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APIs · head to head

Pusher vs Zimpler

Pusher logo

Pusher

APIs

Realtime messaging API for building live features into apps

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Zimpler logo

Zimpler

APIs

Nordic and Brazilian account-to-account payments for regulated high-risk sectors

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.; Zimpler pricing is not published and is set by industry and risk profile, so smaller merchants cannot benchmark a quote and often discover they are paying well above a general-purpose provider.
  • They diverge on capability: Pusher covers Pub/sub channels, Zimpler covers Bank payments.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Pusher and Zimpler actually diverge.

Attributes where Pusher and Zimpler differ
AttributePusherZimpler
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreemiumquote
Free tierYesNo
Platformsweb, ios, android, apiWeb, REST API

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 Zimpler

  • Bank payments
  • BankID identity
  • Payouts
  • Recurring payments
  • Risk screening
  • Brazil coverage

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

Zimpler

  • A Swedish gambling operator needing deposit and verified identity in a single customer flownot Pusher
  • A Nordic merchant wanting instant bank payouts rather than card refundsnot Pusher
  • A trading platform where confirming account ownership before funding is a regulatory requirementnot Pusher
  • A European operator expanding into Brazil and wanting one provider across both marketsnot 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.

Zimpler

  • Pricing is not published and is set by industry and risk profile, so smaller merchants cannot benchmark a quote and often discover they are paying well above a general-purpose provider.
  • As a payment facilitator carrying merchant risk, it declines or offboards merchants on risk grounds, which makes it a dependency you cannot assume will persist.
  • Its strength is concentrated in the Nordics, and coverage in southern and eastern Europe is thinner than pan-European account-to-account specialists.
  • Revenue concentration in iGaming ties the provider to a sector under constant regulatory change, so licence changes in one market affect the supplier as well as the merchant.
  • Bank transfers have no chargeback protection, so disputes are handled commercially and consumers used to card protections may resist the payment method.

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

Zimpler

On request
  • Zimpler payments$undefined/year
    • Per-transaction pricing quoted by industry, risk and volume
    • Separate pricing for payouts and identity verification
    • Merchant underwriting required, with sector restrictions

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 Zimpler if

  • You need bank payments.
  • You work on Web, REST API.
  • You also want bankid identity.
Zimpler review

Questions people ask

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

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
Zimpler: Which markets does Zimpler cover?

Sweden and the Nordics primarily, plus the wider EU and Brazil. It is strongest where national electronic identity schemes exist.

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
Zimpler: Does it handle identity verification?

Yes. In the Nordics it captures BankID identity alongside the payment, which removes a separate verification 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
Zimpler: Is pricing published?

No. It is quoted per merchant based on sector, risk and volume, and merchants must pass underwriting first.

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