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APIs · head to head

Increase vs PubNub

Increase logo

Increase

APIs

Direct banking API for ACH, wires, real-time payments, accounts and cards

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
PubNub logo

PubNub

APIs

Realtime communication platform for chat, IoT, and live data apps

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only PubNub has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Increase the published per transaction rates exclude a monthly platform fee that Increase states varies by use case, so the transparent price page cannot produce a total cost and the material part of the deal is still negotiated privately.; PubNub free plan storage history is limited to 7 days, which is short for apps needing longer message retention.
  • They diverge on capability: Increase covers ACH origination and receipt, PubNub covers Pub/sub messaging.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Increase and PubNub actually diverge.

Attributes where Increase and PubNub differ
AttributeIncreasePubNub
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotefreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsAPI, Webweb, ios, android, api

Identical on both: 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 Increase

  • ACH origination and receipt
  • Domestic wires
  • Real-time payments
  • Bank accounts
  • Cards
  • Cheques
  • Sandbox and simulations
  • Audit and reconciliation data

Only in PubNub

  • Pub/sub messaging
  • Presence tracking
  • Message persistence
  • Serverless Functions
  • File sharing
  • Encryption and access controls

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Increase

  • A payroll or treasury product that needs to originate same-day ACH and wires under its own control rather than through a payment processornot PubNub
  • A marketplace that must hold seller balances in ledgered accounts with real account and routing numbersnot PubNub
  • A fintech that wants FedNow and RTP payouts so recipients are paid outside banking hoursnot PubNub
  • An engineering team that needs the underlying return codes and settlement timing visible in order to build correct reconciliation and retry logicnot PubNub

PubNub

  • Building realtime chat applicationsnot Increase
  • Streaming live IoT sensor datanot Increase
  • Adding presence indicators to collaborative appsnot Increase
  • Running edge logic with serverless Functions on realtime eventsnot Increase

Where each one falls short

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

Increase

  • The published per transaction rates exclude a monthly platform fee that Increase states varies by use case, so the transparent price page cannot produce a total cost and the material part of the deal is still negotiated privately.
  • Free allowances are deliberately small at ten account numbers and five physical cards, so any programme issuing accounts or cards at volume moves to quoted pricing almost immediately.
  • Banking is provided through partner banks, so programme approval, compliance obligations and the ability to launch at all depend on a bank relationship you do not control, and post-Synapse bank risk appetite has tightened considerably.
  • The API deliberately exposes payment rail mechanics rather than smoothing them, which is correct engineering but means a team without payments expertise will build reconciliation and return handling wrongly and only discover it when funds go astray.
  • Coverage is United States only, so a company with international payout needs runs a second provider and reconciles two ledgers, and the single API argument disappears at the first cross border customer.

PubNub

  • Free plan storage history is limited to 7 days, which is short for apps needing longer message retention.
  • MAU-based pricing means costs scale directly with user growth, which can be less predictable than flat message-based pricing.
  • Pro-tier custom pricing above 50,000 MAU requires contacting sales rather than self-serve checkout.

Pricing, plan by plan

Increase

On request
  • Increase Platform$undefined/month
    • Monthly fee quoted by use case and not published
    • Next-day ACH origination listed at 0.50 US dollars per transaction
    • Same-day ACH origination listed at 2.00 per transaction

PubNub

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Up to 200 MAU or 1M transactions
    • 1GB data storage (7 days)
    • 5 test Serverless Functions
  • Starter$98/month
    • 1,000 MAU included
    • User management
    • Insights
  • Pro$undefined/month
    • Custom MAU packages
    • Volume discounts
    • Enterprise-scale configurations

Which should you pick?

Choose Increase if

  • You need ach origination and receipt.
  • You work on API, Web.
  • You also want domestic wires.
Increase review

Choose PubNub if

  • You need pub/sub messaging.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web, ios, android, api.
  • You also want presence tracking.
PubNub review

Questions people ask

Is Increase or PubNub better?
Neither clearly leads. Increase starts at On request and PubNub at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Increase or PubNub?
PubNub has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Increase and Free for PubNub.
Does Increase or PubNub run on more platforms?
Increase runs on API, Web. PubNub runs on web, ios, android, api.
Can I use PubNub for free?
Yes. PubNub has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Increase starts at On request.
What is Increase best used for?
Increase is most often used for a payroll or treasury product that needs to originate same-day ach and wires under its own control rather than through a payment processor, a marketplace that must hold seller balances in ledgered accounts with real account and routing numbers, a fintech that wants fednow and rtp payouts so recipients are paid outside banking hours, an engineering team that needs the underlying return codes and settlement timing visible in order to build correct reconciliation and retry logic. Of those, a payroll or treasury product that needs to originate same-day ach and wires under its own control rather than through a payment processor and a marketplace that must hold seller balances in ledgered accounts with real account and routing numbers are not what PubNub is typically brought in for.
What can Increase do that PubNub cannot?
Increase covers ACH origination and receipt, Domestic wires, Real-time payments, Bank accounts. PubNub covers Pub/sub messaging, Presence tracking, Message persistence, Serverless Functions.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Increase: Does Increase publish its pricing?

Partly. Per transaction fees for ACH, wires, RTP, FedNow and cards are listed publicly. The monthly platform fee is not, and it is described only as varying by use case.

PubNub: What does PubNub cost?

PubNub offers a free plan for up to 200 MAU or 1 million transactions, a Starter plan at $98/month for 1,000 MAU, and custom Pro pricing for larger volumes, e.g. around $550/month for 10,000 MAU.

Source
Increase: Who holds the deposits?

Partner banks, not Increase itself. That relationship determines your programme approval, your compliance obligations and your risk if the bank changes appetite.

PubNub: Is there a free plan, and what are its limits?

Yes, the free plan supports up to 200 monthly active users or 1 million transactions, includes 1GB of data storage retained for 7 days, and requires no credit card.

Source
Increase: Is it international?

No. Increase covers United States rails only, so cross border payouts require a second provider.

PubNub: How is usage metered?

PubNub bills primarily by Monthly Active Users, defined as a unique user who connects at least once in a billing cycle; messages are bundled into MAU pricing with no separate per-message fees, and overage is billed proportionally.

Source
Increase: How is it different from a middleware BaaS platform?

It exposes the rails rather than abstracting them, showing real return codes and settlement timing. That suits teams who understand payments and punishes teams who do not.

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