Your agent needs a whole identity, not just texts
Each identity gets an email inbox, shared iMessage, a public URL, and an agent-to-agent channel, plus call minutes. Phone numbers come with paid plans. The Free plan costs $0.
Claw Messenger vs Inkbox
Inkbox or Claw Messenger for your AI agent?
Pick Inkbox if you want to start at $0 and give each agent a full identity with email, phone, and iMessage; on its shared plans, people text your agent first. Pick Claw Messenger, from $5 a month, when the agent has to send the first iMessage to a known contact, with RCS and SMS fallback on every plan.
Start the 7-day trialCard required. Cancel before renewal.
Claw Messenger agent pathLive
Your agent needs to text first for $5
Every plan can message a registered number first, with automatic RCS and SMS fallback. On Inkbox, a number that can start conversations comes with the $167 Startup plan.
Side by side
Inkbox and Claw Messenger compared
| Decision | Inkbox | Claw Messenger |
|---|---|---|
| Prices checked | Checked 6 November 2026, inkbox.ai/pricing | Checked 6 November 2026, clawmessenger.com/pricing |
| Free tier | $0: 3 identities, 2,000 shared iMessages a month, 3 recipients at a time | None. 7-day trial, card required |
| Paid starting point | $25/month Developer: 10 identities, 10,000 shared iMessages a month, 10 recipients at a time | $5/month for 250 messages and 1 registered number |
| Higher tiers | Startup $167/month; Enterprise custom | $15 for 2,000, $25 for 6,000, $50 for 15,000 messages a month |
| Who can text first | Shared plans: the person texts connect @your-agent to the router first. Startup's own number can start conversations | Your agent, to any registered number. New conversations pause at 20 recipients per rolling 24 hours |
| Sending number | Shared router lines on every plan; one iMessage number of your own on Startup | Assigned automatically and shared across accounts. Agency sub-accounts get their own visible number |
| Idle conversations | Shared connections can expire after 14 days without messages; the person reconnects through the router | Registered numbers stay on the account until you remove them |
| Channels | iMessage, email, Agent2Agent; SMS, MMS, and calls on VoIP numbers in paid plans | iMessage with automatic RCS and SMS fallback |
| Group chats | 2 to 8 recipients on a number of your own; shared service is one-to-one | Growth plan and up (needs 2 registered numbers besides the agent) |
| Replies reach your agent | Signed webhooks; the Hermes plugin opens an Inkbox tunnel | Outbound WebSocket stream, no public URL |
| Agent paths | Hermes, OpenClaw, Claude Code, Codex, and OpenCode plugins; CLI, SDK, MCP | OpenClaw plugin, Hermes package, n8n, LangChain, CrewAI, MCP server package, REST |
At a glance
Inkbox Free: $0 for 3 agent identities, up to 2,000 shared iMessages a month and 3 recipients at a time.
Inkbox Developer: $25/month for 10 identities, 10,000 shared iMessages a month and 10 recipients at a time.
Inkbox Startup: $167/month, adds one iMessage number of your own that can start conversations.
Claw Messenger entry plan: $5/month for 250 messages, sent and received.
Claw Messenger free tier: None. 7-day trial, card required.
Texting first: On Inkbox shared plans the person texts first. Claw Messenger can text a registered number first on every plan.
Hermes Agent: Both have a Hermes plugin. Inkbox is listed in the Hermes plugin catalog.
Mac needed: No, for either.
Checked 6 November 2026 on Inkbox's pricing page and iMessage API docs.
When Inkbox is the better pick
You want to pay nothing. Inkbox Free covers 3 agent identities and 2,000 shared iMessages a month. Claw Messenger has no free tier.
The agent needs email, calls, or an inbox too. Inkbox gives each identity a mailbox, a public URL, and an agent-to-agent channel, with voice minutes on every plan. Claw Messenger only handles messaging.
People find your agent and text it. The router flow suits an assistant people opt into. Claw Messenger only routes inbound messages from numbers you register or pair, so it is not a public number anyone can text.
You want one identity per customer. Inkbox creates identities through its API, 10 on Developer and 100 on Startup.
When Claw Messenger fits better
The agent must start the conversation. Reminders and follow-ups go to people who have not texted first. On Inkbox shared service the person must text the router first. Claw Messenger sends first to registered numbers from the $5 plan.
Your contacts use Android. Claw Messenger falls back to RCS or SMS automatically on every plan.
You want no reconnect step. Inkbox shared connections can lapse after 14 idle days and the person has to text the router again. Claw Messenger has no router command.
See plans and limits for message and recipient caps.
Hermes Agent with either one
With Inkbox: run hermes plugins install inkbox-ai/hermes-agent-plugin --enable, then hermes inkbox setup and restart the gateway. The plugin opens an Inkbox tunnel so inbound events reach Hermes without a public server.
With Claw Messenger: install hermes-imessage into the Hermes environment, run hermes tools enable hermes-claw-messenger, add the API key to ~/.hermes/.env, and start the gateway. The Hermes setup guide has every command.
Both run on Linux or Docker without a Mac. Setup is done when a reply from your phone reaches the agent.
Questions buyers ask
Is Inkbox free? Yes. Inkbox Free costs $0 for 3 agent identities, each with an email inbox and shared iMessage, up to 2,000 iMessages a month and 3 recipients at a time. Recipients must start the conversation. Prices checked 6 November 2026.
Can an Inkbox agent text someone first? Not on shared service. The person texts connect @your-agent to the Inkbox router number, and then the agent can reply. An iMessage number of your own, included on the $167 Startup plan, can start one-to-one and group conversations.
Is Claw Messenger cheaper than Inkbox? Not to start: Inkbox has a $0 plan and Claw Messenger has no free tier. Claw Messenger is cheaper when the agent must send the first message: $5 a month for 250 messages, against $167 a month for Inkbox Startup's number of your own.
Do both work with Hermes Agent? Yes. Inkbox installs with hermes plugins install inkbox-ai/hermes-agent-plugin --enable, then hermes inkbox setup. Claw Messenger installs the hermes-imessage package and the hermes-claw-messenger toolset.
Does Inkbox fall back to SMS when the recipient is not on iMessage? Inkbox lists iMessage, RCS, SMS, and MMS on the Startup plan's iMessage number, and separate VoIP numbers for SMS on paid plans. Its pricing page does not list SMS fallback for shared iMessage. Claw Messenger falls back to RCS or SMS automatically on every plan.
About this comparison
Claw Messenger publishes this page. We sell one of the products compared.
Inkbox figures come from inkbox.ai/pricing, the Inkbox iMessage API docs, and its Hermes plugin guide. Claw Messenger figures come from our pricing page. Checked 6 November 2026. Where a provider does not publish a figure, we write “Not published”.
Prices change. If something here is out of date, contact us and we will correct it.
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