Developer Tools · head to head
HCP Terraform vs Soketi
HCP Terraform
Developer Tools
Infrastructure as code provisioning and management, formerly Terraform Cloud
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Soketi
Developer Tools
Self-hosted, Pusher-compatible WebSockets server with a stalled maintenance record
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: HCP Terraform legacy free version deprecated; no current freemium tier; 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 HCP Terraform and Soketi actually diverge.
| Attribute | HCP Terraform | Soketi |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | usage-based | Open source, no licence fee |
| Platforms | Web | Linux, macOS, Windows |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Developer Tools).
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 HCP Terraform
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.
HCP Terraform
- Infrastructure as Code managementnot Soketi
- Cloud resource provisioningnot Soketi
Soketi
- A Laravel application that already uses Echo and wants to stop paying a hosted realtime providernot HCP Terraform
- Realtime notifications or presence indicators where data must not leave your own infrastructure for compliance reasonsnot HCP Terraform
- A local or CI environment that needs a Pusher-compatible server without hitting a paid accountnot HCP Terraform
- A high-connection-count application where hosted per-connection pricing has become the largest line in the infrastructure billnot HCP Terraform
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
HCP Terraform
- Legacy free version deprecated; no current freemium tier
- New users receive $500 credit but still require usage to continue service
- Terraform Enterprise requires custom pricing
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
HCP Terraform
Free- Essentials$0.1/month
- Per resource pricing
- Remote state storage
- VCS connection
- Standard$0.47/month
- Per resource pricing
- Essentials features plus unlimited modules
- Module deprecation
- Premium$0.99/month
- Per resource pricing
- Standard features plus module revocation
- Waypoint actions
Soketi
Free- SoketiFree
- MIT licensed
- Unlimited connections subject to your own hardware
- No vendor billing
Which should you pick?
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.
Questions people ask
- Is HCP Terraform or Soketi better?
- Neither clearly leads. HCP Terraform 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, HCP Terraform or Soketi?
- HCP Terraform starts at Free and Soketi at Free.
- Does HCP Terraform or Soketi run on more platforms?
- HCP Terraform runs on Web. Soketi runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
- Can I use HCP Terraform for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is HCP Terraform best used for?
- HCP Terraform is most often used for infrastructure as code management, cloud resource provisioning. Of those, infrastructure as code management and cloud resource provisioning are not what Soketi is typically brought in for.
- What can HCP Terraform do that Soketi cannot?
- Soketi covers Pusher protocol compatibility, Presence and private channels, Horizontal scaling, App management backends.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
HCP Terraform: How much does HCP Terraform cost?
HCP Terraform uses per-resource pricing starting at $0.10/month/resource for Essentials, $0.47/month/resource for Standard, and $0.99/month/resource for Premium.
SourceSoketi: 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.
HCP Terraform: Does HCP Terraform offer a free tier?
No, the legacy free version has been deprecated. However, new users receive $500 credit to try the service.
SourceSoketi: Do I need to change my client code?
No. Pusher client SDKs and Laravel Echo work by changing the host, port and credentials.
HCP Terraform: What does the Standard plan include?
Standard plan at $0.47/month/resource includes unlimited modules, module deprecation, team notifications, no-code provisioning, and Waypoint templates.
SourceSoketi: 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.
Related pages
More on HCP Terraform
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- Soketi vs Coder
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- Soketi vs Buildkite
- Soketi vs Helix
- Soketi vs JetBrains Rider
- Soketi vs Argo CD
- Soketi vs PartyKit
- Soketi vs Penpot
- Soketi vs Backstage
- Soketi vs GNU Emacs
- Soketi vs Bazel
- Soketi vs Eclipse IDE
- Soketi vs Pants Build
- Soketi vs Swagger UI
- Soketi vs Cody
- Soketi vs ConfigCat
- Soketi vs Cortex
- Soketi vs Dagger
- Soketi vs Deno
- Soketi vs Fig