What is PubNub?
PubNub is a developer API platform that powers the realtime infrastructure in apps to build engaging Virtual Spaces where online communities can connect. It can serve as the foundation for online chat, live events, geolocation, remote IoT control, and realtime updates.
8 alternatives to PubNub to consider
We’ll now look at alternatives to PubNub - competing technologies that allow you to build realtime experiences for end-users.
Ably
Ably is the definitive realtime experience platform of the internet, serving more WebSocket connections than any other pub/sub platform. Our product suite places composable realtime in the hands of developers. Simple APIs, use case specific SDKs and pre-built integrations, enables the creation of a host of live experiences - including live updates, chat, collaboration, notifications and fan engagement - with no infrastructure to build.
Key Ably features and capabilities
- Ably is underpinned by a globally-distributed network of datacenters and edge acceleration points of presence.
- Ably‘s SDKs provide a consistent and idiomatic API across a variety of supported platforms.
- Connect with pre-built integrations for Webhooks, Lambdas, databases, cloud services, observability tools and stream processors.
- Build the ultimate realtime app with our feature rich suite of products - Pub/Sub and notifications, Chat, LiveObjects, LiveSync, and Spaces.
- Guaranteed message ordering and delivery.
- Global fault tolerance and a 99.999% uptime SLA.
- 6.5ms round trip message delivery latency.
- Elastic scalability to handle millions of concurrent clients.
- Consumption-based, per-minute-billing, built for scale. Ably not only enables you to make the most of your budget, but also enjoy greater flexibility, faster build times and a quicker ROI.
Pusher
Pusher is a managed pub/sub messaging service that provides hosted APIs and SDKs for adding realtime features to web and mobile applications. Pusher’s offers two products:
- Channels: WebSocket pub/sub messaging
- Beams: Programmatic push notifications for mobile and web
Socket.IO
Socket.IO is a library created in 2010 that provides realtime, bi-directional communication between clients and servers. It allows the management of connections, sending and receiving messages, and more. Built on top of the WebSocket protocol, it provides additional capabilities compared to raw WebSockets. WebTransport (a WebSocket alternative) is also supported.
SignalR
SignalR is an open-source library that simplifies adding real-time web functionality to apps. It is integrated into the ASP.NET Core web development stack and provides a mechanism for two-way remote procedure calls between client and server.
Firebase
Firebase is a cloud-native backend by Google that allows developers to build mobile and web applications. Firebase services include Firebase Realtime data, Firestore database, authentication, and Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM), among others.
AWS IoT
AWS Internet of Things (IoT) provides a set of services to connect and manage data from IoT devices securely and at scale, supporting various use cases from connected homes to industries.
Twilio
Twilio is a cloud platform that enables developers to build real-time communications features for their applications. It provides APIs for voice, SMS, video, WhatsApp, and other messaging services.
OneSignal
OneSignal is a platform that delivers push notifications, in-app messages, and emails. It offers tools for targeting, automation, and analytics to help businesses manage and optimize their communication with users.
Disclaimer: The information on the alternatives presented here was based on documentation and resources freely available online and was last updated on 12 Aug 2026. Be sure to double-check everything before you make any decisions. If you do find anything incorrect or out of date, then please let us know.
Try Ably for free to discover the benefits for yourself
Ably has built reliable realtime infrastructure so you don’t have to. On our free plan you benefit from:
- 6M monthly messages
- 200 concurrent channels
- 200 concurrent connections
