Spaces vs Unipile: a runtime for your agent, or an API to build a product on
Unipile is a unified communications API for software publishers. It connects your users' own LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram, email and calendar accounts to your product through one schema, with white-label sign-in, webhooks and an MCP server for coding agents.
Spaces is communication infrastructure for AI agents: one REST API and one MCP server that let the agent you already use answer customer conversations on Instagram, WhatsApp, LinkedIn and Messenger, inside limits Spaces enforces on every key.
Unipile describes its own split as "MCP to Build, REST to Run". Spaces' MCP is the thing your agent runs on. Unipile also costs much less per account, because it leaves limits, approvals and the agent runtime to you.
Spaces vs Unipile at a glance
| Spaces | Unipile | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | API + MCP server that let AI agents answer customer chats on accounts a business already uses | Unified API that lets software publishers embed their users' messaging, email and calendar accounts |
| Built for | Developers and agent builders running an agent in customer chats | CRM, ATS, sales-engagement, outreach and AI-agent products |
| Live messaging channels | Instagram, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Messenger (inbox). TikTok is live for posts and comments, not DMs. Facebook Pages is coming soon. | LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram. X and Messenger are listed as "Coming soon" on its pricing page. |
| Email and calendar | Not offered to new accounts | Gmail, Outlook, IMAP; Google Calendar, Outlook Calendar |
| End-user sign-in | Connect link per channel; WhatsApp by QR code; Instagram official sign-in or full access | White-label Hosted Auth: QR code, pairing code, credentials, cookie, OAuth or browser extension |
| MCP server | Runtime: inbox, read, reply, schedule, routines, wait_for_events; per-channel servers | Hosted MCP for coding agents (Cursor, Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI), tested on a Development application |
| Webhooks | Pay as you go | Included on every plan |
| Sending limits | Enforced by Spaces: per-channel daily limits, pacing, four-week warm-up, auto-pause | None of its own. Volume and cadence are the customer's decision. Proxy rotation and quota management are built in. |
| Human controls | Pause all sending, read-only and draft-only keys, optional approval of every send | Scoped API keys; anything else you build yourself |
| Usage | Free: 50 actions a day. Pay as you go: 1,000 actions a month per account, pooled, then $5 per 1,000 ($4 above 100,000 extra, $3 above 1,000,000). Reading messages is always free | Unlimited API calls, no per-message fee |
| Free plan | Yes. $0 forever, 1 account, 50 actions a day, no card | No. 7-day free trial, no card |
| Starting price | Free, then $9 per connected account a month on Pay as you go. No yearly option | $55 (€49) a month, covering up to 10 linked accounts |
| 5 accounts, monthly billing | $45 a month (5 × $9, 5,000 actions included) | $55 a month (minimum) |
| 10 accounts, monthly billing | $90 a month (10 × $9, 10,000 actions included) | $55 a month |
| Yearly billing | No yearly option | No yearly price shown; billed every 30 days on peak accounts |
Prices exclude tax and VAT, from spacesos.com/pricing and unipile.com/pricing-api (USD column), checked 11 November 2026. An account is one Instagram profile, WhatsApp number, LinkedIn profile or Facebook account on Spaces. On Unipile it's one LinkedIn profile, WhatsApp number, Instagram account, Telegram account or mailbox. Spaces figures are at included usage; actions over the pooled allowance are $5 per 1,000, while Unipile's API calls are unlimited. Neither price includes what your own AI agent costs to run.
Choose Unipile if
- You're a software company embedding your users' accounts in your own product, with white-label sign-in.
- You need email, calendar or Telegram in the same API.
- You need LinkedIn hiring features (job posts, applicants, pipelines).
- You run 7 or more accounts, want the lowest price per account, and are happy to own limits, approvals and cadence yourself.
Choose Spaces if
- Your AI agent (Claude, Grok, ChatGPT, Cursor or your own code) needs to answer customers on Instagram, WhatsApp, LinkedIn or Messenger now.
- You want an MCP server your agent uses in production, not only while it writes code.
- You want warm-up, pacing and daily limits enforced on every key, plus a pause switch and optional human approval.
- You need Messenger, or an official Instagram sign-in for Business and Creator accounts.
Where they differ
Building a product vs running an agent
Unipile says it is "not an operator dashboard or an outreach tool. It is the API layer that products are built on." Spaces is set up by the agent itself. Paste "Set up Spaces for me by following https://www.spacesos.com/agents" and it signs up, connects https://api.spacesos.com/mcp and sends a connect link per channel. (Unipile llms.txt, llms.txt)
Both have MCP, at different moments
Unipile's MCP server is "for AI coding agents": they read the API and write the integration into your app, and "in production, your AI agent calls the Unipile REST API and wakes up on webhooks". Spaces' MCP server is the production surface. Your agent lists chats, replies, schedules messages, runs routines and waits for events without polling the platform. (Unipile MCP, Unipile for AI agents, llms.txt)
Who owns the guardrails
Unipile "applies no limit of its own" and says cadence "is a customer-side decision". It does not publish an account-ban rate. Spaces enforces a four-week warm-up. For up to 24 hours after a WhatsApp account connects, reconnects, or is disconnected and connected again, Spaces does not start new chats or outreach. Replies in chats that already exist still go out. Other channels have no reply-only window: the warm-up limits apply from the first day, and replies to people who wrote in go out immediately. Pacing (for example, 15 seconds between Instagram messages) and per-channel daily limits. Replies to people who wrote in are never capped. Neither can guarantee a platform won't restrict an account. (Unipile llms.txt, sending limits, account safety)
Channels
Unipile is wider: it adds Telegram, email and calendars. Spaces covers Messenger today, which Unipile's pricing page still lists as coming soon. (Unipile pricing, llms.txt)
Price
Unipile is $55 a month for up to 10 accounts, then $5.50 per account for 11–50, and down to $3.50 from 5,001. API calls are unlimited. Spaces is free for 1 account and 50 actions a day, then $9 per connected account a month on Pay as you go, with 1,000 actions per account pooled and $5 per 1,000 after that; reading messages is free, and the API and MCP server are on every plan. Spaces costs less up to 6 accounts ($45 against $55 at five); from 7 accounts up, Unipile is cheaper ($55 against $90 at ten), and its API calls are unlimited. (Unipile pricing, Spaces pricing)
FAQ
Is Unipile cheaper than Spaces?
From 7 accounts up, yes. At 10 accounts, Unipile is $55 a month and Spaces is $90 on Pay as you go. At 5 accounts, Spaces is cheaper: $45 against Unipile's $55 minimum.
Does Unipile have an MCP server?
Yes. Unipile has a hosted MCP server, which its site describes as being for coding agents that build integrations. Production runs on its REST API and webhooks. (Unipile MCP)
Does Spaces support email or Telegram?
Not for new accounts. Live channels are Instagram, WhatsApp, LinkedIn and Messenger for messages, plus TikTok for posts and comments (not DMs), with Facebook Pages coming soon. Email and other legacy channels keep working only for existing accounts. (llms.txt)
Does either have a free plan?
Spaces does: $0 forever for 1 account and 50 actions a day, no card. Unipile has no free plan; it has a 7-day free trial with no card.
Where can I see other options?
On Unipile alternatives.
Facts about Unipile come from its own website, checked on 11 November 2026. Prices and features change, so check its site for the current version. Unipile is a trademark of its owner.
Sources
Sources: spacesos.com/pricing and unipile.com/pricing-api, checked 11 November 2026.