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APIs · head to head

Janus Gateway vs Svix

Janus Gateway logo

Janus Gateway

APIs

WebRTC gateway and media server for real-time communication

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Svix logo

Svix

APIs

Outbound webhook sending as a service, with retries, signing and a customer-facing portal

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Janus Gateway no commercial pricing published; open-source project without official commercial offerings; Svix the Professional tier at 490 US dollars a month includes the same 50,000 messages as the free tier, so the upgrade buys SLA, throughput and retention rather than volume, which is a jarring step for a growing product.
  • They diverge on capability: Janus Gateway covers WebRTC Gateway, Svix covers Automatic retries.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Janus Gateway and Svix actually diverge.

Attributes where Janus Gateway and Svix differ
AttributeJanus GatewaySvix
Pricing modelopen-sourcePer month by message count
PlatformsLinux, MacOS, BSDWeb, Cloud, Docker
Founded2010Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), 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 Janus Gateway

  • WebRTC Gateway
  • Media Routing
  • Video Conferencing
  • RTP
  • SRTP
  • REST API
  • Linux support
  • MacOS support

Only in Svix

  • Automatic retries
  • Payload signing
  • Consumer portal
  • Event types and filtering
  • Delivery logs and replay
  • Rate limiting
  • Static source IPs
  • Language SDKs

What people use each for

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

Janus Gateway

  • API Developmentnot Svix
  • API Gatewaynot Svix
  • API Testingnot Svix
  • API Documentationnot Svix
  • Microservicesnot Svix

Svix

  • A SaaS company adding webhooks to its API that does not want to build retry, signing and a customer debugging UI from scratchnot Janus Gateway
  • A payments or fintech product whose customers need signature verification libraries in several languages they did not writenot Janus Gateway
  • An engineering team drowning in support tickets from customers whose endpoints silently failed and who need self-service delivery logsnot Janus Gateway
  • A platform with a small number of very slow customer endpoints that must not delay deliveries to everyone elsenot Janus Gateway

Where each one falls short

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

Janus Gateway

  • No commercial pricing published; open-source project without official commercial offerings
  • Community-supported only; no vendor commercial support or SLA available

Svix

  • The Professional tier at 490 US dollars a month includes the same 50,000 messages as the free tier, so the upgrade buys SLA, throughput and retention rather than volume, which is a jarring step for a growing product.
  • Only attempted messages count toward usage, but a customer with many subscribed endpoints multiplies a single event into many billable messages, and forecasting that fan-out before launch is difficult.
  • The open source server is MIT licensed but trails the hosted product in features, so self-hosting is a fallback position rather than a genuinely equivalent option.
  • Routing outbound customer traffic through a third party puts a vendor in the delivery path for events your customers may treat as contractual, which some security reviews will not accept.
  • Payload retention is 30 days on the free tier and 90 on Professional, so anyone needing longer delivery history for audit must pay for Enterprise or log independently.

Pricing, plan by plan

Janus Gateway

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Core WebRTC gateway
    • Community support

Svix

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 50,000 messages a month included
    • Overage at $0.0001 per message
    • 99.9% uptime SLA
  • Professional$490/month
    • 50,000 messages included, same as free
    • 99.99% uptime SLA
    • 800 messages per second
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Custom volume and rate limits
    • 99.999% uptime SLA
    • Custom retention

Which should you pick?

Choose Janus Gateway if

  • You need webrtc gateway.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, MacOS, BSD.
  • You also want media routing.
Janus Gateway review

Choose Svix if

  • You need automatic retries.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Cloud, Docker.
  • You also want payload signing.
Svix review

Questions people ask

Is Janus Gateway or Svix better?
Neither clearly leads. Janus Gateway starts at Free and Svix at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Janus Gateway or Svix?
Janus Gateway starts at Free and Svix at Free.
Does Janus Gateway or Svix run on more platforms?
Janus Gateway runs on Linux, MacOS, BSD. Svix runs on Web, Cloud, Docker.
Can I use Janus Gateway for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Janus Gateway best used for?
Janus Gateway is most often used for api development, api gateway, api testing, api documentation. Of those, api development and api gateway are not what Svix is typically brought in for.
What can Janus Gateway do that Svix cannot?
Janus Gateway covers WebRTC Gateway, Media Routing, Video Conferencing, RTP. Svix covers Automatic retries, Payload signing, Consumer portal, Event types and filtering.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Janus Gateway: How much does Janus Gateway cost?

Janus Gateway has no pricing model; it is a free open-source WebRTC server developed by Meetecho. The general-purpose server is available for download at no cost. There are no subscription tiers or commercial licensing fees.

Source
Svix: How much does Svix cost?

Free up to 50,000 messages a month; Professional starts at 490 US dollars a month with the same included volume but better SLA and throughput.

Janus Gateway: Is Janus Gateway supported commercially?

Janus Gateway is community-supported open-source software with no official commercial support or SLA from the vendors. While Meetecho developed the project, users must rely on community documentation and forums for assistance.

Source
Svix: Can I self-host it?

Yes, there is an MIT licensed server, but it lags the hosted service in features and has no SLA.

Svix: What counts as a message?

Attempted or transformed deliveries. Retries and messages filtered out because no endpoint subscribed are not charged.

Svix: Does it handle inbound webhooks?

Its focus is outbound sending on behalf of API providers, not receiving webhooks from third parties.

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