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Developer Tools · head to head

PartyKit vs Very Good Security

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PartyKit

Developer Tools

Platform for building and deploying realtime multiplayer servers on the edge

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Very Good Security logo

Very Good Security

Cybersecurity

Tokenisation proxy that keeps card and personal data out of your own systems and out of PCI scope

From
$1000/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only PartyKit has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: PartyKit documentation and FAQ material on the marketing site is sparse compared to larger realtime platforms.; Very Good Security vGS sits in the live path of every request carrying sensitive data, so its latency and availability become yours, and an outage in the proxy is a payment outage no matter how healthy your own systems are.
  • They diverge on capability: PartyKit covers Stateful edge servers, Very Good Security covers Aliasing proxy.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which PartyKit and Very Good Security actually diverge.

Attributes where PartyKit and Very Good Security differ
AttributePartyKitVery Good Security
Starting priceFree$1000/month
Pricing modelfreemiumPer month
Free tierYesNo
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity

Identical on both: platforms (web, api), 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 PartyKit

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

Only in Very Good Security

  • Aliasing proxy
  • PCI scope reduction
  • Network tokenisation
  • Processor optionality
  • Card issuing data
  • Vault and access controls
  • Data residency options
  • Compliance artefacts

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

PartyKit

  • Multiplayer collaborative appsnot Very Good Security
  • Realtime AI agent backendsnot Very Good Security
  • Live cursors and presencenot Very Good Security
  • Collaborative whiteboards and documentsnot Very Good Security

Very Good Security

  • A marketplace facing its first PCI DSS Level 1 assessment that wants to keep card data off its own estate rather than harden a dozen servicesnot PartyKit
  • A merchant negotiating with a second acquirer that needs card credentials portable so the negotiation is real rather than theoreticalnot PartyKit
  • A fintech collecting bank account and identity documents that wants sensitive fields absent from logs, backups and analytics warehouses by constructionnot PartyKit
  • A card issuer that must display a full PAN in its own mobile app without the app or its backend touching cardholder datanot 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.

Very Good Security

  • VGS sits in the live path of every request carrying sensitive data, so its latency and availability become yours, and an outage in the proxy is a payment outage no matter how healthy your own systems are.
  • Token portability is the whole selling point yet leaving VGS means migrating tokens back out, a project the vendor has no incentive to streamline, so the lock-in you removed from your acquirer partly moves to VGS.
  • Entry pricing at around one thousand US dollars a month is real money for a pre-revenue fintech, and it buys volume-limited throughput, so cost scales with exactly the growth that made you buy it.
  • Scope reduction is not scope elimination: your QSA still assesses how you integrate, and teams regularly discover that a support tool or an internal admin screen pulled plaintext back in and dragged systems into scope again.
  • Proxy-based interception constrains how you design request flows, and non-standard payloads, streaming uploads or binary formats often need custom routing rules that make debugging production issues noticeably harder.

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

Very Good Security

$1000/month
  • Starter$1000/month
    • Aliasing proxy
    • Vault storage
    • PCI scope reduction
  • Growth$undefined/month
    • Network tokenisation
    • Multiple processors
    • Data residency options
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Custom vault architecture
    • Dedicated support and SLA
    • Contractual compliance coverage

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 Very Good Security if

  • You need aliasing proxy.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want pci scope reduction.
Very Good Security review

Questions people ask

Is PartyKit or Very Good Security better?
Neither clearly leads. PartyKit starts at Free and Very Good Security at $1000/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, PartyKit or Very Good Security?
PartyKit has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for PartyKit and $1000/month for Very Good Security.
Does PartyKit or Very Good Security run on more platforms?
PartyKit runs on web, api. Very Good Security runs on Web, API.
Can I use PartyKit for free?
Yes. PartyKit has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Very Good Security starts at $1000/month.
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 Very Good Security is typically brought in for.
What can PartyKit do that Very Good Security cannot?
PartyKit covers Stateful edge servers, WebSocket-first API, CRDT library compatibility, Framework integrations. Very Good Security covers Aliasing proxy, PCI scope reduction, Network tokenisation, Processor optionality.

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
Very Good Security: Does VGS make me PCI compliant?

No. It removes cardholder data from your systems so your assessment covers a far smaller boundary, but you still complete an assessment and your integration is part of it.

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
Very Good Security: Can I move to another processor without re-collecting cards?

Yes, that is a core reason people buy it. The vault reveals stored credentials to whichever processor you route to.

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
Very Good Security: What does it cost?

Published entry pricing is about one thousand US dollars per month; growth and enterprise tiers are quoted.

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
Very Good Security: Is it only for card data?

No. The proxy handles any sensitive field, including bank details, national identifiers and documents, though payments is where the product is now focused.

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