iMessage API pricing compared: what a dedicated number costs in 2026

How we compared prices

We compared published prices on October 8, 2026, using one unit: the cheapest published plan with a dedicated number that can send the first message. Reply-only and shared numbers don't count for that unit.

• Sources: each vendor's own pricing page and terms, linked in the tables and listed under Sources.
• Derived totals built from add-ons are our arithmetic, labeled as such. Confirm them at checkout.
• Scope: six managed iMessage APIs and three options that run on hardware you supply (Texting Blue, myCRMSIM, BlueBubbles).

ZeroSettle is an iMessage API: a real phone number on real iMessage, running on Apple hardware we operate for you, that your code texts customers from and hears back on through a bearer token and signed webhooks. New to the term? Read what an iMessage API is; for features beyond price, see 14 iMessage API providers compared.

iMessage API price table, October 2026

Among the managed APIs compared, ZeroSettle Pro at $49 a month is the lowest published price for a dedicated number that can message first. Options that run on your own iPhone or Mac cost less but leave the hardware to you.

LoopMessage's total is our arithmetic: Light "from $59.99/month" + phone number $15/month + Init conversations $30/month, plus once-off fees of $15 (sender name), $15 (phone number) and $30 (Init). Project Blue shows its setup fee as $250 beside a struck-through $500, "($250 credited back at onboarding)".

What do cheaper iMessage plans leave out?

Each managed plan that costs less than its vendor's dedicated, message-first number gives up one of three things: a number of your own, the right to message first, or a phone-number sender. The bring-your-own options keep all three but need your hardware.

• Shared pools. Blooio's Starter ($39/month, 5 new contacts a day) and Commercial Shared ($89/month, 15 a day) "use managed shared pools". LoopMessage's $20/month shared sender begins with 50 monthly contacts, "Only for AI assistant use cases".
• Inbound-only plans. Sendblue's $100/month AI Agent plan is "Inbound-first"; "Full outbound messaging" is Enterprise. Blooio's $98/month Inbound number "Cannot initiate new conversations".
• Email-address senders. LoopMessage issues a phone number "instead of using an email address" only with its $15/month add-on, and messaging first needs the $30/month Init conversations add-on.

ZeroSettle has no plan below Pro, so $49 is both its entry and message-first price. ZeroSettle vs Sendblue and ZeroSettle vs Blooio go through those plans in detail.

What costs sit outside the monthly price?

LoopMessage, Blooio and Project Blue add one-time or optional fees, the bring-your-own options need hardware you buy and keep online, and ZeroSettle's only extra is AI credit packs for its hosted agent.

ZeroSettle's AI credits matter only if its hosted AI agent (in Beta) answers for you: each text it sends uses one, from 1,000 a month on Pro or 5,000 on Growth per account, and unused ones don't carry over. A line your own server answers uses none.

How many new conversations does each plan allow?

A ZeroSettle Pro number may start 5 new conversations a day; Growth and Project Blue allow 50 per number, Linq and LoopMessage advise about 50 at most, and Blooio's dedicated plans list no daily cap. The vendors count different things: ZeroSettle, Blooio and Project Blue count contacts you message first, LoopMessage every unique contact, Sendblue's AI Agent plan inbound contacts, and Texting Blue messages.

For ZeroSettle, "Anyone who texted the line first is never limited, and neither is an ongoing conversation"; reactions, typing and failed sends never count. LoopMessage's Init figures are from its help page on sending first.

The limit math: price per possible new conversation

Monthly price divided by the most new conversations the daily cap or recommendation allows in 30 days (our arithmetic; a ceiling, not a forecast):

• LoopMessage Light with Init: 50 × 30 = 1,500 for $104.99, about 7 cents each, after a new sender's 21-day ramp and while replies stay above about 30%.
• Project Blue, annual: 50 × 30 = 1,500 for $166.50 a month ($1,998 a year), about 11 cents each.
• Blooio Commercial Shared: 15 × 30 = 450 for $89, about 20 cents each, from a shared pool.
• Project Blue, monthly: 50 × 30 = 1,500 for $300, 20 cents each, plus setup.
• ZeroSettle Pro: 5 × 30 = 150 for $49, about 33 cents each, from day one. Pro is priced for a number your customers mostly text first; people who text first never count.

Blooio's dedicated plans have no cap to divide by. Past 5 a day on one number, the comparison becomes ZeroSettle Growth against Project Blue, LoopMessage, Linq or Blooio's dedicated plans.

ZeroSettle's API reports what it meters. GET /api/imessage/line returns usage: 30-day inbound and outbound counts with "limit": null, and a new_contacts count with the plan's daily limit and when it resets.

BASE=https://portal.zerosettle.io
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $ZEROSETTLE_TOKEN" "$BASE/api/imessage/line" | jq '.usage'

On a Pro number the answer looks like this (example values):

{"inbound": {"used": 12, "limit": null, "period": "30d"},
 "outbound": {"used": 9, "limit": null, "period": "30d"},
 "new_contacts": {"used": 1, "limit": 5, "period": "day",
                  "resets_at": "2026-10-09T07:00:00+00:00"}}

Full rules: the ZeroSettle docs on limits.

Which iMessage APIs offer a free trial or a refund?

ZeroSettle has no free trial but refunds the subscription in full if you ask within 30 days, as myCRMSIM does. Sendblue, Linq, LoopMessage and Blooio have free tiers, while Linq, Project Blue and Texting Blue call their fees non-refundable.

Sendblue's pricing page offers the free sandbox and states no refund terms; BlueBubbles is free software.

The number matters as much as the refund. ZeroSettle's terms: "Phone numbers assigned to your lines remain the property of ZeroSettle. Once a subscription is no longer active, the number is reclaimed and may be reassigned or returned to its provider." ZeroSettle documents no porting, no bring-your-own number and no area-code choice; you cancel any time from the console.

When ZeroSettle is not a fit, or not the cheapest

Among the managed APIs compared, ZeroSettle Pro has the lowest published price for a number that can message first, but another option costs less or fits better in these cases:

• You already own the hardware. Texting Blue ($19/month, text only, up to 100 messages a day) runs on your existing iPhone and number, myCRMSIM ($29/line, built for GoHighLevel) on your Mac plus an iPhone and carrier plan per line, and free BlueBubbles on a Mac you keep online. See self-hosting vs a managed API.
• You only need to test. Sendblue's sandbox (10 verified contacts who text first), Linq Hobby (20 contacts), LoopMessage's sandbox (5 contacts) and Blooio's 20-message trial are free; ZeroSettle has the 30-day refund instead.
• You need many lines at fleet pricing. Blooio Enterprise Dedicated falls to $195 per line at 6+ lines, and Project Blue to $200 per line at 11+ on monthly billing. ZeroSettle Growth is "From $599/mo" for 3+ numbers, after a demo.
• One number must open more than 5 conversations a day at the entry price. Project Blue allows 50 per line and Blooio's dedicated plans list no daily cap; on ZeroSettle that takes Growth.
• You need Android reach. ZeroSettle has no SMS fallback. Sendblue lists "$0 SMS fallback fees", Linq includes RCS and SMS fallback, and LoopMessage sells it as a $15/month add-on.
• You need a contractual SLA. ZeroSettle publishes none; Linq lists "Contractual SLAs" under Enterprise, and Blooio offers one "only in a signed Enterprise Order Form".

How we checked

Every price and term here was read from the vendor's live pricing page, help center or terms on October 8, 2026.

• We read Project Blue's prices from its page HTML and myCRMSIM's from its site's pricing code. Confirm at checkout.
• Conflicting older prices seen only in search snippets, old blog posts or press releases were left out, such as a $29 Sendblue plan and a $109 Blooio Inbound plan.
• We requested no sales quotes; custom prices are shown as custom.

The comparisons hub links each one-to-one page, such as ZeroSettle vs LoopMessage. ZeroSettle pricing covers each plan and how to get a number; plans are also on the homepage, and Pro is self-serve from Get started (numbers can sell out, with a waitlist).