Softwr

Web Development · head to head

MySQL vs Soketi

MySQL logo

MySQL

Web Development

The world's most popular open source database

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: MySQL hot online backup is not in the free Community Server; MySQL Enterprise Backup is a paid Enterprise Edition component; 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: MySQL covers ACID compliance, Soketi covers Pusher protocol compatibility.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which MySQL and Soketi actually diverge.

Attributes where MySQL and Soketi differ
AttributeMySQLSoketi
Pricing modelfreemiumOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWindows, Macos, Linux, UnixLinux, macOS, Windows
CategoryWeb DevelopmentDeveloper Tools
Founded1995Unknown

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 MySQL

  • ACID compliance
  • SQL support
  • Multi-version concurrency control
  • Replication
  • Partitioning
  • Stored procedures
  • Triggers
  • Views

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.

MySQL

  • Web application backendnot Soketi
  • E-commerce platformsnot Soketi
  • Content management systemsnot Soketi
  • Data warehousingnot Soketi
  • Business applicationsnot Soketi

Soketi

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

Where each one falls short

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

MySQL

  • Hot online backup is not in the free Community Server; MySQL Enterprise Backup is a paid Enterprise Edition component
  • Transparent Data Encryption, data masking and de-identification are Enterprise Edition only
  • MySQL Enterprise Firewall, which guards against SQL injection, and MySQL Enterprise Audit are both paid components
  • External authentication against PAM or Windows Active Directory requires MySQL Enterprise Authentication
  • The thread pool ships as MySQL Enterprise Scalability rather than in the community build

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

MySQL

Free
  • Community EditionFree
    • Open source license
    • Full SQL support
    • InnoDB storage engine
  • Standard Edition$2000/year
    • Commercial license
    • Oracle Premier Support
    • MySQL Enterprise backup
  • Enterprise Edition$5000/year
    • Advanced security
    • MySQL Enterprise Monitor
    • High Availability

Soketi

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

Which should you pick?

Choose MySQL if

  • You need acid compliance.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, Macos, Linux, Unix.
  • You also want sql support.
MySQL 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 MySQL or Soketi better?
Neither clearly leads. MySQL 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, MySQL or Soketi?
MySQL starts at Free and Soketi at Free.
Does MySQL or Soketi run on more platforms?
MySQL runs on Windows, Macos, Linux, Unix. Soketi runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
Can I use MySQL for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is MySQL best used for?
MySQL is most often used for web application backend, e-commerce platforms, content management systems, data warehousing. Of those, web application backend and e-commerce platforms are not what Soketi is typically brought in for.
What can MySQL do that Soketi cannot?
MySQL covers ACID compliance, SQL support, Multi-version concurrency control, Replication. Soketi covers Pusher protocol compatibility, Presence and private channels, Horizontal scaling, App management backends.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

MySQL: Does MySQL cost money?

MySQL is primarily open-source and free to use. Commercial editions and support services are available but pricing is not published on the main website.

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.

MySQL: How do I get MySQL pricing information?

For MySQL commercial editions and support pricing, customers can contact MySQL sales directly at +1-866-221-0634 or navigate to individual product pages.

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.

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.

Share

Related pages

More on MySQL

More on Soketi

Keep looking

Other head to heads