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PHP vs Soketi

PHP logo

PHP

Web Development

A popular general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited to web development

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: PHP distributed under the Modified BSD License, also called the PHP License version 4, per php.net/license/; there is no paid tier or vendor price to compare; 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.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which PHP and Soketi actually diverge.

Attributes where PHP and Soketi differ
AttributePHPSoketi
Pricing modelopen-sourceOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWebLinux, macOS, Windows
CategoryWeb DevelopmentDeveloper Tools

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 PHP

Nothing recorded that Soketi does not also cover.

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.

PHP

  • Server-side web developmentnot Soketi
  • Content management systemsnot Soketi
  • API backendsnot Soketi

Soketi

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

Where each one falls short

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

PHP

  • Distributed under the Modified BSD License, also called the PHP License version 4, per php.net/license/; there is no paid tier or vendor price to compare
  • PHP 8.2 lost active support on 31 Dec 2024 and enters full end of life on 31 Dec 2026, with only security fixes since, per php.net/supported-versions.php (Aug 2026)

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

PHP

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the PHP review.

Soketi

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

Which should you pick?

Choose PHP if

  • You want to start without paying.
PHP 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 PHP or Soketi better?
Neither clearly leads. PHP 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, PHP or Soketi?
PHP starts at Free and Soketi at Free.
Does PHP or Soketi run on more platforms?
PHP runs on Web. Soketi runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
Can I use PHP for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is PHP best used for?
PHP is most often used for server-side web development, content management systems, api backends. Of those, server-side web development and content management systems are not what Soketi is typically brought in for.
What can PHP do that Soketi cannot?
Soketi covers Pusher protocol compatibility, Presence and private channels, Horizontal scaling, App management backends.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

PHP: Is PHP free to use?

Yes, PHP is completely free and open-source software under the PHP Foundation governance. There are no licensing fees or paid tiers.

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.

PHP: Does the PHP Foundation offer paid support?

The PHP Foundation accepts voluntary donations to support long-term development, but donations are optional and not required to use PHP.

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.

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