Arrowchat vs Bird

Discover how Arrowchat compares to Bird, and understand which is right for your use case, based on dimensions such as scalability, pricing, security, and their chat features.

What is Arrowchat?

ArrowChat is a self-hosted live chat tool built with PHP and jQuery that integrates chat, video calls, and group chats on websites. ArrowChat is suited for mobile and desktop and includes a comprehensive admin panel for configuration and monitoring.

When to use Arrowchat

Pros and cons of Arrowchat

What is Bird?

Bird (formerly MessageBird) is a cloud communications platform that offers SMS, voice, chat, and video capabilities. It focuses on enabling omnichannel communication for businesses, allowing them to connect with customers across various channels seamlessly.

When to use Bird

Pros and cons of Bird

Compare Arrowchat and Bird

Let’s compare Arrowchat and Bird, looking at key elements of their offering such as their scalability, pricing, security and chat feature set.

Disclaimer: This comparison was created based on documentation and resources freely available online about Arrowchat and Bird. The content was last updated on 16 May 2025 for Arrowchat and on 16 May 2025 for Bird. 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 If you do find anything incorrect or out of date, then please let us know.

Alternatives to Arrowchat and Bird

While both Arrowchat and Bird are worth considering as options for realtime experiences, they aren’t without their limitations. We suggest evaluating them against the following alternatives to make sure you find the right solution for your needs.

Alternatives to Arrowchat

CometChat provides rich messaging solutions for apps with features like text, voice, video chat, robust SDKs, and UI kits.

Sendbird offers APIs and SDKs for live chat, realtime messaging, push notifications, and calls with WebSocket connections, UI kits, and backend integrations.

Twilio is a platform that provides developers with a suite of communication tools for building messaging infrastructure in their applications.

See more alternatives to Arrowchat

Alternatives to Bird

Vonage provides SMS, voice, and video APIs for customizable communication solutions.

Sendbird offers APIs and SDKs for live chat, realtime messaging, push notifications, and calls with WebSocket connections, UI kits, and backend integrations.

Twilio is a platform that provides developers with a suite of communication tools for building messaging infrastructure in their applications.

See more alternatives to Bird

Discover how Arrowchat and Bird stack up against Ably

Ably is the definitive realtime experience platform of the internet. See how we compare to Arrowchat and Bird on key dimensions such as core features, pricing, integrations, QoS, performance, and security and compliance.

Ably vs Arrowchat Ably vs Bird

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

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	Arrowchat	Bird	Why this matters
Scalability
Concurrent connections	Number of users that can be supported in a single chat.	Arrowchat Dedicated servers can run more than 1,000 online users, but shared servers can handle much less. Primarily built for 1-on-1 chats. Limits can be set by the administrator. Read more	Bird Unknown.	Number of users that can be supported in a single chat.
Connections	Number of connections that can be handled across the platform.	Arrowchat Unknown.	Bird Unknown.	Number of connections that can be handled across the platform.
Channels / rooms	Number of channels or rooms that can be handled across the platform.	Arrowchat Unlimited.	Bird Unlimited.	Number of channels or rooms that can be handled across the platform.
Messages	Number of messages that can be handled across the platform.	Arrowchat Unknown.	Bird Unlimited.	Number of messages that can be handled across the platform.
Message throughput	Number of messsages that can be published per second.	Arrowchat Unknown.	Bird Not publicly disclosed.	Number of messsages that can be published per second.
Data integrity
Guaranteed message delivery	Ensures messages are never lost during transmission, even in the presence of network disruptions.	Arrowchat No	Bird No	Ensures messages are never lost during transmission, even in the presence of network disruptions.
Guaranteed message ordering	Maintains the sequence of messages as they were sent. This is particularly important in apps where the chronological order of messages is essential for meaningful communication.	Arrowchat No	Bird No	Maintains the sequence of messages as they were sent. This is particularly important in apps where the chronological order of messages is essential for meaningful communication.
Exactly-once message delivery	Guarantees that each message is processed exactly once, preventing data inconsistencies that can arise from duplicate processing or missing messages.	Arrowchat No	Bird No	Guarantees that each message is processed exactly once, preventing data inconsistencies that can arise from duplicate processing or missing messages.
Performance & availability
Uptime Guarantee	An uptime guarantee instills confidence in the reliability of the service and protects your business from the negative impacts of downtime.	Arrowchat None.	Bird 99.9% uptime/month for Bird API Voice and Bird Dashboard 99.95% uptime/month for SMS Services Read more	An uptime guarantee instills confidence in the reliability of the service and protects your business from the negative impacts of downtime.
Global edge network	By bringing servers (Points of Presence, or PoP) geographically closer to the devices of end users, and routing requests to the nearest PoP, global latency is reduced to a minimum.	Arrowchat No	Bird No	By bringing servers (Points of Presence, or PoP) geographically closer to the devices of end users, and routing requests to the nearest PoP, global latency is reduced to a minimum.
Multi-region data replication (message durability)	By replicating data across multiple regions, the risk of data loss or downtime is greatly mitigated since if data is lost or a server fails in one region, the information can be retrieved from another.	Arrowchat No Regardless of whether you opt for the self-hosted or paid-for hosted backend, ArrowChat cannot scale beyond one server.	Bird No	By replicating data across multiple regions, the risk of data loss or downtime is greatly mitigated since if data is lost or a server fails in one region, the information can be retrieved from another.
No single point of failure or congestion	Having no single point of failure means a system is resilient and can continue to operate even if one part fails. Avoiding a single point of congestion ensures messages flow efficiently across the system and avoids bottlenecks that could lead to performance issues under load.	Arrowchat No	Bird No	Having no single point of failure means a system is resilient and can continue to operate even if one part fails. Avoiding a single point of congestion ensures messages flow efficiently across the system and avoids bottlenecks that could lead to performance issues under load.
Latency	Low latency is crucial for realtime apps as it ensures swift and efficient data transmissions, providing a smoother and more responsive user experience.	Arrowchat Self-hosted version: Depends on the capacity of your server and other factors such as the bandwidth available to your hosting provider, as well as its location relative to your users. However, latency is likely to be poor due to ArrowChat’s reliance on a mix of short and long polling. Hosted version: Not published.	Bird Unknown.	Low latency is crucial for realtime apps as it ensures swift and efficient data transmissions, providing a smoother and more responsive user experience.
Server-side batching	Reduces the overall message count, lowers costs, and mitigates the risk of hitting rate limits during high-throughput scenarios.	Arrowchat No	Bird No	Reduces the overall message count, lowers costs, and mitigates the risk of hitting rate limits during high-throughput scenarios.
Connection state recovery	Automatically re-establish failed connections and replay missed messages.	Arrowchat No	Bird No	Automatically re-establish failed connections and replay missed messages.
Ecosystem support
Supported realtime protocols	Support for multiple protocols provides the flexibility to choose a protocol that best suits your project’s requirements.	Arrowchat Self-hosted version: short and long HTTP polling. Hosted version: WebSockets. Read more	Bird Bird uses SMPP (Short Message Peer-to-Peer) for SMS messaging. Read more	Support for multiple protocols provides the flexibility to choose a protocol that best suits your project’s requirements.
Supported languages	Supporting multiple languages and platforms offers greater flexibility when building cross-platform realtime apps.	Arrowchat JavaScript / JQuery PHP	Bird PHP Ruby Go Python C# Java NodeJS Read more	Supporting multiple languages and platforms offers greater flexibility when building cross-platform realtime apps.
Chat room types
Multi-type chat support (group, DM, supergroups)	Enables chat experiences to be tailored to various user needs, from one-on-one to large, scalable group discussions.	Arrowchat Group chat Direct messaging ( 1-on-1 chat) Private and public chat	Bird Bird does not natively support chat rooms as part of its messaging API.	Enables chat experiences to be tailored to various user needs, from one-on-one to large, scalable group discussions.
Chat room management
Presence	Maintaining a view of which users are connected, and their associated metadata, enables their online status to be updated in realtime.	Arrowchat Yes	Bird Partial You can integrate your Bird app with Pusher Channels, which supports presence channels to track and display users’ online status in realtime.	Maintaining a view of which users are connected, and their associated metadata, enables their online status to be updated in realtime.
Occupancy	High-level metrics about the clients currently connected to a channel make it simple to show things such as connected user count, or display which channels are the most popular.	Arrowchat No	Bird Partial You can integrate your Bird app with Pusher presence channels for occupancy tracking.	High-level metrics about the clients currently connected to a channel make it simple to show things such as connected user count, or display which channels are the most popular.
Typing indicators	Show when others are typing in a chat room, enhancing realtime communication flow.	Arrowchat Yes	Bird No	Show when others are typing in a chat room, enhancing realtime communication flow.
Room reactions	Customize the chat environment with reactions and other shared room states.	Arrowchat No	Bird No	Customize the chat environment with reactions and other shared room states.
Chat message attributes
Message edits and deletes	Allow users to modify or remove messages.	Arrowchat Partial ArrowChat allows message deletion, but has not mentioned an available message editing feature. Read more	Bird No	Allow users to modify or remove messages.
Message reactions & emoticons	Boost engagement by enabling users to quickly express emotions or feedback on messages.	Arrowchat Yes	Bird No	Boost engagement by enabling users to quickly express emotions or feedback on messages.
Rich text support	Enhance messages with rich text formatting in chat.	Arrowchat No	Bird No	Enhance messages with rich text formatting in chat.
Media attachments	Support for sharing images, videos, and files in chat.	Arrowchat Yes	Bird Yes Bird's File Storage API enables its Conversations API to send messages with files. Bird also has MMS API that enables you to send and receive MMS messages that include multimedia content but only within the US and Canada. Read more	Support for sharing images, videos, and files in chat.
Chat application and user state
In-app notifications	Notify users of important events from other chat rooms without them leaving the current chat, keeping them engaged and informed.	Arrowchat No	Bird No	Notify users of important events from other chat rooms without them leaving the current chat, keeping them engaged and informed.
Role-based permissions	Control user roles and permissions to ensure proper access and moderation.	Arrowchat Yes	Bird Yes Bird uses Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) to ensure that only authorized individuals can access critical systems and information. Read more	Control user roles and permissions to ensure proper access and moderation.
UI kit	Customizable UI elements for a seamless chat integration.	Arrowchat No	Bird No	Customizable UI elements for a seamless chat integration.
Storage and history
Synchronous - automated moderation	Detect and manage harmful content automatically, before the message is broadcast to participants.	Arrowchat No	Bird No	Detect and manage harmful content automatically, before the message is broadcast to participants.
Asynchronous - automated moderation	Detect and manage harmful content automatically, after the message is broadcast to participants.	Arrowchat No	Bird No	Detect and manage harmful content automatically, after the message is broadcast to participants.
Manual moderation via dashboards	Tools for moderators to detect harmful messages and manage them effectively.	Arrowchat Yes	Bird No	Tools for moderators to detect harmful messages and manage them effectively.
Ban users	Remove problematic users from the chat to maintain a healthy environment.	Arrowchat Yes	Bird Yes	Remove problematic users from the chat to maintain a healthy environment.
Dev tools
Programmatic management	Enables the automation of provisioning, management, and testing of service resources, simplifying integration with existing development workflows such as CI.	Arrowchat No	Bird Yes Bird offers programmatic management through its programmable SMS API. Read more	Enables the automation of provisioning, management, and testing of service resources, simplifying integration with existing development workflows such as CI.
Pricing
Pricing model	The pricing model should align with your project's expected load, usage patterns, and budget in order to be cost-effective and efficient.	Arrowchat Pricing of the hosted version depends on number of concurrent users and the number of messaging events within the month.	Bird Bird pricing is based on your targeted monthly contacts (unique user interactions per month on the app). Read more	The pricing model should align with your project's expected load, usage patterns, and budget in order to be cost-effective and efficient.
Pricing illustration	An example price based on 5 live streaming chat events and 50K attendees.	Arrowchat ArrowChat cannot support more than 2,000 concurrent users, so we are unable to provide a scaled pricing illustration.	Bird Unable to confirm that 25k concurrent connections can be supported in a single group. Bird is best suited to 1:1 or small group chats.	An example price based on 5 live streaming chat events and 50K attendees.
Free plan	With a free plan, you can test the service’s functionality and compatibility with your project before committing to a paid plan.	Arrowchat Self-hosted edition offers a basic free plan but functionality is very limited. Hosted version has a 14-day free trial. Learn more	Bird Yes Bird offers a free support plan called Coach. Read more	With a free plan, you can test the service’s functionality and compatibility with your project before committing to a paid plan.
Pricing plans	The pricing plans offered by cost.	Arrowchat There are four paid packages: Basic: 100 concurrent users, 200,000 events, $10 per month. Advanced: 500 concurrent users, 1 million events, $25 per month. Pro: 1,000 concurrent users, 5 million events, $50 per month. Enterprise: 2,000 concurrent users, 20 million events, $100 per month. :ctaLearn more	Bird Contact-based pricing: Starts from $45/month for 3,000 contacts. Enterprise pricing: Custom for more than 50,000 contacts.	The pricing plans offered by cost.
Support for additional realtime features
Pub/Sub messaging	Reduces communication code complexity, simplifying the process of building highly functional and architecturally complex realtime apps.	Arrowchat No	Bird No	Reduces communication code complexity, simplifying the process of building highly functional and architecturally complex realtime apps.
Collaboration capabilities	Enables you to quickly integrate realtime collaborative features like live cursors, member location, avatar stacks, and component locking.	Arrowchat No	Bird No	Enables you to quickly integrate realtime collaborative features like live cursors, member location, avatar stacks, and component locking.
Database sync capabilities	Database sync capabilities enable realtime updates between your database and UI, ensuring the UI reflects changes in the database instantly, with data consistency, and without the need for polling.	Arrowchat Yes	Bird No	Database sync capabilities enable realtime updates between your database and UI, ensuring the UI reflects changes in the database instantly, with data consistency, and without the need for polling.
Notifications	Send notifications directly to users screens, from chat responses to news alerts, or game updates, whether or not an application is open and running.	Arrowchat Partial HTML5 desktop notifications only. No support for native mobile notifications. Read more	Bird Partial Bird can supports push notifications through the Pusher Beams API. Read more	Send notifications directly to users screens, from chat responses to news alerts, or game updates, whether or not an application is open and running.
Asset tracking	State-of-the-art asset tracking across last mile logistics, food delivery applications, and urban mobility services.	Arrowchat No	Bird Partial Bird can only supports asset tracking when integrated with Pusher Channels which can display the current location of assets on a map in realtime. Read more	State-of-the-art asset tracking across last mile logistics, food delivery applications, and urban mobility services.
Integrations & interoperability
AI models	Allows you to integrate AI models, like GPT, into your app.	Arrowchat No	Bird No	Allows you to integrate AI models, like GPT, into your app.
Serverless functions	Enables integration with third-party cloud providers by facilitating the execution of custom code against messages to perform business logic like on-the-fly translation.	Arrowchat No	Bird No	Enables integration with third-party cloud providers by facilitating the execution of custom code against messages to perform business logic like on-the-fly translation.
Streaming & queueing	Provides a dependable method to reroute messages from the service to third-party streams and queues for further processing.	Arrowchat No	Bird No	Provides a dependable method to reroute messages from the service to third-party streams and queues for further processing.
Observability services	Enables realtime monitoring and troubleshooting by offering insights into service behavior directly in your observability platform of choice.	Arrowchat No	Bird No	Enables realtime monitoring and troubleshooting by offering insights into service behavior directly in your observability platform of choice.
Security & compliance
API key authentication	Simplifies the authentication code on trusted servers compared to requesting, managing, and refreshing tokens.	Arrowchat No	Bird Yes	Simplifies the authentication code on trusted servers compared to requesting, managing, and refreshing tokens.
Single Sign-On (SSO) authentication	SSO streamlines login processes, boosts security by minimizing password use, and meets compliance needs for secure data access management.	Arrowchat No	Bird Yes Bird CRM provides SSO via OpenID or SAML SSO integration standards. Read more	SSO streamlines login processes, boosts security by minimizing password use, and meets compliance needs for secure data access management.
Rules for permissions and operations	Provides control over which users can subscribe and publish to certain channels.	Arrowchat Yes	Bird Yes Bird implements user permission control within its Inbox platform, which is mainly intended to support the organization of user access and ticket handling through predefined roles and permissions. Read more	Provides control over which users can subscribe and publish to certain channels.
End-to-end encryption	Ensures that the data transmitted between the client and the API server remains confidential and secure while in transit.	Arrowchat No	Bird Yes Bird supports end-to-end encryption for WhatsApp. Bird's WhatsApp Business API offers end-to-end encryption for WhatsApp messages. Read more	Ensures that the data transmitted between the client and the API server remains confidential and secure while in transit.
Compliance	Compliance with regulations can impact your ability to meet legal obligations in your industry.	Arrowchat CalOPPA COPPA	Bird ISO/IEC 27001:2013 SOC 2 Type I & II GDPR HIPAA Read more	Compliance with regulations can impact your ability to meet legal obligations in your industry.