API Management · head to head
Ably vs Hoppscotch

Ably
API Management
Realtime data delivery platform for pub/sub messaging at scale
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -

Hoppscotch
API Management
Open-source API development ecosystem with web-based REST client
- 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.; Hoppscotch hoppscotch's core client is MIT licensed, but hoppscotch.io/pricing (per prior and repeated fetch) renders no server-side pricing content, meaning any hosted Team/Enterprise tier pricing is not readable without a JavaScript-executing browser
- They diverge on capability: Ably covers Pub/sub messaging, Hoppscotch covers REST Client.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Ably and Hoppscotch actually diverge.
| Attribute | Ably | Hoppscotch |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | web, ios, android, api | Web, Desktop, Self-hosted |
| Founded | Unknown | 2019 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), 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 Hoppscotch
- REST Client
- WebSocket
- gRPC Client
- GitHub
- Documentation tools
- CI/CD
- Web support
- Desktop support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Ably
- Building realtime chat or collaborative appsnot Hoppscotch
- Delivering live data feeds like stock prices or sports scoresnot Hoppscotch
- Broadcasting notifications to many concurrent clientsnot Hoppscotch
- Running mission-critical realtime infrastructure with high uptime SLAsnot Hoppscotch
Hoppscotch
- 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.
Hoppscotch
- Hoppscotch's core client is MIT licensed, but hoppscotch.io/pricing (per prior and repeated fetch) renders no server-side pricing content, meaning any hosted Team/Enterprise tier pricing is not readable without a JavaScript-executing browser
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
Hoppscotch
Free- Open SourceFree
- Full REST client
- WebSocket support
- Community
- Teams$8/monthly
- Team collaboration
- Cloud sync
- 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 Hoppscotch if
- You need rest client.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Desktop, Self-hosted.
- You also want websocket.
Questions people ask
- Is Ably or Hoppscotch better?
- Neither clearly leads. Ably starts at Free and Hoppscotch at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Ably or Hoppscotch?
- Ably starts at Free and Hoppscotch at Free.
- Does Ably or Hoppscotch run on more platforms?
- Ably runs on web, ios, android, api. Hoppscotch runs on Web, Desktop, Self-hosted.
- 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 Hoppscotch is typically brought in for.
- What can Ably do that Hoppscotch cannot?
- Ably covers Pub/sub messaging, Presence, Message persistence, Multi-protocol support. Hoppscotch covers REST Client, WebSocket, gRPC Client, GitHub.
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.
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.
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.
SourceRelated pages
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- Hoppscotch vs Appwrite
- Hoppscotch vs Hasura
- Hoppscotch vs PocketBase
- Hoppscotch vs Sanity
- Hoppscotch vs Apigee
- Hoppscotch vs Pusher
- Hoppscotch vs Kong Gateway
- Hoppscotch vs PubNub
- Hoppscotch vs Treblle
- Hoppscotch vs Apollo GraphQL
- Hoppscotch vs Bruno
- Hoppscotch vs KeystoneJS
- Hoppscotch vs Moesif
- Hoppscotch vs Parse Server
- Hoppscotch vs Stainless
- Hoppscotch vs Stoplight
- Hoppscotch vs Strapi
- Hoppscotch vs Swagger/OpenAPI
