SIPdia vs Linphone: A Fair Comparison

Linphone and SIPdia share a protocol, SIP, and little else in their approach. Linphone is a long-running open source project from Belledonne Communications that runs on iOS, Android, macOS, Windows and Linux, costs nothing, and bundles voice, video, chat and conferencing. It suits people who want an open, auditable client, who need more than one desktop OS, or who will use the Linphone SIP service to get push notifications. SIPdia suits Mac, iPhone and iPad users who want a focused, audio-only SIP client with a native Apple feel, who do not need video or chat, and who accept that the app is still in release preparation and cannot receive calls while closed. Neither is the right answer for everyone.

Side by side

SIPdia facts come from the SIPdia product fact sheet. Linphone facts come from the official pages linked in each cell. "Not documented" means the official pages we reviewed do not state it.

	SIPdia	Linphone
Platforms	macOS 14+, iOS/iPadOS 17+	iOS 15+, Android 9+, macOS, Windows, Linux (FAQ, App Store, README)
Pricing model	Freemium. Free: one account. Premium: recording, more accounts, forwarding and DND. No prices published yet.	Free app and free SIP service; paid support, custom development and proprietary licences (FAQ)
Open source	No. Closed-source app built on baresip (BSD licence)	Yes. GPLv3, with a proprietary dual licence option (FAQ, overview)
Transports	UDP, TCP, TLS	UDP, TCP, TLS, configurable per account (wiki)
Media encryption	SRTP, Optional or Required. No ZRTP	SRTP, ZRTP, SRTP-DTLS (features)
Codecs	Opus, G.711 ulaw and alaw	Opus, G.729, G.711, iLBC, Speex, GSM, AMR, AMR-WB, G.722, SILK, iSAC, BV16, Codec2 (wiki)
Multiple accounts	Yes, all registered at once. Free: one account. Premium: unlimited	Yes, multiple proxy accounts (wiki)
Transfer	Blind and attended	Blind and attended (wiki)
Hold	Yes	Yes, pause and resume, hold with music (features)
Call recording	Local WAV recording, Premium	Audio and video recording with in-app playback, free (features)
Push notifications on mobile	No. App must be open	Yes, APNs and Firebase, but only for Linphone accounts; third-party SIP accounts do not receive push (FAQ)
Release status	In release preparation, not yet downloadable	Shipping, downloadable

Where Linphone is stronger

Openness. Linphone's source is published under the GPLv3, so anyone can read, build and audit it. SIPdia is closed source; only its baresip engine is open.

Price. Everything in Linphone is free, including call recording and multiple accounts. In SIPdia, recording, more than one account, and forwarding and DND are Premium features.

Platform reach. Linphone covers Android, Windows and Linux as well as Apple devices. SIPdia has no app for those three.

Breadth of features. Linphone offers video calls, chat, group calls and conferencing, and ZRTP and SRTP-DTLS alongside SRTP. SIPdia is audio only, has no messaging, and supports SRTP but not ZRTP. Linphone also lists a far longer codec table, including G.729 and G.722, which SIPdia leaves out for licence reasons.

Push notifications exist in Linphone, with an important limit: the FAQ says they are enabled only for Linphone accounts on the sip.linphone.org service. If you register a third-party PBX account you do not get push. SIPdia has no push at all, so Linphone still comes out ahead on this row.

Where SIPdia is stronger

Focus. SIPdia does voice over SIP and little else, which keeps the interface and settings small. For someone who only needs to register an extension on a PBX and make calls, that can be an advantage rather than a gap.

Apple integration documented in the fact sheet: CallKit on iOS, so calls appear on the system call screen and lock screen while the app is open; CarPlay audio; a floating incoming-call window on every macOS Space; a menu bar icon; and keyboard shortcuts for answer, hang up, mute, hold and record. Linphone's official pages do not describe equivalent integrations, so we do not claim Linphone lacks them; we only note that SIPdia documents them.

Simple recording output. SIPdia writes WAV files to a known folder (Music/Call Recordings on Mac, Files on iPhone), which is easy to move elsewhere. Linphone records and plays back inside the app; the App Store release notes mention an export option.

Things both do

• Register multiple SIP accounts (SIPdia requires Premium for more than one).
• Use UDP, TCP or TLS for signalling.
• Encrypt media with SRTP.
• Offer Opus and G.711 audio.
• Support blind and attended transfer, hold and resume, and several concurrent calls.
• Record calls locally.
• Work with standard SIP servers such as Asterisk, FreePBX and Issabel. Linphone's advanced group features require its Flexisip server; basic calling does not.

Who should choose which

Choose Linphone if you want open source software, need Android, Windows or Linux, want video or chat, want recording and multiple accounts without paying, or can use a Linphone account to get push notifications on your phone. Also choose Linphone if you need something downloadable today.

Consider SIPdia if you use only Apple devices, prefer a small audio-only client, value CallKit and macOS integration, and can keep the app open to receive calls. Upgrade to Premium only if you need recording, more than one account, or forwarding and DND via PBX feature codes.

Either way, test the client against your own PBX and transport settings first. Our guide to choosing a SIP softphone lists the questions worth asking.

Next steps

• Review the SIPdia feature list and pricing.
• Check the download center for release status.
• Linphone's official documentation is linked in the sources below.