10 Best PubNub Alternatives in 2025

Whenever businesses build apps that need live chat, alerts, or video, they must choose reliable platforms. Therefore, developers usually look for options that fit their app goals while also cutting unnecessary costs. That is why many now compare different PubNub alternatives that offer real-time features and helpful tools. So, this guide highlights 10 great options to help you make smart decisions while avoiding confusion.

What is PubNub?

PubNub is a dedicated and powerful platform that helps developers create live communication apps. Alongside that, it allows various advanced features, such as instant messaging and device signaling across web and mobile devices. Plus, with APIs and SDKs provided by PubNub, programmers may issue and accept data safely in low-latency channels for effortless communication. Moreover, its network of 15+ data centers provides speed and reliability in applications across the globe.

This service also supports multiple programming languages, including JavaScript, iOS, Android, and hardware platforms. Besides, PubNub even integrates with major push notification services, including Google and Microsoft. Programmable serverless functions let developers add custom logic directly into the system. However, some users seek more budget-friendly options, so considering a PubNub free alternative can help them enjoy similar advanced capabilities.

Advantages and Disadvantages of PubNub

Evaluating both advantages and disadvantages also makes comparing PubNub competitors easier and much clearer. Below, we will explore a few key advantages and disadvantages of this platform to help you choose wisely:

Advantages of PubNub

• Reliability: It guarantees an uptime of 99.999 percent, reducing downtime and enabling effortless app use.
• Security Standards: The platform has met many regulations, including SOC2 and ISO 27001, in various industries.
• Wide Support: Apart from that, PubNub also offers 50+ SDKs and 65+ integrations for diverse development spaces.
• Global Infrastructure: This advanced service uses 15+ data centers worldwide to ensure fast and effortless messaging services.
• Dedicated Support: It provides 24/7 assistance with architect guidance and detailed documentation for users.

Disadvantages of PubNub

• Delivery Issues: PubNub does not guarantee message delivery or strict ordering for all applications.
• Queue Limits: The default message queue holds 100 messages, dropping excess messages when users are offline.
• SDK Issues: Developers report buggy SDKs and unstable APIs, affecting smooth integration and reliability.
• No Compression: PubNub sends entire messages each time, increasing bandwidth usage with frequent updates.
• Transport Protocols: It uses HTTP long polling, which may cause higher latency than modern alternatives.

Top 10 PubNub Alternatives & Competitors to Consider

When PubNub does not meet specific needs, exploring other services becomes very important. So, this part covers the top 10 PubNub alternatives to help you choose the right alternative to PubNub and ensure effortless performance:

1. ZEGOCLOUD

Among the top PubNub alternatives, ZEGOCLOUD offers a dedicated communication platform with advanced capabilities. Plus, it features a very low latency of 300ms for live and instant interactions on both web and mobile platforms. Moreover, the platform allows up to 10,000 participants in one session, so it is great for large conferences. In addition to that, it provides 4K video resolution, which will provide a much higher quality visual.

Besides, real-time AI-powered features include face beautification and smart voice enhancements for a polished user experience. Developers can benefit from multi-device support covering over 15,000 device models worldwide. Furthermore, the platform covers over 212 countries, and is thus globally accessible and performant. In addition, ZEGOCLOUD’s AI is built with ASR, TTS, and large language model (LLM) technologies to enable fast and accurate conversations.

Key Features

• Stream Forwarding: Supports RTMP forwarding to multiple social media platforms simultaneously to expand audience reach.
• AI Integration: Provides advanced AI tools like OpenAI for building smart conversational applications.
• High Fidelity: Offers an up to 48 kHz audio sampling rate for crystal clear and realistic sound.
• Global Nodes: Delivers over 500 global nodes for effortless and uninterrupted instant communication worldwide.
• Packet Loss: Maintains strong connections even with up to 70% packet loss, avoiding communication drops.

Pricing Plans

Voice Call	$0.99/1,000 participant minutes
Video Call	$3.99/1,000 participant minutes
Live Streaming	$0.39/1,000 minutes
In-App Chat	$99 – 10000 MAU

2. CometChat

CometChat provides one-on-one voice and video calling, letting users talk and see each other clearly without delay. This platform also integrates with customer support and major CRM platforms via robust REST APIs. Moreover, it has a scalable infrastructure with 35+ global edge locations, ensuring minimal latency worldwide. While exploring the top PubNub competitors, it automatically shrinks long URLs for cleaner message display and easier sharing.

Key Features

• Allows group chatting up to 300 members and enables you to record clips directly within chat
• Supports polls that allow users to create and participate in surveys within chats.
• Transmit share files and multimedia of any correct format, such as pictures and documents.

Pricing Plans

Chat API	Basic: $298.75/month Advanced: $423.75/month
Voice and Video API	Starts at $0.001/user minute

3. Twilio

When you are looking for top PubNub competitors, it offers horizontally scrollable media with CTA text and quick reply buttons. Plus, each video room can support up to 50 participants, with a maximum of 35 PSTN participants. Moreover, its SIP trunking service offers global PSTN connectivity, allowing VoIP infrastructure integration. This platform also uses centralized onboarding to help verify phone numbers and caller identity with tools like SHAKEN/STIR and CNAM.

Key Features

• Ensures message fallbacks automatically switch from RCS to SMS when RCS isn’t supported on devices.
• Provides phone numbers in 100+ countries to make connections easy with customers and teams.
• Gives IoT connectivity to enable effortless communication and device management across industries.

Pricing Plans

Voice API	Start at $0.0085 for receiving and $0.014 for making calls
SMS API	Starts from $0.0083 for a message
Video API	$0.004 per minute per participant

4. Sendbird

The platform supports webhooks for real-time event notifications in one-on-one and group channels to your server. Sendbird also allows mentions to tag users in messages, like “@username,” to notify specific people. Besides, this alternative to PubNub uses smart throttling to prevent spam floods and excessive message bursts from overloading systems. Plus, group channels allow 100 members, but supergroup channels expand this limit to an impressive 10,000.

Key Features

• Support large file sharing, including images, GIFs, and files, with media thumbnails auto-generated.
• Provide secure communication using TLS-encrypted messaging, AES-256 file encryption, and media stream encryption.
• Offers global infrastructure with multiple AWS regions for low latency and reliability.

Pricing Plans

Starter 5K	$349/month
Pro 5K	$499/month

5. StreamChat

StreamChat uses WebRTC to provide livestreams with very low latency under 500ms for real-time interaction. Moreover, its broadcast capabilities allow more than 100k live participants with stable, high-quality streaming. The AI voice agent integration enables advanced voice bots, IVRs, and intelligent assistants effortlessly. While exploring the top PubNub competitors, it also offers HD video to over 100,000 participants with minimal delay and buffering.

Key Features

• Integrates Opus RED and DTX technologies to improve call quality and performance.
• Provides 99.99% uptime to guarantee highly reliable and always-available service for all users.
• Offers crystal-clear voice calling with 1:1 or group functionalities for any app need.

Pricing Plans

Video	$0.30/month/1,000 Participant Minutes
Chat	Starting from $399/month

6. Ably

Ably provides REST API and WebSocket support to give users flexible options for integrating instant calls. In addition, it comes with server-to-server communication using a simplified subset of the live messaging API. While exploring PubNub’s free alternatives, this platform hosted and managed message queues with support for AMQP and STOMP protocols. Plus, it supports MQTT for lightweight messaging, perfect for IoT devices with low power and bandwidth needs.

Key Features

• Assures over 100% availability of mission-critical applications for over 5 years.
• Provides granular user permissions via JWT tokens and API key security controls.
• Filters subscription messages selectively using customizable filter expressions on channels.

Pricing Plans

Standard	$29/month
Pro	$399/month

7. Vonage Communications APIs

The Vonage support Unified UCaaS framework that integrates phone, messaging, conferencing, and collaboration into a single platform. As an alternative to PubNub, this platform also works in about 200 countries and connects with over 2,000 networks. Plus, SIP trunking connects corporate PBX systems over VoIP, reducing communication costs. Moreover, it has a limit of 24 people sharing video and 200 people sharing audio, making the virtual collaboration great.

Key Features

• Provides 40+ tools, including call routing, toll-free numbers, and easy team messaging.
• Fraud Defender automatically spots and blocks fake or suspicious activity in real time.
• Connects with CRM systems in call centers to personalize customer experiences using detailed data.

Pricing Plans

SMS API	$0.00809/message
Voice API	$0.01446/minute
Video API	$0.0041/minute

8. Whereby

Whereby uses secure encryption using DTLS-SRTP for peer connections and for larger streams. Among PubNub’s free alternatives, it also supports up to 200 active participants and 24 active camera streams in embedded mode. Plus, this service provides multi-language support and WCAG 2.1 Level AA compliance to enhance inclusivity for everyone. Besides, it automatically captures meetings with stored videos accessible via API calls for playback or download.

Key Features

• Enables branding of meeting rooms with logos, colors, and theming through API.
• Use WebRTC technology to provide encrypted, real-time, reliable communication for secure video calls.
• Viewer Mode supports 400 passive participants who can watch, listen, and chat during meetings.

Pricing Plans

Build	$9.99 per month

9. OneSignal

OneSignal supports multi-channel messaging across push, email, SMS, and in-app to reach users everywhere. Plus, it segments audiences by demographics and CRM data to improve targeting for precise engagement. This alternative to PubNub also offers A/B testing to compare message versions and optimize performance. Moreover, its time zone scheduling sends messages at the perfect time and sends up to 5,000,000 messages within any 15-minute interval.

Key Features

• Offers APIs for seamless integration with multiple development platforms and marketing tools.
• Data import and export tools allow smooth management of large customer databases.
• Notification preview helps visualize how push or web notifications will look before sending.

Pricing Plans

Growth	Starts at $19/month
Professional	Custom

10. Pusher

Among the PubNub alternatives, Pusher provides bi-directional APIs for instant messaging without polling. Moreover, it handles connections automatically, falling back to HTTP when WebSocket is unavailable to keep communication active. Pusher also delivers messages through a global CDN network, ensuring no delays across various locations. Alongside that, it runs on highly available infrastructure, which has SLA guarantees that ensure enterprise-grade uptime reliability.

Key Features

• Supports custom transactional payloads, like title and body, for APNs and FCM push notifications.
• Enables live location tracking, perfect for food delivery and real-time order updates.
• Allows triggering events with flexible payloads, such as JSON, for diverse data transmission needs.

Pricing Plans

Startup	$49/month
Pro	$99/month
Business	$299/month

Conclusion

In summary, choosing the right PubNub alternatives helps you build reliable apps with smooth chat, video, and notifications. Therefore, exploring different PubNub alternatives ensures better features and flexibility for specific business goals.

Plus, each option offers unique strengths that support scalability, security, and user experience. However, if you want a powerful and global solution, ZEGOCLOUD stands out as the best choice to meet modern communication needs.

FAQ

Q1: Why should I look for PubNub alternatives?

Many developers look for PubNub alternatives because PubNub’s pricing grows quickly with scale. Options like Ably, Pusher, or ZEGOCLOUD are popular since they provide transparent pricing, reliable infrastructure, and strong SDK support.

Q2: Which PubNub alternative is best for gaming or chat apps?

For multiplayer gaming, Photon is common. For chat and real-time voice/video, ZEGOCLOUD is a strong PubNub alternative choice with ultra-low latency and easy integration across Flutter, React Native, and Web.

Q3: Is Socket.IO a good alternative to PubNub?

Socket.IO works well for smaller projects, but it requires self-hosting and backend management. ZEGOCLOUD offers global infrastructure, token-based security, and out-of-the-box features that save time when scaling.

Q4: What is the cheapest alternative to PubNub?

Firebase and Socket.IO are cheap to start, but they come with hidden scaling costs. ZEGOCLOUD offers a free tier plus competitive pricing, making it a cost-effective option for production apps.

Q5: Which PubNub alternative has the best developer experience?

Ably and SendBird are often mentioned, but ZEGOCLOUD stands out with clear documentation, active support, and cross-platform SDKs, letting developers launch chat or streaming features in just a few steps.