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Cybersecurity · head to head

Darktrace vs Soketi

Darktrace logo

Darktrace

Cybersecurity

Autonomous threat detection and response

From
$20000/year
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Soketi logo

Soketi

Developer Tools

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

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Soketi has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Darktrace no pricing information published on website; vendors must request pricing through demo request form or contact sales; 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.
  • They diverge on capability: Darktrace covers Self-learning AI, Soketi covers Pusher protocol compatibility.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Darktrace and Soketi actually diverge.

Attributes where Darktrace and Soketi differ
AttributeDarktraceSoketi
Starting price$20000/yearFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsNetwork, Cloud, EmailLinux, macOS, Windows
CategoryCybersecurityDeveloper Tools
Founded2013Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Darktrace

  • Self-learning AI
  • Network anomaly detection
  • Autonomous response
  • Behavioral analysis
  • Threat model visualization
  • Email security
  • Application control
  • Incident response automation

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.

Darktrace

  • Threat Detectionnot Soketi
  • Ndrnot Soketi
  • Incident Responsenot Soketi

Soketi

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

Where each one falls short

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

Darktrace

  • No pricing information published on website; vendors must request pricing through demo request form or contact sales
  • No tiered pricing structure available to compare editions or select appropriate plan level before contacting sales

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

Darktrace

$20000/year
  • Detect$20000/year
    • Network anomaly detection
    • AI-powered threat detection
    • Compliance reporting
  • Detect & Respond$35000/year
    • All Detect features
    • Autonomous response
    • Email security
  • Enterprise$50000/year
    • All features
    • Dedicated support
    • Custom training

Soketi

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Darktrace if

  • You need self-learning ai.
  • You work on Network, Cloud, Email.
  • You also want network anomaly detection.
Darktrace 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 Darktrace or Soketi better?
Neither clearly leads. Darktrace starts at $20000/year and Soketi at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Darktrace or Soketi?
Soketi has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $20000/year for Darktrace and Free for Soketi.
Does Darktrace or Soketi run on more platforms?
Darktrace runs on Network, Cloud, Email. Soketi runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
Can I use Soketi for free?
Yes. Soketi has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Darktrace starts at $20000/year.
What is Darktrace best used for?
Darktrace is most often used for threat detection, ndr, incident response. Of those, threat detection and ndr are not what Soketi is typically brought in for.
What can Darktrace do that Soketi cannot?
Darktrace covers Self-learning AI, Network anomaly detection, Autonomous response, Behavioral analysis. Soketi covers Pusher protocol compatibility, Presence and private channels, Horizontal scaling, App management backends.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Darktrace: How much does Darktrace cost?

Darktrace does not publish pricing information on its website. To obtain pricing details and learn about available packages, customers must contact Darktrace directly by requesting a demo or reaching out through the company's contact form.

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.

Darktrace: Does Darktrace offer a free trial?

Darktrace mentions a free trial option, but specific trial length, features included, and how to access it are not published on the website. Users must contact the company directly to inquire about trial availability.

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.

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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