Is PubNub or Ably better?

Neither clearly leads. PubNub starts at Free and Ably at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, PubNub or Ably?

PubNub starts at Free and Ably at Free.

Does PubNub or Ably run on more platforms?

Both run on web, ios, android, api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.

Can I use PubNub for free?

Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.

What is PubNub best used for?

PubNub is most often used for building realtime chat applications, streaming live iot sensor data, adding presence indicators to collaborative apps, running edge logic with serverless functions on realtime events. Of those, building realtime chat applications and streaming live iot sensor data are not what Ably is typically brought in for.

What can PubNub do that Ably cannot?

PubNub covers Presence tracking, Serverless Functions, File sharing, Encryption and access controls. Ably covers Presence, Multi-protocol support, Encryption, Datadog integration. Both handle Pub/sub messaging, Message persistence.

API Management · head to head

PubNub vs Ably

PubNub

API Management

Realtime communication platform for chat, IoT, and live data apps

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Ably

API Management

Realtime data delivery platform for pub/sub messaging at scale

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: PubNub free plan storage history is limited to 7 days, which is short for apps needing longer message retention.; Ably standard and Pro plans layer usage-based charges for messages, connection minutes, and data transfer on top of the base subscription, adding cost complexity.
They diverge on capability: PubNub covers Presence tracking, Ably covers Presence.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which PubNub and Ably actually diverge.

Attributes where PubNub and Ably differ
Attribute	PubNub	Ably

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), free tier (Yes), platforms (web, ios, android, api), user rating (Not yet rated), category (API Management).

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 PubNub

Presence tracking
Serverless Functions
File sharing
Encryption and access controls

Only in Ably

Presence
Multi-protocol support
Encryption
Datadog integration

Both cover

Pub/sub messaging
Message persistence

What people use each for

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

PubNub

Building realtime chat applicationsnot Ably
Streaming live IoT sensor datanot Ably
Adding presence indicators to collaborative appsnot Ably
Running edge logic with serverless Functions on realtime eventsnot Ably

Ably

Building realtime chat or collaborative appsnot PubNub
Delivering live data feeds like stock prices or sports scoresnot PubNub
Broadcasting notifications to many concurrent clientsnot PubNub
Running mission-critical realtime infrastructure with high uptime SLAsnot PubNub

Where each one falls short

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

PubNub

Free plan storage history is limited to 7 days, which is short for apps needing longer message retention.
MAU-based pricing means costs scale directly with user growth, which can be less predictable than flat message-based pricing.
Pro-tier custom pricing above 50,000 MAU requires contacting sales rather than self-serve checkout.

Ably

Standard and Pro plans layer usage-based charges for messages, connection minutes, and data transfer on top of the base subscription, adding cost complexity.
The jump from Standard ($29/month) to Pro ($399/month) is steep for teams needing more than 10k connections but not full Pro capacity.
24/7 mission-critical support and 99.999% uptime SLAs are reserved for the custom-priced Enterprise tier.

Pricing, plan by plan

PubNub

Free

FreeFree
- Up to 200 MAU or 1M transactions
- 1GB data storage (7 days)
- 5 test Serverless Functions
Starter$98/month
- 1,000 MAU included
- User management
- Insights
Pro$undefined/month
- Custom MAU packages
- Volume discounts
- Enterprise-scale configurations

Ably

Free

FreeFree
- 200 concurrent connections
- 500 messages/second
- 6M messages/month
Standard$29/month
- 10k concurrent channels
- 10k concurrent connections
- 2.5k messages/second
Pro$399/month
- 50k concurrent channels
- 50k concurrent connections
- 10k messages/second

Which should you pick?

Choose PubNub if

You need presence tracking.
You want to start without paying.
You work on web, ios, android, api.
You also want serverless functions.

PubNub review

Choose Ably if

You need presence.
You want to start without paying.
You work on web, ios, android, api.
You also want multi-protocol support.

Ably review

Questions people ask

Is PubNub or Ably better?: Neither clearly leads. PubNub starts at Free and Ably at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, PubNub or Ably?: PubNub starts at Free and Ably at Free.
Does PubNub or Ably run on more platforms?: Both run on web, ios, android, api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use PubNub for free?: Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is PubNub best used for?: PubNub is most often used for building realtime chat applications, streaming live iot sensor data, adding presence indicators to collaborative apps, running edge logic with serverless functions on realtime events. Of those, building realtime chat applications and streaming live iot sensor data are not what Ably is typically brought in for.
What can PubNub do that Ably cannot?: PubNub covers Presence tracking, Serverless Functions, File sharing, Encryption and access controls. Ably covers Presence, Multi-protocol support, Encryption, Datadog integration. Both handle Pub/sub messaging, Message persistence.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

PubNub: What does PubNub cost?

PubNub offers a free plan for up to 200 MAU or 1 million transactions, a Starter plan at $98/month for 1,000 MAU, and custom Pro pricing for larger volumes, e.g. around $550/month for 10,000 MAU.

Source

Ably: What does Ably cost?

Ably offers a free plan with 200 concurrent connections, a Standard plan at $29/month plus usage, a Pro plan at $399/month plus usage, and custom Enterprise pricing with unlimited channels and connections.

Source

PubNub: Is there a free plan, and what are its limits?

Yes, the free plan supports up to 200 monthly active users or 1 million transactions, includes 1GB of data storage retained for 7 days, and requires no credit card.

Source

Ably: Is there a free plan, and what are its limits?

Yes, the free plan includes 200 concurrent connections, 500 messages per second, and 6 million messages per month with community and best-effort email support.

Source

PubNub: How is usage metered?

PubNub bills primarily by Monthly Active Users, defined as a unique user who connects at least once in a billing cycle; messages are bundled into MAU pricing with no separate per-message fees, and overage is billed proportionally.

Source

Ably: How is usage metered?

Beyond plan limits, Ably charges usage-based rates of $2.50 per million messages, $1.00 per million connection minutes, $1.00 per million channel minutes, and $0.25 per GiB of data transfer, with volume discounts available.

Source

PubNub vs Ably

PubNub

Ably

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in PubNub

Only in Ably

Both cover

What people use each for

PubNub

Ably

Where each one falls short

PubNub

Ably

Pricing, plan by plan

PubNub

Ably

Which should you pick?

Choose PubNub if

Choose Ably if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on PubNub

More on Ably

Keep looking

Other head to heads