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Business Intelligence · head to head

Cube vs Soketi

Cube logo

Cube

Business Intelligence

AI-native analytics platform with semantic layer and governed access

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit CubeFull review
Soketi logo

Soketi

Developer Tools

Self-hosted, Pusher-compatible WebSockets server with a stalled maintenance record

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit SoketiFull review

The short version

  • Soketi is free; Cube starts at $40/mo.
  • Only Cube lists analytics Chat; only Soketi lists pusher protocol compatibility.
  • Where Cube falls short: per-developer licensing can be expensive for large analytics teams.
  • Where Soketi falls short: there is no commercial support to buy, so a production incident at three in the morning is entirely your problem with no escalation path.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cube and Soketi actually diverge.

Attributes where Cube and Soketi differ
AttributeCubeSoketi
Pricing modelPer-developer seats with volume pricingOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWeb, Self-hostedLinux, macOS, Windows
CategoryBusiness IntelligenceDeveloper Tools

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 Cube

  • Analytics Chat
  • Workbooks
  • Dashboards
  • Embedded Analytics
  • AI Integrations
  • Core Data APIs
  • Caching and pre-aggregations

Only in Soketi

  • Pusher protocol compatibility
  • Presence and private channels
  • Horizontal scaling
  • App management backends
  • Webhooks
  • Prometheus metrics

What people use each for

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

Cube

  • Building governed semantic data models for analyticsnot Soketi
  • Embedding analytics into customer-facing productsnot Soketi
  • Enabling natural language data queries for teamsnot Soketi
  • Creating conversational dashboards with AI assistancenot Soketi

Soketi

  • A Laravel application that already uses Echo and wants to stop paying a hosted realtime providernot Cube
  • Realtime notifications or presence indicators where data must not leave your own infrastructure for compliance reasonsnot Cube
  • A local or CI environment that needs a Pusher-compatible server without hitting a paid accountnot Cube
  • A high-connection-count application where hosted per-connection pricing has become the largest line in the infrastructure billnot Cube

Where each one falls short

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

Cube

  • Per-developer licensing can be expensive for large analytics teams
  • Additional cost for Explorer and Viewer roles beyond developers
  • Semantic layer approach requires upfront modeling investment
  • Smaller connector ecosystem than dedicated BI platforms
  • May be overengineered for simple reporting needs

Soketi

  • Maintenance has effectively stalled: the maintainer has said time is severely limited, releases are infrequent, and the community has been discussing whether the project is abandoned, which means security fixes may not arrive
  • Dependency drift on Node and uWebSockets.js will eventually force you to fork or migrate, and that cost is unbudgeted at the point you adopt it
  • There is no commercial support to buy, so a production incident at three in the morning is entirely your problem with no escalation path
  • Scaling beyond a single node needs Redis and careful configuration, and getting presence channels correct across nodes is a genuine source of subtle bugs
  • It implements the Pusher protocol rather than tracking it, so any protocol feature Pusher adds later will not appear, and the compatibility guarantee slowly decays

Pricing, plan by plan

Cube

Free
  • FreeFree
    • For hobbyists and personal projects
    • Basic data source connection
    • Semantic modeling
  • Starter$40
    • Extended agent limits
    • Premium LLMs
    • Unlimited workbooks
  • Premium$80
    • All Starter features
    • Embedded dashboards
    • Embedded analytics chat
  • EnterpriseOn request
    • 99.990% uptime SLA
    • Dedicated single-tenant installation
    • Bring Your Own Cloud

Soketi

Free
  • SoketiFree
    • MIT licensed
    • Unlimited connections subject to your own hardware
    • No vendor billing

Which should you pick?

Choose Cube if

  • You need analytics chat.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Self-hosted.
  • You also want workbooks.
Cube review

Choose Soketi if

  • You need pusher protocol compatibility.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want presence and private channels.
Soketi review

Questions people ask

Is Cube or Soketi better?
Neither clearly leads. Cube starts at Free and Soketi at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cube or Soketi?
Cube starts at Free and Soketi at Free.
Does Cube or Soketi run on more platforms?
Cube runs on Web, Self-hosted. Soketi runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
Can I use Cube for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Cube best used for?
Cube is most often used for building governed semantic data models for analytics, embedding analytics into customer-facing products, enabling natural language data queries for teams, creating conversational dashboards with ai assistance. Of those, building governed semantic data models for analytics and embedding analytics into customer-facing products are not what Soketi is typically brought in for.
What can Cube do that Soketi cannot?
Cube covers Analytics Chat, Workbooks, Dashboards, Embedded Analytics. Soketi covers Pusher protocol compatibility, Presence and private channels, Horizontal scaling, App management backends.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cube: What is the cost per developer on Cube?

Starter plan costs $40/developer/month. Premium adds embedded analytics at $80/developer/month. Explorer and Viewer roles cost $40 and $20/month respectively.

Source
Soketi: Is Soketi still maintained?

Barely. The maintainer has stated that available time is very limited and releases have been sparse; treat it as community-maintained.

Cube: What uptime SLAs does Cube offer?

Premium plan offers 99.950% uptime SLA. Enterprise plan provides 99.990% uptime SLA with dedicated support.

Source
Soketi: Do I need to change my client code?

No. Pusher client SDKs and Laravel Echo work by changing the host, port and credentials.

Cube: Can I use Cube for free?

Yes, the Free plan includes basic data source connection, semantic modeling, workbooks, and dashboards for hobbyists and personal projects.

Source
Soketi: What does it cost?

Nothing in licence fees. It is MIT licensed; you pay for the server it runs on.

Soketi: What are people moving to?

Laravel Reverb for Laravel applications, and Sockudo, a Rust reimplementation, for others.

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