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Technology · head to head

Maze vs Soketi

Maze logo

Maze

Technology

The continuous product discovery platform

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Soketi logo

Soketi

Developer Tools

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

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Maze maze publishes no prices on its pricing page; every plan routes to contact sales, so pricing is by quote only with no published rate or minimum; 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: Maze covers Prototype testing, Soketi covers Pusher protocol compatibility.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Maze and Soketi actually diverge.

Attributes where Maze and Soketi differ
AttributeMazeSoketi
Pricing modelsubscriptionOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWeb, Mobile, ApiLinux, macOS, Windows
CategoryTechnologyDeveloper Tools
Founded2018Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), 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 Maze

  • Prototype testing
  • Usability testing
  • Card sorting
  • Tree testing
  • Surveys
  • 5-second tests
  • A/B testing
  • Analytics dashboard

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.

Maze

  • User research and testingnot Soketi
  • AI-powered moderation featuresnot Soketi
  • Prototype and website testingnot Soketi
  • User feedback panelsnot Soketi

Soketi

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

Where each one falls short

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

Maze

  • Maze publishes no prices on its pricing page; every plan routes to contact sales, so pricing is by quote only with no published rate or minimum
  • The AI study builder, AI moderated interviews and moderated interview studies are Enterprise only
  • Mobile testing and testing through the Maze mobile app are Enterprise only
  • Interview scheduling, card sorting and information architecture testing are Enterprise only
  • Role-based access, SSO and compliance controls are Enterprise only
  • Panel recruitment is available on all plans but with stated limits, and prototype testing carries limits below Enterprise
  • Qualitative analysis of clip recordings, interview transcription and automated theme analysis are Enterprise only

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

Maze

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1 active project
    • Preview link testing
    • Basic analytics
  • Starter$75/month
    • 3 active projects
    • Unlimited responses
    • Advanced analytics
  • Team$150/month
    • Unlimited projects
    • Team collaboration
    • Custom branding
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Everything in Team
    • SSO
    • Dedicated CSM

Soketi

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Maze if

  • You need prototype testing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Mobile, Api.
  • You also want usability testing.
Maze 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 Maze or Soketi better?
Neither clearly leads. Maze 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, Maze or Soketi?
Maze starts at Free and Soketi at Free.
Does Maze or Soketi run on more platforms?
Maze runs on Web, Mobile, Api. Soketi runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
Can I use Maze for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Maze best used for?
Maze is most often used for user research and testing, ai-powered moderation features, prototype and website testing, user feedback panels. Of those, user research and testing and ai-powered moderation features are not what Soketi is typically brought in for.
What can Maze do that Soketi cannot?
Maze covers Prototype testing, Usability testing, Card sorting, Tree testing. Soketi covers Pusher protocol compatibility, Presence and private channels, Horizontal scaling, App management backends.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Maze: Does Maze offer a free trial or freemium tier?

Maze site indicates 'Try Maze for free' option, suggesting free tier or trial availability, but specific terms and limitations not stated on main page.

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.

Maze: Can I request a custom demo if standard plans don't fit my needs?

Yes, Maze offers 'Request a demo' option, indicating willingness to discuss custom requirements and potentially custom pricing arrangements.

Source
Soketi: Do I need to change my client code?

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

Maze: What testing capabilities does Maze include in paid plans?

Maze features AI Moderator, prototype testing, panel recruitment, and website testing capabilities across plans, but specific feature tiers and pricing not disclosed publicly.

Source
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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