API Management · head to head
Ably vs Appwrite
Ably
API Management
Realtime data delivery platform for pub/sub messaging at scale
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Appwrite
API Management
Open-source Backend as a Service with REST API and SDKs
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- 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.; Appwrite smaller ecosystem compared to Firebase; fewer third-party integrations and extensions
- They diverge on capability: Ably covers Pub/sub messaging, Appwrite covers REST API.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Ably and Appwrite actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (API Management).
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 Appwrite
- REST API
- Authentication
- Database
- Multiple SDKs
- Cloud functions
- File storage
- Docker support
- Self-hosted support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Ably
- Building realtime chat or collaborative appsnot Appwrite
- Delivering live data feeds like stock prices or sports scoresnot Appwrite
- Broadcasting notifications to many concurrent clientsnot Appwrite
- Running mission-critical realtime infrastructure with high uptime SLAsnot Appwrite
Appwrite
- API Developmentnot Ably
- API Gatewaynot Ably
- API Testingnot Ably
- API Documentationnot Ably
- Microservicesnot 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.
Appwrite
- Smaller ecosystem compared to Firebase; fewer third-party integrations and extensions
- Analytics, crash reporting, and A/B testing not included (Firebase includes these)
- Requires infrastructure management for self-hosted deployments; not fully managed like Firebase Cloud
- Mobile app support not as mature as Firebase's native iOS/Android SDKs
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
Appwrite
Free- Cloud FreeFree
- 75K MAU
- 10GB storage
- Unlimited projects
- Cloud Pro$15/month
- More storage
- Priority support
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.
Choose Appwrite if
- You need rest api.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Cloud (Managed), Self-Hosted, Docker.
- You also want authentication.
Questions people ask
- Is Ably or Appwrite better?
- Neither clearly leads. Ably starts at Free and Appwrite at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Ably or Appwrite?
- Ably starts at Free and Appwrite at Free.
- Does Ably or Appwrite run on more platforms?
- Ably runs on web, ios, android, api. Appwrite runs on Cloud (Managed), Self-Hosted, Docker.
- Can I use Ably for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- 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 Appwrite is typically brought in for.
- What can Ably do that Appwrite cannot?
- Ably covers Pub/sub messaging, Presence, Message persistence, Multi-protocol support. Appwrite covers REST API, Authentication, Database, Multiple SDKs.
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.
SourceAppwrite: Can Appwrite be self-hosted?
Yes. Appwrite is fully open-source and self-hosted with a single Docker command. Self-hosting is completely free with no feature restrictions, unlike the managed Appwrite Cloud.
SourceAbly: 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.
SourceAppwrite: What is Appwrite Cloud's pricing?
Appwrite Cloud offers a free tier with unlimited projects, 75K monthly active users, and 10GB storage with no time limit. Pro plan starts at $15/month per organization member. Scale plan at $599/month includes dedicated resources and SOC 2 compliance.
SourceAbly: 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.
SourceAppwrite: What programming languages does Appwrite support?
Appwrite provides SDKs for 15+ languages including JavaScript, Flutter, Swift, Kotlin, Python, Ruby, PHP, .NET, and more, offering more language flexibility than Firebase.
SourceAppwrite: What backend services does Appwrite provide?
Appwrite includes Auth (with multi-factor auth), Databases, Storage (with compression and encryption), Serverless Functions, Messaging, Realtime subscriptions, and Sites (for hosting static and full-stack apps).
SourceAppwrite: Does Appwrite include real-time capabilities?
Yes. Appwrite's Realtime service covers all platform services by default through WebSocket subscriptions, enabling real-time updates across databases, functions, and messages.
SourceAppwrite: How does Appwrite compare to Firebase on costs?
Appwrite offers better cost predictability. Firebase's pay-per-read/write model can lead to unexpected bills with runaway queries, while Appwrite's self-hosted model only requires paying for your own infrastructure with completely predictable costs.
SourceRelated pages
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