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Pusher vs Liveblocks

Pusher logo

Pusher

Software

Realtime messaging API for building live features into apps

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Liveblocks logo

Liveblocks

Software

Realtime collaboration infrastructure for building multiplayer features

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Pusher the free Sandbox plan is capped at 100 concurrent connections, which is quickly outgrown by production apps.; Liveblocks on the Free plan, each metered feature has a hard cap and simply pauses when exceeded rather than allowing overage.
  • They diverge on capability: Pusher covers Pub/sub channels, Liveblocks covers Realtime presence and cursors.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Pusher and Liveblocks actually diverge.

Attributes where Pusher and Liveblocks differ
AttributePusherLiveblocks
Platformsweb, ios, android, apiweb, api

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 Pusher

  • Pub/sub channels
  • Presence channels
  • Client libraries
  • Webhooks
  • 24/7 monitoring
  • Priority support

Only in Liveblocks

  • Realtime presence and cursors
  • Comments
  • Version history
  • Custom notifications
  • SSO and SOC 2
  • Management API

What people use each for

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

Pusher

  • Adding live chat to a web or mobile appnot Liveblocks
  • Showing realtime presence of online usersnot Liveblocks
  • Pushing live notifications or dashboard updatesnot Liveblocks
  • Building collaborative features without managing WebSocket serversnot Liveblocks

Liveblocks

  • Adding live cursors and presence to a collaborative editornot Pusher
  • Building threaded comments on documents or designsnot Pusher
  • Sending realtime notifications tied to collaborative actionsnot Pusher
  • Restoring previous versions of collaborative contentnot Pusher

Where each one falls short

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

Pusher

  • The free Sandbox plan is capped at 100 concurrent connections, which is quickly outgrown by production apps.
  • Pricing jumps sharply between tiers (e.g. $49 to $99 to $299), leaving few options for teams with moderate but growing usage.
  • Priority support with faster response times costs an additional $3,000/month on top of plan pricing.

Liveblocks

  • On the Free plan, each metered feature has a hard cap and simply pauses when exceeded rather than allowing overage.
  • The jump from Pro ($30/month) to Team (starting at $600/month) is steep for teams that outgrow Pro but don't need full Team scale.
  • Multi-region hosting and SCIM provisioning are Enterprise-only and require custom pricing.

Pricing, plan by plan

Pusher

Free
  • SandboxFree
    • 200k messages/day
    • 100 concurrent connections
    • Standard support
  • Startup$49/month
    • 1M messages/day
    • 500 concurrent connections
  • Pro$99/month
    • 4M messages/day
    • 2,000 concurrent connections
  • Business$299/month
    • 10M messages/day
    • 5,000 concurrent connections
    • Premium support

Liveblocks

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 10 projects
    • 3 dashboard seats
    • 10 simultaneous connections per room
  • Pro$30/month
    • $30 monthly credits
    • Removes Liveblocks branding
    • 3 dashboard seats
  • Team$600/month
    • SSO and SOC 2
    • 10 dashboard seats
    • 50 connections/room

Which should you pick?

Choose Pusher if

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

Choose Liveblocks if

  • You need realtime presence and cursors.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web, api.
  • You also want comments.
Liveblocks review

Questions people ask

Is Pusher or Liveblocks better?
Neither clearly leads. Pusher starts at Free and Liveblocks at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Pusher or Liveblocks?
Pusher starts at Free and Liveblocks at Free.
Does Pusher or Liveblocks run on more platforms?
Pusher runs on web, ios, android, api. Liveblocks runs on web, api.
Can I use Pusher for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Pusher best used for?
Pusher is most often used for adding live chat to a web or mobile app, showing realtime presence of online users, pushing live notifications or dashboard updates, building collaborative features without managing websocket servers. Of those, adding live chat to a web or mobile app and showing realtime presence of online users are not what Liveblocks is typically brought in for.
What can Pusher do that Liveblocks cannot?
Pusher covers Pub/sub channels, Presence channels, Client libraries, Webhooks. Liveblocks covers Realtime presence and cursors, Comments, Version history, Custom notifications.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Pusher: What does Pusher cost?

Pusher Channels offers a free Sandbox plan (200k messages/day, 100 connections) and paid plans starting at $49/month for Startup, scaling up through Pro, Business, and several higher tiers up to $1,199/month, plus custom Enterprise pricing.

Source
Liveblocks: What does Liveblocks cost?

Liveblocks offers a Free plan with hard usage caps, a Pro plan at $30/month ($25/month billed annually) including $30 in monthly credits, a Team plan from $600/month, and custom Enterprise pricing.

Source
Pusher: Can I change or cancel my plan?

Yes, customers can log into the dashboard and adjust their plan at any time, including upgrading, downgrading, or cancelling.

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

Yes, the Free plan includes 10 projects, 3 dashboard seats, 10 simultaneous connections per room, 3,000 collaboration minutes, 200 comments, and 1GB of realtime data storage, with features pausing once a cap is hit.

Source
Pusher: How is usage metered?

Usage is measured by concurrent connections and messages per day; a message counts both the publish and each delivery, so publishing one message to 50 subscribers counts as 51 messages.

Source
Liveblocks: How is usage metered?

Paid plans include monthly credits covering collaboration minutes, comments, and storage; usage beyond the credit is billed at metered rates such as $0.002 per collaboration minute and $0.01 per comment, with credits resetting each billing cycle without rollover.

Source
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