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Ably vs Sanity

Ably logo

Ably

Software

Realtime data delivery platform for pub/sub messaging at scale

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Sanity logo

Sanity

Software

Headless CMS with real-time collaborative editing and structured content APIs

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

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.; Sanity free plan limited to 10,000 documents and 100GB assets
  • They diverge on capability: Ably covers Pub/sub messaging, Sanity covers Content API.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Ably and Sanity actually diverge.

Attributes where Ably and Sanity differ
AttributeAblySanity
Pricing modelfreemiumsubscription
Platformsweb, ios, android, apiWeb
FoundedUnknown2011

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 Sanity

  • Content API
  • Collaborative editing
  • Structured content
  • Webhooks
  • Third-party services
  • GROQ query language
  • Cloud support
  • JavaScript SDK support

What people use each for

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

Ably

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

Sanity

  • Headless CMS for structured content managementnot Ably
  • Collaborative content editing with real-time multiplayer supportnot Ably
  • API-driven content delivery with GROQ query languagenot 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.

Sanity

  • Free plan limited to 10,000 documents and 100GB assets
  • Free plan supports only public datasets
  • Growth plan capped at 50 seats maximum
  • Private datasets, scheduled drafts, and comments/tasks require paid plans
  • Annual billing unavailable for Growth plan; Enterprise-only

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

Sanity

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Sanity review.

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 Sanity if

  • You need content api.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want collaborative editing.
Sanity review

Questions people ask

Is Ably or Sanity better?
Neither clearly leads. Ably starts at Free and Sanity at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Ably or Sanity?
Ably starts at Free and Sanity at Free.
Does Ably or Sanity run on more platforms?
Ably runs on web, ios, android, api. Sanity runs on Web.
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 Sanity is typically brought in for.
What can Ably do that Sanity cannot?
Ably covers Pub/sub messaging, Presence, Message persistence, Multi-protocol support. Sanity covers Content API, Collaborative editing, Structured content, Webhooks.

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
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
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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