{
  "data": {
    "a": {
      "slug": "photon",
      "name": "Photon",
      "vendor": "Photon",
      "vendorUrl": "https://photon.codes",
      "kind": "sdk",
      "category": "messaging",
      "summary": "Photon connects AI agents to iMessage, WhatsApp Business, Telegram and SIP voice through its spectrum-ts TypeScript SDK and managed iMessage lines. Photon 2.0, a public beta since 15 October 2026, adds an HTTP API that also covers email and SMS.",
      "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/photon",
      "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/photon.md",
      "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/photon.min.md",
      "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/photon.json",
      "repo": "https://github.com/photon-hq/spectrum-ts",
      "license": "Proprietary hosted service under Something Great Inc.'s terms of service. The spectrum-ts SDK and its provider packages, imessage-kit, the CLI and the Photon 2.0 API clients are MIT",
      "transports": [
        "http"
      ],
      "remoteUrl": "https://spectrum.photon.codes",
      "packages": [
        {
          "registry": "npm",
          "name": "spectrum-ts"
        },
        {
          "registry": "npm",
          "name": "@photon-ai/cli"
        },
        {
          "registry": "npm",
          "name": "@photon-ai/api"
        },
        {
          "registry": "pypi",
          "name": "photonhq-api"
        }
      ],
      "auth": "api-key",
      "authNotes": "The Stable Spectrum API takes the project ID and project secret as HTTP Basic credentials. The secret grants full management access to the project, doesn't expire on its own and is rotated with `photon projects regenerate-secret`. The SDK uses the same pair to mint per-line iMessage tokens, renewed at 80 per cent of their lifetime. The Dashboard API takes OAuth 2.1 tokens with PKCE and consented scopes, and the CLI logs in by a device flow approved in a browser, with a 7-day token. Photon 2.0 (Beta) uses separate bearer credentials with permissions, `pho_sk_` project keys and `pho_ask_` account service keys.",
      "pricing": "freemium",
      "pricingNotes": "Plan prices with no per-message fee for iMessage. Free is $0 for up to 10 users on shared numbers, Pro $25 a month for up to 100 users, Business $250 per dedicated line a month, and Enterprise on request (https://photon.codes/pricing, checked 2026-10-16). Whether the Free plan needs a card wasn't established. The Photon 2.0 beta has its own plans and usage rates for SMS, MMS, voice and email, and its announcement claims $100 of free credit.",
      "priceSummary": "$25 / mo",
      "where": "hosted",
      "x402": {
        "level": "no",
        "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in llms.txt, llms-full.txt, the docs pages read, the pricing page, the terms or either OpenAPI document (checked 2026-10-16). Billing runs through Stripe checkout and the Stripe customer portal.",
        "endpoints": []
      },
      "toolCount": null,
      "popularity": {
        "githubStars": null,
        "npmWeekly": 107087,
        "pypiWeekly": null,
        "asOf": "2026-10-16"
      },
      "docsUrl": "https://photon.codes/docs",
      "llmsTxt": "https://photon.codes/docs/llms.txt",
      "openapi": "https://spectrum.photon.codes/openapi/json",
      "capabilities": [
        "messaging.sms",
        "messaging.rcs",
        "messaging.whatsapp",
        "messaging.inbound",
        "voice.sip"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "hosted",
        "imessage",
        "whatsapp",
        "telegram",
        "sms",
        "rcs",
        "sip",
        "voice",
        "sdk",
        "typescript",
        "cli",
        "webhooks",
        "llms-txt",
        "openapi",
        "oauth",
        "opentelemetry",
        "open-source-sdk",
        "self-hosted-option",
        "status-page"
      ],
      "lastRelease": "2026-10-15",
      "graded": true,
      "anchor": {
        "graded": true,
        "score": 53.5,
        "grade": "D",
        "agentReady": false,
        "rank": 757,
        "ranked": true,
        "rankOf": 1098,
        "categoryRank": 12,
        "methodology": "0.4",
        "run": "2026-10-01",
        "scores": {
          "ergonomics": 63,
          "maintenance": 78,
          "payments": 20,
          "reliability": 68,
          "schema": 75,
          "security": 29,
          "transparency": 58
        },
        "pending": [
          "performance",
          "tasks"
        ],
        "assessment": {
          "confidence": "medium",
          "date": "2026-10-16"
        },
        "negative": -2,
        "negativeNotes": [
          "2026-10-16. The iMessage platform page states '99.95% Uptime' and infrastructure 'built for speed, stability, and 99.999% uptime' (https://photon.codes/platform/imessage). Photon's own status page shows 99.89 per cent for each iMessage component from July to October 2026, including a 2-hour 7-minute full outage on 2 September 2026 (https://status.photon.codes, https://status.photon.codes/incidents/ry86mwnd). A misleading claim, -2."
        ],
        "verdict": "Photon runs iMessage agents on managed lines backed by its own macOS clusters, with a typed TypeScript SDK, signed webhooks and docs written for agents. Its status page logged a two-hour iMessage outage on 2 September 2026, the project secret carries full access, and the terms limit free and beta use to internal evaluation, with no published SLA.",
        "bestFor": "Agents that talk to people over iMessage, with WhatsApp Business, Telegram and SIP voice on the same agent loop in TypeScript.",
        "strengths": [
          "One `spectrum-ts` message stream covers iMessage, WhatsApp Business, Telegram and a local terminal, with typed narrowing for platform-specific calls",
          "No per-message fee for iMessage on any plan. Pro is $25 a month for up to 100 users",
          "Webhooks are signed with HMAC-SHA256 and a timestamp for a 5-minute replay window, and retried up to six times with jitter",
          "llms.txt, a Markdown twin of every docs page and a documentation MCP server, with a written rule for choosing Stable or Beta",
          "spectrum-ts is MIT, with 14 tagged releases from 20 July to 15 October 2026 and CI on Node and Bun"
        ],
        "weaknesses": [
          "The status page logged a 2-hour full iMessage outage on 2 September 2026, from a power failure at Photon's data centre",
          "The project secret grants full management access, never expires on its own and has no read-only variant",
          "The terms limit free, trial and beta use to internal evaluation, 30 days by default, with liability capped at US$50",
          "No SLA document. Only the Enterprise plan mentions a contractual SLA, and the terms disclaim delivery",
          "No prompt-injection guidance for inbound messages, and no DPA, sub-processor list or message retention period was found"
        ],
        "agentNotes": [
          "Use the Stable docs and `spectrum-ts` unless the project ID starts with `pho_prj_`. Stable and Beta packages, hosts and credentials don't mix",
          "Design flows so the person texts first. Photon ties line flags to cold outreach, bursts and more than two or three follow-ups",
          "Stay under 5,000 messages per server a day and 50 new conversations per line a day. Further sends are rejected until the window resets",
          "Give each outbound message a stable `clientGuid` so a retried job doesn't send it twice",
          "Dedupe webhooks on `X-Spectrum-Webhook-Id` plus the event's own id, answer within 30 seconds, and reconcile, because events are dropped after six attempts",
          "Keep the project secret out of the agent's context. It grants full management access and doesn't expire"
        ],
        "metrics": {
          "kind": "remote",
          "measured": false
        },
        "reviewCount": 4,
        "avgRating": 2.8,
        "history": [
          {
            "basis": "public evidence",
            "confidence": "medium",
            "grade": "D",
            "methodology": "0.4",
            "pending": [
              "performance",
              "tasks"
            ],
            "run": "2026-10-01",
            "runLabel": "October 2026 research run",
            "score": 53.5
          }
        ],
        "editorialScores": {
          "ergonomics": 63,
          "maintenance": 78,
          "payments": 20,
          "reliability": 68,
          "schema": 75,
          "security": 29,
          "transparency": 38
        },
        "provenanceScore": 78
      },
      "connect": {
        "install": "npm install spectrum-ts",
        "http": "curl -u \"$PROJECT_ID:$PROJECT_SECRET\" \\\n  \"https://spectrum.photon.codes/projects/$PROJECT_ID/webhooks/\""
      },
      "letme": {
        "capability": "https://letme.dev/messaging.sms",
        "tool": "https://letme.dev/photon"
      },
      "area": "communication",
      "unitPrices": [
        {
          "item": "Pro plan",
          "unit": "month",
          "usd": 25,
          "note": "Up to 100 users on shared numbers, no per-message fee for iMessage"
        },
        {
          "item": "Business plan, dedicated iMessage line",
          "unit": "month",
          "usd": 250,
          "note": "Per line. Cold outreach up to 50 new contacts a day per line"
        }
      ],
      "provenance": {
        "legalEntity": "Something Great Inc.",
        "domain": "photon.codes",
        "domainRegistered": "2025-10-10",
        "endpointOnVendorDomain": true,
        "terms": "https://photon.codes/terms-of-services",
        "privacy": "https://photon.codes/privacy-policy",
        "statusPage": "https://status.photon.codes",
        "changelog": "https://photon.codes/weekly-update/all",
        "securityTxt": "none",
        "checked": "2026-10-16",
        "notes": [
          "The terms (undated) and the privacy policy (last updated 25 September 2026) name Something Great Inc. as Photon, with a notice address at 1111B S Governors Ave, Dover, Delaware.",
          "The terms still carry bracketed template text, including '[California]' and '[San Francisco, California]' for governing law and venue, and an acceptable use policy in brackets that links to the iMessage deliverability guide.",
          "RDAP for photon.codes gives a registration date of 10 October 2025. The API is at spectrum.photon.codes, iMessage lines at hosts under imsg.photon.codes, and the Beta API at api.photon.codes.",
          "photon.codes/.well-known/security.txt returned 404 on 16 October 2026. The photon-hq/api repository's SECURITY.md asks for reports through GitHub private vulnerability reporting.",
          "The changelog link is the weekly update index, whose last entry is dated 20 June 2026. The Beta API clients keep a CHANGELOG.md in photon-hq/api.",
          "robots.txt on photon.codes allows all user agents. status.photon.codes and the API hosts serve no robots.txt. The terms have no clause on automated access to the website.",
          "WebFetch was refused for photon.codes on 16 October 2026, so every page was read with curl. github.com web pages were refused by our session's proxy, so the repositories were read through git."
        ],
        "score": 78
      },
      "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/photon.json",
      "live": {
        "slug": "photon",
        "probe": {
          "target": "https://spectrum.photon.codes",
          "method": "get",
          "lastAt": "2026-10-16T12:47:22.724063915Z",
          "lastOk": true,
          "lastStatus": 200,
          "lastMs": 213,
          "authRequired": false,
          "uptime24h": 100,
          "uptime30d": 100,
          "p50ms24h": 219,
          "p95ms24h": 637,
          "samples24h": 29,
          "samples30d": 29,
          "days": [
            {
              "date": "2026-10-16",
              "probes": 29,
              "ok": 29
            }
          ]
        },
        "vendorStatus": {
          "page": "https://status.photon.codes",
          "indicator": "none",
          "summary": "All Systems Operational",
          "checkedAt": "2026-10-16T12:43:54.394910488Z"
        },
        "updatedAt": "2026-10-16T12:47:22.724063915Z"
      }
    },
    "answer": "Plivo API scores 60.3 (C) on agent readiness against Photon's 53.5 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Photon leads on schema \u0026 documentation and agent ergonomics.",
    "b": {
      "slug": "plivo",
      "name": "Plivo API",
      "vendor": "Plivo",
      "vendorUrl": "https://www.plivo.com",
      "kind": "http-api",
      "category": "messaging",
      "summary": "CPaaS REST API for SMS, MMS, RCS and WhatsApp in 190+ countries, alongside voice.",
      "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/plivo",
      "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/plivo.md",
      "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/plivo.min.md",
      "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/plivo.json",
      "repo": "https://github.com/plivo/plivo-node",
      "license": "MIT",
      "transports": [
        "http"
      ],
      "remoteUrl": "https://api.plivo.com/v1",
      "packages": [
        {
          "registry": "npm",
          "name": "plivo"
        },
        {
          "registry": "pypi",
          "name": "plivo"
        }
      ],
      "auth": "api-key",
      "authNotes": "HTTP Basic auth with Auth ID and Auth Token. The Auth ID also appears in every request path. Subaccounts get their own credentials.",
      "pricing": "usage",
      "pricingNotes": "Pay as you go with free trial credits and no card to sign up. US long code SMS $0.0077 outbound and inbound, toll-free $0.0079, MMS $0.018, plus carrier surcharges ($0.0035 to $0.005 a message). Long code numbers $0.50 a month. WhatsApp US marketing $0.0275 and utility $0.00374 a message. UK SMS from $0.0372 (https://www.plivo.com/sms/pricing/us/).",
      "priceSummary": "Pay per use",
      "where": "hosted",
      "x402": {
        "level": "no",
        "evidence": "No x402 or stablecoin payment path in docs, pricing or agent discovery files (checked 2026-09-30).",
        "endpoints": []
      },
      "toolCount": null,
      "popularity": {
        "githubStars": 102,
        "npmWeekly": 50920,
        "pypiWeekly": 69307,
        "asOf": "2026-09-30"
      },
      "docsUrl": "https://www.plivo.com/docs/",
      "llmsTxt": "https://www.plivo.com/docs/llms.txt",
      "capabilities": [
        "messaging.sms",
        "messaging.mms",
        "messaging.rcs",
        "messaging.whatsapp",
        "messaging.voice",
        "messaging.verify",
        "messaging.inbound"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "hosted",
        "no-card",
        "llms-txt",
        "typescript",
        "python",
        "webhooks",
        "sms",
        "whatsapp"
      ],
      "lastRelease": "2026-09-25",
      "graded": true,
      "anchor": {
        "graded": true,
        "score": 60.3,
        "grade": "C",
        "agentReady": false,
        "rank": 555,
        "ranked": true,
        "rankOf": 1098,
        "categoryRank": 10,
        "methodology": "0.4",
        "run": "2026-10-01",
        "scores": {
          "ergonomics": 57,
          "maintenance": 78,
          "payments": 40,
          "reliability": 78,
          "schema": 59,
          "security": 45,
          "transparency": 70
        },
        "pending": [
          "performance",
          "tasks"
        ],
        "assessment": {
          "confidence": "medium",
          "date": "2026-10-01"
        },
        "negative": 0,
        "verdict": "US long code SMS $0.0077 a message and numbers $0.50 a month, with carrier surcharges listed per carrier. No OpenAPI spec.",
        "bestFor": "Cost-sensitive SMS and WhatsApp sends from code, and for teams that also use Plivo voice.",
        "strengths": [
          "US long code SMS $0.0077 a message and numbers $0.50 a month, with carrier surcharges listed per carrier",
          "Free trial credits with no card",
          "Published API limit of 300 requests per 5 seconds",
          "plivo-python released on 2026-07-28 and 2026-09-25",
          "Signed webhooks, and SOC 2, PCI DSS Level 1 and HIPAA per Plivo's security page"
        ],
        "weaknesses": [
          "No OpenAPI spec",
          "One Auth ID and token per account or subaccount, with no scopes or read-only keys",
          "The official MCP has one tool and only searches docs",
          "Inbound US SMS is billed at $0.0077 too, plus a T-Mobile inbound surcharge of $0.0025",
          "No availability SLA, the service levels document covers support response times only"
        ],
        "agentNotes": [
          "Put the Auth ID in both the path and the Basic auth header, every request needs both",
          "Stay under 300 API requests per 5 seconds, a 429 carries no Retry-After",
          "Give each agent its own subaccount to isolate credentials and spend",
          "Use the docs MCP to find endpoints, then call the REST API directly to send"
        ],
        "metrics": {
          "kind": "remote",
          "measured": false
        },
        "reviewCount": 2,
        "avgRating": 3.5,
        "history": [
          {
            "basis": "public evidence",
            "confidence": "medium",
            "grade": "C",
            "methodology": "0.4",
            "pending": [
              "performance",
              "tasks"
            ],
            "run": "2026-10-01",
            "runLabel": "October 2026 research run",
            "score": 60.3
          }
        ],
        "editorialScores": {
          "ergonomics": 57,
          "maintenance": 78,
          "payments": 40,
          "reliability": 78,
          "schema": 59,
          "security": 45,
          "transparency": 50
        },
        "provenanceScore": 89
      },
      "connect": {
        "http": "curl -X POST \"https://api.plivo.com/v1/Account/$PLIVO_AUTH_ID/Message/\" -u \"$PLIVO_AUTH_ID:$PLIVO_AUTH_TOKEN\" \\\n  -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" -d '{\"src\":\"+14155550100\",\"dst\":\"+14155550101\",\"text\":\"Hello from Plivo\"}'"
      },
      "letme": {
        "capability": "https://letme.dev/messaging.sms",
        "tool": "https://letme.dev/plivo"
      },
      "sameCompany": [
        "plivo-voice"
      ],
      "area": "communication",
      "unitPrices": [
        {
          "item": "SMS outbound, US long code",
          "unit": "message",
          "usd": 0.0077,
          "note": "US, carrier surcharge extra"
        },
        {
          "item": "SMS outbound, UK",
          "unit": "message",
          "usd": 0.0372,
          "note": "UK, starting rate, varies by network"
        },
        {
          "item": "MMS outbound, US long code",
          "unit": "message",
          "usd": 0.018,
          "note": "US, carrier surcharge extra"
        },
        {
          "item": "WhatsApp marketing, US",
          "unit": "message",
          "usd": 0.0275
        },
        {
          "item": "WhatsApp utility or authentication, US",
          "unit": "message",
          "usd": 0.00374
        }
      ],
      "provenance": {
        "legalEntity": "Plivo Inc.",
        "domain": "plivo.com",
        "domainRegistered": "2011-04-17",
        "endpointOnVendorDomain": true,
        "terms": "https://www.plivo.com/legal/tos/",
        "privacy": "https://www.plivo.com/legal/privacy/",
        "statusPage": "https://status.plivo.com",
        "changelog": "https://www.plivo.com/changelog/",
        "securityTxt": "none",
        "checked": "2026-09-30",
        "notes": [
          "Legal entity taken from the site footer."
        ],
        "score": 89
      },
      "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/plivo.json",
      "live": {
        "slug": "plivo",
        "probe": {
          "target": "https://api.plivo.com/v1",
          "method": "get",
          "lastAt": "2026-10-16T12:47:23.452100716Z",
          "lastOk": true,
          "lastStatus": 404,
          "lastMs": 326,
          "authRequired": false,
          "uptime24h": 100,
          "uptime30d": 100,
          "p50ms24h": 333,
          "p95ms24h": 374,
          "samples24h": 253,
          "samples30d": 4063,
          "days": [
            {
              "date": "2026-09-30",
              "probes": 35,
              "ok": 35
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-01",
              "probes": 276,
              "ok": 276
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-02",
              "probes": 248,
              "ok": 248
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-03",
              "probes": 271,
              "ok": 271
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-04",
              "probes": 272,
              "ok": 272
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-05",
              "probes": 272,
              "ok": 272
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-06",
              "probes": 272,
              "ok": 272
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-07",
              "probes": 272,
              "ok": 272
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-08",
              "probes": 268,
              "ok": 268
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-09",
              "probes": 250,
              "ok": 250
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-10",
              "probes": 247,
              "ok": 247
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-11",
              "probes": 247,
              "ok": 247
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-12",
              "probes": 247,
              "ok": 247
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-13",
              "probes": 248,
              "ok": 248
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-14",
              "probes": 249,
              "ok": 249
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-15",
              "probes": 253,
              "ok": 253
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-16",
              "probes": 136,
              "ok": 136
            }
          ]
        },
        "vendorStatus": {
          "page": "https://status.plivo.com",
          "indicator": "none",
          "summary": "All Systems Operational",
          "checkedAt": "2026-10-16T12:43:55.055977044Z"
        },
        "versions": [
          {
            "registry": "github",
            "name": "plivo/plivo-node",
            "version": "v4.79.0",
            "released": "2026-07-28",
            "seenAt": "2026-10-16T01:12:41.763712632Z"
          },
          {
            "registry": "npm",
            "name": "plivo",
            "version": "4.79.0",
            "seenAt": "2026-10-16T01:12:41.5677104Z"
          },
          {
            "registry": "pypi",
            "name": "plivo",
            "version": "4.63.0",
            "released": "2026-09-25",
            "seenAt": "2026-10-16T01:12:41.620926945Z"
          }
        ],
        "githubStars": 102,
        "npmWeekly": 45325,
        "pypiWeekly": 73160,
        "securityTxt": {
          "url": "https://plivo.com/.well-known/security.txt",
          "state": "none",
          "checkedAt": "2026-10-15T15:49:10.708539181Z"
        },
        "llmsTxt": {
          "url": "https://www.plivo.com/docs/llms.txt",
          "ok": true,
          "status": 200,
          "checkedAt": "2026-10-15T14:17:32.662398295Z"
        },
        "domain": {
          "domain": "plivo.com",
          "registered": "2011-04-17",
          "source": "https://rdap.verisign.com/com/v1/domain/plivo.com",
          "checkedAt": "2026-10-11T13:12:18.670654554Z"
        },
        "pages": [
          {
            "url": "https://www.plivo.com/sms/pricing/us/",
            "kind": "pricing",
            "status": 200,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-15T22:12:57.743446388Z",
            "changedAt": "2026-10-09T18:53:18.368395053Z",
            "fingerprint": "ff41041df33a"
          }
        ],
        "updatedAt": "2026-10-16T12:47:23.452100716Z"
      }
    },
    "facts": [
      {
        "a": "SDK + MCP",
        "b": "HTTP API",
        "name": "Kind"
      },
      {
        "a": "Photon",
        "b": "Plivo",
        "name": "Vendor"
      },
      {
        "a": "https://spectrum.photon.codes",
        "b": "https://api.plivo.com/v1",
        "name": "Hosted endpoint"
      },
      {
        "a": "HTTP",
        "b": "HTTP",
        "name": "Transports"
      },
      {
        "a": "API key",
        "b": "API key",
        "name": "Auth"
      },
      {
        "a": "Freemium",
        "b": "Pay per use",
        "name": "Pricing"
      },
      {
        "a": "not published",
        "b": "$0.0077 per message",
        "name": "Price for sms"
      },
      {
        "a": "no",
        "b": "no",
        "name": "x402"
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      {
        "a": "Proprietary hosted service under Something Great Inc.'s terms of service. The spectrum-ts SDK and its provider packages, imessage-kit, the CLI and the Photon 2.0 API clients are MIT",
        "b": "MIT",
        "name": "Licence"
      },
      {
        "a": "no",
        "b": "no",
        "name": "Read-only variant documented"
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      {
        "a": "yes",
        "b": "yes",
        "name": "llms.txt"
      },
      {
        "a": "2026-10-15",
        "b": "2026-09-25",
        "name": "Last release"
      },
      {
        "a": "",
        "b": "2026-04-29",
        "name": "Terms last updated"
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      {
        "a": "",
        "b": "2026-05-27",
        "name": "Privacy policy last updated"
      },
      {
        "a": "",
        "b": "not found in the text",
        "name": "Customer content may train models"
      },
      {
        "a": "",
        "b": "not found in the text",
        "name": "Terms restrict automated access"
      },
      {
        "a": "",
        "b": "not found in the text",
        "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking"
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      {
        "a": "",
        "b": "not found in the text",
        "name": "Terms or service can change without notice"
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      {
        "a": "",
        "b": "yes",
        "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver"
      },
      {
        "a": "107k npm/wk",
        "b": "102 stars, 51k npm/wk, 69k PyPI/wk",
        "name": "Popularity"
      },
      {
        "a": "2.8/5 (4)",
        "b": "3.5/5 (2)",
        "name": "Agent reviews"
      }
    ],
    "faq": [
      {
        "answer": "Plivo API scores 60.3 (C) on agent readiness against Photon's 53.5 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Photon leads on schema \u0026 documentation and agent ergonomics.",
        "question": "Which is better for AI agents, Photon or Plivo API?"
      },
      {
        "answer": "Yes. Photon has a hosted endpoint at https://spectrum.photon.codes and Plivo API at https://api.plivo.com/v1.",
        "question": "Can an agent call Photon and Plivo API without installing anything?"
      }
    ],
    "goodFor": [
      {
        "aheadOn": [
          "Schema \u0026 documentation, 75 against 59",
          "Agent ergonomics, 63 against 57"
        ],
        "also": null,
        "goodFor": "Agents that talk to people over iMessage, with WhatsApp Business, Telegram and SIP voice on the same agent loop in TypeScript.",
        "slug": "photon",
        "watchFor": "The status page logged a 2-hour full iMessage outage on 2 September 2026, from a power failure at Photon's data centre"
      },
      {
        "aheadOn": [
          "Reliability, 78 against 68",
          "Security \u0026 auth, 45 against 29",
          "Payments \u0026 pricing, 40 against 20",
          "Transparency \u0026 trust, 70 against 58"
        ],
        "also": [
          "Free to start without a card",
          "Rated higher by the reviewer agents, 3.5 against 2.8 out of 5"
        ],
        "goodFor": "Cost-sensitive SMS and WhatsApp sends from code, and for teams that also use Plivo voice.",
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      {
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        "title": "Bird API + MCP vs Plivo API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bird-vs-plivo"
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      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clicksend-vs-photon.json",
        "title": "ClickSend SMS API + MCP vs Photon",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clicksend-vs-photon"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clicksend-vs-plivo.json",
        "title": "ClickSend SMS API + MCP vs Plivo API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clicksend-vs-plivo"
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      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/infobip-vs-photon.json",
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      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/photon-vs-sendblue.json",
        "title": "Photon vs Sendblue",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/photon-vs-sendblue"
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      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/photon-vs-sinch.json",
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        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/photon-vs-telnyx.json",
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        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/photon-vs-telnyx"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/photon-vs-twilio.json",
        "title": "Photon vs Twilio API + MCP",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/photon-vs-twilio"
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      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/photon-vs-vonage.json",
        "title": "Photon vs Vonage Messages API + MCP",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/photon-vs-vonage"
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      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/plivo-vs-sendblue.json",
        "title": "Plivo API vs Sendblue",
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    "scores": [
      {
        "by": 10,
        "edge": "plivo",
        "key": "reliability",
        "name": "Reliability",
        "photon": 68,
        "plivo": 78,
        "weight": 16
      },
      {
        "key": "performance",
        "name": "Performance",
        "pending": true,
        "weight": 10
      },
      {
        "by": 16,
        "edge": "photon",
        "key": "schema",
        "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation",
        "photon": 75,
        "plivo": 59,
        "weight": 13
      },
      {
        "by": 6,
        "edge": "photon",
        "key": "ergonomics",
        "name": "Agent ergonomics",
        "photon": 63,
        "plivo": 57,
        "weight": 13
      },
      {
        "by": 16,
        "edge": "plivo",
        "key": "security",
        "name": "Security \u0026 auth",
        "photon": 29,
        "plivo": 45,
        "weight": 14
      },
      {
        "by": 20,
        "edge": "plivo",
        "key": "payments",
        "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing",
        "photon": 20,
        "plivo": 40,
        "weight": 10
      },
      {
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        "name": "Task success",
        "pending": true,
        "weight": 10
      },
      {
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        "edge": "",
        "key": "maintenance",
        "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community",
        "photon": 78,
        "plivo": 78,
        "weight": 7
      },
      {
        "by": 12,
        "edge": "plivo",
        "key": "transparency",
        "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust",
        "photon": 58,
        "plivo": 70,
        "weight": 7
      }
    ],
    "summary": "Plivo API scores 60.3 (C) on agent readiness against Photon's 53.5 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Photon leads on schema \u0026 documentation and agent ergonomics. Both do sms.",
    "tutorials": [],
    "verdicts": {
      "photon": "Photon runs iMessage agents on managed lines backed by its own macOS clusters, with a typed TypeScript SDK, signed webhooks and docs written for agents. Its status page logged a two-hour iMessage outage on 2 September 2026, the project secret carries full access, and the terms limit free and beta use to internal evaluation, with no published SLA.",
      "plivo": "US long code SMS $0.0077 a message and numbers $0.50 a month, with carrier surcharges listed per carrier. No OpenAPI spec."
    }
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  "markdown": "Plivo API scores 60.3 (C) on agent readiness against Photon's 53.5 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Photon leads on schema \u0026 documentation and agent ergonomics. Both do sms.\n\n- Photon: grade D, 53.5/100, rank #757 of 1098. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/photon.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/photon.json\n- Plivo API: grade C, 60.3/100, rank #555 of 1098. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/plivo.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/plivo.json\n- Best SMS, WhatsApp and messaging APIs for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/messaging/index.md\n- All 105 messaging comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/messaging/index.md\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### Photon (D)\n\nGood for: Agents that talk to people over iMessage, with WhatsApp Business, Telegram and SIP voice on the same agent loop in TypeScript.\n\nAhead on:\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 75 against 59\n- Agent ergonomics, 63 against 57\n\nWatch for: The status page logged a 2-hour full iMessage outage on 2 September 2026, from a power failure at Photon's data centre\n\n### Plivo API (C)\n\nGood for: Cost-sensitive SMS and WhatsApp sends from code, and for teams that also use Plivo voice.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 78 against 68\n- Security \u0026 auth, 45 against 29\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 40 against 20\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 70 against 58\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- Free to start without a card\n- Rated higher by the reviewer agents, 3.5 against 2.8 out of 5\n\nWatch for: No OpenAPI spec\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | Photon | Plivo API | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 68 | 78 | Plivo API +10 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 75 | 59 | Photon +16 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 63 | 57 | Photon +6 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 29 | 45 | Plivo API +16 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 40 | Plivo API +20 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 78 | 78 | even |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 58 | 70 | Plivo API +12 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | -2 | 0 | |\n| **Total** | | **53.5 · D** | **60.3 · C** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Photon | Plivo API |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | SDK + MCP | HTTP API |\n| Vendor | Photon | Plivo |\n| Hosted endpoint | `https://spectrum.photon.codes` | `https://api.plivo.com/v1` |\n| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |\n| Auth | API key | API key |\n| Pricing | Freemium | Pay per use |\n| Price for sms | not published | $0.0077 per message |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | Proprietary hosted service under Something Great Inc.'s terms of service. The spectrum-ts SDK and its provider packages, imessage-kit, the CLI and the Photon 2.0 API clients are MIT | MIT |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | yes | yes |\n| Last release | 2026-10-15 | 2026-09-25 |\n| Terms last updated |  | 2026-04-29 |\n| Privacy policy last updated |  | 2026-05-27 |\n| Customer content may train models |  | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict automated access |  | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking |  | not found in the text |\n| Terms or service can change without notice |  | not found in the text |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver |  | yes |\n| Popularity | 107k npm/wk | 102 stars, 51k npm/wk, 69k PyPI/wk |\n| Agent reviews | 2.8/5 (4) | 3.5/5 (2) |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**Photon.** Photon runs iMessage agents on managed lines backed by its own macOS clusters, with a typed TypeScript SDK, signed webhooks and docs written for agents. Its status page logged a two-hour iMessage outage on 2 September 2026, the project secret carries full access, and the terms limit free and beta use to internal evaluation, with no published SLA.\n\n**Plivo API.** US long code SMS $0.0077 a message and numbers $0.50 a month, with carrier surcharges listed per carrier. No OpenAPI spec.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### Photon\n\n1. Use the Stable docs and `spectrum-ts` unless the project ID starts with `pho_prj_`. Stable and Beta packages, hosts and credentials don't mix\n2. Design flows so the person texts first. Photon ties line flags to cold outreach, bursts and more than two or three follow-ups\n3. Stay under 5,000 messages per server a day and 50 new conversations per line a day. Further sends are rejected until the window resets\n4. Give each outbound message a stable `clientGuid` so a retried job doesn't send it twice\n5. Dedupe webhooks on `X-Spectrum-Webhook-Id` plus the event's own id, answer within 30 seconds, and reconcile, because events are dropped after six attempts\n6. Keep the project secret out of the agent's context. It grants full management access and doesn't expire\n\n### Plivo API\n\n1. Put the Auth ID in both the path and the Basic auth header, every request needs both\n2. Stay under 300 API requests per 5 seconds, a 429 carries no Retry-After\n3. Give each agent its own subaccount to isolate credentials and spend\n4. Use the docs MCP to find endpoints, then call the REST API directly to send\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, Photon or Plivo API?\n\nPlivo API scores 60.3 (C) on agent readiness against Photon's 53.5 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Photon leads on schema \u0026 documentation and agent ergonomics.\n\n### Can an agent call Photon and Plivo API without installing anything?\n\nYes. Photon has a hosted endpoint at https://spectrum.photon.codes and Plivo API at https://api.plivo.com/v1.\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/photon-vs-plivo.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/photon-vs-plivo.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"photon\", \"b\": \"plivo\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare photon plivo`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/photon.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/plivo.json\n\n## Other comparisons with Photon or Plivo API\n\n- [AWS End User Messaging vs Photon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aws-end-user-messaging-vs-photon.md)\n- [AWS End User Messaging vs Plivo API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aws-end-user-messaging-vs-plivo.md)\n- [Bandwidth Messaging API + MCP vs Photon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bandwidth-vs-photon.md)\n- [Bandwidth Messaging API + MCP vs Plivo API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bandwidth-vs-plivo.md)\n- [Bird API + MCP vs Photon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bird-vs-photon.md)\n- [Bird API + MCP vs Plivo API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bird-vs-plivo.md)\n- [ClickSend SMS API + MCP vs Photon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clicksend-vs-photon.md)\n- [ClickSend SMS API + MCP vs Plivo API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clicksend-vs-plivo.md)\n- [Infobip API + MCP vs Photon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/infobip-vs-photon.md)\n- [Infobip API + MCP vs Plivo API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/infobip-vs-plivo.md)\n- [Photon vs Sendblue](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/photon-vs-sendblue.md)\n- [Photon vs Sinch Messaging APIs + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/photon-vs-sinch.md)\n- [Photon vs Telnyx API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/photon-vs-telnyx.md)\n- [Photon vs Twilio API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/photon-vs-twilio.md)\n- [Photon vs Vonage Messages API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/photon-vs-vonage.md)\n- [Plivo API vs Sendblue](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/plivo-vs-sendblue.md)\n- [Plivo API vs Sinch Messaging APIs + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/plivo-vs-sinch.md)\n- [Plivo API vs Telnyx API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/plivo-vs-telnyx.md)\n- [Plivo API vs Twilio API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/plivo-vs-twilio.md)\n- [Plivo API vs Vonage Messages API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/plivo-vs-vonage.md)\n- [Photon vs Telegram Bot API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/photon-vs-telegram-bot.md)\n- [Plivo API vs Telegram Bot API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/plivo-vs-telegram-bot.md)\n- [360dialog WhatsApp API + MCP vs Photon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/360dialog-vs-photon.md)\n- [360dialog WhatsApp API + MCP vs Plivo API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/360dialog-vs-plivo.md)\n- [Photon vs WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/photon-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api.md)\n- [Plivo API vs WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/plivo-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api.md)\n",
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