Blue vs green bubbles: what they mean for business texting

What decides whether a text is blue or green?

A text is blue only when it travels over iMessage from sender to recipient. Apple's support page says a green bubble means "that message was sent using RCS or MMS/SMS instead of iMessage", for example because the recipient has no Apple device, or iMessage is turned off or temporarily unavailable.

For a business, blue needs two things at once: the number it texts from is on iMessage, and the customer has an Apple device with iMessage on. Apple's colors describe the messages you send ("Messages sent with iMessage appear in blue text bubbles on your device", in Apple's comparison of iMessage, RCS and SMS/MMS), so a customer sees the route on their own replies: blue to an iMessage number, green to an SMS number.

Why are most business texts green?

Most business texts are green because texting platforms send them as SMS, MMS or RCS over carrier networks, and none of those routes is iMessage. Twilio is a typical example. Its Messaging Policy prohibits person-to-person messages and treats all traffic as application-to-person (A2P). Anyone sending SMS or MMS from an application over a US 10DLC number "must register for A2P 10DLC" (Twilio's A2P 10DLC guide) with a brand and a campaign, and unregistered traffic pays extra carrier fees. Registering the brand costs a one-time $4.50, and a Standard Brand adds a one-time $41.50 vetting fee.

Twilio bills US SMS at $0.0083 "per 160-character segment", sent or received, plus a carrier fee on each outbound segment ($0.0035 AT&T, $0.0045 T-Mobile, $0.005 Verizon); AT&T and T-Mobile also charge on inbound. Outbound MMS is $0.022 per message plus its own carrier fees, and a long-code number is $1.15 a month, according to Twilio's US pricing page. The ZeroSettle vs Twilio comparison goes through both job by job.

What does a blue bubble add for a business?

A blue bubble adds iMessage features that SMS and MMS don't have on an iPhone: a shared name and photo, typing indicators, tapbacks and native voice messages, plus texts of up to 4,000 characters sent as one message on a flat monthly plan. Customers on iPhone see the name, photo, typing and tapbacks "because every message goes through Apple's own iMessage network," as ZeroSettle's homepage puts it. The guides to what customers see when a business texts them on iMessage and sending photos, voice and tapbacks through the API go deeper.

Sources: ZeroSettle API docs; Twilio US pricing (prices "current as of October 2026"); Apple Support. A 400-character plain-text SMS is billed as three segments: 3 × ($0.0083 + $0.005) = $0.0399 to a Verizon customer on Twilio. On ZeroSettle it is one message within the Pro plan's price.

Recipients see "<name> shared a name and photo with you" and can save the card. Typing works only with someone you already have a conversation with (otherwise 409 no_conversation), clears on any send, and is never stored or billed. The customer's own typing always arrives on the live stream, and on your webhook only if you opt in with "typing_events": true; it comes only from 1:1 iMessage conversations. A JPEG, PNG or GIF within the limits goes out exactly as sent, animation included. In code, each of these is one call. Here a support reply likes the customer's question, shows the typing bubble during the lookup, then answers:

BASE=https://portal.zerosettle.io
TOKEN="$ZEROSETTLE_TOKEN"   # your API token, from the environment

# Like their question (message_id: the id your webhook received)
curl -s -X POST -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"message_id":44,"reaction":"like"}' $BASE/api/imessage/reactions

# Show the typing bubble while you look up the answer
curl -s -X POST -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"to":"+18055550142","state":"start","ttl_s":25}' $BASE/api/imessage/typing

# Send the answer; it replaces the bubble
curl -s -X POST -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"to":"+18055550142","text":"Yes, order 4471 arrives Thursday between 10 AM and 2 PM."}' \
  $BASE/api/imessage/send

What does a blue bubble cost you in reach?

A blue bubble reaches only people on iMessage, which runs between Apple devices, while RCS and SMS/MMS also reach non-Apple phones, per Apple's comparison of the three. ZeroSettle's docs are direct: "The address must be on someone's iMessage; there is no SMS or email fallback." SMS fallback for non-Apple phones is on ZeroSettle's roadmap, not in the product.

• Android users and iPhones with iMessage off can't be reached from a ZeroSettle line yet. A "text us" sms: link opens the SMS app on Android, so keep a fallback (email or chat). ZeroSettle checks every first message with Apple: if the handle isn't on iMessage, the send is refused with 422 not_on_imessage, nothing goes out and no new-contact slot is used.
• New contacts are capped per number: on Pro, first messages to 5 a day; on Growth, 50 a day and 3 per 15 minutes. Anyone who texted the line first is never limited, and neither is an ongoing conversation.

RCS narrows the feature gap but not the color. Apple says RCS on iPhone needs iOS 18 and a carrier that supports it, lists typing indicators and read receipts for it, and shows it in green. The iMessage vs SMS vs RCS vs WhatsApp comparison weighs all four channels.

Do blue bubbles get more replies?

ZeroSettle can't tell you: it publishes no reply-rate data, and this article cites none from anyone else. A blue bubble changes what the customer sees (your name and photo instead of a bare number, a typing bubble, one-tap tapbacks), so measure its effect on your own traffic.

Two iPhone behaviors work against a cold first text from a number the customer doesn't know. Links stay untappable until the person replies or saves the number (see why first-message links aren't tappable), and Screen Unknown Senders in iOS 26 can move the text into a separate list without a notification. To measure the color itself:

1. Take one consented message you already send by SMS, such as an order update.
2. Split only the customers who are on iMessage: half get it from your SMS provider, half from the ZeroSettle line, with the same words at the same hour. Including Android users would measure audiences, not color.
3. On the ZeroSettle half, count any message.received or reaction.received from that handle within 24 hours as a reply; on the SMS half, count inbound texts in the same 24 hours.

Two things skew the result. The ZeroSettle number is new to everyone in its half, so the unknown-sender behaviors above hit it harder than an SMS number customers have already replied to. And on Pro, first messages from the new number are capped at 5 new contacts a day, so a 200-person half takes 40 days on one number (4 days at Growth's 50 a day); send the SMS half on the same schedule.

How do you run SMS and iMessage side by side?

Keep your SMS provider for Android users and anyone not on iMessage, and use the blue-bubble number for everyone else; the SMS-to-iMessage migration plan covers the move.

1. Route each contact to one channel by whether the handle is on iMessage, and never send the same text on both.
2. Ask customers to text the new number first, from an SMS you already send or a prefilled sms: link. People who text first never count as new contacts, and links you send them afterwards are tappable.
3. Merge opt-outs into one list. A text with the word STOP, or a clear request like “take me off your list”, opts a contact out across every number on your ZeroSettle account, and ZeroSettle lists opt-outs at GET /api/imessage/opt-outs. Your SMS provider keeps a separate list, so have your code block a handle on both channels when it opts out on either.
4. Keep consent records for both. ZeroSettle's docs warn that in the US, "texting a consumer without their prior express consent carries statutory damages of $500 to $1,500 per message, and class actions are routine. Marketing texts need written consent; the National Do Not Call Registry applies." This isn't legal advice; have counsel review your program.

How do you get a blue-bubble number?

ZeroSettle Pro is $49/month for one number ("No setup fee · Cancel anytime"), with unlimited messages with people who message you first, first messages to 5 new contacts a day, a 30-day money-back guarantee and 1,000 AI credits a month for the hosted AI agent; Growth, for several numbers working as one, is from $599/mo. ZeroSettle's pricing compares them. Pro is self-serve, though numbers can sell out:

1. Press Get started at portal.zerosettle.io/imessage and sign in with your phone number (a one-time SMS code). A number is set aside while you finish.
2. Say what the number is for (sign in with iMessage, branded messages, or an AI agent). That claims it.
3. Set your brand name and photo and text yourself a test message. You can skip the test and change the name and photo later.
4. Subscribe. The console and API open once the subscription is active.

Read the ZeroSettle iMessage API docs and the How ZeroSettle works explainers, or get a number and test blue bubbles with your own customers.