Ably vs PocketBase

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.

What people use each for

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

Where each one falls short

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

Pricing, plan by plan

Which should you pick?

Questions people ask

Is Ably or PocketBase better?

Neither clearly leads. Ably starts at Free and PocketBase at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Ably or PocketBase?

Ably starts at Free and PocketBase at Free.

Does Ably or PocketBase run on more platforms?

Ably runs on web, ios, android, api. PocketBase runs on Linux, Windows, macOS, FreeBSD.

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 PocketBase is typically brought in for.

What can Ably do that PocketBase cannot?

Ably covers Pub/sub messaging, Presence, Message persistence, Multi-protocol support. PocketBase covers REST API, Real-time subscriptions, Admin UI, SQLite.