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ConfigCat vs Solace PubSub+

ConfigCat logo

ConfigCat

Developer Tools

Feature flag service priced per flag and environment with unlimited seats and unlimited monthly active users

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit ConfigCatFull review
Solace PubSub+ logo

Solace PubSub+

Databases

Multi-protocol event broker sold as software, cloud service or a hardware appliance

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit Solace PubSub+Full review

The short version

  • Solace PubSub+ is free; ConfigCat starts at $110/mo.
  • Only ConfigCat lists feature flags and configuration; only Solace PubSub+ lists multi-protocol broker.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ConfigCat and Solace PubSub+ actually diverge.

Attributes where ConfigCat and Solace PubSub+ differ
AttributeConfigCatSolace PubSub+
Pricing modelPer month by feature flag and environment countQuote
PlatformsWeb, API, iOS, Android, WindowsLinux, Self-hosted, Web, Hardware appliance
CategoryDeveloper ToolsDatabases

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes).

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 ConfigCat

  • Feature flags and configuration
  • Percentage rollouts
  • Targeting rules and segments
  • Unlimited seats
  • Global CDN delivery
  • Audit log
  • Public API and webhooks
  • SDKs across languages

Only in Solace PubSub+

  • Multi-protocol broker
  • Dynamic message routing
  • Hardware appliance
  • Event Portal
  • Guaranteed delivery
  • Mission Control
  • Topic hierarchies and wildcards
  • Kafka and MQ bridging

What people use each for

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

ConfigCat

  • A consumer or mobile app with millions of users where per-MAU flag pricing would cost more than the flags are worthnot Solace PubSub+
  • A team that wants every engineer, product manager and support agent to have a login without paying per seatnot Solace PubSub+
  • Decoupling deployment from release with percentage rollouts and a kill switch, without buying an experimentation platformnot Solace PubSub+
  • A small team that needs ten flags permanently and can run indefinitely on the free tiernot Solace PubSub+

Solace PubSub+

  • A bank building an event mesh across regions where a Java JMS application and an MQTT mobile client must share the same topic spacenot ConfigCat
  • An exchange or trading platform with a latency budget that needs the hardware appliance rather than a software brokernot ConfigCat
  • An airline distributing operational events to ground systems, aircraft and partner APIs over different protocolsnot ConfigCat
  • A manufacturer bridging factory MQTT telemetry into an enterprise Kafka estate without writing translation servicesnot ConfigCat

Where each one falls short

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

ConfigCat

  • There is no experimentation or statistical analysis engine, so teams wanting real A/B tests with significance testing must buy and integrate a separate analytics or experimentation product
  • Pricing by flag count punishes exactly the hygiene you want: the Pro tier caps at 100 flags, so teams that do not aggressively retire stale flags are pushed to the 325 dollar Smart tier for housekeeping reasons rather than growth
  • The free tier allows only 2 environments, which does not cover the common development, staging and production split, so almost any real deployment starts on a paid plan
  • It is a smaller vendor than the category incumbents, so enterprise procurement teams will find less depth in compliance attestations, contractual terms and reference architecture than LaunchDarkly offers
  • Flag evaluation relies on SDK-side caching of a CDN-delivered config, which is fast but means propagation of a change is eventually consistent rather than instant, something to understand before relying on it as an emergency kill switch

Solace PubSub+

  • No pricing is published at any tier, so evaluation requires a sales engagement before you can even judge whether it is in budget, and broker tier sizing determines cost in ways buyers frequently get wrong
  • The free Standard edition has hard capacity and support limits, which makes it useful for development but means any real deployment triggers a commercial negotiation
  • The proprietary SMF protocol gives the best performance and feature coverage, so teams that lean on it acquire real switching costs even though open protocols are supported
  • Operating a self-managed high availability broker pair with disaster recovery is a specialist task, and Solace expertise is scarce in the hiring market compared with Kafka skills
  • Event Portal and Mission Control are licensed as part of platform packages, so the governance tooling that makes an event mesh manageable is not simply included with the broker

Pricing, plan by plan

ConfigCat

Free
  • Forever FreeFree
    • 10 feature flags
    • 2 environments and 2 products
    • 2 segments
  • Pro$110/mo
    • 100 feature flags
    • 3 environments and 3 products
    • Unlimited seats and MAUs
  • Smart$325/mo
    • Unlimited feature flags
    • Unlimited environments, products and segments
    • Unlimited seats and MAUs
  • Enterprise$900/mo
    • Everything in Smart
    • Enterprise support and controls
    • Unlimited everything on flag counts

Solace PubSub+

Free
  • Software Event Broker StandardFree
    • Free for production within capacity limits
    • Single node, capped connections and queues
    • No vendor support
  • Solace CloudOn request
    • Managed brokers in tiers from ENT-250 to ENT-100K
    • Foundation, Accelerate and Scale platform packages
    • Fixed subscription or annual consumption drawdown
  • Software Enterprise self-managedOn request
    • Deploy in your own Kubernetes, VMs or data centre
    • High availability and disaster recovery
    • Support with SLA
  • Hardware applianceOn request
    • Purpose-built appliance with FPGA message offload
    • Deterministic low latency
    • Sold with support contract

Which should you pick?

Choose ConfigCat if

  • You need feature flags and configuration.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, API, iOS, Android, Windows.
  • You also want percentage rollouts.
ConfigCat review

Choose Solace PubSub+ if

  • You need multi-protocol broker.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Self-hosted, Web, Hardware appliance.
  • You also want dynamic message routing.
Solace PubSub+ review

Questions people ask

Is ConfigCat or Solace PubSub+ better?
Neither clearly leads. ConfigCat starts at Free and Solace PubSub+ at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ConfigCat or Solace PubSub+?
ConfigCat starts at Free and Solace PubSub+ at Free.
Does ConfigCat or Solace PubSub+ run on more platforms?
ConfigCat runs on Web, API, iOS, Android, Windows. Solace PubSub+ runs on Linux, Self-hosted, Web, Hardware appliance.
Can I use ConfigCat for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is ConfigCat best used for?
ConfigCat is most often used for a consumer or mobile app with millions of users where per-mau flag pricing would cost more than the flags are worth, a team that wants every engineer, product manager and support agent to have a login without paying per seat, decoupling deployment from release with percentage rollouts and a kill switch, without buying an experimentation platform, a small team that needs ten flags permanently and can run indefinitely on the free tier. Of those, a consumer or mobile app with millions of users where per-mau flag pricing would cost more than the flags are worth and a team that wants every engineer, product manager and support agent to have a login without paying per seat are not what Solace PubSub+ is typically brought in for.
What can ConfigCat do that Solace PubSub+ cannot?
ConfigCat covers Feature flags and configuration, Percentage rollouts, Targeting rules and segments, Unlimited seats. Solace PubSub+ covers Multi-protocol broker, Dynamic message routing, Hardware appliance, Event Portal.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

ConfigCat: How is ConfigCat priced?

By feature flag, environment and product count. Seats, monthly active users and flag reads are unlimited on every plan.

Solace PubSub+: Is there a free version of Solace?

Yes, the Standard edition of the software event broker is free for production within capacity limits, with no vendor support.

ConfigCat: Is the free tier usable?

For small projects yes, but at 10 flags and 2 environments it will not cover a dev, staging and production setup.

Solace PubSub+: Does Solace publish prices?

No. Cloud, software and appliance are all quoted, based on broker tier from ENT-250 to ENT-100K and licensing model.

ConfigCat: Can it run A/B tests?

It can split traffic, but there is no statistics engine. You need a separate analytics tool to decide a winner.

Solace PubSub+: Why buy an appliance in 2026?

Deterministic low latency with message processing offloaded to hardware, which matters in capital markets and little elsewhere.

ConfigCat: How fast does a flag change take effect?

SDKs poll and cache, so changes propagate on the polling interval rather than instantly.

Solace PubSub+: Can it replace Kafka?

Not for log retention and stream reprocessing. It is stronger at multi-protocol routing and guaranteed delivery, and the two are often bridged.

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