PubNubvs
Ably
Ably: Ably offers comparable realtime pub/sub infrastructure with a global edge network and connection-based pricing.
PubNub
Realtime communication platform for chat, IoT, and live data apps
As of 29 August 2026, PubNub has a free plan and paid plans start at $98/month. Realtime communication platform offering pub/sub messaging, presence, and chat infrastructure priced by monthly active users. Softwr lists it under APIs. PubNub is available on Web, iOS, Android, API.
Overview
What PubNub does
PubNub is a realtime communication platform providing pub/sub messaging, presence tracking, file sharing, and mobile push notifications for chat, IoT, and live data applications. It offers unlimited channels and devices across all plans, with serverless Functions for edge logic. Pricing is based on monthly active users (MAU), with a free tier supporting up to 200 MAU or 1 million transactions and paid Starter and Pro plans above that.
What people use it for
- Building realtime chat applications
- Streaming live IoT sensor data
- Adding presence indicators to collaborative apps
- Running edge logic with serverless Functions on realtime events
Related searches
The honest half
Where it falls short
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about PubNub.
- Free plan storage history is limited to 7 days, which is short for apps needing longer message retention.
- MAU-based pricing means costs scale directly with user growth, which can be less predictable than flat message-based pricing.
- Pro-tier custom pricing above 50,000 MAU requires contacting sales rather than self-serve checkout.
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of PubNub
Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.
- PubNubvsPusher
Pusher: Pusher provides similar hosted realtime channels with simpler flat-tier plans.
Pricing
What PubNub costs
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
Free
Free
- Up to 200 MAU or 1M transactions
- 1GB data storage (7 days)
- 5 test Serverless Functions
- No credit card required
Starter
$98 /mo
- 1,000 MAU included
- User management
- Insights
- 6-month history
Pro
On request
- Custom MAU packages
- Volume discounts
- Enterprise-scale configurations
Capabilities
Features
Pub/sub messaging
Send and receive messages across unlimited channels and devices
Presence tracking
Detect when users join or leave channels in realtime
Message persistence
Store and retrieve message history for a configurable window
Serverless Functions
Run custom logic at the edge in response to realtime events
File sharing
Share files between connected clients
Encryption and access controls
Secure channels with encryption and granular access permissions
Answered, with sources
Questions people ask
Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
What does PubNub cost?
PubNub offers a free plan for up to 200 MAU or 1 million transactions, a Starter plan at $98/month for 1,000 MAU, and custom Pro pricing for larger volumes, e.g. around $550/month for 10,000 MAU.
SourceIs there a free plan, and what are its limits?
Yes, the free plan supports up to 200 monthly active users or 1 million transactions, includes 1GB of data storage retained for 7 days, and requires no credit card.
SourceHow is usage metered?
PubNub bills primarily by Monthly Active Users, defined as a unique user who connects at least once in a billing cycle; messages are bundled into MAU pricing with no separate per-message fees, and overage is billed proportionally.
SourceKeep looking
Where to go from PubNub
- PubNub alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- PubNub pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- PubNub badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All APIs softwareThe full category
- Best APIs softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
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- Moov
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Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for PubNub, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
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