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Developer Tools · head to head

Soketi vs SonicWall

Soketi logo

Soketi

Developer Tools

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

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
SonicWall logo

SonicWall

Cybersecurity

Proven security, performance and simplicity for modern networks

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Soketi has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: 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.; SonicWall product line page names no price for any firewall model, series or bundled security service
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Soketi and SonicWall actually diverge.

Attributes where Soketi and SonicWall differ
AttributeSoketiSonicWall
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feequote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, macOS, WindowsWeb
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity

Identical on both: 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 Soketi

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

Only in SonicWall

Nothing recorded that Soketi does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Soketi

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

SonicWall

  • Network security and firewallsnot Soketi
  • Cloud securitynot Soketi

Where each one falls short

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

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.

SonicWall

  • Product line page names no price for any firewall model, series or bundled security service
  • Product tiers are segmented strictly by business size (TZ80 for micro-SMBs up to NSsp for large enterprises), so a growing business must migrate hardware series rather than scale within one model

Pricing, plan by plan

Soketi

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

SonicWall

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the SonicWall review.

Which should you pick?

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

Choose SonicWall if

Nothing in the data separates SonicWall from Soketi on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

SonicWall review

Questions people ask

Is Soketi or SonicWall better?
Neither clearly leads. Soketi starts at Free and SonicWall at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Soketi or SonicWall?
Soketi has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Soketi and On request for SonicWall.
Does Soketi or SonicWall run on more platforms?
Soketi runs on Linux, macOS, Windows. SonicWall runs on Web.
Can I use Soketi for free?
Yes. Soketi has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. SonicWall starts at On request.
What is Soketi best used for?
Soketi is most often used for a laravel application that already uses echo and wants to stop paying a hosted realtime provider, realtime notifications or presence indicators where data must not leave your own infrastructure for compliance reasons, a local or ci environment that needs a pusher-compatible server without hitting a paid account, a high-connection-count application where hosted per-connection pricing has become the largest line in the infrastructure bill. Of those, a laravel application that already uses echo and wants to stop paying a hosted realtime provider and realtime notifications or presence indicators where data must not leave your own infrastructure for compliance reasons are not what SonicWall is typically brought in for.
What can Soketi do that SonicWall cannot?
Soketi covers Pusher protocol compatibility, Presence and private channels, Horizontal scaling, App management backends.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

SonicWall: How much does SonicWall cost?

SonicWall does not publish pricing on its main website. The company directs customers to contact their sales team directly or access the partner portal for reseller pricing. Free trials are available through their sales channels.

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.

SonicWall: Does SonicWall offer a free trial?

Yes, SonicWall offers free trials for their products. Contact their sales team through the Contact Sales button to request trial access and pricing information.

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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