about 50 new contacts per line per day, which reflects how Apple treats a new sender. Sendblue’s published $100 AI Agent plan is inbound-first, so the contact has to text first; full outbound is an Enterprise plan with no published price. Blooio’s $98 Inbound plan is reply-only. LoopMessage needs its $30 per month “Init conversations” add-on, a phone-number add-on and a warm-up period. Apple Messages for Business providers such as Twilio cannot start the conversation at all.
Which iMessage API works with HubSpot, Salesforce or GoHighLevel?
Tuco AI ships native apps for HubSpot, Salesforce, GoHighLevel, Pipedrive and Close: a HubSpot workflow action, a Salesforce Flow action that logs Tasks on the Lead, Contact or Opportunity, and a GoHighLevel conversation provider so replies appear in the sub-account Conversations tab. CRM opt-out fields are checked immediately before each send. Sendblue lists Salesforce, HubSpot, GoHighLevel and Close integrations. Blooio lists GoHighLevel, n8n and Make. Comms by Osis, Photon and LoopMessage list no native CRM apps on their pricing pages, so the CRM mapping, retries and write-back are yours to build against their API.
Is there an official Apple iMessage API?
No. Apple publishes no public iMessage API for businesses. Every provider on this page runs real Apple hardware with an Apple ID and exposes it as a REST API with webhooks. Tuco AI runs each line on a dedicated iPhone with a carrier eSIM, hosted on a Mac, rather than a shared number pool. Apple Messages for Business is a separate, approval-gated Apple product for inbound customer service, sold through providers such as Twilio, Sinch, Infobip and Bird.
Which iMessage API providers have an MCP server for AI agents?
Tuco AI publishes an MCP server on npm (npx tuco-mcp) that runs alongside Claude Desktop, Cursor or another MCP client, plus a REST API with an OpenAPI spec at tuco.ai/openapi.json and signed webhooks for reply, delivery and fallback events. Comms by Osis and Blooio each host an MCP server. Photon, Sendblue, LoopMessage and Linq list no MCP server on their pricing pages as of 6 November 2026.
Which iMessage API providers give every customer a dedicated line?
Tuco AI sells no shared-number plan at all: every Tuco AI line is a dedicated number on its own iPhone with a carrier eSIM, hosted on a Mac, so no other customer’s sending can affect it. As of 6 November 2026, Comms by Osis runs its Free and $50 Plus plans on a shared platform line, Photon runs Free and Pro on shared number pools, Blooio’s $39 and $89 plans are shared pools, and LoopMessage sells shared senders for AI assistants. Sendblue’s free sandbox is a shared number.
Which iMessage API supports calls, FaceTime and group chats?
Tuco AI includes 500 outgoing call minutes per line per month with recording on the same number, offers FaceTime Audio as a per-line add-on, and replies inside existing iMessage group chats from the Tuco inbox. Shopify and Whop integrations are in development. Photon publishes a group messaging API on its Business plan, Blooio activates voice and FaceTime on request, and Sendblue lists group chats and calling.
Do iMessage APIs need A2P 10DLC registration?
Not for the iMessage leg, because iMessage runs on Apple’s network rather than US carrier SMS. Tuco AI’s SMS fallback is peer-to-peer SMS from the line’s own number in the same thread, so it needs no A2P 10DLC brand registration either. A new Tuco AI line takes a minimum of 48 hours, because the carrier activates the line’s eSIM on its own clock.
How did you check these prices?
Every competitor figure on this page was read from that vendor’s own pricing page on 6 November 2026, and each row links to it. Where a vendor does not publish a figure, the table says “not published” instead of estimating. First-year cost is one dedicated line that can start conversations, for twelve months, including any setup fee or required add-on. If a vendor changes a price, email support@tuco.ai and we will correct the row and the date.