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Developer Tools · head to head

PartyKit vs Soketi

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PartyKit

Developer Tools

Platform for building and deploying realtime multiplayer servers on the edge

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: PartyKit documentation and FAQ material on the marketing site is sparse compared to larger realtime platforms.; 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: PartyKit covers Stateful edge servers, Soketi covers Pusher protocol compatibility.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which PartyKit and Soketi actually diverge.

Attributes where PartyKit and Soketi differ
AttributePartyKitSoketi
Pricing modelfreemiumOpen source, no licence fee
Platformsweb, apiLinux, macOS, Windows

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Developer Tools).

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 PartyKit

  • Stateful edge servers
  • WebSocket-first API
  • CRDT library compatibility
  • Framework integrations
  • Global edge deployment
  • Custom domains

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.

PartyKit

  • Multiplayer collaborative appsnot Soketi
  • Realtime AI agent backendsnot Soketi
  • Live cursors and presencenot Soketi
  • Collaborative whiteboards and documentsnot Soketi

Soketi

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

Where each one falls short

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

PartyKit

  • Documentation and FAQ material on the marketing site is sparse compared to larger realtime platforms.
  • Commercial free tier requires deploying to the user's own Cloudflare account, adding setup complexity.
  • Storage on the free Individual plan clears every 24 hours, limiting it to prototyping rather than persistent production data.
  • Smaller ecosystem and community than more established realtime infrastructure providers.

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

PartyKit

Free
  • IndividualFree
    • Up to 10 live projects
    • Deploy to the global edge platform
    • Storage clears every 24 hours
  • CommercialFree
    • Unlimited projects
    • Custom domains
    • Runs on your own Cloudflare account; pay only Cloudflare usage

Soketi

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

Which should you pick?

Choose PartyKit if

  • You need stateful edge servers.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web, api.
  • You also want websocket-first api.
PartyKit 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 PartyKit or Soketi better?
Neither clearly leads. PartyKit 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, PartyKit or Soketi?
PartyKit starts at Free and Soketi at Free.
Does PartyKit or Soketi run on more platforms?
PartyKit runs on web, api. Soketi runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
Can I use PartyKit for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is PartyKit best used for?
PartyKit is most often used for multiplayer collaborative apps, realtime ai agent backends, live cursors and presence, collaborative whiteboards and documents. Of those, multiplayer collaborative apps and realtime ai agent backends are not what Soketi is typically brought in for.
What can PartyKit do that Soketi cannot?
PartyKit covers Stateful edge servers, WebSocket-first API, CRDT library compatibility, Framework integrations. Soketi covers Pusher protocol compatibility, Presence and private channels, Horizontal scaling, App management backends.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

PartyKit: How much does PartyKit cost?

PartyKit is completely free. Both the Individual and Commercial plans have no upfront costs.

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.

PartyKit: What is PartyKit's Individual plan?

The Individual plan is free and includes deployment to a global edge platform, support for up to 10 live projects, and is suitable for small projects. Storage is cleared every 24 hours.

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.

PartyKit: What is PartyKit's Commercial plan?

The Commercial plan is free but requires deploying to your own Cloudflare account. It includes custom domains, unlimited projects, and you pay only your Cloudflare usage costs.

Source
Soketi: What does it cost?

Nothing in licence fees. It is MIT licensed; you pay for the server it runs on.

PartyKit: Can I upgrade from Individual to Commercial plan?

Yes, both plans are free but offer different feature sets. The Commercial plan removes project restrictions but requires managing your own Cloudflare infrastructure.

Source
Soketi: What are people moving to?

Laravel Reverb for Laravel applications, and Sockudo, a Rust reimplementation, for others.

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