iMessage API Pricing in 2026: Every Provider Compared
TL;DR
Almost every iMessage API now bills flat per line per month, not per message, ranging from $29 to $289 published, with several vendors sales-gated. Flat rate beats metered SMS above roughly 21,000 segments a month. Below that, the case rests on booked appointments, not cost per message.
On this page
- 01Per-message or per-line? The two models, explained
- 02Every iMessage API provider's published pricing, July 2026
- 03Advertised prices are inbound only
- 04At what volume does flat beat per-message?
- 05Does flat pay for itself below the crossover?
- 06You're metered on new conversations, not messages
- 07Who publishes pricing vs. makes you call?
- 08How to pick
- 09Frequently asked questions
Per-message or per-line? The two models, explained
Metered (pay per message) or flat (rent a line). Flat per line dominates iMessage. Linq and Sendblue advertise $0 fees and surcharges.
Comparing iMessage to SMS means comparing two billing models. Metered starts cheap and scales linearly. Flat is a wall you pay whether you send 10 or 100,000 messages.
The breakeven is where those two lines cross, then whether the booked appointments justify the extra cost.
- Metered: cost = fixed overhead + (rate x volume). Cheap at low volume, punishing at scale.
- Flat per line: cost = lines x monthly rate. Expensive at low volume, effectively free at the margin.
- The trap: most iMessage vendors sell flat per line but cap you on new conversations per day, which quietly reintroduces metering.
Every iMessage API provider's published pricing, July 2026
Pricing verified July 24, 2026 from vendor pages, with self-managed rows re-read 20 September 2026.
myCRMSIM connects your own SIM, shifting device and carrier costs to your side of the bill. Factor that in before comparing stickers.
| Provider | Billing model | Published entry price | Cold outbound included? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Reacher | Flat per line | $249/line/mo, or $1,949/line/yr (~$162.50/mo) | Yes, unlimited iMessages (50 opted-in / 30 cold new contacts a day) per line |
| Sendblue | Flat per line | $100/line/mo (AI Agent plan) | No, Enterprise plan only, custom quote |
| Blooio | Flat per line, capped by new conversations/day | $39/mo Starter (5 new conversations/day, shared) | $289/mo Commercial Dedicated for unlimited |
| LoopMessage | Flat, capped by daily contacts, plus add-ons | $59.99/mo Light (300 daily contacts) | Requires +$30/mo Init conversations add-on |
| Photon | Flat per line | $25/mo Pro, $250/line/mo Business | Business tier, up to 50 new contacts/day |
| Tuco | Flat plus setup fee | From $59/mo | Higher tiers, detail not reachable from all regions |
| WhatSnap | Flat per GHL account plus lines | $24/mo Starter billed yearly, 1 line included | Yes |
| myCRMSIM | Flat per number, your SIM | $29/mo or $290/yr per number | Yes, first 10 numbers at that rate |
| Linq (Linq Blue) | Flat; API priced, Linq Blue not | API Hobby $0, Pro from $260/mo (11 Oct 2026) | API self-serve with 7-day trial; Linq Blue sales-gated |
| Chert | Not published | Not published | Sales-gated, books a 20-minute kickoff call |
Advertised prices are inbound only
Headline prices are almost always inbound-only. Outbound costs two to ten times more than advertised.
Sendblue $100/mo is inbound-only; outbound is Enterprise at custom quote. Blooio $98/mo Inbound can't start conversations; $289/mo Commercial can. LoopMessage $59.99 Light needs a $30/mo add-on for outbound.
Price the outbound tier if you're doing B2B prospecting. LoopMessage Light real cost is base $59.99 plus $15 number plus $15 fallback plus $30 outbound: $119.99/mo, double advertised.
At what volume does flat beat per-message?
Flat billing breaks even around 21,000 segments per month at $249/line. Below that, metered SMS is cheaper. Above it, flat wins.
The math: Twilio is $0.0113/segment all-in. Overhead is $11.15/mo. Crossover formula: $249 = $11.15 + ($0.0113 × segments) = 21,049 segments, or roughly 2,630 contacts at four touches each.
The crossover is a floor. Metered cost climbs linearly; flat stays fixed. At 100,000 segments, metered costs $1,141 vs. $249 flat.a 4.6x gap.
- Variable metered rate used: $0.0083 Twilio segment + roughly $0.004 blended carrier surcharge = $0.0123
- Fixed metered overhead: $1.15 long code + $10.00 campaign = $11.15/mo
- Crossover formula: flat monthly price = $11.15 + ($0.0113 x segments)
| Outbound segments/mo | Metered SMS, all-in | Flat line at $249/mo | Flat line at $162.50/mo (annual) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5,000 | $67.65 | $249.00 | $162.50 |
| 10,000 | $124.15 | $249.00 | $162.50 |
| 13,400 | $162.57 | $249.00 | $162.50 (annual crossover) |
| 21,000 | $248.45 | $249.00 (monthly crossover) | $162.50 |
| 25,000 | $293.65 | $249.00 | $162.50 |
| 50,000 | $576.15 | $249.00 | $162.50 |
| 100,000 | $1,141.15 | $249.00 | $162.50 |
Flat vs metered billing at three key volumes
Metered cheaper
Breakeven
Flat wins
Does flat pay for itself below the crossover?
Below 13,400 segments/mo, flat costs more. At 5,000, need 2.40x appointment lift. At 10,000, just 1.31x. At 13,400+, flat wins cost and outcome.
Under 4,000 segments/mo, a 3x appointment lift barely covers flat. Between 4,000-13,400, flat costs more but 2-3x lift pays for it. Above 13,400, flat is cheaper.
Metered also requires A2P registration with wait times and carrier filtering. The segment math assumes sent messages actually arrive.
You're metered on new conversations, not messages
Nearly every provider advertises unlimited messaging. The real meter is daily new conversations you're allowed.
A $39 plan vs a $289 plan is separated by how many first-time contacts per day. Divide monthly cost by daily conversation allowance to compare cost per slot.
The spread across vendors: $7.80 down to $0.16 per conversation slot.
- Blooio Commercial Dedicated ($289) and Blue Reacher ($249) don't publish a daily conversation cap, so the denominator is set by your list size instead of your plan.
- Low cost per slot is only useful if you can actually fill the slots. Buying 1,000 daily conversations at $0.16 each is worse than 50 at $5.00 if you only have 60 leads a day.
- Sanity-check any plan against your real daily lead flow before optimizing this number.
| Plan | Monthly cost | New conversations/day | Cost per daily slot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blooio Starter | $39 | 5 | $7.80 |
| Blooio Commercial Shared | $89 | 15 | $5.93 |
| Photon Business | $250/line | 50 | $5.00 |
| LoopMessage Light + outbound add-ons | $119.99 | 300 | $0.40 |
| LoopMessage Regular + outbound add-ons | $159.99 | 1,000 | $0.16 |
Who publishes pricing vs. makes you call?
Linq now prices only its API (11 Oct 2026), not Linq Blue. Chert: none. Sendblue gates outbound. Linq Blue/Chert sell enterprise with custom SLAs. Gate delays: two weeks blind negotiation.
Published pricing lets you buy this week, not next month. If quoted, bring the crossover number and comparable prices.
Quoted prices should land between $99-$289/line, the band the published market occupies.
How to pick
Calculate segments: contacts × touches × segments/msg. Above 21,000/mo, flat wins cost. Price outbound tier + add-ons. Divide by actual daily leads for true cost/conversation.
Weigh spreadsheet misses: no A2P means send this week, native CRM is one tool not two, no device babysitting.
Blue Reacher: $249/mo or $1,949/yr, unlimited iMessages (50 opted-in / 30 cold new contacts/day), RCS then SMS fallback, white-glove setup.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest iMessage API in 2026?
myCRMSIM at $29/mo per number is the lowest published price (July 2026), followed by WhatSnap at $24/mo yearly for one line, then Blooio Starter at $39/mo. Catches: myCRMSIM requires you to manage the SIM card and carrier plan; Blooio Starter allows only 5 new conversations per day.
Do any providers still charge per message?
No published iMessage plan bills per message. All are flat per line with unlimited messaging. Linq even markets against "pay-per-message solutions." SMS still uses per-message billing: Twilio is $0.0083 per segment plus ~$0.004 carrier surcharge after 2026 increases.
At what volume does flat beat metered SMS?
Around 21,000 segments/mo at $249/line or 13,400 at $162.50/mo annual. Math: $249 = $11.15 overhead + ($0.0113 x segments). On a four-touch sequence with two-segment messages, that's ~2,630 contacts/mo. Past that, metered cost climbs while flat stays put.
Why cap new conversations per day?
New-conversation volume determines sending number health. Since messaging is unlimited, the daily first-contact cap is the real meter separating a $39 plan from a $289 one. Divide monthly cost by daily allowance to compare cost per conversation slot.
Price the advertised plan or outbound plan?
Outbound plan, always, for B2B prospecting. Advertised prices are usually inbound-only. Sendblue $100/mo AI Agent is inbound-only; outbound is Enterprise quote. Blooio $98/mo is reply-only. LoopMessage charges $30/mo add-on to start conversations. Outbound pricing runs 2-10x the headline.
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