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APIs · head to head

Liveblocks vs Portkey

Liveblocks logo

Liveblocks

APIs

Realtime collaboration infrastructure for building multiplayer features

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Portkey logo

Portkey

APIs

Observe, govern, and secure every AI interaction across your enterprise

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Liveblocks has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Liveblocks on the Free plan, each metered feature has a hard cap and simply pauses when exceeded rather than allowing overage.; Portkey the free Developer tier records only 10,000 logs per month with 3 day log retention; the $49 per month Production tier raises that to 100,000 logs with $9 per additional 100,000 requests, as of August 2026.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 29 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Liveblocks and Portkey actually diverge.

Attributes where Liveblocks and Portkey differ
AttributeLiveblocksPortkey
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreemiumUnknown
Free tierYesNo
Platformsweb, apiWeb

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 Liveblocks

  • Realtime presence and cursors
  • Comments
  • Version history
  • Custom notifications
  • SSO and SOC 2
  • Management API

Only in Portkey

Nothing recorded that Liveblocks does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Liveblocks

  • Adding live cursors and presence to a collaborative editornot Portkey
  • Building threaded comments on documents or designsnot Portkey
  • Sending realtime notifications tied to collaborative actionsnot Portkey
  • Restoring previous versions of collaborative contentnot Portkey

Portkey

  • Accessing 1,600+ language models through unified API gatewaynot Liveblocks
  • Monitoring and observing LLM behavior in production environmentsnot Liveblocks
  • Managing costs and setting budget limits for AI spendingnot Liveblocks
  • Implementing guardrails and PII redaction for secure AI interactionsnot Liveblocks

Where each one falls short

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

Liveblocks

  • On the Free plan, each metered feature has a hard cap and simply pauses when exceeded rather than allowing overage.
  • The jump from Pro ($30/month) to Team (starting at $600/month) is steep for teams that outgrow Pro but don't need full Team scale.
  • Multi-region hosting and SCIM provisioning are Enterprise-only and require custom pricing.

Portkey

  • The free Developer tier records only 10,000 logs per month with 3 day log retention; the $49 per month Production tier raises that to 100,000 logs with $9 per additional 100,000 requests, as of August 2026.

Pricing, plan by plan

Liveblocks

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 10 projects
    • 3 dashboard seats
    • 10 simultaneous connections per room
  • Pro$30/month
    • $30 monthly credits
    • Removes Liveblocks branding
    • 3 dashboard seats
  • Team$600/month
    • SSO and SOC 2
    • 10 dashboard seats
    • 50 connections/room

Portkey

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Portkey review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Liveblocks if

  • You need realtime presence and cursors.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web, api.
  • You also want comments.
Liveblocks review

Choose Portkey if

Nothing in the data separates Portkey from Liveblocks on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Portkey review

Questions people ask

Is Liveblocks or Portkey better?
Neither clearly leads. Liveblocks starts at Free and Portkey at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Liveblocks or Portkey?
Liveblocks has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Liveblocks and On request for Portkey.
Does Liveblocks or Portkey run on more platforms?
Liveblocks runs on web, api. Portkey runs on Web.
Can I use Liveblocks for free?
Yes. Liveblocks has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Portkey starts at On request.
What is Liveblocks best used for?
Liveblocks is most often used for adding live cursors and presence to a collaborative editor, building threaded comments on documents or designs, sending realtime notifications tied to collaborative actions, restoring previous versions of collaborative content. Of those, adding live cursors and presence to a collaborative editor and building threaded comments on documents or designs are not what Portkey is typically brought in for.
What can Liveblocks do that Portkey cannot?
Liveblocks covers Realtime presence and cursors, Comments, Version history, Custom notifications.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Liveblocks: What does Liveblocks cost?

Liveblocks offers a Free plan with hard usage caps, a Pro plan at $30/month ($25/month billed annually) including $30 in monthly credits, a Team plan from $600/month, and custom Enterprise pricing.

Source
Portkey: What happens if I exceed my Portkey plan's request limit?

Production tier ($49/month) charges $9 per additional 100,000 requests beyond the included 100,000. Enterprise customers have custom limits determined through their service agreement. Source: https://portkey.ai/pricing

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

Yes, the Free plan includes 10 projects, 3 dashboard seats, 10 simultaneous connections per room, 3,000 collaboration minutes, 200 comments, and 1GB of realtime data storage, with features pausing once a cap is hit.

Source
Portkey: Can I self-host Portkey to avoid per-request billing?

Yes. Portkey offers an Open Source self-hosted version with unlimited requests at no cost, including universal API, routing, guardrails, and load balancing features. Source: https://portkey.ai/pricing

Source
Liveblocks: How is usage metered?

Paid plans include monthly credits covering collaboration minutes, comments, and storage; usage beyond the credit is billed at metered rates such as $0.002 per collaboration minute and $0.01 per comment, with credits resetting each billing cycle without rollover.

Source
Portkey: How long does Portkey retain my logs and metrics?

Free Developer tier retains logs 3 days and metrics 30 days. Production tier retains logs 30 days and metrics 90 days. Enterprise tier offers custom retention periods. Source: https://portkey.ai/pricing

Source
Portkey: What compliance features are included in the Enterprise plan?

Enterprise tier includes SOC2 Type 2 certification, GDPR compliance, HIPAA compliance, VPC hosting, SSO, advanced guardrails, and dedicated support. Custom pricing required. Source: https://portkey.ai/pricing

Source
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