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Pusher vs Supabase Realtime(2026)

Pusher is better for teams that need simple to integrate. Supabase Realtime is the stronger choice if integrated with supabase db. Pusher is freemium (from $49/month) and Supabase Realtime is freemium (from $25/month (included in Supabase)).

Full feature breakdown, pricing details, and pros & cons below.

By Bikram Nath

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Pusher logo

Pusher

freemium

Pusher provides hosted realtime APIs (WebSockets) for adding live features to web and mobile apps.

Starting at $49/month

Visit Pusher
Supabase Realtime logo

Supabase Realtime

freemium

Supabase Realtime broadcasts Postgres database changes over WebSockets, with support for broadcast and presence channels.

Starting at $25/month (included in Supabase)

Visit Supabase Realtime

How Do Pusher and Supabase Realtime Compare on Features?

FeaturePusherSupabase Realtime
Pricing modelfreemiumfreemium
Starting price$49/month$25/month (included in Supabase)
WebSocket channels✓—
Presence channels✓—
Private channels✓—
Webhooks✓—
Client libraries✓—
Encrypted connections✓—
Postgres CDC—✓
Broadcast channels—✓
Presence—✓
Row-level security filters—✓
Client SDKs—✓
Scale to millions—✓

Pusher Pros and Cons vs Supabase Realtime

P

Pusher

+Simple to integrate
+Battle-tested reliability
+Multiple language SDKs
+Presence feature built-in
−Expensive for high connection counts
−No self-hosted option
−Limited message history
S

Supabase Realtime

+Integrated with Supabase DB
+Postgres RLS on realtime events
+Good free tier
+Simple client SDK
−Tied to Supabase
−Less flexible than Ably for non-Postgres use cases

Should You Use Pusher or Supabase Realtime?

For most teams, Pusher is the better default: it offers simple to integrate and is freemium (from $49/month). Choose Supabase Realtime instead if integrated with supabase db matters more than expensive for high connection counts. There is no universal winner — the right pick depends on your budget, team size, and whether you value simple to integrate or integrated with supabase db more.

Choose Pusher if…

  • •Simple to integrate
  • •Battle-tested reliability
  • •Multiple language SDKs

Choose Supabase Realtime if…

  • •Integrated with Supabase DB
  • •Postgres RLS on realtime events
  • •Good free tier

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