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Operating Systems · head to head

Manjaro vs Soketi

Manjaro logo

Manjaro

Operating Systems

Arch-based Linux distribution with an installer and sane defaults

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Soketi logo

Soketi

Developer Tools

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Manjaro holding packages back from Arch can break AUR packages built against current Arch, which is its best-known complaint; 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.
  • They diverge on capability: Manjaro covers Graphical installer, Soketi covers Pusher protocol compatibility.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Manjaro and Soketi actually diverge.

Attributes where Manjaro and Soketi differ
AttributeManjaroSoketi
PlatformsLinux, DesktopLinux, macOS, Windows
CategoryOperating SystemsDeveloper Tools

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (Open source, no licence fee), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Manjaro

  • Graphical installer
  • Delayed updates
  • Hardware detection
  • Multiple desktops

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.

Manjaro

  • Wanting Arch and the AUR without the manual installnot Soketi
  • Desktops needing current package versions with some stability buffernot Soketi
  • Hardware that benefits from automatic proprietary driver handlingnot Soketi

Soketi

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

Where each one falls short

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

Manjaro

  • Holding packages back from Arch can break AUR packages built against current Arch, which is its best-known complaint
  • Still a rolling release, so updates can require intervention and are not fit-and-forget
  • The project has had public incidents around expired certificates and governance that dented confidence
  • Not as current as Arch nor as stable as a fixed-release distribution, which is the cost of sitting between them

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

Manjaro

Free
  • ManjaroFree
    • Full functionality
    • Commercial use permitted
    • Community support

Soketi

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Manjaro if

  • You need graphical installer.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Desktop.
  • You also want delayed updates.
Manjaro 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 Manjaro or Soketi better?
Neither clearly leads. Manjaro 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, Manjaro or Soketi?
Manjaro starts at Free and Soketi at Free.
Does Manjaro or Soketi run on more platforms?
Manjaro runs on Linux, Desktop. Soketi runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
Can I use Manjaro for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Manjaro best used for?
Manjaro is most often used for wanting arch and the aur without the manual install, desktops needing current package versions with some stability buffer, hardware that benefits from automatic proprietary driver handling. Of those, wanting arch and the aur without the manual install and desktops needing current package versions with some stability buffer are not what Soketi is typically brought in for.
What can Manjaro do that Soketi cannot?
Manjaro covers Graphical installer, Delayed updates, Hardware detection, Multiple desktops. Soketi covers Pusher protocol compatibility, Presence and private channels, Horizontal scaling, App management backends.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Manjaro: Is Manjaro free?

Yes, entirely free and open 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.

Manjaro: Is Manjaro the same as Arch?

It is based on Arch and uses pacman and the AUR, but holds packages back for testing and ships a graphical installer, so it is not identical.

Soketi: Do I need to change my client code?

No. Pusher client SDKs and Laravel Echo work by changing the host, port and credentials.

Manjaro: Why can AUR packages break on Manjaro?

AUR packages are built against current Arch. Manjaro delays packages, so an AUR build can expect a library version Manjaro has not shipped yet.

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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