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Developer Tools · head to head

Soketi vs Wireshark

Soketi logo

Soketi

Developer Tools

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Wireshark logo

Wireshark

Cybersecurity

The world's foremost network protocol analyzer

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.; Wireshark free and open source under the GNU GPL; downloadable without paying any license fee, no commercial tier
  • They diverge on capability: Soketi covers Pusher protocol compatibility, Wireshark covers Deep packet inspection.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Soketi and Wireshark actually diverge.

Attributes where Soketi and Wireshark differ
AttributeSoketiWireshark
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feefree
PlatformsLinux, macOS, WindowsDesktop, Cli
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity
FoundedUnknown1998

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 Wireshark

  • Deep packet inspection
  • Live capture
  • Offline analysis
  • 3000+ protocol support
  • Rich display filters
  • VoIP analysis
  • Decryption support
  • Scripting with Lua

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

Wireshark

  • Network Securitynot Soketi
  • Packet Analysisnot Soketi
  • Open Sourcenot 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.

Wireshark

  • Free and open source under the GNU GPL; downloadable without paying any license fee, no commercial tier

Pricing, plan by plan

Soketi

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

Wireshark

Free
  • Free & Open SourceFree
    • Full functionality
    • Deep inspection
    • Live capture

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 Wireshark if

  • You need deep packet inspection.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Desktop, Cli.
  • You also want live capture.
Wireshark review

Questions people ask

Is Soketi or Wireshark better?
Neither clearly leads. Soketi starts at Free and Wireshark at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Soketi or Wireshark?
Soketi starts at Free and Wireshark at Free.
Does Soketi or Wireshark run on more platforms?
Soketi runs on Linux, macOS, Windows. Wireshark runs on Desktop, Cli.
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 Wireshark is typically brought in for.
What can Soketi do that Wireshark cannot?
Soketi covers Pusher protocol compatibility, Presence and private channels, Horizontal scaling, App management backends. Wireshark covers Deep packet inspection, Live capture, Offline analysis, 3000+ protocol support.

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.

Wireshark: Is there a cost to download and use Wireshark?

No, Wireshark is completely free. It's distributed under the GNU General Public License version 2, making it "free software" with no demo limitations. The full version is available at no cost.

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.

Wireshark: What support options are available for Wireshark users?

Wireshark offers multiple support channels including mailing lists, an active Discord community, the Ask Wireshark Q&A platform, comprehensive documentation, a user guide, and developer resources for those needing technical assistance.

Source
Soketi: What does it cost?

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

Wireshark: Are there different pricing tiers or subscription levels?

Wireshark does not offer pricing tiers or subscriptions. There is one free version available to all users regardless of use case, personal, professional, or organizational.

Source
Soketi: What are people moving to?

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

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