What is the best alternative to Pusher?

Ably is the top-rated alternative to Pusher. It offers Message ordering guaranteed and Generous free tier, and is freemium starting at $0 (free 6M messages/month)/month.

Is there a free alternative to Pusher?

Yes — Ably is a freemium alternative to Pusher. Message ordering guaranteed

Best Pusher Alternatives(2026)

Q: Why do developers switch from Pusher?

Common reasons to switch from Pusher: Expensive for high connection counts; No self-hosted option; Limited message history.

We compared 4 alternatives to Pusher — so you can find the best option for your needs and budget.

Affiliate disclosure: Some “Visit” links on this page are affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you sign up — at no extra cost to you. It does not affect our rankings or editorial coverage. Learn more.

You're replacing

Pusher

freemium

Realtime APIs for developers

Starts at $49/month

Visit site →

Common reasons to switch

Expensive for high connection countsNo self-hosted optionLimited message history

Ably

freemium

From $0 (free 6M messages/month)

Compare →Visit →

Ably is a realtime messaging platform with guaranteed delivery, ordering, and a global edge network.

Pros

+Message ordering guaranteed

+Generous free tier

+Global edge network

Cons

−More complex than Pusher

−Pricing can be hard to predict

−Docs could be clearer

Pub/SubPresenceMessage historyPush notificationsServer-sent events

Soketi

open-source

Compare →Visit →

Soketi is an open source, Pusher protocol-compatible WebSocket server you can self-host for free.

Pros

+Free self-hosted

+Pusher drop-in replacement

+Low latency

Cons

−Self-hosting overhead

−No hosted cloud option

−Smaller community

Pusher-compatible protocolSelf-hostedHorizontal scalingRedis adapterHTTP API

Supabase

freemium

From $25/month

Compare →Visit →

Supabase is an open source Firebase alternative providing a Postgres database, Auth, realtime, storage, and edge functions.

Pros

+Full Postgres with SQL

+Built-in auth and storage

+Open source

Cons

−Free tier pauses after 1 week inactive

−Self-hosting is complex

−Edge functions limited

PostgreSQLAuthenticationRealtimeStorageEdge Functions

Firebase

freemium

From $25/month

Compare →Visit →

Firebase is Google's app development platform with realtime database, Firestore, auth, hosting, and cloud functions.

Pros

+Real-time sync out of the box

+Complete backend platform

+Excellent mobile SDKs

Cons

−Vendor lock-in

−Expensive at scale

−NoSQL limitations

Firestore (NoSQL)Realtime DatabaseAuthenticationCloud FunctionsHosting

Compare Pusher Head to Head

Pusher vs Ably Pusher vs Soketi Pusher vs Supabase Pusher vs Firebase