Softwr

Databases · head to head

Knack vs Solace PubSub+

Knack logo

Knack

Databases

Hosted no-code database and web app builder priced by stored records and storage, with unlimited user accounts on every plan.

From
$59/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Solace PubSub+ logo

Solace PubSub+

Databases

Multi-protocol event broker sold as software, cloud service or a hardware appliance

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Solace PubSub+ has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Knack plans are capped by stored records, so an application that logs events or keeps history rather than current state climbs tiers on data volume alone, and archiving old records becomes a permanent maintenance chore rather than a one-off.; Solace PubSub+ no pricing is published at any tier, so evaluation requires a sales engagement before you can even judge whether it is in budget, and broker tier sizing determines cost in ways buyers frequently get wrong.
  • They diverge on capability: Knack covers Visual database builder, Solace PubSub+ covers Multi-protocol broker.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Knack and Solace PubSub+ actually diverge.

Attributes where Knack and Solace PubSub+ differ
AttributeKnackSolace PubSub+
Starting price$59/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud, Hardware appliance

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Databases).

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 Knack

  • Visual database builder
  • User logins and roles
  • Page builder
  • Unlimited users
  • E-commerce
  • Automation flows
  • Scheduled tasks
  • REST API and webhooks

Only in Solace PubSub+

  • Multi-protocol broker
  • Dynamic message routing
  • Hardware appliance
  • Event Portal
  • Guaranteed delivery
  • Mission Control
  • Topic hierarchies and wildcards
  • Kafka and MQ bridging

What people use each for

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

Knack

  • A member or client portal where thousands of external people need their own login and see only their own recordsnot Solace PubSub+
  • Replacing a shared spreadsheet used by a team that has outgrown it but cannot justify a developer to build a bespoke internal toolnot Solace PubSub+
  • Inventory, asset or case tracking for a small operations team that needs roles, forms and a record of who changed whatnot Solace PubSub+
  • A registration or booking application for an association, school or non-profit where the user count is large and the record count stays modestnot Solace PubSub+

Solace PubSub+

  • A bank building an event mesh across regions where a Java JMS application and an MQTT mobile client must share the same topic spacenot Knack
  • An exchange or trading platform with a latency budget that needs the hardware appliance rather than a software brokernot Knack
  • An airline distributing operational events to ground systems, aircraft and partner APIs over different protocolsnot Knack
  • A manufacturer bridging factory MQTT telemetry into an enterprise Kafka estate without writing translation servicesnot Knack

Where each one falls short

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

Knack

  • Plans are capped by stored records, so an application that logs events or keeps history rather than current state climbs tiers on data volume alone, and archiving old records becomes a permanent maintenance chore rather than a one-off.
  • API access is capped per day, at 1,000 calls on the entry plan and 10,000 at the Corporate tier, so a scheduled sync or a busy automation can exhaust the day's quota before the working day ends and integrations then fail silently.
  • The application itself cannot be exported or self-hosted; records can be downloaded but the pages, roles, flows and business logic exist only inside Knack, so outgrowing the platform means rebuilding the app rather than moving it.
  • Customisation beyond the builder is limited to injected CSS and JavaScript that Knack's support does not cover, so any non-standard interface behaviour becomes yours to maintain against a DOM the vendor can change without warning.
  • Compliance capabilities that regulated buyers assume are baseline, HIPAA and GovCloud options, advanced SSO, IP restrictions and private environments, are gated to the Corporate and Enterprise tiers, so a small regulated pilot cannot legitimately start on an entry plan.

Solace PubSub+

  • No pricing is published at any tier, so evaluation requires a sales engagement before you can even judge whether it is in budget, and broker tier sizing determines cost in ways buyers frequently get wrong.
  • The free Standard edition has hard capacity and support limits, which makes it useful for development but means any real deployment triggers a commercial negotiation.
  • The proprietary SMF protocol gives the best performance and feature coverage, so teams that lean on it acquire real switching costs even though open protocols are supported.
  • Operating a self-managed high availability broker pair with disaster recovery is a specialist task, and Solace expertise is scarce in the hiring market compared with Kafka skills.
  • Event Portal and Mission Control are licensed as part of platform packages, so the governance tooling that makes an event mesh manageable is not simply included with the broker.

Pricing, plan by plan

Knack

$59/month
  • Starter$59/month
    • 20,000 database records
    • Unlimited users, tables, fields
    • 25 AI credits
  • Pro$130/month
    • 50,000 database records
    • Remove Knack branding
    • E-commerce payments
  • Corporate$300/month
    • 125,000-2.5M database records
    • App restore functionality
    • Advanced SSO
  • Enterprise$null/month
    • Dedicated account manager
    • HIPAA/GovCloud-based options
    • Custom pricing

Solace PubSub+

Free
  • Software Event Broker StandardFree
    • Free for production within capacity limits
    • Single node, capped connections and queues
    • No vendor support
  • Solace Cloud$undefined/year
    • Managed brokers in tiers from ENT-250 to ENT-100K
    • Foundation, Accelerate and Scale platform packages
    • Fixed subscription or annual consumption drawdown
  • Software Enterprise self-managed$undefined/year
    • Deploy in your own Kubernetes, VMs or data centre
    • High availability and disaster recovery
    • Support with SLA
  • Hardware appliance$undefined/year
    • Purpose-built appliance with FPGA message offload
    • Deterministic low latency
    • Sold with support contract

Which should you pick?

Choose Knack if

  • You need visual database builder.
  • You also want user logins and roles.
Knack review

Choose Solace PubSub+ if

  • You need multi-protocol broker.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud, Hardware appliance.
  • You also want dynamic message routing.
Solace PubSub+ review

Questions people ask

Is Knack or Solace PubSub+ better?
Neither clearly leads. Knack starts at $59/month and Solace PubSub+ at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Knack or Solace PubSub+?
Solace PubSub+ has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $59/month for Knack and Free for Solace PubSub+.
Does Knack or Solace PubSub+ run on more platforms?
Knack runs on Web. Solace PubSub+ runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud, Hardware appliance.
Can I use Solace PubSub+ for free?
Yes. Solace PubSub+ has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Knack starts at $59/month.
What is Knack best used for?
Knack is most often used for a member or client portal where thousands of external people need their own login and see only their own records, replacing a shared spreadsheet used by a team that has outgrown it but cannot justify a developer to build a bespoke internal tool, inventory, asset or case tracking for a small operations team that needs roles, forms and a record of who changed what, a registration or booking application for an association, school or non-profit where the user count is large and the record count stays modest. Of those, a member or client portal where thousands of external people need their own login and see only their own records and replacing a shared spreadsheet used by a team that has outgrown it but cannot justify a developer to build a bespoke internal tool are not what Solace PubSub+ is typically brought in for.
What can Knack do that Solace PubSub+ cannot?
Knack covers Visual database builder, User logins and roles, Page builder, Unlimited users. Solace PubSub+ covers Multi-protocol broker, Dynamic message routing, Hardware appliance, Event Portal.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Knack: Is Knack charged per user?

No. User accounts are unlimited on all plans. Plans are bounded by stored record count, file storage, API calls per day and automation transactions.

Solace PubSub+: Is there a free version of Solace?

Yes, the Standard edition of the software event broker is free for production within capacity limits, with no vendor support.

Knack: What happens when I exceed the record limit?

You move to a higher tier or reduce stored records. Because the limit is on data rather than people, apps that accumulate history hit it while apps that track a fixed set of entities generally do not.

Solace PubSub+: Does Solace publish prices?

No. Cloud, software and appliance are all quoted, based on broker tier from ENT-250 to ENT-100K and licensing model.

Knack: Can I export my application or self-host it?

You can export record data. The application itself, its pages, roles, permissions and flows, is not exportable and cannot be self-hosted, so leaving means rebuilding elsewhere.

Solace PubSub+: Why buy an appliance in 2026?

Deterministic low latency with message processing offloaded to hardware, which matters in capital markets and little elsewhere.

Knack: Is it suitable for public-facing portals?

That is its strongest case, because logins are unlimited and role-based permissions are built in. The constraint is record volume and API throughput, not audience size.

Solace PubSub+: Can it replace Kafka?

Not for log retention and stream reprocessing. It is stronger at multi-protocol routing and guaranteed delivery, and the two are often bridged.

Knack: Can I use it for regulated data?

HIPAA-aligned and government cloud options exist but only on the Enterprise tier, along with private server environments. Lower tiers should not be used for regulated workloads.

Share

Related pages

More on Knack

More on Solace PubSub+

Keep looking

Other head to heads