Cybersecurity · head to head
Metasploit vs Soketi
Metasploit
Cybersecurity
The world's most used penetration testing framework
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Soketi
Developer Tools
Self-hosted, Pusher-compatible WebSockets server with a stalled maintenance record
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Metasploit the free Framework edition is command line only; the web interface is Pro 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.
- They diverge on capability: Metasploit covers Exploit database, Soketi covers Pusher protocol compatibility.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Metasploit and Soketi actually diverge.
| Attribute | Metasploit | Soketi |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | freemium | Open source, no licence fee |
| Platforms | Desktop, Cli | Linux, macOS, Windows |
| Category | Cybersecurity | Developer Tools |
| Founded | 2000 | Unknown |
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 Metasploit
- Exploit database
- Payload generation
- Post-exploitation
- Evasion modules
- Auxiliary scanners
- Social engineering
- Credential harvesting
- Session management
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.
Metasploit
- Penetration testing and exploit development against known vulnerabilitiesnot Soketi
- Validating whether a reported vulnerability is actually exploitablenot Soketi
- Running phishing and credential attack simulations on the Pro editionnot Soketi
Soketi
- A Laravel application that already uses Echo and wants to stop paying a hosted realtime providernot Metasploit
- Realtime notifications or presence indicators where data must not leave your own infrastructure for compliance reasonsnot Metasploit
- A local or CI environment that needs a Pusher-compatible server without hitting a paid accountnot Metasploit
- A high-connection-count application where hosted per-connection pricing has become the largest line in the infrastructure billnot Metasploit
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Metasploit
- The free Framework edition is command line only; the web interface is Pro only
- Automated exploitation, automated credential attacks and antivirus evading dynamic payloads are restricted to Metasploit Pro
- Reporting, audit wizards, task chains and closed loop vulnerability validation are Pro only
- Rapid7 publishes no price for Metasploit Pro and routes buyers to contact sales
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
Metasploit
Free- Metasploit Framework (OSS)Free
- Open source
- 1500+ exploits
- Command line
- Metasploit ProFree
- Web interface
- Automated testing
- Phishing campaigns
Soketi
Free- SoketiFree
- MIT licensed
- Unlimited connections subject to your own hardware
- No vendor billing
Which should you pick?
Choose Metasploit if
- You need exploit database.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Desktop, Cli.
- You also want payload generation.
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.
Questions people ask
- Is Metasploit or Soketi better?
- Neither clearly leads. Metasploit 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, Metasploit or Soketi?
- Metasploit starts at Free and Soketi at Free.
- Does Metasploit or Soketi run on more platforms?
- Metasploit runs on Desktop, Cli. Soketi runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
- Can I use Metasploit for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Metasploit best used for?
- Metasploit is most often used for penetration testing and exploit development against known vulnerabilities, validating whether a reported vulnerability is actually exploitable, running phishing and credential attack simulations on the pro edition. Of those, penetration testing and exploit development against known vulnerabilities and validating whether a reported vulnerability is actually exploitable are not what Soketi is typically brought in for.
- What can Metasploit do that Soketi cannot?
- Metasploit covers Exploit database, Payload generation, Post-exploitation, Evasion modules. Soketi covers Pusher protocol compatibility, Presence and private channels, Horizontal scaling, App management backends.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Metasploit: Is Metasploit Framework free to use?
Yes, Metasploit Framework is available as free open-source software with source code accessible via GitHub. Community support is provided through Slack, GitHub, Twitter, and email.
SourceSoketi: 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.
Metasploit: What is the difference between Metasploit Framework and Metasploit Pro?
Metasploit Framework is the free open-source version. Metasploit Pro is a commercial offering with customer support from Rapid7, though specific pricing and features are not detailed on the download page.
SourceSoketi: Do I need to change my client code?
No. Pusher client SDKs and Laravel Echo work by changing the host, port and credentials.
Metasploit: What support is available for the free Framework version?
Community-based support for Metasploit Framework is available through Slack, GitHub, Twitter, and email ([email protected]). Commercial customers using Metasploit Pro receive customer support from Rapid7.
SourceSoketi: 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.
Related pages
Other head to heads
- Metasploit vs 1Password
- Metasploit vs Bitdefender Total Security
- Metasploit vs Norton 360
- Metasploit vs LastPass
- Metasploit vs Burp Suite
- Metasploit vs OWASP ZAP
- Metasploit vs Syft
- Metasploit vs Wireshark
- Metasploit vs HashiCorp Vault
- Metasploit vs Bitwarden
- Metasploit vs Semgrep
- Metasploit vs Passbolt
- Metasploit vs RoboForm
- Metasploit vs Sardine
- Metasploit vs Semperis
- Metasploit vs SentinelOne
- Metasploit vs Shufti Pro
- Metasploit vs SentinelOne Singularity
- Metasploit vs PartyKit
- Metasploit vs Penpot
- Metasploit vs Atlantis
- Metasploit vs Coder
- Metasploit vs Backstage
- Metasploit vs Visual Studio Code
- Metasploit vs GNU Emacs
- Metasploit vs Bazel
- Metasploit vs Eclipse IDE
- Metasploit vs Pants Build
- Metasploit vs Swagger UI
- Metasploit vs Ansible
- Metasploit vs Cody
- Metasploit vs ConfigCat
- Metasploit vs Cortex
- Metasploit vs Dagger
- Metasploit vs Deno
- Metasploit vs Fig
- Soketi vs 1Password
- Soketi vs Bitdefender Total Security
- Soketi vs Norton 360
- Soketi vs LastPass
- Soketi vs Burp Suite
- Soketi vs OWASP ZAP
- Soketi vs Syft
- Soketi vs Wireshark
- Soketi vs HashiCorp Vault
- Soketi vs Bitwarden
- Soketi vs Semgrep
- Soketi vs Passbolt
- Soketi vs RoboForm
- Soketi vs Sardine
- Soketi vs Semperis
- Soketi vs SentinelOne
- Soketi vs Shufti Pro
- Soketi vs SentinelOne Singularity
- Soketi vs PartyKit
- Soketi vs Penpot
- Soketi vs Atlantis
- Soketi vs Coder
- Soketi vs Backstage
- Soketi vs Visual Studio Code
- Soketi vs GNU Emacs
- Soketi vs Bazel
- Soketi vs Eclipse IDE
- Soketi vs Pants Build
- Soketi vs Swagger UI
- Soketi vs Ansible
- Soketi vs Cody
- Soketi vs ConfigCat
- Soketi vs Cortex
- Soketi vs Dagger
- Soketi vs Deno
- Soketi vs Fig