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Developer Tools · head to head

Helix vs Soketi

Helix logo

Helix

Developer Tools

Post-modern modal text editor for the terminal, written in Rust

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Soketi logo

Soketi

Developer Tools

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Helix no official GUI application yet, so it requires comfort with terminal workflows.; 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: Helix covers Multiple Selections, Soketi covers Pusher protocol compatibility.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Helix and Soketi actually diverge.

Attributes where Helix and Soketi differ
AttributeHelixSoketi
Pricing modelopen-sourceOpen source, no licence fee
Platformslinux, mac, windowsLinux, 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 Helix

  • Multiple Selections
  • Tree-sitter Syntax Trees
  • Built-in LSP Support
  • Fuzzy File Finder
  • Project-wide Search

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.

Helix

  • Editing code over SSH or in tmux sessionsnot Soketi
  • Working with syntax-aware selection and navigationnot Soketi
  • Getting IDE-like completion and diagnostics without plugin setupnot Soketi
  • Lightweight, low-resource code editing on laptopsnot Soketi

Soketi

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

Where each one falls short

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

Helix

  • No official GUI application yet, so it requires comfort with terminal workflows.
  • Plugin ecosystem is far smaller than Vim's or Neovim's, limiting customization.
  • Keybindings differ from both Vim and Kakoune, adding a learning curve for users of either.
  • Configuration is more limited than Neovim's Lua-based extensibility.

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

Helix

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Full editor, no paid tiers

Soketi

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Helix if

  • You need multiple selections.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on linux, mac, windows.
  • You also want tree-sitter syntax trees.
Helix 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 Helix or Soketi better?
Neither clearly leads. Helix 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, Helix or Soketi?
Helix starts at Free and Soketi at Free.
Does Helix or Soketi run on more platforms?
Helix runs on linux, mac, windows. Soketi runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
Can I use Helix for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Helix best used for?
Helix is most often used for editing code over ssh or in tmux sessions, working with syntax-aware selection and navigation, getting ide-like completion and diagnostics without plugin setup, lightweight, low-resource code editing on laptops. Of those, editing code over ssh or in tmux sessions and working with syntax-aware selection and navigation are not what Soketi is typically brought in for.
What can Helix do that Soketi cannot?
Helix covers Multiple Selections, Tree-sitter Syntax Trees, Built-in LSP Support, Fuzzy File Finder. Soketi covers Pusher protocol compatibility, Presence and private channels, Horizontal scaling, App management backends.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Helix: Is Helix free to use?

Yes, Helix is free and open source, licensed under the Mozilla Public License 2.0 (MPL-2.0), with no paid tiers or subscriptions.

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.

Helix: How do I install Helix?

Install via your operating system's package manager, or download pre-built binaries from GitHub Releases; the nightly version requires building from source.

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.

Helix: Does Helix support plugins?

Not yet. Helix currently has no plugin system, though the project intends to add one eventually; it instead ships with built-in LSP and tree-sitter support out of the box.

Source
Soketi: What does it cost?

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

Helix: How do I configure Helix?

Helix ships with sane modern defaults requiring much less config-file fiddling than Vim, though settings can still be customized in a config.toml file.

Source
Soketi: What are people moving to?

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

Helix: Where can I get help or support?

Support is community-driven via GitHub for code and issues, the Matrix chat for discussion, and OpenCollective for funding ongoing development.

Source
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