Softwr

Developer Tools · head to head

Soketi vs Stytch

Soketi logo

Soketi

Developer Tools

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

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Stytch logo

Stytch

Cybersecurity

Identity platform with passwordless auth, passkeys and bot detection.

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • 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.; Stytch free tier limited to 10,000 monthly active users; scaling beyond this requires custom pricing negotiation
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Soketi and Stytch actually diverge.

Attributes where Soketi and Stytch differ
AttributeSoketiStytch
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feefreemium
PlatformsLinux, macOS, WindowsWeb, API
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity

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 Soketi

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

Only in Stytch

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 Stytch
  • Realtime notifications or presence indicators where data must not leave your own infrastructure for compliance reasonsnot Stytch
  • A local or CI environment that needs a Pusher-compatible server without hitting a paid accountnot Stytch
  • A high-connection-count application where hosted per-connection pricing has become the largest line in the infrastructure billnot Stytch

Stytch

  • Applications prioritising passwordless and passkey authenticationnot Soketi
  • SaaS platforms requiring AI agent authentication and machine-to-machine flowsnot Soketi
  • Companies with emerging identity needs such as bot detection and device intelligencenot Soketi
  • Organisations building with Next.js and React requiring modern auth patternsnot Soketi
  • Applications needing transparent pricing without surprise tiers or feature gatingnot 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.

Stytch

  • Free tier limited to 10,000 monthly active users; scaling beyond this requires custom pricing negotiation
  • Fraud prevention capabilities billed at $0.005 per fingerprint for usage exceeding 10,000 free checks
  • Additional SSO or SCIM connections beyond the 5 included in free tier cost $125 each
  • Brand customisation and email removal require one-time payment of $99
  • HIPAA and advanced fraud protection only available in Enterprise tier
  • No native UI builder; requires custom frontend development for fully-branded auth flows

Pricing, plan by plan

Soketi

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

Stytch

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 10,000 monthly active users and AI agents
    • Unlimited organisations
    • 5 SSO or SCIM connections
  • Scaled$undefined/variable
    • Usage-based pricing for users exceeding 10,000
    • All free tier features
    • Volume discounts available
  • Enterprise$undefined/variable
    • Custom pricing
    • Discounted volume rates
    • Enterprise support SLA

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 Stytch if

  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, API.
Stytch review

Questions people ask

Is Soketi or Stytch better?
Neither clearly leads. Soketi starts at Free and Stytch at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Soketi or Stytch?
Soketi starts at Free and Stytch at Free.
Does Soketi or Stytch run on more platforms?
Soketi runs on Linux, macOS, Windows. Stytch runs on Web, API.
Can I use Soketi for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 Stytch is typically brought in for.
What can Soketi do that Stytch 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.

Stytch: What is included in Stytch's free tier?

The free tier includes 10,000 monthly active users (human and AI agents), unlimited organisations, 5 SSO or SCIM connections, and 1,000 machine-to-machine tokens with full authentication features.

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.

Stytch: Does Stytch support AI agent authentication?

Yes. Stytch provides native AI agent authentication and authorisation, with support for the Model Context Protocol (MCP) for authenticating AI agents accessing external systems.

Source
Soketi: What does it cost?

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

Stytch: What fraud prevention features does Stytch offer?

Stytch includes bot detection with 99.99% accuracy, device fingerprinting, invisible CAPTCHA, and zero-day device intelligence built into all tiers.

Source
Soketi: What are people moving to?

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

Share

Related pages

More on Soketi

More on Stytch

Keep looking

Other head to heads