Softwr

Cybersecurity · head to head

Descope vs Soketi

Descope logo

Descope

Cybersecurity

No-code drag-and-drop authentication platform.

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
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

  • Each has a real cost: Descope free tier capped at 7,500 MAU; Pro tier at 10,000 MAU, Growth tier at 25,000 MAU, forcing migration to Enterprise for larger organisations; 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.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Descope and Soketi actually diverge.

Attributes where Descope and Soketi differ
AttributeDescopeSoketi
Pricing modelfreemiumOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, APILinux, macOS, Windows
CategoryCybersecurityDeveloper Tools

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

Nothing recorded that Soketi does not also cover.

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.

Descope

  • Organisations seeking rapid identity implementation without custom developmentnot Soketi
  • Companies supporting multiple user types (consumers, partners, AI agents) in single platformnot Soketi
  • Multi-tenant B2B2C SaaS applications requiring per-organisation identity policiesnot Soketi
  • Teams building passwordless-first authentication experiencesnot Soketi
  • Healthcare and regulated industries requiring HIPAA-compliant identity managementnot Soketi

Soketi

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

Where each one falls short

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

Descope

  • Free tier capped at 7,500 MAU; Pro tier at 10,000 MAU, Growth tier at 25,000 MAU, forcing migration to Enterprise for larger organisations
  • HIPAA compliance only available in Growth tier ($799/mo) and above; not included in lower-priced plans
  • No-code UI builder provides pre-built flows but still requires custom frontend development for fully-branded authentication experiences
  • All paid tiers billed annually; no monthly billing option for commitment-free flexibility
  • Bot protection features available only in Growth tier and above

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

Descope

Free
  • Free ForeverFree
    • 7,500 monthly active users
    • Basic authentication
    • Community support
  • Pro$249/month
    • 10,000 monthly active users
    • Custom domains
    • CI/CD integration
  • Growth$799/month
    • 25,000 monthly active users
    • Bot protection
    • Fine-grained authorisation
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Unlimited monthly active users
    • Tiered discounts
    • Premium support with dedicated CS engineer

Soketi

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Descope if

  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, API.
Descope 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 Descope or Soketi better?
Neither clearly leads. Descope 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, Descope or Soketi?
Descope starts at Free and Soketi at Free.
Does Descope or Soketi run on more platforms?
Descope runs on Web, iOS, Android, API. Soketi runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
Can I use Descope for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Descope best used for?
Descope is most often used for organisations seeking rapid identity implementation without custom development, companies supporting multiple user types (consumers, partners, ai agents) in single platform, multi-tenant b2b2c saas applications requiring per-organisation identity policies, teams building passwordless-first authentication experiences. Of those, organisations seeking rapid identity implementation without custom development and companies supporting multiple user types (consumers, partners, ai agents) in single platform are not what Soketi is typically brought in for.
What can Descope do that Soketi cannot?
Soketi covers Pusher protocol compatibility, Presence and private channels, Horizontal scaling, App management backends.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Descope: Can I build custom authentication flows without code?

Yes. Descope's drag-and-drop workflow interface allows you to construct and modify signup, login, MFA and SSO flows without code changes.

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.

Descope: Does Descope support AI agent authentication?

Yes. Descope supports building identity journeys for AI agents and MCP servers, including scoped OAuth tokens and delegation chains.

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.

Descope: Is Descope HIPAA compliant?

HIPAA compliance is available in Growth tier and above, starting at $799/month.

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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