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APIs · head to head

Ably vs Akana

Ably logo

Ably

APIs

Realtime data delivery platform for pub/sub messaging at scale

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Akana logo

Akana

APIs

Enterprise API lifecycle management platform

From
$2500/monthly
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Ably has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Ably standard and Pro plans layer usage-based charges for messages, connection minutes, and data transfer on top of the base subscription, adding cost complexity.; Akana owned by Perforce and sold within their portfolio rather than independently, and akana.com redirects to perforce.com
  • They diverge on capability: Ably covers Pub/sub messaging, Akana covers API Lifecycle Management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Ably and Akana actually diverge.

Attributes where Ably and Akana differ
AttributeAblyAkana
Starting priceFree$2500/monthly
Pricing modelfreemiumsubscription
Free tierYesNo
Platformsweb, ios, android, apiCloud, On-premise, Hybrid
FoundedUnknown2001

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (APIs).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Ably

  • Pub/sub messaging
  • Presence
  • Message persistence
  • Multi-protocol support
  • Encryption
  • Datadog integration

Only in Akana

  • API Lifecycle Management
  • API Security
  • Governance Controls
  • OAuth
  • SAML
  • LDAP
  • Active Directory
  • Cloud support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Ably

  • Building realtime chat or collaborative appsnot Akana
  • Delivering live data feeds like stock prices or sports scoresnot Akana
  • Broadcasting notifications to many concurrent clientsnot Akana
  • Running mission-critical realtime infrastructure with high uptime SLAsnot Akana

Akana

  • API lifecycle management across REST, SOAP and GraphQLnot Ably
  • Applying OAuth, JWT and SAML policies at the gatewaynot Ably
  • Running the same platform on-premises, in Kubernetes or across cloudsnot Ably
  • Developer portal and API monetisationnot Ably
  • Monitoring API traffic and enforcing quotasnot Ably

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Ably

  • Standard and Pro plans layer usage-based charges for messages, connection minutes, and data transfer on top of the base subscription, adding cost complexity.
  • The jump from Standard ($29/month) to Pro ($399/month) is steep for teams needing more than 10k connections but not full Pro capacity.
  • 24/7 mission-critical support and 99.999% uptime SLAs are reserved for the custom-priced Enterprise tier.

Akana

  • Owned by Perforce and sold within their portfolio rather than independently, and akana.com redirects to perforce.com
  • Pricing is not published; only a 30 day trial is offered

Pricing, plan by plan

Ably

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 200 concurrent connections
    • 500 messages/second
    • 6M messages/month
  • Standard$29/month
    • 10k concurrent channels
    • 10k concurrent connections
    • 2.5k messages/second
  • Pro$399/month
    • 50k concurrent channels
    • 50k concurrent connections
    • 10k messages/second

Akana

$2500/monthly
  • Professional$2500/monthly
    • API Gateway
    • Developer Portal
    • Basic analytics
  • Enterprise$5000/monthly
    • Advanced governance
    • Multi-cloud support
    • Premium support
  • Custom$undefined/monthly
    • Custom solutions
    • Dedicated support
    • SLA guarantee

Which should you pick?

Choose Ably if

  • You need pub/sub messaging.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web, ios, android, api.
  • You also want presence.
Ably review

Choose Akana if

  • You need api lifecycle management.
  • You work on Cloud, On-premise, Hybrid.
  • You also want api security.
Akana review

Questions people ask

Is Ably or Akana better?
Neither clearly leads. Ably starts at Free and Akana at $2500/monthly, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Ably or Akana?
Ably has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Ably and $2500/monthly for Akana.
Does Ably or Akana run on more platforms?
Ably runs on web, ios, android, api. Akana runs on Cloud, On-premise, Hybrid.
Can I use Ably for free?
Yes. Ably has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Akana starts at $2500/monthly.
What is Ably best used for?
Ably is most often used for building realtime chat or collaborative apps, delivering live data feeds like stock prices or sports scores, broadcasting notifications to many concurrent clients, running mission-critical realtime infrastructure with high uptime slas. Of those, building realtime chat or collaborative apps and delivering live data feeds like stock prices or sports scores are not what Akana is typically brought in for.
What can Ably do that Akana cannot?
Ably covers Pub/sub messaging, Presence, Message persistence, Multi-protocol support. Akana covers API Lifecycle Management, API Security, Governance Controls, OAuth.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Ably: What does Ably cost?

Ably offers a free plan with 200 concurrent connections, a Standard plan at $29/month plus usage, a Pro plan at $399/month plus usage, and custom Enterprise pricing with unlimited channels and connections.

Source
Akana: What does Akana API Platform include?

Akana provides mediation and integration capabilities for creating easy-to-consume API products from API code, with features for API governance, security, and operational management.

Source
Ably: Is there a free plan, and what are its limits?

Yes, the free plan includes 200 concurrent connections, 500 messages per second, and 6 million messages per month with community and best-effort email support.

Source
Akana: How does Akana help secure APIs?

Akana addresses the security challenges that come with more APIs and more endpoints, providing tools for enterprise API governance and compliance management.

Source
Ably: How is usage metered?

Beyond plan limits, Ably charges usage-based rates of $2.50 per million messages, $1.00 per million connection minutes, $1.00 per million channel minutes, and $0.25 per GiB of data transfer, with volume discounts available.

Source
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