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APIs · head to head

PubNub vs Yapily

PubNub logo

PubNub

APIs

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Yapily logo

Yapily

APIs

Open banking API infrastructure for account data and pay-by-bank payments across Europe

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

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.; Yapily production pricing itself is not published; only the resulting typical merchant transaction cost is publicly known, so the underlying platform fee still requires a sales conversation.
  • They diverge on capability: PubNub covers Pub/sub messaging, Yapily covers Unified open banking API.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which PubNub and Yapily actually diverge.

Attributes where PubNub and Yapily differ
AttributePubNubYapily
Pricing modelfreemiumFree sandbox, pay-as-you-go production
Platformsweb, ios, android, apiWeb, API

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Yapily

  • Unified open banking API
  • Account information access
  • Payment initiation
  • Free sandbox
  • Multi-country bank coverage
  • Webhooks and reconciliation tooling

What people use each for

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

PubNub

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

Yapily

  • A merchant wanting a lower-cost payment method alongside card acceptancenot PubNub
  • A lending or budgeting product needing bank account data for affordability checksnot PubNub
  • A business wanting one API instead of separate integrations to each bank's own open banking standardnot PubNub
  • A company prototyping open banking features for free in sandbox before committing budgetnot 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.

Yapily

  • Production pricing itself is not published; only the resulting typical merchant transaction cost is publicly known, so the underlying platform fee still requires a sales conversation.
  • Consumer adoption of pay-by-bank still lags card payments, so merchants offering it as a checkout option typically see it used as a secondary rather than primary payment method.
  • Coverage depends on the banks in each country maintaining reliable open banking APIs, and inconsistent bank-side reliability across markets is a known category-wide weakness, not unique to Yapily but not solved by it either.
  • As infrastructure for both account data and payments, a company only needing one of those two capabilities is still evaluating a broader platform than it may need.
  • Regulatory dependence on PSD2 and UK open banking rules means the underlying legal framework, not just Yapily's product, could shift and affect what is possible on the platform.

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

Yapily

Free
  • SandboxFree
    • Free testing environment
    • UK and European bank connections for development
  • Production$undefined/month
    • Pay-as-you-go pricing, exact rates not published
    • Typical pay-by-bank cost of 0.1 to 0.5% or a flat 5 to 30 pence per transaction

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 Yapily if

  • You need unified open banking api.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want account information access.
Yapily review

Questions people ask

Is PubNub or Yapily better?
Neither clearly leads. PubNub starts at Free and Yapily at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, PubNub or Yapily?
PubNub starts at Free and Yapily at Free.
Does PubNub or Yapily run on more platforms?
PubNub runs on web, ios, android, api. Yapily runs on Web, API.
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 Yapily is typically brought in for.
What can PubNub do that Yapily cannot?
PubNub covers Pub/sub messaging, Presence tracking, Message persistence, Serverless Functions. Yapily covers Unified open banking API, Account information access, Payment initiation, Free sandbox.

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
Yapily: Is there a free way to try it?

Yes, sandbox access is free for development and testing.

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
Yapily: How much cheaper is pay-by-bank than card payments?

Typically 0.1 to 0.5% of transaction value, or a flat 5 to 30 pence, against 1.5 to 3.5% for card scheme fees.

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
Yapily: Is production pricing published?

No, production access is pay-as-you-go but exact rates require a sales conversation.

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