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Business Intelligence · head to head

Hex vs Soketi

Hex logo

Hex

Business Intelligence

AI-powered analytics platform unifying notebooks, dashboards, and business intelligence

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit HexFull review
Soketi logo

Soketi

Developer Tools

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

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit SoketiFull review

The short version

  • Soketi is free; Hex starts at $36/mo.
  • Only Hex lists agentic notebooks; only Soketi lists pusher protocol compatibility.
  • Where Hex falls short: pricing based per-seat ($36-$75/editor/month) becomes expensive for large teams.
  • Where Soketi falls short: there is no commercial support to buy, so a production incident at three in the morning is entirely your problem with no escalation path.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Hex and Soketi actually diverge.

Attributes where Hex and Soketi differ
AttributeHexSoketi
Pricing modelSeat-based subscription with credit systemOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWeb, SlackLinux, macOS, Windows
CategoryBusiness IntelligenceDeveloper Tools

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

Not yet recorded: founded for Soketi.

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 Hex

  • Agentic notebooks
  • Conversational analytics
  • Data apps
  • Context Studio
  • Data warehouse integration
  • dbt integration
  • Version history
  • Scheduled automation

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.

Hex

  • Deep exploratory analysis by data teams on organizational datasetsnot Soketi
  • Self-serve analytics for business users without SQL knowledgenot Soketi
  • Executive dashboarding and reporting with real-time datanot Soketi
  • Cross-functional data collaboration and insight sharingnot Soketi
  • AI-assisted analysis reducing manual exploration timenot Soketi

Soketi

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

Where each one falls short

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

Hex

  • Pricing based per-seat ($36-$75/editor/month) becomes expensive for large teams
  • Free Community tier limited to small compute and trial AI features
  • Advanced compute adds per-hour fees ($0.32-$4.06/hour), requiring cost monitoring
  • Learning curve for users unfamiliar with SQL or Python notebooks
  • Enterprise features requiring custom quotes lack transparent 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

Hex

Free
  • CommunityFree
    • Hex agent trial
    • Data source connections
    • All cell types
  • Professional$36/mo
    • Everything in Community
    • Full Hex agent access
    • Standard credits
  • Team$75/mo
    • Everything in Professional
    • Extended credits
    • Unlimited published apps
  • EnterpriseOn request
    • Everything in Team
    • Explorer seat add-ons
    • Audit logs

Soketi

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Hex if

  • You need agentic notebooks.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Slack.
  • You also want conversational analytics.
Hex 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 Hex or Soketi better?
Neither clearly leads. Hex 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, Hex or Soketi?
Hex starts at Free and Soketi at Free.
Does Hex or Soketi run on more platforms?
Hex runs on Web, Slack. Soketi runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
Can I use Hex for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Hex best used for?
Hex is most often used for deep exploratory analysis by data teams on organizational datasets, self-serve analytics for business users without sql knowledge, executive dashboarding and reporting with real-time data, cross-functional data collaboration and insight sharing. Of those, deep exploratory analysis by data teams on organizational datasets and self-serve analytics for business users without sql knowledge are not what Soketi is typically brought in for.
What can Hex do that Soketi cannot?
Hex covers Agentic notebooks, Conversational analytics, Data apps, Context Studio. Soketi covers Pusher protocol compatibility, Presence and private channels, Horizontal scaling, App management backends.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Hex: What is included in the free Community plan?

The Community plan ($0) includes Hex agent trial, data source connections, all cell types, and small compute sizing. It's suitable for prototyping and hobbyist projects.

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.

Hex: How much do advanced compute resources cost?

Advanced compute is billed per minute and ranges from $0.32 to $4.06 per hour depending on resource tier. Monthly credit grants are included in paid plans.

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.

Hex: Can I share analytics with non-Hex users?

Yes. Published apps can be shared publicly. Embedded analytics are available on Enterprise plans for integrating Hex into other applications.

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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