# ZeroSettle iMessage API: full text > ZeroSettle is an iMessage API: a dedicated iMessage phone number for your business, on Apple hardware ZeroSettle operates in a server facility. This file holds the facts and the full text of ZeroSettle's main iMessage API pages, for language models. Index: https://zerosettle.io/llms.txt ## Facts (updated October 28, 2026) Built by former Apple engineers. ZeroSettle Pro is $49/month for one dedicated iMessage line with name and photo sharing included and 99.9% published uptime. The uptime figure is ZeroSettle-published, not a contractual SLA; details: https://zerosettle.io/blog/zerosettle-uptime-explained/. Name and photo sharing is included with Pro. Your dedicated line shares your chosen business name and contact photo through iMessage. iOS may show “Maybe: Your Company” before a recipient saves your number; the exact display depends on their device and contact settings. ZeroSettle Pro is $49/month for a dedicated iMessage number with name and photo sharing included that can message first. No managed iMessage API we checked publishes a lower price for a dedicated number (checked October 25, 2026). Courio also lists $49 (Starter: 500 outbound/month, then $0.02/message), and shared numbers and services that run on your own iPhone or Mac cost less, such as Texting Blue at $19, LoopMessage's shared sender at $20, Photon's shared pool at $25, Blooio's shared Starter at $39, and BlueBubbles, which is free on your own Mac. Pro is $49/month flat, no per-message fees on API texts. Signup is self-serve at https://portal.zerosettle.io/imessage?start=1, with a 30-day money-back guarantee, no setup fee and month-to-month billing. Pro has no free tier. Pro opens 5 new contacts a day per number, fewer than the 30–50 most $99+ plans allow; people who text first are never limited, and neither are ongoing conversations. Each number handles up to 10,000 messages a day with known contacts. Every plan allows at most 2 unanswered messages per contact. There is no SMS fallback: a first message to someone who is not on iMessage returns 422 not_on_imessage. SMS fallback for non-Apple phones is on the roadmap. Today ZeroSettle does not offer SMS or RCS fallback, number porting, or a choice of area code. Growth is $599/month for 3 numbers, plus $199/month for each extra number, with 50 new contacts a day per number. Growth signs up from a Growth link (book a demo to get one). The hosted AI agent and videos use credits: 500 free on Pro and 1,000 on Growth, once (they never expire). Credit packs are 1,000 for $50 or 5,000 for $200. The API is REST with a bearer token. Replies arrive on HMAC-SHA256 signed webhooks about 1–2 seconds after they reach the number, and a server-sent events (SSE) stream is available. The remote MCP server is https://portal.zerosettle.io/mcp (Streamable HTTP, OAuth 2.1). Features: photos with captions, voice messages, tapbacks, typing indicators both ways, inline replies, 13 iMessage effects, polls, chat backgrounds (iOS 26), your brand name and photo, multiple numbers working as one, and Sign in with iMessage. Group chats hold up to 31 people and are enabled per number on request. ZeroSettle's homepage reports "99.9% uptime". That is a published stat, not an SLA: ZeroSettle publishes no service-level agreement. --- Source: https://zerosettle.io/imessage-api/ ZeroSettle iMessage API # The most affordable dedicated iMessage API: $49/month By the ZeroSettle team Published October 25, 2026 Prices checked October 25, 2026 Written by ZeroSettle. This is our product page; the price table also lists other providers. ZeroSettle Pro is $49/month for a dedicated iMessage number with name and photo sharing included that can message first. No managed iMessage API we checked publishes a lower price for a dedicated number (checked October 25, 2026). Your server sends with one HTTPS call and receives replies on HMAC-SHA256-signed webhooks about 1–2 seconds after they reach your number; Growth is $599/month for 3 numbers. ## Key takeaways - Price: Pro is $49/month flat, no per-message fees on API texts. Self-serve, no setup fee, month to month, 30-day money-back guarantee. - Price position: no managed iMessage API we checked publishes a lower price for a dedicated number. Courio also lists $49 (Starter: 500 outbound/month, then $0.02/message). - Main limit: Pro opens 5 new contacts a day per number, fewer than the 30–50 most $99+ plans allow; people who text first are never limited. - Reach: iMessage only. There is no SMS fallback; a first message to someone not on iMessage returns 422 not_on_imessage. - API: REST with a bearer token, HMAC-SHA256 signed webhooks, a live stream (SSE), and a remote MCP server at portal.zerosettle.io/mcp. ## What is the ZeroSettle iMessage API? ZeroSettle gives your business its own phone number on real iMessage, running on Apple hardware we operate in a server facility. The number is used only for iMessage. Your code sends from it with POST /api/imessage/send and hears every reply on a signed webhook, so customers on iPhone see blue bubbles, your brand name and photo, typing indicators and tapbacks. For background, see what an iMessage API is. ZeroSettle iMessage API at a glance (API docs, checked October 25, 2026) Item | ZeroSettle Number | A dedicated phone number on iMessage that can message first Price | Pro $49/month (1 number); Growth $599/month (3 numbers, +$199/month per extra number) Per-message fees | None on API texts Signup | Self-serve for Pro; no setup fee; month to month; 30-day money-back guarantee New contacts | Pro: 5 a day per number. Growth: 50 a day per number. People who text first never count. Messages with known contacts | Up to 10,000 a day per number, sent and received Send | POST /api/imessage/send with a bearer token; text up to 4,000 characters, photos with captions, voice messages, polls Receive | HMAC-SHA256 signed webhooks, about 1–2 s after the number receives a text; a live stream (SSE); GET /api/imessage/messages SMS fallback | No: 422 not_on_imessage MCP | https://portal.zerosettle.io/mcp (Streamable HTTP, OAuth 2.1) Hosted AI agent | Optional; 500 free credits on Pro, 1,000 on Growth (one credit per text it sends) ## How much does the ZeroSettle iMessage API cost? Pro costs $49/month for one dedicated number and Growth costs $599/month for three. Both are billed monthly by Stripe with a 30-day money-back guarantee: ask within 30 days and you are refunded in full and the subscription is cancelled. ZeroSettle iMessage API plans (API docs, checked October 25, 2026) | Pro | Growth Price | $49/month | $599/month Numbers included | 1 dedicated number | 3 numbers that work as one Extra numbers | Can be added, billed monthly | $199/month each New contacts a day | 5 per number | 50 per number (and 3 per 15 minutes) Messages with known contacts | 10,000 a day per number | 10,000 a day per number Free credits | 500, once | 1,000, once How to sign up | Self-serve | From a Growth link (book a demo to get one) Pro is $49/month flat, no per-message fees on API texts. Credits pay for the hosted AI agent, one per text it sends; texts your own server sends through the API never use any. Packs are 1,000 for $50 or 5,000 for $200, paid once, and never expire. The money-back guarantee covers the subscription, not packs. More on plans in ZeroSettle pricing. ## How does $49/month compare with other iMessage APIs? ZeroSettle Pro is $49/month for a dedicated iMessage number with name and photo sharing included that can message first. No managed iMessage API we checked publishes a lower price for a dedicated number (checked October 25, 2026). Courio also lists $49 (Starter: 500 outbound/month, then $0.02/message). Cheaper offers exist, but they are shared numbers or run on hardware you supply. Published monthly prices, from each vendor's own pages (checked October 25, 2026) Provider | Kind of number | Lowest published monthly price | Setup and notes ZeroSettle Pro | Dedicated, can message first | $49 | No setup fee; 5 new contacts a day per number Courio Starter | Dedicated | $49 | 500 outbound a month, then $0.02 a message; a new provider Miss Blue | Dedicated | $99 sale price ($198 regular) | $479 setup per line, $0 if started before October 31 LoopMessage Light | Dedicated, with the number and send-first add-ons | About $104.99 | About $60 in one-time add-on fees SendiMessage | Dedicated | From $129 per line | Onboarding scope set during review Tuco AI | Dedicated | From $149 | $335 one-time setup Project Blue | Dedicated | $166 per line billed annually; $199 monthly on a 12-month commitment | Setup waived; demo required Blue Reacher | Dedicated | $249 per line (or $1,949 a year) | $449 activation, waived on annual Sendara | Dedicated | $249 first line, $149 each extra | $99 setup (from its own guide page) Photon Business | Dedicated | $250 per line | — Linq Pro | Dedicated | “Starting at $260/mo” | 7-day trial Blooio Commercial Dedicated | Dedicated | $289 per line | No setup fee Conduit | Dedicated (resold Linq or Sendblue numbers) | $300 per number | Paid annually Texting Blue Lite | Your own iPhone and number | $19 per number | Up to 100 messages a day LoopMessage shared sender | Shared | $20 | 50 monthly contacts, for AI assistants Photon Pro | Shared pool | $25 | Up to 100 users myCRMSIM | Your own Mac, iPhone and SIM | About $29 per line (from press reports) | Plus your own hardware and carrier plan Blooio Starter | Shared | $39 | 5 new contacts a day Blooio Inbound | Dedicated, reply-only | $98 | Cannot start new conversations Sendblue AI Agent | Dedicated, inbound-first | $100 | Full outbound is on Enterprise, custom price BlueBubbles | Self-hosted on your own Mac | Free (optional Pro from $3/month) | Your Mac, Apple ID and number Prices are each vendor's own published figures in US dollars. Sendara's figures come from its own guide page; myCRMSIM's pricing page could not be read, so its figure comes from press reports. More detail is in iMessage API pricing compared and the most affordable iMessage API. The $49 price does not come with a larger allowance. Pro opens 5 new contacts a day per number, fewer than the 30–50 most $99+ plans allow; people who text first are never limited. If you need more first messages a day, Growth or a 30–50-a-day plan fits better; if you need SMS fallback for Android, Sendblue, Linq or LoopMessage offer it. ## What are the limits? The limits keep a number out of Apple's spam filters, and the API enforces them for every caller, the console included. - New contacts: 5 a day per number on Pro, 50 a day (and 3 per 15 minutes) on Growth, reset at 3 AM Eastern. Over the limit, a send returns 429 new_contact_limit. - Known contacts: anyone who texted first, and every ongoing conversation, share the number's 10,000 messages a day. - Unanswered messages: at most 2 to a contact who has never replied; a third returns 403 awaiting_reply. - Attachments wait for a reply: photos, voice messages and polls go only to contacts who have replied at least once (403 attachment_before_reply). - iMessage only: no SMS or email fallback; 422 not_on_imessage means nothing was sent. - STOP: a contact who texts STOP is blocked on every number on the account (403 recipient_opted_out). - One send at a time per number: a send that waits about 12 seconds returns 429 line_busy; retry after 2 seconds. Every error code is in Errors, limits, and compliance. ## What do a send and a webhook look like? A send is one HTTPS POST with a bearer token (Send a message). It returns once the number has handed the message to Apple, normally in 2–5 seconds. curl -s -X POST -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ -d '{"to":"+18055559876","text":"Hi from the line"}' https://portal.zerosettle.io/api/imessage/send A reply reaches your webhook as compact JSON with sorted keys, signed in the X-ZeroSettle-Signature header: POST https://abc123.trycloudflare.com/webhook Content-Type: application/json User-Agent: ZeroSettle-iMessage/1 X-ZeroSettle-Event: message.received X-ZeroSettle-Signature: t=1757400012,v1=3f0c…(64 hex chars) {"event":"message.received","message":{"direction":"in","guid":"5A6F…","handle":"+18055559876","id":44,"status":"received","text":"hey!","ts_ms":1757400012000}} The signature is HMAC-SHA256 with your webhook secret over "." + raw body. Verify the raw bytes before parsing and reject a t more than 300 seconds from now (Webhooks, step by step): import hmac, hashlib, time def verify(secret: str, header: str, raw_body: bytes, tolerance: int = 300) -> bool: try: parts = dict(p.split("=", 1) for p in header.split(",")) t, v1 = int(parts["t"]), parts["v1"] except Exception: return False if abs(time.time() - t) > tolerance: return False expected = hmac.new(secret.encode(), f"{t}.".encode() + raw_body, hashlib.sha256).hexdigest() return hmac.compare_digest(expected, v1) Answer 2xx within 10 seconds; otherwise ZeroSettle retries 3 more times, after 1, 5 and 20 seconds. React only to message.received in an auto-responder, because your own sends come back as message.sent. How to receive iMessages with a webhook covers retries and dedupe, and how to send an iMessage from code without a Mac covers the errors. ## What can a ZeroSettle number send and receive? Beyond text, a number handles most of what people use in Messages: - Photos with captions and voice messages, both ways (Attachments). - Tapbacks and typing indicators, both ways (Typing indicators). - Inline replies, 13 iMessage effects and polls (Send a message). - Chat backgrounds on iOS 26, received as a background.changed event. - Your brand name and photo, shared with each conversation. - Several numbers working as one behind one API key and webhook (Your iMessage number). - Group chats of up to 31 people, enabled per number on request (Group chats). - Sign in with iMessage: verify a user by the iMessage they send (Sign in with iMessage). ## Can an AI agent set it up or answer texts? Yes, both. ZeroSettle runs a remote MCP server at https://portal.zerosettle.io/mcp, speaking Streamable HTTP with OAuth 2.1 (dynamic client registration and PKCE). Connected to Claude, Cursor or any MCP client, the agent can sign you up, set your name and photo, mint an API key, register and test your webhook, and send a test message to your own number. It is a setup tool: the server you build owns the conversation with your customers. See Connect your AI agent, MCP and connecting Claude Code or Cursor to an iMessage number. With no server at all, the hosted AI agent answers your number for you from the business context you write, using one credit per text it sends (AI agent). ## Where is the full API reference? The docs are at portal.zerosettle.io/docs, and agents can read the raw markdown at https://portal.zerosettle.io/docs.md. Each page has its own URL: - Your iMessage number: plans, getting a number, and more than one number - Authentication: bearer tokens and what 401, 402 and 403 mean - Quick start for an agent: the whole API in a few curl calls - Send a message: texts, inline replies, effects, polls, and your name and photo - Attachments: photos and voice messages, both ways - Read messages: conversations and message history - Typing indicators: show and receive “…” - Retention offers: a worked use case - Customer support: a worked use case - Sign in with iMessage: verify a user by the iMessage they send - AI agent: your own model, or the hosted agent with no server - Webhooks, step by step: events, signing, retries - Live stream (SSE): watch a number in real time - Connect your AI agent: Claude, Cursor or any MCP client - MCP: every tool the connector exposes - Errors, limits, and compliance: every error code and limit - CRM integrations: log conversations in your CRM - Group chats: groups of up to 31 people, enabled per number on request - Switch from Photon: a migration guide - Switch from Linq: a migration guide - Switch from Sendblue: a migration guide ## How do I get a number? - Open Get started and sign in with your phone number (you get a one-time SMS code). - Answer one question about what you will use the number for. That claims the number. - Set your brand name and photo, and text your own phone a test message from the new number. - Subscribe. The console and the API open once the subscription is active. Numbers can sell out; when they do, there is a waitlist. Growth customers sign up from a Growth link instead. ## How we checked We checked everything on this page on October 25, 2026. - ZeroSettle facts come from its API docs, and we confirmed that each docs page linked above loads. - Competitor prices come from each vendor's own pricing page. Courio's page renders in the browser, so we read its prices from the site's own script; Sendara's come from its own guide because its pricing page did not load; myCRMSIM's come from press reports. We tested no competitor accounts. Prices change often. We log changes to this page in the changelog. ## Frequently asked questions ### How much does the ZeroSettle iMessage API cost? Pro is $49/month for one dedicated iMessage number that can message first. Growth is $599/month for 3 numbers that work as one, plus $199/month for each number past three. Both are month to month with no setup fee, no per-message fees on API texts, and a 30-day money-back guarantee on the subscription. ### Is $49/month the lowest price for a dedicated iMessage number? No managed iMessage API we checked publishes a lower price for a dedicated number (checked October 25, 2026). Courio, a newer provider, also lists $49, with 500 outbound messages a month and then $0.02 a message. Shared numbers (Photon $25, Blooio $39, LoopMessage $20) and tools that run on your own iPhone or Mac (Texting Blue $19, BlueBubbles free) cost less, but they are not a dedicated number someone else runs for you. ### How many people can a Pro number message first? Five new contacts a day per number, reset at 3 AM Eastern. That is fewer than the 30 to 50 a day most $99+ plans allow. People who text your number first, and ongoing conversations, never count toward it; each number handles up to 10,000 messages a day with known contacts. Growth allows 50 new contacts a day per number. ### Does ZeroSettle fall back to SMS for Android phones? No. ZeroSettle is iMessage only. A first message to someone who isn't on iMessage returns 422 not_on_imessage, and nothing is sent, so keep another channel for those customers. ### Do I need a Mac or an iPhone? No. ZeroSettle runs your number on Apple hardware we operate in a server facility. Your server only makes HTTPS requests and receives webhooks, from any language. ### Can I try it before paying? Before you subscribe you can set your name and photo and send a test message from your new number to your own phone. After you subscribe, Pro has a 30-day money-back guarantee: ask within 30 days and you are refunded in full and the subscription is cancelled. Credit packs are not covered. ### Can Claude or Cursor set it up for me? Yes. Add the remote MCP server at https://portal.zerosettle.io/mcp (Streamable HTTP, OAuth 2.1). The agent can sign you up, mint an API key, register and test your webhook, and send a test message to your own number. It is a setup tool; the server you build owns the conversation with your customers. ## Sources - ZeroSettle iMessage API docs: "Your iMessage number", "Send a message", "Attachments", "Webhooks, step by step", "Connect your AI agent", "Group chats" and "Errors, limits, and compliance". Checked October 25, 2026. - ZeroSettle iMessage API Terms of Service. Checked October 25, 2026. - Courio home page, Courio. Checked October 25, 2026. - Pricing, Miss Blue. Checked October 25, 2026. - Pricing, LoopMessage. Checked October 25, 2026. - SendiMessage home page, SendiMessage. Checked October 25, 2026. - Pricing, Tuco AI. Checked October 25, 2026. - Our pricing, Project Blue. Checked October 25, 2026. - Pricing, Blue Reacher. Checked October 25, 2026. - iMessage API buyer's guide, Sendara. Checked October 25, 2026. - Pricing, Photon. Checked October 25, 2026. - Pricing, Linq. Checked October 25, 2026. - Pricing and pricing.md, Blooio. Checked October 25, 2026. - iMessage pricing, Conduit docs. Checked October 25, 2026. - Texting Blue home page, Texting Blue. Checked October 25, 2026. - myCRMSIM launch coverage, MarTech Series. Checked October 25, 2026. - Pricing, Sendblue. Checked October 25, 2026. - Pricing, BlueBubbles. Checked October 25, 2026. ## Changelog - 2026-10-25 First published, with prices checked the same day. --- Source: https://zerosettle.io/blog/cheapest-imessage-api/ Comparisons # The most affordable dedicated iMessage API: $49/month By the ZeroSettle team Published October 25, 2026 Prices checked October 25, 2026 Written by ZeroSettle. We make one of the products compared. ZeroSettle Pro is $49/month for a dedicated iMessage number with name and photo sharing included that can message first. No managed iMessage API we checked publishes a lower price for a dedicated number (checked October 25, 2026). Courio also lists $49 (Starter: 500 outbound/month, then $0.02/message), and some shared numbers and services that run on your own iPhone or Mac cost less, from free to $39 a month. ZeroSettle Pro is $49/month flat, no per-message fees on API texts, with no setup fee and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Pro opens 5 new contacts a day per number, fewer than the 30–50 most $99+ plans allow; people who text first are never limited. Both tables below link each price to the provider's own page. ## Key takeaways - No lower published price: ZeroSettle Pro is $49/month for a dedicated number that can message first, self-serve, month to month, with no setup fee; no managed iMessage API we checked publishes less. - A tie, not a lower price: Courio, a newcomer, also lists $49 for one dedicated line, with 500 outbound messages a month included and $0.02 a message after that. - Cheaper, but a different product: shared numbers (LoopMessage $20, Photon $25, Blooio $39) and tools that run on hardware you supply (BlueBubbles free, Texting Blue $19, myCRMSIM about $29 plus your Mac and iPhone). - The next managed dedicated prices: Miss Blue $99 on sale (normally $198), LoopMessage about $104.99 plus $60 once, SendiMessage $129, and Tuco $149 plus $335 setup. - The trade-off: Pro opens 5 new contacts a day per number, fewer than the 30–50 most $99+ plans allow; people who text first are never limited. ## How did we compare iMessage API prices? We compared the lowest published monthly price for one iMessage phone number, split into two groups, using each provider's own pricing page as of October 25, 2026. - Managed dedicated, message-first: the provider runs the hardware and the Apple account, the number is yours alone, and your code can send the first message. This is what ZeroSettle sells, so its price is compared here. - Shared, bring-your-own and inbound-only: a number shared with other customers or users, software that runs on your own iPhone or Mac, or a dedicated line that can only reply. These often cost less and are listed so the comparison is complete. For each option we note one-time fees, how many new people a number may message first each day, and any metered message fees. What a provider does not publish is marked "Not stated". For background, see what an iMessage API is; for add-ons, contact caps and refund terms in more depth, see iMessage API pricing compared. ## What does a managed dedicated iMessage number cost? From $49 to $300 a month at list price. ZeroSettle Pro and Courio Starter both list $49; the next published price is Miss Blue's $99 sale price. Sendblue publishes no price for a line that can message first. Managed dedicated iMessage numbers that can message first, lowest published price for one number (checked October 25, 2026) Provider and plan | Per month | One-time fees | New contacts a day per number | Message caps or fees | Source ZeroSettle Pro | $49 | None | 5; people who text first never limited | No per-message fees on API texts; up to 10,000 messages a day with known contacts | Signup, limits Courio Starter (newcomer) | $49 | None stated | No daily rule found | 500 outbound a month, then $0.02 a message | courio.app Miss Blue | $99 sale price, normally $198 | $479, or $0 if started before October 31 | Up to 30 to start; 30–50 after review | Not stated | Pricing LoopMessage Light, with number and Init add-ons | About $104.99 | $60 | 300 active contacts a day; messaging first needs warm-up and opt-in | Not stated | Pricing, send first SendiMessage | From $129 | Set during review | Not stated | Usage confirmed during review | sendimessage.com Tuco AI | From $149 | $335 | 50 | 150 messages a day per line | Pricing Project Blue | $166 billed annually, or $199 on a 12-month commitment | Setup waived | 50 (checked October 8) | Not stated | Pricing Blue Reacher | $249 monthly, or $162.42 billed annually ($1,949 a year) | $449 activation, waived on annual | 50 opted-in, 30 cold | Not stated | Pricing Sendara | $249 first line, $149 each extra | $99 setup | Not stated | Not stated | Its buyer's guide Photon Business | $250 | None listed | Not stated | Not stated | Pricing Linq Pro | From $260 (per-line unit not stated) | None listed | About 50 in 24 hours moves a line to AT_RISK (a warning, not a cap) | Not stated | Pricing Blooio Commercial Dedicated | $289 | None; chosen area code $75 | No fixed number; subject to safety controls | Not stated | Pricing Conduit (resells Linq and Sendblue numbers) | $300, paid annually ($3,600 a year) | Annual payment | Per the underlying provider | Per the underlying provider | Pricing docs Sendblue Enterprise | Custom; not published | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Pricing Courio also lists $49 (Starter: 500 outbound/month, then $0.02/message). Courio's page renders in the browser, so we read its prices from the site's own JavaScript; we found no third-party coverage of Courio. LoopMessage's monthly total is our arithmetic: Light from $59.99 per sender, plus a phone number at $15 a month and Init conversations at $30 a month, with $15 + $30 + $15 (sender name) once. Sendara's figures come from its own guide because its /pricing page returned 404. Project Blue's and Linq's daily limits are from our October 8, 2026 research. Pro opens 5 new contacts a day per number, fewer than the 30–50 most $99+ plans allow; people who text first are never limited. The $49 comparison is about the price of the number, not about how many new people it can reach. Head-to-head pages: ZeroSettle vs Linq, ZeroSettle vs LoopMessage, ZeroSettle vs Blooio and ZeroSettle vs Project Blue. ## What do shared, bring-your-own and inbound-only options cost? Less than $49 in most cases, from free to $39 a month, with reply-only dedicated lines at $98 to $100. Each gives up something a managed dedicated number has: the number is shared, you run the hardware, or it cannot message first. Shared, bring-your-own and inbound-only iMessage options (checked October 25, 2026) Option | Per month | Type | What you give up | Source BlueBubbles | Free; optional Pro $3/month, $30/year or $55 lifetime | Your own Mac and Apple ID | A Mac kept online (a Mac mini is roughly $600 or more once, our estimate), the upkeep, and any Apple account flag | Pricing AirMessage, OpenClaw imsg | Free | Your own Mac | Same as BlueBubbles | AirMessage, OpenClaw Photon open source | Free | Your own Mac and iCloud account | Same as BlueBubbles | Pricing Texting Blue Lite | $19 per number | Your own iPhone and carrier plan | Up to 100 messages a day in total; you supply the phone | texting.blue LoopMessage shared sender | $20 | Shared sender, for AI assistants | Starts at 50 contacts a month; each extra 50 is $50 a month | Pricing Photon Pro | $25 | Managed shared pool | Up to 100 users; each user gets a number from Photon's pool, not your own number | Pricing myCRMSIM | About $29 per line, software only | Your own Mac, iPhone and SIM | Hardware and a carrier plan per line; price from press coverage, low confidence | Pricing, press Blooio Starter | $39 | Shared number | 5 new contacts a day | Pricing Blooio Commercial Shared | $89 | Shared number | 15 new contacts a day | Pricing Blooio Inbound | $98 | Dedicated, reply-only | "Cannot initiate new conversations" | Pricing Sendblue AI Agent | $100 | Dedicated, inbound-first | Up to 1,000 inbound contacts a day; full outbound is on the custom-priced Enterprise plan | Pricing Courio also lists $49 (Starter: 500 outbound/month, then $0.02/message); see the first table. Blooio's API pricing page calls the $39 Starter a dedicated number and lists Inbound at $109, while its main pricing page says Starter is a shared number and Inbound is $98; we used the main pricing page. More on running iMessage yourself: self-hosting iMessage vs a managed API. ## Which business messaging options are not iMessage numbers? Two channels often come up in the same search but do not give you an iMessage phone number: - Apple Messages for Business uses a Business ID, not a phone number, through an Apple-approved messaging service provider. Apple charges nothing; providers quote their own prices. Customers start the conversation. See Apple Messages for Business vs an iMessage number. - Twilio sends SMS, MMS and RCS from phone numbers, and has had Apple Messages for Business in private beta since May 7, 2026. It does not send iMessage from a phone number. ## What do one and three numbers cost a month? For one number, ZeroSettle Pro and Courio Starter are the lowest list prices at $49 a month, or $588 a year. For three numbers, ZeroSettle Growth at $599 a month is not the lowest list price: several per-line plans cost less for three lines. Monthly list price for one and three dedicated numbers that can message first (our arithmetic, checked October 25, 2026) Provider | 1 number | 3 numbers | Notes ZeroSettle | $49 (Pro) | $599 (Growth) | Growth: 3 numbers working as one, 50 new contacts a day per number, $199 per extra number Courio | $49 (Starter) | $799 (Scale, 3 lines) | Scale includes 25,000 outbound messages, pooled Miss Blue | $99 sale, $198 normally | $297 sale, $594 normally | Plus $479 setup per line unless started before October 31 Tuco AI | $149 | $447 | Plus $335 setup per line ($1,005 for three) Project Blue | $166 annual, $199 on a 12-month commitment | $498 annual, $597 on a 12-month commitment | Setup waived; demo required Sendara | $249 | $547 | $249 + 2 × $149, plus $99 setup Blue Reacher | $249 monthly | $747 monthly | Annual billing is $162.42 a line a month Blooio Commercial Dedicated | $289 | $867 | List price per line; Blooio sells volume pricing on Enterprise Three-number totals multiply the published per-line price; providers may discount volume. Courio also lists $49 (Starter: 500 outbound/month, then $0.02/message). ## What do you get for $49 a month? ZeroSettle is an iMessage API: a real phone number on real iMessage, running on Apple hardware we operate in a server facility, that your code texts customers from and hears back on. Pro includes: - One dedicated number that can message first, self-serve from the signup page, with no setup fee, month to month and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Numbers can sell out, in which case there is a waitlist. - The API: REST with a bearer token, HMAC-SHA256 signed webhooks, inbound messages in about 1–2 seconds and a live server-sent events stream. See send a message and webhooks, step by step. - AI: a hosted AI agent (Beta) with 500 free credits, and a remote MCP server at https://portal.zerosettle.io/mcp for setting up from Claude, Cursor and other AI tools. - iMessage features: photos with captions, voice messages, tapbacks, typing indicators both ways, inline replies, 13 message effects, polls, and your brand name and photo. Group chats (up to 31 people) and video sending are enabled per number on request; videos you receive arrive with the file. - The limits: 5 new contacts a day per number, at most 2 unanswered messages per contact, up to 10,000 messages a day with known contacts, and no SMS fallback. See errors, limits and compliance. Growth is $599/month for 3 numbers working as one, plus $199 per extra number, with 50 new contacts a day per number and 1,000 free credits. You sign up from a Growth link (book a demo to get one). The full product reference is on the ZeroSettle iMessage API page. ## When is $49 not the best deal? No managed provider we checked publishes a lower price than ZeroSettle Pro for one dedicated number, but another option costs less or fits better in these cases: - You need to message more than 5 new people a day from one number. Growth allows 50 a day per number. Miss Blue, Tuco, Project Blue, Blue Reacher and Linq allow or advise 30–50 a day per line. - You need three or more numbers on the smallest budget. Three lines from Miss Blue (at its sale price), Tuco, Project Blue (billed annually) or Sendara list below Growth's $599 a month, before setup fees. - You need to reach Android phones. ZeroSettle has no SMS fallback. Sendblue, Linq, LoopMessage and Photon list RCS or SMS fallback. - You only answer people who text first, or each of your users needs a number. LoopMessage's $20 shared sender, Photon's $25 shared pool, Blooio Inbound at $98 or Sendblue's $100 inbound-first line may fit. - You want to keep your existing number or choose an area code. ZeroSettle offers neither. Texting Blue runs on your own iPhone and number for $19 a month; Courio lists port-in on its Growth plan and up; Blooio sells a chosen area code for $75 once. - You already have a Mac and can keep it running. BlueBubbles is free, and the upkeep and account risk are yours. - You need a contractual SLA or SOC 2 reports. ZeroSettle publishes neither. Linq lists contractual SLAs on Enterprise and says it is SOC 2 Type II compliant. For a broader shortlist, including features beyond price, see 14 iMessage API options compared. ## How we checked We checked every price on this page on October 25, 2026, from each provider's own pricing page where one exists, and tested nothing that needs a competitor account. - For pages that render only in a browser (Project Blue, Photon, Linq, Blue Reacher), we downloaded the raw HTML and read the prices from it. Courio's prices come from its site's own JavaScript bundle. - Where a figure did not come from a pricing page, the table says so: Sendara (its own buyer's guide), myCRMSIM (press coverage), and the Project Blue and Linq daily limits (our October 8, 2026 research). - Totals built from add-ons or multiplied across lines are our arithmetic and are labeled as such. - ZeroSettle's figures come from its signup page and API docs, checked the same day. We re-check these prices quarterly, and sooner when a provider changes its pricing, and log every change below. To report an error, email founders@zerosettle.io with the source. This page lives at zerosettle.io/blog/cheapest-imessage-api/. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is the cheapest dedicated iMessage API? ZeroSettle Pro is $49/month for a dedicated iMessage number with name and photo sharing included that can message first. No managed iMessage API we checked publishes a lower price for a dedicated number (checked October 25, 2026). Courio also lists $49 (Starter: 500 outbound/month, then $0.02/message). Shared numbers and services that run on your own iPhone or Mac cost less, but none of them is a dedicated number that a provider runs for you. ### How much does an iMessage API cost per month? As checked on October 25, 2026: one managed dedicated number that can message first costs $49 to $300 a month (ZeroSettle and Courio at $49, Conduit at $300 paid annually), and Sendblue quotes its outbound plan privately. Shared numbers cost $20 to $89 a month, reply-only dedicated lines $98 to $100, and software for your own iPhone or Mac costs nothing to about $29 a month plus the hardware. One-time fees range from none to $479. ### Is there a free iMessage API? Not for a dedicated number in production. Several sandboxes are free with limits: Sendblue (shared number, up to 10 verified contacts, no outbound), Linq Hobby (20 contacts), LoopMessage (5 contacts), Blooio (20 messages) and Courio (shared number, 100 outbound messages). BlueBubbles is free software for your own Mac. ZeroSettle Pro has no free tier; it has a 30-day money-back guarantee. ### How many people can I message first on the $49 plan? Pro opens 5 new contacts a day per number, fewer than the 30–50 most $99+ plans allow; people who text first are never limited. Ongoing conversations don't count toward the 5, each contact can have at most 2 unanswered messages, and a number can send up to 10,000 messages a day to known contacts. Growth allows 50 new contacts a day per number. ### Does ZeroSettle charge per message? No. Pro is $49/month flat, no per-message fees on API texts. Credits pay for the hosted AI agent (one credit per AI text, 500 free on Pro) and for video sends where video sending is enabled. Extra credits come in packs of 1,000 for $50 or 5,000 for $200. ### Does ZeroSettle fall back to SMS? No. ZeroSettle is iMessage only. A first message to someone who is not on iMessage is refused with 422 not_on_imessage, and nothing is sent. To reach Android phones as well, Sendblue, Linq, LoopMessage and Photon list RCS or SMS fallback. ## Sources - ZeroSettle signup and ZeroSettle iMessage API docs, including Errors, limits, and compliance. Checked October 25, 2026. - Courio, home and pricing (read from the site's JavaScript bundle). Checked October 25, 2026. - Pricing, Miss Blue. Checked October 25, 2026. - Pricing and Send first, LoopMessage. Checked October 25, 2026. - SendiMessage. Checked October 25, 2026. - Pricing, Tuco AI. Checked October 25, 2026. - Our pricing, Project Blue. Checked October 25, 2026. - Pricing, Blue Reacher. Checked October 25, 2026. - iMessage API buyer's guide, Sendara. Checked October 25, 2026. - Pricing, Photon. Checked October 25, 2026. - Pricing, Linq. Checked October 25, 2026. - Pricing and pricing.md, Blooio; API pricing, Blooio. Checked October 25, 2026. - iMessage pricing, Conduit docs. Checked October 25, 2026. - Pricing, Sendblue. Checked October 25, 2026. - Texting Blue. Checked October 25, 2026. - Pricing, myCRMSIM, and MarTech Series coverage. Checked October 25, 2026. - Pricing, BlueBubbles; AirMessage server releases; OpenClaw iMessage docs. Checked October 25, 2026. - Messages for Business FAQ, Apple. Checked October 25, 2026. - Apple Messages for Business private beta, Twilio changelog. Dated May 7, 2026; checked October 25, 2026. ## Changelog - 2026-10-25 First published, with prices checked October 25, 2026. --- Source: https://zerosettle.io/blog/imessage-api-pricing-compared/ Comparisons # iMessage API pricing compared: what a dedicated number costs in 2026 By the ZeroSettle team Published October 8, 2026 Updated October 25, 2026 Written by ZeroSettle. We make one of the products compared. ZeroSettle Pro is $49/month for a dedicated iMessage number with name and photo sharing included that can message first. No managed iMessage API we checked publishes a lower price for a dedicated number (checked October 25, 2026). As of October 8, 2026, per each vendor's public pricing page, a dedicated iMessage number that can start conversations costs $49 a month on ZeroSettle Pro, a derived $104.99 a month plus $60 once on LoopMessage, $289 a month on Blooio Commercial Dedicated and, as of October 25, 2026, $166 a month billed annually ($1,998 a year) or $199 a month on a 12-month commitment on Project Blue; Sendblue's published $100 plan is inbound-first, and Linq Pro starts at $260 a month. Cheaper entry points exist if you accept a shared number or bring your own iPhone or Mac. None of the nine options compared lists a per-message fee; the differences are in limits, add-ons and refund terms. ## Key takeaways - ZeroSettle: Pro is $49/month for one number that can send the first message, with 10,000 messages a day with known contacts, no setup fee and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Growth is from $599/mo for 3+ numbers. - Elsewhere, a number that can message first: LoopMessage $104.99/month plus $60 once (our arithmetic), Blooio $289/month, Project Blue $166/month billed annually or $199/month on a 12-month commitment, Linq from $260/month; Sendblue's is Enterprise, custom price. - Per-message fees: none of the nine options compared here lists one. What you pay for instead is a daily cap on new contacts (on Texting Blue, on messages). - Limits differ: a ZeroSettle Pro number can start 5 new conversations a day (Growth, 50); Project Blue allows 50 new numbers a day per line, Linq advises fewer than about 50, and Blooio's dedicated plans list no daily cap. - What ZeroSettle's price leaves out: a free trial, SMS fallback for Android, and owning the number (it stays ZeroSettle's, with no porting). ## 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 ZeroSettle Pro is $49/month for a dedicated iMessage number with name and photo sharing included that can message first. No managed iMessage API we checked publishes a lower price for a dedicated number (checked October 25, 2026). Shared numbers and options that run on your own iPhone or Mac cost less, but share the number or leave the hardware to you. iMessage API prices in USD, from each vendor's pricing page (checked October 8, 2026; Project Blue rechecked October 25, 2026) Product | Entry price | Cheapest dedicated number that can message first | Per-message fees | Setup or one-time fees ZeroSettle | Pro, $49/month | $49/month (Pro) | None | None ("No setup fee") Sendblue | Free Sandbox: shared number, 10 verified contacts, no outbound | Enterprise, custom price ($100/month AI Agent plan is inbound-first) | $0 | None listed Linq | Hobby, $0: CLI, 20-contact limit | Pro, "Starting at $260/mo" (per line not stated) | None ("Stop paying-per-message") | None listed LoopMessage | Sandbox, $0: 5 contacts | $104.99/month + $60 once (derived) | None | $60 once for that setup Blooio | Free Trial: 20 messages, shared number | Commercial Dedicated, $289/month per line | None | None listed; optional custom area code $75 Project Blue | $166/month per line, billed annually ($1,998/year) | $166/month billed annually ($1,998/year), or $199/month on a 12-month commitment | None listed | Shown as waived on both plans Texting Blue | Lite, $19/number/month | $19/month, on your existing number and iPhone | None listed | None listed myCRMSIM | $29/line/month; $19 from line 11 | $29/month plus hardware you supply | None | None listed BlueBubbles | Free; optional Pro $3/month | Not applicable: runs on your own Mac | None | None 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's pricing page shows setup as "FREE (WAIVED)" on both plans and says month-to-month billing is available if you ask on the demo call, with no published price (checked October 25, 2026). Courio also lists $49 (Starter: 500 outbound/month, then $0.02/message), checked October 25, 2026 on courio.app. Shared numbers cost less than any dedicated number here: LoopMessage's shared sender is $20/month, Photon Pro is $25/month from a shared pool (checked October 25, 2026), and Blooio Starter is $39/month on a shared number. ## 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 and Blooio add one-time or optional fees, Project Blue can charge back a waived setup fee, the bring-your-own options need hardware you buy and keep online, and ZeroSettle's only extra is credit packs for its hosted agent. Costs beyond the plan price (vendor pricing pages, checked October 8, 2026) Product | Extra cost | When it applies LoopMessage | Sender name $15 once; phone number $15/month + $15 once; Init conversations $30/month + $30 once; SMS/RCS fallback $15/month + $15 once; WhatsApp $10/month | A phone number instead of an email sender; Init to message first Blooio | Custom area code, $75 one-time per number | Optional, dedicated plans Project Blue | Setup fee: shown as waived on both plans (checked October 25, 2026) | Its terms let it charge a waived fee back if you leave a commitment early myCRMSIM | A Mac, plus an iPhone and carrier plan per line, or partner hardware | Always; not in the $29 BlueBubbles | A Mac you keep online | Always ZeroSettle | Credit packs: 1,000 for $50 or 5,000 for $200, paid once, never expire | Only if the hosted AI agent needs more than the plan includes ZeroSettle's credits matter only if its hosted AI agent (in Beta) answers for you: each text it sends uses one, from 500 free on Pro or 1,000 on Growth per account, once, and they never expire. A line your own server answers uses none. ## How many new conversations does each plan allow? Pro opens 5 new contacts a day per number, fewer than the 30–50 most $99+ plans allow; people who text first are never limited. 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. Rules for starting conversations, per number or line (vendors checked October 8, 2026; ZeroSettle checked October 12, 2026) Plan | Daily rule | What counts, and what happens at the cap ZeroSettle Pro ($49) | 5 new contacts a day (3 AM–3 AM Eastern) | Contacts you message first; then 429 new_contact_limit. Also 2 unanswered messages per contact, then 403 awaiting_reply ZeroSettle Growth (from $599/mo) | 50 new contacts a day per number, 3 per rolling 15 minutes | Contacts you message first; also 2 unanswered messages per contact, then 403 awaiting_reply Sendblue AI Agent ($100) | 1,000 inbound contacts a day per line | Replies within 24 hours are unlimited; messaging a contact after that counts toward 200 a day Linq | Fewer than roughly 50 brand-new conversations per line in a rolling 24 hours | Guidance, not a published hard cap LoopMessage Light | 300 unique contacts in a rolling 24 hours; with Init, at most 50 new conversations a day recommended | Replies count; at the cap you "will not be able to reply". Init starts at 2 a day for a new sender, 50 after 21 days Blooio | Shared: 5 or 15 new contacts a day; dedicated: "Unlimited new conversations/day" | Shared: per rolling 24 hours (acceptable-use policy); dedicated: safety controls "still apply" Project Blue | 50 new numbers a day per line | Overflow queued to the next day; people who texted first don't count Texting Blue Lite | Up to 100 messages a day | Messages, not contacts myCRMSIM | "50 unique contacts/day" | Shown as the iMessage plan's volume For ZeroSettle, anyone who texted the line first doesn't count toward the cap, and neither does 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. - Project Blue, 12-month commitment billed monthly: 50 × 30 = 1,500 for $199, about 13 cents each (prices checked October 25, 2026). - Blooio Commercial Shared: 15 × 30 = 450 for $89, about 20 cents each, from a shared pool. - 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 Pro has no free tier 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. Trials and refund terms (vendor pricing pages and terms, checked October 8, 2026) Product | Free trial or tier | Refunds and contract ZeroSettle | None | "ask within 30 days and you are refunded in full and the subscription is cancelled"; covers the subscription, not credit packs Linq | Hobby, $0; Pro "7 Day Free Trial" | "Unless otherwise stated, fees are non-refundable"; the term renews unless you give notice at least 30 days before it ends LoopMessage | Sandbox, $0 | Prepaid; a refund only for a technical issue support can't resolve; a sender blocked after recipient reports is "non-refundable" Blooio | 20 free messages | "Cancel anytime"; fees are not refunded after a suspension for an acceptable-use violation Project Blue | None listed; demo first | "All payments are non-refundable once a billing period has begun"; leaving a commitment early owes the remaining term plus any waived setup fees Texting Blue | 3-day free trial | "non-refundable except as required by law" myCRMSIM | None listed | Full refund within the first 30 days 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 No managed iMessage API we checked publishes a lower price than ZeroSettle Pro's $49/month for a dedicated number that can message first (checked October 25, 2026; Courio also lists $49), 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. ZeroSettle Growth is $599/month for 3 numbers plus $199 per extra number, from a Growth link (book a demo to get one). - 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. Project Blue's pricing page and the Courio and Photon prices were checked on October 25, 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). ## Frequently asked questions ### Does ZeroSettle charge for inbound messages or replies? No. There are no per-message fees on Pro or Growth (up to 10,000 messages a day per number, sent and received, with known contacts), and texting back someone who texted the line first never counts toward the new-contact limit. Only texts the hosted AI agent sends, and videos a number sends or receives (1 credit per 3 MB; sending enabled on request), use credits. ### Why is a shared number cheaper? A shared plan sends from a pool of numbers the vendor manages for many customers, so you are not paying for a number of your own. The trade-offs are a sender that can change (Blooio: "The sender number may vary between messages") and low new-contact limits, such as 5 or 15 a day on Blooio's shared plans. ### What does it cost if a number gets flagged as spam? On ZeroSettle, nothing extra: "we replace the number right away at no extra charge", and your API token and webhook stay the same, though recipients see a new number. LoopMessage calls a sender blocked after recipient reports "non-refundable". ZeroSettle, like Blooio and Project Blue, suspends lines used for unsolicited messaging. ### Is ZeroSettle Growth's $599 for one number? No. Growth is "From $599/mo" for "3+ phone numbers" that work as one, with 50 new contacts a day per number and 1,000 free credits. You book a demo, and ZeroSettle sends a signup link. ## Sources - ZeroSettle iMessage API docs: "Pricing" and "Errors, limits, and compliance". Checked October 12, 2026. - ZeroSettle iMessage API Terms, section 6 (phone numbers). Last modified September 28, 2026. - Sendblue pricing, Sendblue. Checked October 8, 2026. - Rate limits and message queues, Sendblue docs. Checked October 8, 2026. - Linq pricing, Linq. Checked October 8, 2026. - Best practices, Linq API docs. Checked October 8, 2026. - Terms of Service and Sale, Linq (effective April 14, 2026), sections 9.1 and 12.3. Checked October 8, 2026. - LoopMessage pricing, LoopMessage. Checked October 8, 2026. - How the pricing plan limits work, LoopMessage helpdesk. Checked October 8, 2026. - Is it possible to send an outbound text first?, LoopMessage helpdesk. Checked October 8, 2026. - Refund policy, LoopMessage helpdesk. Checked October 8, 2026. - Blooio pricing, Blooio. Checked October 8, 2026. - Acceptable Use Policy, Blooio. Checked October 8, 2026. - Project Blue pricing, Project Blue. Checked October 25, 2026. - API rate limits, Project Blue support. Checked October 8, 2026. - Terms of Use, Project Blue, sections 6.3–6.5. Checked October 8, 2026. - Texting Blue pricing, Texting Blue. Checked October 8, 2026. - Terms of Service, Texting Blue, section 5. Checked October 8, 2026. - myCRMSIM iMessage pricing, myCRMSIM (read from the site's pricing code). Checked October 8, 2026. - Refund policy, myCRMSIM. Checked October 8, 2026. - Courio home and pricing, Courio (read from the site's own script). Checked October 25, 2026. - Photon pricing, Photon. Checked October 25, 2026. - BlueBubbles Pro pricing and FAQ, BlueBubbles. Checked October 8, 2026. ## Changelog - 2026-10-08 First published. - 2026-10-12 ZeroSettle Pro's new-contact limit updated to 5 a day per number, with the 2-unanswered-message rule; the limit math updated to match. - 2026-10-25 Project Blue's prices rechecked ($166/month billed annually, $199/month on a 12-month commitment, setup shown as waived); added Courio's $49 Starter and the shared-number prices beside the table, the price-position wording with its check date, Pro's 5-a-day trade-off, and Growth's $199 per extra number. --- Source: https://zerosettle.io/blog/best-imessage-api-providers/ Comparisons # Best iMessage API providers in 2026: 14 options compared By the ZeroSettle team Published October 8, 2026 Updated October 25, 2026 Written by ZeroSettle. We make one of the products compared. There is no single best iMessage API: Sendblue suits teams that need SMS fallback and compliance paperwork, Linq suits funded AI companies running many lines, Blooio and LoopMessage suit buyers who want low entry prices and extra channels, and ZeroSettle suits teams that want one number that can start conversations for $49 a month, or a hosted AI agent. ZeroSettle Pro is $49/month for a dedicated iMessage number with name and photo sharing included that can message first. No managed iMessage API we checked publishes a lower price for a dedicated number (checked October 25, 2026). If you need Android reach, use SMS or RCS (Twilio, RCS for Business) or WhatsApp; for Apple's official channel, use Apple Messages for Business. We make ZeroSettle. The main tables were checked on October 8, 2026; Project Blue’s prices and the newer providers were checked on October 25, 2026. ## Key takeaways - What's compared: 14 options in four groups: six managed iMessage APIs, two services that run on your own iPhone or Mac, two self-hosted projects, and four official channels that are not iMessage numbers. - Low entry prices: Texting Blue at $19 a month on your own iPhone, LoopMessage at $20 on a shared sender for AI assistants, myCRMSIM at $29 a line plus your Mac and iPhone, and Blooio at $39 on a shared number. - A dedicated number that can message first: $49 a month at ZeroSettle, about $104.99 plus $60 once at LoopMessage, from $260 at Linq, $289 at Blooio, and at Project Blue $166 a month per line billed yearly or $199 a month on a 12-month commitment, with setup waived. Sendblue prices its outbound plan on request. - Android fallback: among managed APIs, Sendblue, Linq, Blooio and Project Blue fall back to SMS, and LoopMessage sells it as an add-on. ZeroSettle has no fallback. - ZeroSettle: Pro is $49/month for one number that can send the first message to 5 new contacts a day, with 10,000 messages a day with known contacts; Growth is from $599/mo. ZeroSettle hosts an AI agent (Beta) and publishes no SLA. ## How we chose and checked We included every maintained product we found that sends iMessage from a number through an API (see what an iMessage API is) or a self-hosted bridge, plus four official alternatives, and checked each on its own pages on October 8, 2026. We fixed seven criteria first: the price of a dedicated number that can send the first message, daily new-contact limits, Android fallback, signed webhooks, hosted or bring-your-own AI, a published uptime figure or SLA, and starting without a sales call. Uptime figures are vendor claims. No vendor paid for placement, and sections are grouped by type, not ranked. Apple publishes no iMessage API for third parties, so every iMessage option here except Apple Messages for Business depends on Apple's consumer iMessage service, ZeroSettle included. ZeroSettle is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Apple Inc. ## The 14 options at a glance Among managed iMessage APIs with a published price, a dedicated number that can send the first message costs from $49 a month (ZeroSettle Pro) to $289 (Blooio Commercial Dedicated); see iMessage API pricing compared. Price check, October 25, 2026: ZeroSettle Pro is $49/month for a dedicated iMessage number with name and photo sharing included that can message first. No managed iMessage API we checked publishes a lower price for a dedicated number (checked October 25, 2026). Courio also lists $49 (Starter: 500 outbound/month, then $0.02/message). Pro opens 5 new contacts a day per number, fewer than the 30–50 most $99+ plans allow; people who text first are never limited. See what a dedicated iMessage number costs at each provider. Price and outbound rules (each vendor's own pages, checked October 8, 2026; ZeroSettle re-checked October 12, 2026 and Project Blue October 25, 2026) Option | Type | Entry price | Dedicated number that can message first | New contacts a day | Start without a sales call ZeroSettle | Managed | $49/mo | $49/mo (Pro) | Pro 5, Growth 50 | Pro yes, if numbers are available; Growth from a Growth link (book a demo to get one) Sendblue | Managed | Free sandbox; $100/mo per line | Enterprise, custom price | 50 outbound-first | Sandbox and AI Agent yes; outbound via sales Linq | Managed | Free Hobby; $260/mo | Pro from $260/mo | Under about 50 | Hobby, 7-day trial LoopMessage | Managed | Free sandbox; $20/mo shared (AI assistants); $59.99/mo dedicated | About $104.99/mo + $60 once | 2, rising to 50 | Yes Blooio | Managed | $39/mo, shared number | $289/mo | 5 or 15 shared; dedicated “unlimited” | Yes Project Blue | Managed, CRM-first | $166/mo per line, annual | $199/mo on a 12-month commitment, or $166/mo billed annually; setup waived | 50 | Trial yes; paid lines via demo Texting Blue | Your iPhone | $19/mo | Your number, $19/mo | 100 messages a day in total | Yes myCRMSIM | Your Mac and iPhone | $29/line + hardware | Your number, $29/mo | 50 | Yes BlueBubbles | Self-hosted | Free + your Mac | n/a | None published | DIY OpenClaw (imsg) | Self-hosted agent | Free + Mac + model | n/a | None published | DIY Apple Messages for Business | Apple business chat | Free from Apple + provider fees | n/a: Business ID | n/a | No: provider and Apple approval Twilio | SMS, MMS, RCS | $0.0083/SMS segment + carrier fee | n/a | — | Yes; US 10DLC registration RCS for Business | Carrier RCS | Per message, via a partner | n/a: brand agent | — | No: partner and carrier approval WhatsApp Business Platform | Meta API | Per delivered message | n/a | 250 users per 24 h to start | Yes Not in this table, checked October 25, 2026: Courio also lists $49 (Starter: 500 outbound/month, then $0.02/message), and Photon sells a $25/month plan on a shared pool of numbers, with dedicated lines at $250 a line a month. The newer managed providers below are not counted in the 14. Newer managed iMessage providers, lowest published price for one dedicated number (each vendor's own pages, checked October 25, 2026) Provider | Per month | One-time fees | New contacts a day | Message caps or fees Courio Starter (newcomer) | $49 | None stated | No daily rule found | 500 outbound a month, then $0.02 a message Miss Blue | $99 sale price, normally $198 | $479, or $0 if started before October 31 | Up to 30 to start; 30–50 after review | Not stated SendiMessage | From $129 | Set during review | Not stated | Usage confirmed during review Tuco AI | From $149 | $335 | 50 | 150 messages a day per line Blue Reacher | $249 monthly, or $1,949 a year | $449 activation, waived on annual | 50 opted-in, 30 cold | Not stated Sendara | $249 first line, $149 each extra | $99 setup (from its own guide page) | Not stated | Not stated Photon Business | $250 per line | None listed | Not stated | Not stated Conduit (resells Linq and Sendblue numbers) | $300, paid annually | Annual payment | Per the underlying provider | Per the underlying provider Courio also lists $49 (Starter: 500 outbound/month, then $0.02/message). Courio's prices were read from its site's own script; we found no third-party coverage of it. Shared and own-device options that cost less than $49 (Texting Blue $19, LoopMessage $20 shared, Photon $25 shared, myCRMSIM about $29 plus your hardware, Blooio $39 shared, BlueBubbles free) are listed above. All prices with sources: the most affordable iMessage API. AI, webhooks, fallback and uptime (each vendor's own pages, checked October 8, 2026) Option | Hosted AI agent | Webhook authentication | Android fallback | Published uptime or SLA ZeroSettle | Yes (Beta) | HMAC-SHA256 | No (roadmap) | “99.9% uptime” stat; no SLA Sendblue | No | Shared secret in a header | RCS, then SMS | “99.9% Uptime SLA” claimed; no terms found Linq | No | HMAC-SHA256 | RCS and SMS | Enterprise contracts LoopMessage | No | Static header | Add-on, $15/mo | None found Blooio | No | HMAC-SHA256 | RCS, then SMS | 99.9% target; SLA on Enterprise Project Blue | No | Unsigned, no retries | SMS | “99.9% uptime track record” claimed; no SLA found Texting Blue | No | HMAC-SHA256 | SMS via your carrier | None found myCRMSIM | — | Static header | SMS via your carrier | None found BlueBubbles | No | Password in the URL | Only by way of your iPhone | None found OpenClaw (imsg) | You run it | No webhooks | — | None found Apple Messages for Business | Bot-only not approved | Via provider | No: Apple users only | None found Twilio | — | — | Every phone | 99.95% API SLA RCS for Business | — | Via partner | Android; SMS via partner | None from Google WhatsApp Business Platform | Meta Business Agent | — | Any phone with WhatsApp | None found “None found”: no figure on the vendor's pages. “—”: not covered by our check. LoopMessage's total is our arithmetic. ## Which iMessage API fits which need? No option wins every row, so match your main need to a group. - Android fallback, compliance paperwork or pooled lines: Sendblue or Linq. - Low entry price: Blooio or LoopMessage (shared number), Texting Blue or myCRMSIM (your hardware). - One number that can message first at a published price, or a hosted AI agent: ZeroSettle. - CRM-first sales teams: Project Blue. - Personal or DIY: BlueBubbles or OpenClaw. - Apple-sanctioned branded chat: Apple Messages for Business. - Every phone: Twilio or RCS for Business; outside the US, WhatsApp (see iMessage vs SMS vs RCS vs WhatsApp). ## 1–6: managed iMessage APIs A managed iMessage API gives you a number on iMessage and a REST API with nothing to run. Prices and limits below are as of October 8, 2026; ZeroSettle’s were re-checked October 12, 2026. ### 1. ZeroSettle 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. - Best for: one number that can start conversations at a published price, or a hosted AI agent (Beta) that answers with no server. - Pricing: Pro is $49/month for a dedicated number, with a 30-day money-back guarantee; Growth is $599/month for 3 numbers plus $199 for each extra number, signed up from a Growth link (book a demo to get one). - Limits: per number, Pro allows 5 new contacts a day; Growth 50 a day (3 per 15 minutes). Both plans allow 2 unanswered messages per contact, and photos or voice messages only after the contact has replied. People who text first don't count as new contacts. - Not ideal if: you need SMS fallback (on the roadmap), a contractual SLA, or SOC 2 or HIPAA certification, which ZeroSettle does not claim. Group chats (up to 31 people) are enabled per number on request. ### 2. Sendblue Sendblue is a Y Combinator-backed iMessage API that falls back to RCS, then SMS, from the same number. - Best for: Android reach plus paperwork: Sendblue says it is SOC 2 Type II certified; HIPAA is on Enterprise. - Pricing: AI Agent is $100/month per line, inbound-first; “Full outbound messaging” is Enterprise, custom-priced. - Limits: 50 new contacts a day on outbound-first lines, and no links or media before the first reply. - Not ideal if: you want signed webhooks (Sendblue sends a shared secret in a header) or a hosted agent. See Sendblue alternatives. ### 3. Linq Linq is a managed iMessage, RCS and SMS API aimed mainly at AI-assistant companies. - Best for: many lines with managed load balancing, SOC 2 Type II, and “Contractual SLAs” and SSO on Enterprise. - Pricing: Pro is “Starting at $260/mo” (per line unstated) with a 7-day free trial; Hobby is free for 20 contacts. - Limits: Linq's docs say not to start “roughly 50 or more brand-new conversations per line in a rolling 24 hours”. - Not ideal if: you need one low-cost number or a hosted agent. See ZeroSettle vs Linq. ### 4. LoopMessage LoopMessage sells iMessage, SMS/RCS and WhatsApp on one sender, as a base plan plus add-ons. - Best for: inbound-first assistants, or WhatsApp on the same number. - Pricing: Light from $59.99/month; a phone number adds $15/month and $15 once, messaging first (“Init conversations”) $30/month and $30 once, and the sender name $15 once. A shared sender, for AI assistants only, is $20/month. - Limits: new conversations ramp from 2 a day to up to 50 after 21 days, with a “~15 minute interval” between them. - Not ideal if: you need more than a handful of new contacts a day in your first two weeks, or want signed webhooks. ### 5. Blooio Blooio is a hosted API for iMessage, RCS, SMS and Apple Messages for Business, with “No per-message fees on any plan”. - Best for: a low-cost shared number, and fleets (Enterprise Dedicated falls from $389 to $195 per line). - Pricing: Starter $39/month on a shared number (5 new contacts a day); Inbound $98, reply-only; Commercial Dedicated $289 per line. - Limits: on shared plans “the sender number may vary between messages”; uptime is a “99.9% uptime target”, with a contractual SLA only in a signed Enterprise Order Form. - Not ideal if: you want a dedicated number that messages first for under $289. ### 6. Project Blue Project Blue sells dedicated iMessage lines with SMS fallback and calling, inside GoHighLevel, HubSpot and Close. - Best for: sales teams that work in their CRM. - Pricing: $166 a month per line billed annually ($1,998 a year), or $199 a month per line billed monthly on a 12-month commitment; setup is shown as waived on both, and month to month is offered only on the demo call, with no published price. Paid lines start with a demo. Checked October 25, 2026. - Limits: 50 new numbers a day per line; webhooks are unsigned, not retried, and “best-effort”. - Not ideal if: your server must verify every webhook. ## 7–10: on your own iPhone or Mac, or self-hosted These charge little or nothing because you supply the Apple hardware and keep it running yourself; see self-hosting iMessage vs a managed API. Prices are as of October 8, 2026. ### 7. Texting Blue Texting Blue puts your existing iPhone number in a shared browser inbox with an API, via a “lightweight extension on your iPhone”. - Best for: small teams keeping a number customers know. - Pricing: $19/number/month, with a 3-day free trial. - Limits: “Up to 100 messages per day”, text only. - Not ideal if: you need photos or volume. ### 8. myCRMSIM myCRMSIM connects your own Mac and iPhone to GoHighLevel, next to SMS, WhatsApp and RCS. - Best for: HighLevel agencies that own the hardware. - Pricing: $29 a line monthly, $19 from line 11; hardware not included. - Limits: 50 unique contacts a day per line, and your Mac and iPhone must both stay on and online. - Not ideal if: you aren't on HighLevel. ### 9. BlueBubbles BlueBubbles is free, open-source software that bridges iMessage from your own Mac to Android, Windows, Linux and the web, with a REST API. - Best for: personal use and prototypes. - Pricing: free; optional Pro is $3/month. - Limits: it “needs a Mac signed in to iMessage”, and “When it sleeps, the bridge is out.” SMS and RCS reach the Mac only “by way of an iPhone”. - Not ideal if: customers will text a business number. ### 10. OpenClaw (imsg) OpenClaw is an MIT-licensed AI-assistant framework that “supports iMessage through imsg only”, on your Mac. - Best for: a personal assistant you text. - Pricing: no paid tier; you pay for the Mac and the model. - Limits: with System Integrity Protection on, “text + media + receive only”, and the docs warn “Disabling SIP is a real security tradeoff.” - Not ideal if: the agent will face customers. ## 11–14: official channels that are not iMessage numbers These are sanctioned by Apple, carriers or Meta; none sends iMessage from an ordinary phone number. Prices are as of October 8, 2026. ### 11. Apple Messages for Business Apple's official business chat “doesn't use a phone number”: a business has a Business ID assigned by Apple. - Best for: brands with live agents. - Pricing: free from Apple, but “an MSP may charge”; Zendesk Australia starts at US$495 a month. - Limits: “deployments without live agent support will not be approved”, and Apple's FAQ allows proactive messages to customers who have already started a conversation, “only when it's in the customer's direct interest”. - Not ideal if: you text people first, or want a bot to answer alone. See Apple Messages for Business vs an iMessage number. ### 12. Twilio Twilio sends SMS and MMS, which reach any mobile phone, plus RCS, billed per message. - Best for: reaching every phone at volume. - Pricing: SMS is $0.0083 a segment plus a carrier fee (Verizon $0.005, so $0.0133); 10DLC brand registration is $4.50 plus $41.50 vetting. - Limits: the 99.95% API SLA excludes “telecommunications provider-related problems”. - Not ideal if: you want iMessage. ### 13. RCS for Business Google's branded RCS messaging reaches customers “on Android and iOS” through partners, with a “Verified” icon. - Best for: registered brands sending opted-in messages at volume. - Pricing: per message via a partner; AWS charges $500 setup, $200 a year for vetting and $200 a month per US agent. - Limits: brand verification and per-carrier approval; “Google-managed launches take 1–3 business days” if brand approval lands within 24 hours. - Not ideal if: you want to send this week. ### 14. WhatsApp Business Platform The WhatsApp Business Platform is Meta's official WhatsApp API. - Best for: customers who use WhatsApp, mostly outside the US. - Pricing: per delivered template message. Meta's update page adds charges for service messages from October 1, 2026, though its main pricing page still calls them free. Meta Business Agent, Meta's hosted AI agent, is “$2.00 USD per 1M tokens”. - Limits: templates only outside the 24-hour customer service window; new portfolios start at 250 users per 24 hours; marketing templates aren't delivered to US numbers. - Not ideal if: your customers are mostly US iPhone users. ## Options we left out We left out AirMessage because it is no longer maintained: its last server release, v4.1.4, shipped on October 19, 2022, and airmessage.org's TLS certificate expired on November 3, 2025 and was still expired on October 8, 2026. We also left out anything we could not verify on the vendor's own pages. ## When ZeroSettle is not a fit, and when no iMessage API fits ZeroSettle is not a fit if you need Android reach, more than 5 new contacts a day on one Pro number (Growth allows 50), to keep your existing number, or a contractual SLA. Some needs point away from iMessage APIs, or to one vendor: - Mostly Android customers. Use Twilio, RCS for Business or WhatsApp. - High-volume marketing. ZeroSettle's terms forbid it, Blooio says it “is not a cold-outreach tool”, and Linq's docs list cold outreach as a don't. - Health data. ZeroSettle prohibits protected health information without a signed Business Associate Agreement; Sendblue lists HIPAA on its Enterprise plan. This isn't legal advice; check your obligations with counsel. - A contractual SLA without an Enterprise contract. Twilio publishes one. Linq's and Blooio's are Enterprise-only, Sendblue's “99.9% Uptime SLA” has no public terms, and ZeroSettle publishes none. ## How to choose in five questions Answer these in order. - Do your recipients use iPhone? If many don't, go to question 3. - Must you message first, and how many a day? 5 per ZeroSettle Pro number; 50 on Growth, Project Blue and Sendblue's outbound lines. - Need Android fallback? Sendblue, Linq, Blooio and Project Blue include it; LoopMessage sells it; ZeroSettle has none. - Your own AI, or hosted? Every managed API takes your model; ZeroSettle also hosts one, as Meta does on WhatsApp. - What paperwork does procurement need? Sendblue and Linq state SOC 2 Type II; Twilio publishes an SLA. If ZeroSettle fits, get a number or read the API docs. More head-to-heads are on the comparisons hub. ## Frequently asked questions ### Which option is cheapest once hardware is counted? It depends on what you already own: Texting Blue's $19 a month assumes a spare iPhone with its phone plan, and myCRMSIM's $29 a line a spare Mac and iPhone. Without that hardware, ZeroSettle Pro is $49/month for a dedicated iMessage number with name and photo sharing included that can message first. No managed iMessage API we checked publishes a lower price for a dedicated number (checked October 25, 2026). Courio also lists $49 (Starter: 500 outbound/month, then $0.02/message), and shared numbers, such as Photon's $25 pool or Blooio's $39 Starter, cost less. ### Can I keep my existing business number? Sendblue says it can “port over any number and enable it with iMessage” (3–5 extra days), Project Blue lets customers port to its carrier partner, and Blooio says porting charges may apply. Texting Blue and myCRMSIM use the number you already have. ZeroSettle offers no porting: its numbers remain ZeroSettle's property. ### What happens if Apple flags a number? ZeroSettle says “we replace the number right away at no extra charge,” and your API token, webhook and code stay the same; the number itself changes. Project Blue says it will “help you resolve it fast”. With your own iPhone or Mac, a flag lands on your own number. ## Sources - ZeroSettle iMessage API docs: “Your iMessage number”, “AI agent”, “Webhooks, step by step” and “Errors, limits, and compliance”. Checked October 12, 2026. - ZeroSettle homepage: plans, stats and FAQ. Checked October 12, 2026. - ZeroSettle iMessage API Terms of Service, sections 5, 6 and 13. Last modified September 28, 2026. - Pricing, Sendblue. Checked October 8, 2026. - Sendblue homepage (fallback and porting FAQ), Sendblue. Checked October 8, 2026. - iMessage API (“99.9% Uptime SLA”), Sendblue. Checked October 8, 2026. - AI agents, Sendblue. Checked October 8, 2026. - Rate limits, Sendblue Docs. Checked October 8, 2026. - Webhooks, Sendblue Docs. Checked October 8, 2026. - Pricing, Linq. Checked October 8, 2026. - Best practices, Linq Docs. Checked October 8, 2026. - Webhooks, Linq Docs. Checked October 8, 2026. - Pricing, LoopMessage. Checked October 8, 2026. - Initiating conversations, LoopMessage Helpdesk. Checked October 8, 2026. - Webhooks, LoopMessage API docs. Checked October 8, 2026. - Pricing, Blooio. Checked October 8, 2026. - Blooio homepage (channels and RCS-to-SMS fallback), Blooio. Checked October 8, 2026. - Webhook signatures, Blooio Docs. Checked October 8, 2026. - Acceptable Use Policy, Blooio. Checked October 8, 2026. - Pricing, Project Blue. Checked October 8 and October 25, 2026. - Courio homepage (Starter plan), Courio. Checked October 25, 2026. - Pricing, Photon. Checked October 25, 2026. - Project Blue homepage (“99.9% uptime track record”, porting and flagged-number FAQ), Project Blue. Checked October 9, 2026. - llms.txt (product summary and CRM integrations), Project Blue. Checked October 8, 2026. - API rate limits, Project Blue Support. Checked October 8, 2026. - Webhook retries, timeouts and delivery status, Project Blue Support. Checked October 8, 2026. - Texting Blue homepage (pricing and FAQ), Texting Blue. Checked October 8, 2026. - Webhooks, Texting Blue Docs. Checked October 8, 2026. - Pricing, myCRMSIM (figures read from the page's plan data). Checked October 8, 2026. - iMessage specifications, myCRMSIM Support. Checked October 8, 2026. - Custom workspace webhook integration guide, myCRMSIM Support. Checked October 8, 2026. - Is it for me?, BlueBubbles. Checked October 8, 2026. - BlueBubbles Pro pricing, BlueBubbles. Checked October 8, 2026. - REST API and webhooks, BlueBubbles Docs. Checked October 8, 2026. - iMessage channel, OpenClaw Docs. Checked October 8, 2026. - iMessage private API, OpenClaw Docs. Checked October 8, 2026. - openclaw/openclaw README, GitHub. Checked October 8, 2026. - Apple Messages for Business FAQ, Apple, version 3.1 (July 21, 2026). Checked October 8, 2026. - Apple Messages for Business, Zendesk Australia (updated May 14, 2026). Checked October 8, 2026. - SMS pricing in United States, Twilio (“Pricing current as of October 2026”). Checked October 8, 2026. - A2P 10DLC brand registration, Twilio Docs. Checked October 8, 2026. - Twilio APIs service level agreement, Twilio (updated April 9, 2026). Checked October 8, 2026. - RCS for Business, Google for Developers. Checked October 8, 2026. - Launch approval, Google for Developers. Checked October 8, 2026. - AWS End User Messaging pricing, Amazon Web Services. Checked October 8, 2026. - Pricing on the WhatsApp Business Platform, Meta for Developers. Checked October 8, 2026. - Pricing for non-template messages (Meta Business Agent rate; service-message charges from October 1, 2026), Meta for Developers. Checked October 8, 2026. - Service messages (24-hour customer service window), Meta for Developers. Checked October 8, 2026. - Messaging limits, Meta for Developers. Checked October 8, 2026. - Per-user marketing template message limits, Meta for Developers. Checked October 8, 2026. - airmessage-server releases, GitHub (latest v4.1.4, October 19, 2022). The airmessage.org certificate dates were read from the site on October 8, 2026. Checked October 8, 2026. ## Changelog - 2026-10-25 Re-checked Project Blue’s pricing page ($166 a month per line billed annually, or $199 on a 12-month commitment, setup waived). Added a dated price check with Courio’s $49 Starter and Photon’s shared and dedicated prices. Added a table of newer managed providers (Courio, Miss Blue, SendiMessage, Tuco AI, Blue Reacher, Sendara, Photon Business, Conduit), checked October 25, 2026. Updated ZeroSettle: Growth is $599/month for 3 numbers plus $199 per extra number, signed up from a Growth link; group chats (up to 31 people) are enabled per number on request. - 2026-10-12 Updated ZeroSettle’s limits (Pro: 5 new contacts a day per number; 2 unanswered messages and photos or voice only after a reply, on every plan). Other vendors were not re-checked. - 2026-10-08 First published. Prices, limits and policies checked on each vendor's pages on October 8, 2026. Next review due January 2027. --- Source: https://zerosettle.io/blog/what-is-zerosettle/ How it works # What is ZeroSettle? An iMessage API for business, explained By the ZeroSettle team Published October 8, 2026 Updated October 25, 2026 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. Customers on iPhone see blue bubbles with your brand name and photo, and each reply reaches your webhook about 1–2 seconds after it lands on the line. Plans start at $49 a month, with nothing to install or host. ## Key takeaways - What it is: your business's own phone number on iMessage. Your code sends and receives through a REST API, or the hosted AI agent (Beta) answers for you. - Who it fits: businesses that hold one-to-one conversations with customers who use iPhone and agreed to hear from them. - Price: Pro is $49/month for a dedicated iMessage number, self-serve. Growth is from $599/mo, and Enterprise has custom pricing. There is a 30-day money-back guarantee and no free trial. - Main limit: a Pro number can send the first message to 5 new contacts a day. People who text you first don't count toward it, and each number handles up to 10,000 messages a day with known contacts. - Speed: a send normally returns in 2–5 seconds, and replies reach your webhook in about 1–2 seconds. - What it does not do: no SMS or Android fallback. Group chats (up to 31 people) are enabled per number on request. ZeroSettle is not Apple Messages for Business. ## What does ZeroSettle do? ZeroSettle gives a business its own phone number on iMessage and an API to text customers from it. (An iMessage API is a web API that lets your server send and receive iMessages from a real phone number.) The whole product in one paragraph: ZeroSettle gives your business its own phone number on real iMessage, running on Apple hardware we operate for you in a server facility. Customers on iPhone see blue bubbles, your brand name and photo, typing indicators, and tapbacks, because every message goes through Apple's own iMessage network. Your code sends and receives through a simple REST API: a bearer token to send, and a signed webhook that receives every reply within a couple of seconds. Use it to answer customers right in Messages, send alerts people read, win back customers who are about to churn, give your AI agent a number people can text, or let users sign in by sending one iMessage. There is nothing to install or host. You get an API token, a web console, and a connector for AI coding agents. Plans start at $49 a month with a 30-day money-back guarantee. The API docs add: "The number exists only for iMessage: ZeroSettle sets it up, and it is never used for anything else. In the API this number is called your line." Each of the five jobs in that paragraph has a worked example: - Answer customers in Messages, from the console, or from Slack or your help desk through a small relay you run. - Send alerts people read, such as a back-in-stock text someone asked for. - Win back customers seconds after they leave a paywall or cancel flow. - Give your AI agent a number, with your model and your keys. - Sign in with one iMessage: Messages opens with SIGNIN prefilled and the user taps Send. All 50 workflows are on the use cases hub, and 14 iMessage API providers compared sets ZeroSettle beside the alternatives. ## How does a message travel from your code to a customer? A ZeroSettle message goes from your server to the ZeroSettle API, then to the line, then over Apple's iMessage network to Messages on the customer's iPhone. A reply comes back the other way and reaches your server as a signed webhook. - Your server calls POST https://portal.zerosettle.io/api/imessage/send with your bearer token, the recipient's number or iMessage email, and a text, photo or voice message. - The ZeroSettle API queues it on your line, which sends one message at a time. - The line, your number on Apple hardware we operate for you in a server facility, hands the message to Apple, and only then does your call return. The docs put that at "normally 2–5 seconds and at most about 75 for a text (about 105 for a voice message or photo, which ZeroSettle converts first)". - Apple's iMessage network delivers it to Messages on the customer's iPhone as a blue bubble. - The customer's reply reaches your webhook as a signed message.received event about 1–2 seconds after the line receives it. If your server doesn't answer 2xx within 10 seconds, ZeroSettle retries after 1, 5 and 20 seconds (webhooks explained). ## What do customers see? Customers see an ordinary iMessage conversation: blue bubbles, your brand name and photo, a typing bubble when your code raises one with POST /api/imessage/typing, and tapbacks. Your code can also send inline replies, any of 13 iMessage effects and polls, and on iOS 26 set or receive the conversation's chat background. ZeroSettle's homepage says they see "Maybe: Your Company" and your photo even if they've never saved your number, and that "The exact display depends on their device and contact settings." Once you set a name and photo, ZeroSettle shares them automatically with the first message of every conversation, and again after you change them. A photo arrives with its caption in one bubble, and a voice message as Messages' own audio bubble. An iPhone shows a link from an unknown sender as plain text until the recipient replies or saves the number; below, the customer texted first. DK Dana K. iMessage - Today 2:14 PM - Customer: hi, did order 4471 ship yet? - Business: Hi Dana, it's Fernway Plants. Order 4471 shipped this morning and arrives Thursday. - Business: Tracking: fernway.example/t/4471👍 - Customer: perfect, thanks! Illustrative example with a fictional shop, shown from the shop's side of the thread. Blue bubbles are sent from the shop's number; gray bubbles are the customer's. The customer's side, including cold first messages, is in what customers see when a business texts them. ## What does your code see? Your code sees a bearer token, a few REST endpoints and one signed webhook. ZeroSettle's homepage puts it as "a bearer token and three endpoints: send, react, webhook." Core ZeroSettle endpoints (API docs, checked October 8, 2026) Job | Endpoint Send a text, photo or voice message | POST /api/imessage/send Add or remove a tapback | POST /api/imessage/reactions Register the webhook | PUT /api/imessage/webhook Check the line and last webhook delivery | GET /api/imessage/line # ZEROSETTLE_TOKEN holds the API token from the console export BASE=https://portal.zerosettle.io curl -s -X POST -H "Authorization: Bearer $ZEROSETTLE_TOKEN" -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ -d '{"to":"+18055559876","text":"Hi from the line"}' $BASE/api/imessage/send - Webhook events: message.received, message.sent, message.failed, reaction.received, reaction.sent / reaction.failed, and opt-in typing.started / typing.stopped. message.sent means the message left the line; no event reports delivered or read. - Signature: X-ZeroSettle-Signature: t=,v1=, an HMAC-SHA256 of "." + raw body with your webhook secret. Verify the raw bytes before parsing, compare in constant time, and reject a t more than 300 seconds from now. - Errors: one JSON shape, {"error": {"code", "message", …}, "detail"}. Branch on error.code, such as 429 new_contact_limit with retry_after_s. - Live stream: a server-sent-events feed of messages, webhook deliveries, typing and opt-outs; the console is built on it. - MCP connector: https://portal.zerosettle.io/mcp sets up your line and server; it is not a channel for messaging customers. No SDK is needed: every ZeroSettle call in the ZeroSettle API docs is plain HTTPS and JSON, shown with curl, Python or Node. ## How do you get started with ZeroSettle? There are three ways to start with ZeroSettle: get a Pro number in the web console, let an AI coding agent set it up through the MCP connector, or skip the server and let the hosted AI agent (Beta) answer. Numbers can sell out: "If all numbers are taken, you can join the waitlist." ### Self-serve Pro from the console - Press Get started at portal.zerosettle.io/imessage and sign in with your phone number. A number is set aside while you finish. - Say what the number is for (sign in with iMessage, branded messages, or an AI agent). That claims it. - Set your brand name and photo, and text yourself a test message (optional). - Subscribe. The API answers 402 until then, and a number not paid for within 30 minutes is released. ### From Claude Code, Cursor, Claude or Grok The ZeroSettle connector signs you up, mints your server's API key, and registers and tests your webhook. You sign in with your phone number, so there is no token to paste. In Claude Code, run claude mcp add --transport http zerosettle https://portal.zerosettle.io/mcp, sign in from /mcp, then use the get-started prompt; connecting Claude Code or Cursor covers the rest. ### The hosted AI agent (Beta), with no server Switch your number to Managed by AI Agent in the console's Messaging tab (with several numbers, the switch is per line group) and write your business context. In the docs' words, "our hosted agent answers every inbound text on the group's lines, from your business context." Your webhook is then not called for those lines, your own sends from them return 403 managed_by_zerosettle, and each text the agent sends uses one credit. See how the hosted AI agent answers. ## What does it cost, and what are the limits? ZeroSettle Pro costs $49 a month for a dedicated iMessage number, Growth is from $599/mo, and Enterprise has custom pricing; there is no per-message charge. The limit that shapes most designs is new contacts: 5 a day on a Pro number, 50 on Growth. ZeroSettle plans (zerosettle.io and API docs, checked October 12, 2026) Plan | Price | What the plan lists Pro | $49/month | One number to start (more can be added); 5 new contacts a day; "10,000 messages a day with known contacts, sent and received"; 500 free credits Growth | From $599/mo | "3+ phone numbers"; "Cold outreach to 3,000+ new contacts a month"; dedicated support; 1,000 free credits Enterprise | Custom pricing | "For high volume and compliance needs"; "Cold outreach to 300,000+ new contacts a month" Pro is self-serve. Growth starts with Book a demo, and ZeroSettle sends a signup link. Enterprise is through sales at founders@zerosettle.io. ZeroSettle limits per number (API docs, checked October 12, 2026) Limit | Pro | Growth New contacts per day (3 AM to 3 AM Eastern) | 5 | 50 New contacts per rolling 15 minutes | Not stated (the 5-a-day cap applies) | 3 Unanswered messages to one contact | 2, then 403 awaiting_reply | 2, then 403 awaiting_reply Photos and voice messages | Only to contacts who have replied | Only to contacts who have replied Outbound and inbound messages | 10,000 a day per number (sent and received) | 10,000 a day per number (sent and received) "A 'new contact' is a handle the line delivers a text, voice message, or photo to first; reactions, typing, profile shares, and failed sends never count." Anyone who texted the line first doesn't count toward the limit, and neither does an ongoing conversation. The docs say the limits keep the number out of Apple's spam filters. Limit math for a Pro number: 8 people sign up on your site at 9 AM and you text each of them first. The first 5 go out; the other 3 get 429 new_contact_limit with a retry_after_s and can go after the 3 AM Eastern reset, while replies and ongoing threads continue. If those 8 had texted your number first, none of them would count. A first message to someone who isn't on iMessage returns 422 not_on_imessage and uses no slot. Need more new contacts a day? Book a demo to upgrade to Growth. The 30-day money-back guarantee means "ask within 30 days and you are refunded in full and the subscription is cancelled"; it covers the subscription, not credit packs. There is no free trial. ZeroSettle pricing and the plans on the homepage have the details. ## What doesn't ZeroSettle do? ZeroSettle carries iMessage conversations only: no SMS fallback and no read receipts in the API. Group chats and video sending are enabled per number on request. - No SMS or Android fallback. "The address must be on someone's iMessage; there is no SMS or email fallback." Apple's own support page says a green bubble means a message went as RCS or SMS/MMS instead of iMessage; ZeroSettle never sends that way. SMS fallback for non-Apple phones is on the roadmap. - Group chats and video sending only on request. Group chats (up to 31 people) and sending video are enabled per number on request; videos customers send are received with the file. Photos and voice messages work on every number. Other files, such as documents, can’t be sent. - No read or delivered receipts in the API. The terms add that "Delivery of a message does not guarantee that it was read." - No porting or bring-your-own number. "Phone numbers assigned to your lines remain the property of ZeroSettle"; after a subscription ends, the number is reclaimed. - No SLA. The homepage shows a "99.9% uptime" stat, but ZeroSettle publishes no service-level agreement, and the terms disclaim uninterrupted operation. See how reliable ZeroSettle is. - No high-volume marketing. The terms prohibit spam, unsolicited messaging and similar high-volume outreach, and require opt-in consent before the first text. - Not Apple Messages for Business, where people start chats through Maps, Safari, Siri and Search or a business's website or app. ZeroSettle gives you an ordinary phone number on iMessage (the two compared). ## Who is behind ZeroSettle? ZeroSettle's homepage lists two credentials: "Backed by Y Combinator" and "Built by a team from Apple, Tesla, Microsoft". ZeroSettle's iMessage API Terms state that "ZeroSettle is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Apple Inc." More explainers are in How ZeroSettle works. To try it, get a number or read the API docs. ## Frequently asked questions ### Do I need my own iPhone or Mac? No. ZeroSettle runs the Apple hardware and sets up the number for you. You get an API token and a console, with nothing to install or host. ### Can I message customers outside the US? Yes, if they use iMessage. Include a country code (a leading +, or 00/011); without one, ZeroSettle assumes the US. An iMessage email address works too. ### What happens if my number is marked as spam? It is rare: ZeroSettle's homepage says "across more than 10,000 messages a week we have seen it happen only twice," and "If it does happen, we replace the number right away at no extra charge." Your API token, webhook and code stay as they are, but recipients see a new number. ### Can my team reply without writing code? Yes. The ZeroSettle console shows every conversation live, and teammates you invite can send texts and photos from it. ## Sources - ZeroSettle iMessage API docs: "Your iMessage number", "Send a message", "Attachments", "AI agent", "Webhooks, step by step", "Live stream (SSE)", "Connect your AI agent" and "Errors, limits, and compliance". Checked October 12, 2026. - ZeroSettle iMessage API Terms, sections 5, 6, 7, 13 and 14. Last modified September 28, 2026. - ZeroSettle homepage: plans, stats and FAQ. Checked October 12, 2026. - Why are my iPhone messages green?, Apple Support. Published June 18, 2026; checked October 8, 2026. - How to use Messages for Business, Apple Support. Published June 5, 2026; checked October 8, 2026. --- ## Developer docs The complete ZeroSettle iMessage API reference, as one Markdown file: https://portal.zerosettle.io/docs.md As web pages: https://portal.zerosettle.io/docs