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Automation Integration · head to head

RudderStack vs Soketi

RudderStack logo

RudderStack

Automation Integration

The open-source customer data platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Soketi logo

Soketi

Developer Tools

Self-hosted, Pusher-compatible WebSockets server with a stalled maintenance record

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: RudderStack on the free plan data processing stops after a second consecutive overage rather than being billed, so exceeding 250,000 events twice breaks the pipeline; Soketi maintenance has effectively stalled: the maintainer has said time is severely limited, releases are infrequent, and the community has been discussing whether the project is abandoned, which means security fixes may not arrive.
  • They diverge on capability: RudderStack covers Data collection, Soketi covers Pusher protocol compatibility.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which RudderStack and Soketi actually diverge.

Attributes where RudderStack and Soketi differ
AttributeRudderStackSoketi
Pricing modelfreemiumOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWeb, Self-hostedLinux, macOS, Windows
CategoryAutomation IntegrationDeveloper Tools
Founded2018Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

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 RudderStack

  • Data collection
  • Event tracking
  • Audience segmentation
  • Warehouse ingestion
  • Real-time sync
  • Data transformation
  • Privacy controls
  • 200+ destinations

Only in Soketi

  • Pusher protocol compatibility
  • Presence and private channels
  • Horizontal scaling
  • App management backends
  • Webhooks
  • Prometheus metrics

What people use each for

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

RudderStack

  • Collecting event data from apps and websites and routing it to warehouses and toolsnot Soketi
  • Building a warehouse first customer data pipelinenot Soketi

Soketi

  • A Laravel application that already uses Echo and wants to stop paying a hosted realtime providernot RudderStack
  • Realtime notifications or presence indicators where data must not leave your own infrastructure for compliance reasonsnot RudderStack
  • A local or CI environment that needs a Pusher-compatible server without hitting a paid accountnot RudderStack
  • A high-connection-count application where hosted per-connection pricing has become the largest line in the infrastructure billnot RudderStack

Where each one falls short

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

RudderStack

  • On the free plan data processing stops after a second consecutive overage rather than being billed, so exceeding 250,000 events twice breaks the pipeline
  • The free plan allows 250,000 events a month
  • Growth starts at $265 a month for 1 million events, with volume sold in tiers up to 25 million
  • Overage is charged as the gap to the next tier's price rather than per event, so a small excess costs a full tier step

Soketi

  • Maintenance has effectively stalled: the maintainer has said time is severely limited, releases are infrequent, and the community has been discussing whether the project is abandoned, which means security fixes may not arrive.
  • Dependency drift on Node and uWebSockets.js will eventually force you to fork or migrate, and that cost is unbudgeted at the point you adopt it.
  • There is no commercial support to buy, so a production incident at three in the morning is entirely your problem with no escalation path.
  • Scaling beyond a single node needs Redis and careful configuration, and getting presence channels correct across nodes is a genuine source of subtle bugs.
  • It implements the Pusher protocol rather than tracking it, so any protocol feature Pusher adds later will not appear, and the compatibility guarantee slowly decays.

Pricing, plan by plan

RudderStack

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 250K events per month
    • 16 SDK sources
    • 200+ cloud destinations
  • Growth$265/month
    • 1 million events per month (up to 25 million available)
    • Unlimited team members
    • Tracking plans
  • Enterprise$null/mo
    • 5-minute warehouse sync
    • Unlimited transformations
    • Access to Profiles & Data Apps

Soketi

Free
  • SoketiFree
    • MIT licensed
    • Unlimited connections subject to your own hardware
    • No vendor billing

Which should you pick?

Choose RudderStack if

  • You need data collection.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Self-hosted.
  • You also want event tracking.
RudderStack review

Choose Soketi if

  • You need pusher protocol compatibility.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want presence and private channels.
Soketi review

Questions people ask

Is RudderStack or Soketi better?
Neither clearly leads. RudderStack starts at Free and Soketi at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, RudderStack or Soketi?
RudderStack starts at Free and Soketi at Free.
Does RudderStack or Soketi run on more platforms?
RudderStack runs on Web, Self-hosted. Soketi runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
Can I use RudderStack for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is RudderStack best used for?
RudderStack is most often used for collecting event data from apps and websites and routing it to warehouses and tools, building a warehouse first customer data pipeline. Of those, collecting event data from apps and websites and routing it to warehouses and tools and building a warehouse first customer data pipeline are not what Soketi is typically brought in for.
What can RudderStack do that Soketi cannot?
RudderStack covers Data collection, Event tracking, Audience segmentation, Warehouse ingestion. Soketi covers Pusher protocol compatibility, Presence and private channels, Horizontal scaling, App management backends.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

RudderStack: What is RudderStack's free plan limit?

RudderStack's free plan includes 250K events per month with 16 SDK sources, 200+ cloud destinations, warehouse destinations, and Reverse ETL at no cost.

Source
Soketi: Is Soketi still maintained?

Barely. The maintainer has stated that available time is very limited and releases have been sparse; treat it as community-maintained.

RudderStack: How much does RudderStack Growth plan cost?

RudderStack Growth plan costs $265 per month with annual billing discount available, providing 1 million events per month (up to 25 million available), unlimited team members, and 2 workspaces.

Source
Soketi: Do I need to change my client code?

No. Pusher client SDKs and Laravel Echo work by changing the host, port and credentials.

RudderStack: What happens if I exceed my RudderStack event limit?

On the free plan, data processing stops after your second consecutive overage. Paid plan customers face overage fees calculated as the difference between the next tier's pricing and their current plan.

Source
Soketi: What does it cost?

Nothing in licence fees. It is MIT licensed; you pay for the server it runs on.

Soketi: What are people moving to?

Laravel Reverb for Laravel applications, and Sockudo, a Rust reimplementation, for others.

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