Softwr

APIs · head to head

PubNub vs Tink

PubNub logo

PubNub

APIs

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Tink logo

Tink

APIs

European open banking platform for account data and payment initiation

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only PubNub has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: PubNub free plan storage history is limited to 7 days, which is short for apps needing longer message retention.; Tink visa owns Tink, and pay-by-bank exists to move payments off card rails, so the roadmap and pricing of the product you are using to reduce interchange are set by the company that earns the interchange.
  • They diverge on capability: PubNub covers Pub/sub messaging, Tink covers Account data access.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which PubNub and Tink actually diverge.

Attributes where PubNub and Tink differ
AttributePubNubTink
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreemiumquote
Free tierYesNo
Platformsweb, ios, android, apiAPI, Web

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (APIs).

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

  • Pub/sub messaging
  • Presence tracking
  • Message persistence
  • Serverless Functions
  • File sharing
  • Encryption and access controls

Only in Tink

  • Account data access
  • Payment initiation
  • EEA passporting
  • Categorisation
  • Account verification
  • Risk and affordability signals
  • Variable recurring payments support
  • Consent management

What people use each for

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

PubNub

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

Tink

  • A European lender that needs verified income and expense data from a borrower bank account across several EEA markets under one licencenot PubNub
  • A merchant offering pay-by-bank at checkout to avoid card acceptance costs on high value basketsnot PubNub
  • A fintech that does not hold its own PSD2 licence and needs to operate under an authorised provider passported across the EEAnot PubNub
  • A bank building an account aggregation view of a customer external accounts without negotiating with each institution individuallynot 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.

Tink

  • Visa owns Tink, and pay-by-bank exists to move payments off card rails, so the roadmap and pricing of the product you are using to reduce interchange are set by the company that earns the interchange.
  • Coverage is Europe only, so a product serving both European and United States users runs a second aggregator with a different data model and a separate contract.
  • PSD2 connection quality varies sharply by bank, and headline connection counts hide wide differences in success rate, consent lifetime and re-authentication frequency that determine what users actually experience.
  • Consent under PSD2 expires and requires periodic re-authentication, so any product depending on continuous data access has a recurring user friction it cannot design away, and drop-off at re-consent is a real product problem.
  • Pricing is quoted with data access and payment initiation priced separately, and there is no published rate card, so small merchants cannot compare pay-by-bank economics against card acceptance without a sales process.

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

Tink

On request
  • Tink Platform$undefined/year
    • Priced by product, market and volume
    • Data access and payment initiation priced separately
    • Annual commitments typical for enterprise agreements

Which should you pick?

Choose PubNub if

  • You need pub/sub messaging.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web, ios, android, api.
  • You also want presence tracking.
PubNub review

Choose Tink if

  • You need account data access.
  • You work on API, Web.
  • You also want payment initiation.
Tink review

Questions people ask

Is PubNub or Tink better?
Neither clearly leads. PubNub starts at Free and Tink at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, PubNub or Tink?
PubNub has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for PubNub and On request for Tink.
Does PubNub or Tink run on more platforms?
PubNub runs on web, ios, android, api. Tink runs on API, Web.
Can I use PubNub for free?
Yes. PubNub has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Tink starts at On request.
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 Tink is typically brought in for.
What can PubNub do that Tink cannot?
PubNub covers Pub/sub messaging, Presence tracking, Message persistence, Serverless Functions. Tink covers Account data access, Payment initiation, EEA passporting, Categorisation.

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
Tink: Who owns Tink?

Visa, since 2022. That is directly relevant if you are adopting pay-by-bank specifically to reduce card costs.

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
Tink: Do I need my own PSD2 licence?

No. Tink holds AIS and PIS licences from the Swedish FSA passported across the EEA, and customers can operate as its agent rather than obtaining their own authorisation.

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
Tink: Does Tink cover the United States?

No. It is a European platform. US coverage requires a separate provider.

Tink: How reliable are the bank connections?

It varies by institution far more than the headline count of roughly 6,000 connections suggests. Ask for per market and per bank success rates and consent lifetimes for the banks your users actually hold accounts with.

Share

Related pages

More on PubNub

More on Tink

Keep looking

Other head to heads