The right Pusher alternative depends on whether you want to keep renting a hosted realtime service or run the server yourself. Managed platforms handle scale and uptime for you, each with its own focus, while open-source servers give you control and put the operations work on your team. Pick the camp first, then the product.
What does your app send in real time? Chat messages, a live dashboard, a cursor moving across a shared document or a delivery van creeping across a map all count, and Pusher sells hosted APIs for exactly those jobs. If you're looking elsewhere, it's usually because your app has grown into one of those jobs more than the others. Below are ten alternatives, in no particular order, starting with a quick comparison.
Realtime services compared in one table
| Tool | Kind of service | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Ably | Realtime messaging platform | Live chat, collaboration and AI experiences at scale |
| Centrifugo | Self-hosted real-time messaging server | Running your own realtime server instead of a hosted API |
| Convex | Reactive backend platform | Apps whose data should stay in sync automatically |
| Fastly WebSockets and Fanout | Edge pub/sub and WebSockets | Low-latency WebSockets delivered from the edge |
| Liveblocks | Realtime collaboration infrastructure | Multiplayer editing for people and AI agents |
| Mercure | Open protocol and hub for live updates | Server-sent updates, self-hosted or EU cloud |
| PubNub | Pub/sub network | Global publish and subscribe messaging |
| Soketi | Open-source WebSockets server | A lightweight WebSockets server you run yourself |
| Stream | Chat, video and feeds APIs | In-app chat, video calling and activity feeds |
| Supabase Realtime | Postgres platform with live updates | Realtime as one piece of a Postgres backend |
Hosted or self-hosted: where each one sits
Realtime APIs divide cleanly between services someone else runs and servers you run. The hosted ones then differ by what they're centred on, which is the part most comparisons skip.
Managed platforms, each with a different centre
Ably and PubNub are messaging platforms first: channels, publish and subscribe, delivery at scale. Stream is built around chat, video and activity feeds, so it brings ready-made pieces for those features. Liveblocks focuses on collaboration, where several people (and now AI agents) edit the same data at once. Convex is a reactive backend that keeps your app's data in sync, and Supabase offers realtime as one part of a wider Postgres platform. Fastly delivers WebSockets and pub/sub from its edge network. Choosing between these is less about features and more about which centre matches the thing your app does most.
Open-source servers you host
The three open-source servers here run on your own infrastructure. One of them, Centrifugo, goes as far as calling itself on its own site a self-hosted alternative to Pusher and the other big hosted services, which tells you exactly who it's for. Soketi keeps things to a plain WebSockets server, while Mercure takes a different route with an open protocol for server-sent updates and an EU-hosted cloud if you'd rather not run it. This camp gives you control over data and scaling, and hands your team the job of keeping it running.
One name left off on purpose
PartyKit isn't on this list. Its own site says the hosted platform has shut down, so it's no longer a like-for-like option for a hosted realtime service.
All ten, alphabetically
Unranked. Each line describes what the vendor says about its own product.
Ably
Best for: Live chat, messaging, collaborative apps and AI experiences; the vendor says it's built for scale and reliability so experiences never drop.
Centrifugo
Best for: Teams happy to host their own server; the open-source project calls itself a self-hosted alternative to the big hosted realtime services.
Convex
Best for: Developers wanting a reactive backend that keeps app data in sync; the vendor's line is a backend that keeps up with you and your agents.
Fastly WebSockets and Fanout
Best for: Delivering real-time data, low-latency WebSockets and pub/sub at the edge; the vendor names chat, IoT, live apps and messaging as uses.
Liveblocks
Best for: Concurrent editing of shared data by people and AI agents, with automatic conflict resolution built in, the vendor says; a free plan is named.
Mercure
Best for: Server-sent live updates through an open protocol and MIT-licensed hub you can self-host, or run on the vendor's EU-hosted cloud.
PubNub
Best for: Publish and subscribe messaging for real-time apps; the vendor describes a global pub/sub network and leads with delivery speed.
Soketi
Best for: Open-source WebSockets you run yourself, which the project describes as simple, fast and resilient.
Stream
Best for: In-app chat, video calling, livestreaming, activity feeds and AI moderation through APIs and SDKs; the vendor says you can start free.
Want AI doing the heavy lifting in your marketing?
I build the systems that handle the boring 80 percent, so you get your week back. Done properly, with the human kept in.
Supabase Realtime
Best for: Projects on Postgres that want Realtime alongside database, auth, instant APIs, functions, storage and vector embeddings from one platform.
My advice on choosing a realtime provider
Match the provider to your main feature, not your feature list. If chat is the heart of your app, a service built around chat will save you weeks of building message history, typing indicators and moderation yourself. If it's collaborative editing, conflict resolution matters more than raw message delivery. If you only push simple events, like a notification that an order has shipped, nearly any option here will do, and the simplest one to run usually wins.
Think hard before you self-host. Running your own WebSockets server is very doable, and some of the open-source projects even aim to be compatible with existing client libraries, but you'll own the scaling, monitoring and late-night alerts. That trade makes sense for teams with strict data rules or the skills in-house. For a small team shipping a product, a managed platform is usually the calmer choice.
Realtime messaging overlaps with a few neighbours. If what you need is alerts on a phone when the app is closed, that's a job for push notification services rather than a WebSockets API. If you're building chat specifically, my list of Sendbird alternatives goes deeper on that, and if you want realtime as part of a full backend, compare backend-as-a-service platforms.
Moving your channels without dropping messages
Run old and new side by side for a while. Publish every event to both providers, point a small group of users at the new one, and compare what arrives. Missing or out-of-order messages show up quickly when you can see both streams together.
Map your channel names, private channel rules and presence features before you write any code, because providers handle authentication for private channels in different ways. Check reconnection behaviour on a poor mobile connection, since that's where users notice problems first. Only switch off the old service once a full week of normal traffic has run cleanly on the new one.
Do you make realtime APIs or WebSocket services? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.
Want your tool on this list? Featured spots and reviews here are paid partnerships. Here's how to partner with me.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between WebSockets and pub/sub?
WebSockets are the connection that lets a server push data to a browser or app instantly. Pub/sub is the pattern on top: senders publish to a channel and everyone subscribed to it receives the message.
Is a self-hosted WebSockets server hard to run?
Getting one running is usually straightforward. Keeping it reliable under load, across regions and through upgrades takes ongoing work, so make sure someone on your team owns it.
Can I switch providers without changing my front-end code?
Sometimes. Some open-source servers aim to work with existing client libraries, which can cut the changes needed. Test private channels, presence and reconnection carefully, because that's where differences hide.
Do I need realtime for notifications?
If users need to see an update while the app is open, realtime is the right tool. If they need an alert when the app is closed, you'll want push notifications instead, and many apps use both.
What is presence in a realtime API?
Presence tells your app who's connected to a channel right now, such as which teammates are viewing a document. It's what powers online indicators and live lists of participants.
Where should my realtime data be hosted?
It depends on your users and any data rules you follow. Some providers offer regional hosting, including inside the EU. Requirements vary, so check what applies to you before you choose.
