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Databases · head to head

PostgreSQL vs Soketi

PostgreSQL logo

PostgreSQL

Databases

The world's most advanced open source relational 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: PostgreSQL requires manual scaling across multiple machines for very large deployments; 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: PostgreSQL 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 PostgreSQL and Soketi actually diverge.

Attributes where PostgreSQL and Soketi differ
AttributePostgreSQLSoketi
Pricing modelUnknownOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsLinux, Windows, macOS, BSD, UnixLinux, macOS, Windows
CategoryDatabasesDeveloper Tools
Founded1996Unknown

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 PostgreSQL

  • ACID Compliance
  • JSON/JSONB Support
  • Full-text Search
  • Extensibility
  • Advanced Indexing
  • Partitioning
  • Replication
  • pgAdmin

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.

PostgreSQL

  • Transaction processingnot Soketi
  • Data storagenot Soketi
  • Application backendnot Soketi
  • Reportingnot Soketi
  • Data analyticsnot Soketi

Soketi

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

Where each one falls short

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

PostgreSQL

  • Requires manual scaling across multiple machines for very large deployments
  • Performance tuning requires deep knowledge of database internals
  • No built-in graphical admin interface; command-line tools are primary method

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

PostgreSQL

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the PostgreSQL review.

Soketi

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

Which should you pick?

Choose PostgreSQL if

  • You need acid compliance.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, macOS, BSD, Unix.
  • You also want json/jsonb support.
PostgreSQL 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 PostgreSQL or Soketi better?
Neither clearly leads. PostgreSQL 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, PostgreSQL or Soketi?
PostgreSQL starts at Free and Soketi at Free.
Does PostgreSQL or Soketi run on more platforms?
PostgreSQL runs on Linux, Windows, macOS, BSD, Unix. Soketi runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
Can I use PostgreSQL for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is PostgreSQL best used for?
PostgreSQL is most often used for transaction processing, data storage, application backend, reporting. Of those, transaction processing and data storage are not what Soketi is typically brought in for.
What can PostgreSQL do that Soketi cannot?
PostgreSQL covers ACID Compliance, JSON/JSONB Support, Full-text Search, Extensibility. Soketi covers Pusher protocol compatibility, Presence and private channels, Horizontal scaling, App management backends.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

PostgreSQL: Is PostgreSQL completely free?

Yes. PostgreSQL is completely free and open source with no licensing fees or restrictions on use.

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.

PostgreSQL: What platforms does PostgreSQL run on?

PostgreSQL runs on all major operating systems including Linux, Windows, macOS, BSD, and commercial Unix variants, and has been proven highly scalable managing terabytes to petabytes of data.

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.

PostgreSQL: What procedural languages are supported?

PostgreSQL supports stored functions and procedures in multiple languages including PL/pgSQL, Perl, Python, Tcl, Java, JavaScript, R, and Rust.

Source
Soketi: What does it cost?

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

PostgreSQL: What is ACID compliance in PostgreSQL?

PostgreSQL has been ACID-compliant since 2001, ensuring data integrity through atomicity, consistency, isolation, and durability guarantees for all transactions.

Source
Soketi: What are people moving to?

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

PostgreSQL: Does PostgreSQL support JSON data?

Yes. PostgreSQL supports JSON and JSONB data types for storing and querying JSON documents, along with XML and other document formats.

Source
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