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APIs · head to head

Pusher vs Skaleet

Pusher logo

Pusher

APIs

Realtime messaging API for building live features into apps

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Skaleet logo

Skaleet

APIs

Cloud-native core banking and payment hub with deployments measured in months

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Pusher has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Pusher the free Sandbox plan is capped at 100 concurrent connections, which is quickly outgrown by production apps.; Skaleet the installed base is in the tens rather than the hundreds, so the pool of consultants and systems integrators who know the platform is small and expensive.
  • They diverge on capability: Pusher covers Pub/sub channels, Skaleet covers Cloud-native core.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Pusher and Skaleet actually diverge.

Attributes where Pusher and Skaleet differ
AttributePusherSkaleet
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreemiumquote
Free tierYesNo
Platformsweb, ios, android, apiWeb, REST API, Linux

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 Pusher

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

Only in Skaleet

  • Cloud-native core
  • Payment hub
  • Card management
  • Lending
  • API-first
  • Configurable products

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 Skaleet
  • Showing realtime presence of online usersnot Skaleet
  • Pushing live notifications or dashboard updatesnot Skaleet
  • Building collaborative features without managing WebSocket serversnot Skaleet

Skaleet

  • A banking group launching a digital savings or deposit brand in a new country within a yearnot Pusher
  • A bank modernising payments to ISO 20022 without replacing its whole corenot Pusher
  • A payroll or HR software company adding embedded banking to its productnot Pusher
  • A payment service provider needing a ledger and accounts under its existing licencenot 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.

Skaleet

  • The installed base is in the tens rather than the hundreds, so the pool of consultants and systems integrators who know the platform is small and expensive.
  • Speed references are mostly greenfield launches inside large groups, which is an easier problem than migrating an existing book off a legacy core.
  • It is European-centric, with payment rails and regulatory work concentrated on SEPA and EU requirements rather than global coverage.
  • As a smaller vendor carrying a bank core, it attracts hard concentration and viability questions in procurement that larger competitors do not face.
  • Pricing is unpublished and scaled by accounts and transactions, so a bank whose volumes grow faster than forecast faces cost escalation it did not model.

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

Skaleet

On request
  • Skaleet Core Banking Platform$undefined/year
    • Subscription licence scaled by accounts and transaction volume
    • Payment hub licensable separately from the full core
    • Implementation and configuration charged as a project

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 Skaleet if

  • You need cloud-native core.
  • You work on Web, REST API, Linux.
  • You also want payment hub.
Skaleet review

Questions people ask

Is Pusher or Skaleet better?
Neither clearly leads. Pusher starts at Free and Skaleet at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Pusher or Skaleet?
Pusher has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Pusher and On request for Skaleet.
Does Pusher or Skaleet run on more platforms?
Pusher runs on web, ios, android, api. Skaleet runs on Web, REST API, Linux.
Can I use Pusher for free?
Yes. Pusher has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Skaleet starts at On request.
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 Skaleet is typically brought in for.
What can Pusher do that Skaleet cannot?
Pusher covers Pub/sub channels, Presence channels, Client libraries, Webhooks. Skaleet covers Cloud-native core, Payment hub, Card management, Lending.

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
Skaleet: What was Skaleet called before?

TagPay. The company rebranded to Skaleet while keeping the same platform lineage.

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
Skaleet: Can I buy just the payment hub?

Yes. The payment engine is licensable standalone and can sit over an existing core, which is a common first step.

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
Skaleet: How fast are real deployments?

Named European deployments have gone live in six to twelve months, including a Crédit Agricole savings platform live in Germany in eight months.

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