Softwr

Cybersecurity · head to head

DTiQ vs Soketi

DTiQ logo

DTiQ

Cybersecurity

Managed video loss prevention with human auditors for restaurants, convenience stores and retail

From
On request
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: DTiQ you are buying labour, so the cost per site is far higher than a self-service video licence and it does not fall as camera prices do.; 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: DTiQ covers SmartAudit, Soketi covers Pusher protocol compatibility.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which DTiQ and Soketi actually diverge.

Attributes where DTiQ and Soketi differ
AttributeDTiQSoketi
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidLinux, macOS, Windows
CategoryCybersecurityDeveloper Tools

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 DTiQ

  • SmartAudit
  • POS transaction linking
  • 360iQ platform
  • Exception alerting
  • Drive-through timing
  • Food safety and compliance checks
  • Managed installation

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.

DTiQ

  • A multi-unit quick service franchisee who has no one available to review video across fifteen storesnot Soketi
  • A convenience store chain investigating till fraud by matching voids to what actually happened at the counternot Soketi
  • An operator enforcing drive-through service time standards across locations from evidence rather than anecdotenot Soketi
  • A brand auditing food safety and cleanliness compliance at franchise sites without sending a field managernot Soketi

Soketi

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

Where each one falls short

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

DTiQ

  • You are buying labour, so the cost per site is far higher than a self-service video licence and it does not fall as camera prices do.
  • Audits are sampled, not continuous, so a problem outside the reviewed window is invisible and the score is a statistical impression rather than a complete record.
  • Nothing is published on price and the commercial shape is a multi-year managed service agreement, which is harder to exit than a software subscription and typically involves bundled hardware you do not own.
  • Ownership changed in a $200 million Digital Alpha led investment tied to a Cisco Meraki partnership, so the hardware and network roadmap may shift under an existing estate.
  • It is built around restaurant, convenience and retail operating models, so an organisation outside those verticals gets a generic video product and pays for an audit methodology that does not fit its work.

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

DTiQ

On request
  • DTiQ managed service$undefined/month
    • Priced per location as a managed service, not per camera
    • Audit frequency and scope determine the rate
    • Hardware and installation bundled into the service agreement

Soketi

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

Which should you pick?

Choose DTiQ if

  • You need smartaudit.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want pos transaction linking.
DTiQ 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 DTiQ or Soketi better?
Neither clearly leads. DTiQ starts at On request and Soketi at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, DTiQ or Soketi?
Soketi has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for DTiQ and Free for Soketi.
Does DTiQ or Soketi run on more platforms?
DTiQ runs on Web, iOS, Android. 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. DTiQ starts at On request.
What is DTiQ best used for?
DTiQ is most often used for a multi-unit quick service franchisee who has no one available to review video across fifteen stores, a convenience store chain investigating till fraud by matching voids to what actually happened at the counter, an operator enforcing drive-through service time standards across locations from evidence rather than anecdote, a brand auditing food safety and cleanliness compliance at franchise sites without sending a field manager. Of those, a multi-unit quick service franchisee who has no one available to review video across fifteen stores and a convenience store chain investigating till fraud by matching voids to what actually happened at the counter are not what Soketi is typically brought in for.
What can DTiQ do that Soketi cannot?
DTiQ covers SmartAudit, POS transaction linking, 360iQ platform, Exception alerting. Soketi covers Pusher protocol compatibility, Presence and private channels, Horizontal scaling, App management backends.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

DTiQ: Is DTiQ a video management system?

Not primarily. It is a managed service where human auditors review your footage and deliver scored reports. The platform exists to support that service.

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.

DTiQ: How is it priced?

Per location as a managed service, based on audit scope and frequency, with hardware and installation bundled. Nothing is published.

Soketi: Do I need to change my client code?

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

DTiQ: Who owns DTiQ?

Digital Alpha holds a majority stake following a $200 million investment that bought out Bain Capital, BV Investment Partners and others, alongside a Cisco Meraki partnership.

Soketi: What does it cost?

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

DTiQ: Does it integrate with my POS?

Yes, with major restaurant and convenience store point of sale systems, which is what allows transaction exceptions to be replayed on video.

Soketi: What are people moving to?

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

Share

Related pages

More on DTiQ

More on Soketi

Keep looking

Other head to heads