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Developer Tools · head to head

Soketi vs Tyk

Soketi logo

Soketi

Developer Tools

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Tyk logo

Tyk

APIs

Open-source API gateway and API management platform

From
Free
Rated
-
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.; Tyk professional and Enterprise plan pricing not published; contact required
  • They diverge on capability: Soketi covers Pusher protocol compatibility, Tyk covers API Gateway.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Soketi and Tyk actually diverge.

Attributes where Soketi and Tyk differ
AttributeSoketiTyk
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feefreemium
PlatformsLinux, macOS, WindowsLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud
CategoryDeveloper ToolsAPIs
FoundedUnknown2013

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 Tyk

  • API Gateway
  • Rate Limiting
  • Authentication
  • Kubernetes
  • Docker
  • AWS
  • Azure
  • Linux support

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

Tyk

  • API gateway and API management platformsnot Soketi
  • Microservices architecture orchestrationnot Soketi
  • High-growth teams standardizing on API platformsnot Soketi
  • Enterprises requiring advanced security and governancenot 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.

Tyk

  • Professional and Enterprise plan pricing not published; contact required
  • Core plan uses consumption-based model with variable costs
  • No upfront pricing transparency for production deployments

Pricing, plan by plan

Soketi

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

Tyk

Free
  • Free TrialFree
    • Fully featured 48-hour trial
    • No credit card required
    • Tyk Cloud access
  • Core Plan$null/month
    • Usage-based flexible pricing
    • Cloud, Hybrid, or Self-managed deployment
    • Unlimited API gateways
  • Professional Plan$null/month
    • One fixed price with unlimited access
    • All deployment options
    • Unlimited APIs and requests
  • Enterprise Plan$null/month
    • Custom pricing required
    • Advanced governance and security
    • Premium support with custom SLAs

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 Tyk if

  • You need api gateway.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud.
  • You also want rate limiting.
Tyk review

Questions people ask

Is Soketi or Tyk better?
Neither clearly leads. Soketi starts at Free and Tyk at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Soketi or Tyk?
Soketi starts at Free and Tyk at Free.
Does Soketi or Tyk run on more platforms?
Soketi runs on Linux, macOS, Windows. Tyk runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud.
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 Tyk is typically brought in for.
What can Soketi do that Tyk cannot?
Soketi covers Pusher protocol compatibility, Presence and private channels, Horizontal scaling, App management backends. Tyk covers API Gateway, Rate Limiting, Authentication, Kubernetes.

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.

Tyk: How much does Tyk cost?

Tyk offers a free 48-hour trial with no credit card required. The Core plan uses usage-based pricing on a flexible model. Professional plan offers unlimited access at a fixed price (amount not published). Enterprise plans require custom pricing.

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.

Tyk: Is there a free trial of Tyk?

Yes, Tyk provides a fully featured 48-hour free trial of Tyk Cloud that requires no credit card to start.

Source
Soketi: What does it cost?

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

Tyk: What deployment options are included in Tyk pricing?

All Tyk plans support Cloud, Hybrid, or Self-managed deployment options without feature restrictions, allowing flexible infrastructure choices across pricing tiers.

Source
Soketi: What are people moving to?

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

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