APIs · head to head
Gravitee vs Pusher

Gravitee
APIs
Open source API management platform for event-native APIs
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -

Pusher
APIs
Realtime messaging API for building live features into apps
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Gravitee the entry paid API management tier is $2,500 a month and includes a single production gateway; Pusher the free Sandbox plan is capped at 100 concurrent connections, which is quickly outgrown by production apps.
- They diverge on capability: Gravitee covers API Gateway, Pusher covers Pub/sub channels.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Gravitee and Pusher actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (APIs).
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 Gravitee
- API Gateway
- Developer Portal
- Analytics Dashboard
- Kubernetes
- Docker
- Kafka
- LDAP
- Cloud support
Only in Pusher
- Pub/sub channels
- Presence channels
- Client libraries
- Webhooks
- 24/7 monitoring
- Priority support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Gravitee
- API gateway and lifecycle managementnot Pusher
- Exposing Kafka event streams as managed APIsnot Pusher
- Protocol mediation between event brokers and clientsnot Pusher
- Self-hosting an open source API gatewaynot Pusher
- Access control and authentication in front of internal APIsnot Pusher
Pusher
- Adding live chat to a web or mobile appnot Gravitee
- Showing realtime presence of online usersnot Gravitee
- Pushing live notifications or dashboard updatesnot Gravitee
- Building collaborative features without managing WebSocket serversnot Gravitee
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Gravitee
- The entry paid API management tier is $2,500 a month and includes a single production gateway
- Event management is priced separately, starting at $1,250 a month for the Comet tier
- Tiers are gated on gateway and broker counts, so scaling horizontally means moving tier rather than paying incrementally
- Data logging masking and other enterprise features are withheld from the lowest paid tier
- 24/7 support requires the top Universe tier
Pusher
- The free Sandbox plan is capped at 100 concurrent connections, which is quickly outgrown by production apps.
- Pricing jumps sharply between tiers (e.g. $49 to $99 to $299), leaving few options for teams with moderate but growing usage.
- Priority support with faster response times costs an additional $3,000/month on top of plan pricing.
Pricing, plan by plan
Gravitee
Free- CommunityFree
- API Gateway
- Basic analytics
- Community support
- Enterprise$1500/monthly
- Advanced features
- SLA support
- SSO integration
- Custom$undefined/monthly
- Custom deployment
- Dedicated support
- Premium SLA
Pusher
Free- SandboxFree
- 200k messages/day
- 100 concurrent connections
- Standard support
- Startup$49/month
- 1M messages/day
- 500 concurrent connections
- Pro$99/month
- 4M messages/day
- 2,000 concurrent connections
- Business$299/month
- 10M messages/day
- 5,000 concurrent connections
- Premium support
Which should you pick?
Choose Gravitee if
- You need api gateway.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Cloud, On-premise, Kubernetes.
- You also want developer portal.
Choose Pusher if
- You need pub/sub channels.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on web, ios, android, api.
- You also want presence channels.
Questions people ask
- Is Gravitee or Pusher better?
- Neither clearly leads. Gravitee starts at Free and Pusher at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Gravitee or Pusher?
- Gravitee starts at Free and Pusher at Free.
- Does Gravitee or Pusher run on more platforms?
- Gravitee runs on Cloud, On-premise, Kubernetes. Pusher runs on web, ios, android, api.
- Can I use Gravitee for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Gravitee best used for?
- Gravitee is most often used for api gateway and lifecycle management, exposing kafka event streams as managed apis, protocol mediation between event brokers and clients, self-hosting an open source api gateway. Of those, api gateway and lifecycle management and exposing kafka event streams as managed apis are not what Pusher is typically brought in for.
- What can Gravitee do that Pusher cannot?
- Gravitee covers API Gateway, Developer Portal, Analytics Dashboard, Kubernetes. Pusher covers Pub/sub channels, Presence channels, Client libraries, Webhooks.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Gravitee: What is Gravitee's pricing model?
Gravitee uses a tiered subscription model with monthly flat pricing. The Planet tier for API Management starts at $2,500/month with one production gateway, while the Comet tier for Event Management starts at $1,250/month.
SourcePusher: What does Pusher cost?
Pusher Channels offers a free Sandbox plan (200k messages/day, 100 connections) and paid plans starting at $49/month for Startup, scaling up through Pro, Business, and several higher tiers up to $1,199/month, plus custom Enterprise pricing.
SourceGravitee: Are there hidden fees with Gravitee?
No. Gravitee explicitly states there are no hidden fees, and all tiers include unlimited users and unlimited APIs under management.
SourcePusher: Can I change or cancel my plan?
Yes, customers can log into the dashboard and adjust their plan at any time, including upgrading, downgrading, or cancelling.
SourceGravitee: What does higher tier pricing include in Gravitee?
Higher tiers add more production gateways, enterprise plugins, and enhanced support levels ranging from Gold to Platinum/Diamond support.
SourcePusher: How is usage metered?
Usage is measured by concurrent connections and messages per day; a message counts both the publish and each delivery, so publishing one message to 50 subscribers counts as 51 messages.
SourceRelated pages
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- Pusher vs Svix
- Pusher vs Apollo GraphQL
- Pusher vs Zeplo
- Pusher vs Backbase
- Pusher vs Temenos Transact
- Pusher vs Episode Six
- Pusher vs Skaleet
- Pusher vs Backendless
- Pusher vs i2c
- Pusher vs Boomi API Management
- Pusher vs Codat
- Pusher vs curl
- Pusher vs Fintech Farm
- Pusher vs Fintecture
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