Bird vs Stream

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

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

What is Stream?

Stream (formerly GetStream) is a platform for building scalable, realtime chat and activity feed applications. It provides APIs and SDKs to easily integrate messaging, video calls, and social feeds into apps.

When to use Stream

Pros and cons of Stream

Compare Bird and Stream

Let’s compare Bird and Stream, 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 Bird and Stream. The content was last updated on 16 May 2025 for Bird and on 23 May 2025 for Stream. 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 If you do find anything incorrect or out of date, then please let us know.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 Bird and Stream

While both Bird and Stream 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 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

Alternatives to Stream

Ably is the definitive realtime experience platform of the internet. Serving more WebSocket connections than any other pub/sub platform on earth. Businesses trust us to power their critical applications - reliably, securely and at serious scale.

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

PubNub is a developer API platform that powers the realtime infrastructure in apps to build engaging Virtual Spaces where online communities can connect.

See more alternatives to Stream

Discover how Bird and Stream stack up against Ably

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

Ably vs Bird Ably vs Stream

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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	Bird	Stream	Why this matters
Scalability
Concurrent connections	Number of users that can be supported in a single chat.	Bird Unknown.	Stream 2500 users supported in a single chat. Supported within Start and Elevate packages. Overages apply if you exceed plan quota - $0.79 per additional concurrent user. Read more	Number of users that can be supported in a single chat.
Connections	Number of connections that can be handled across the platform.	Bird Unknown.	Stream Unlimited. Overages apply if you exceed plan quota - $0.07 per additional user. Stream pricing page	Number of connections that can be handled across the platform.
Channels / rooms	Number of channels or rooms that can be handled across the platform.	Bird Unlimited.	Stream Unlimited.	Number of channels or rooms that can be handled across the platform.
Messages	Number of messages that can be handled across the platform.	Bird Unlimited.	Stream Unlimited.	Number of messages that can be handled across the platform.
Message throughput	Number of messsages that can be published per second.	Bird Not publicly disclosed.	Stream 5 messages per second. When concurrent connections exceeds 100 in a group messages are throttled to 5 per second.	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.	Bird No	Stream 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.	Bird No	Stream 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.	Bird No	Stream 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.	Bird 99.9% uptime/month for Bird API Voice and Bird Dashboard 99.95% uptime/month for SMS Services Read more	Stream Enterprise - 99.999% uptime SLA Business - 99.95% uptime SLA 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.	Bird No	Stream Yes Stream has data centers located around the world, including: US East EU West Singapore Mumbai Tokyo	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.	Bird No	Stream 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.	Bird No	Stream Yes Stream's chat infrastructure does not rely on a single data center due to global edge network support, thus avoiding a single point of failure and 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.
Latency	Low latency is crucial for realtime apps as it ensures swift and efficient data transmissions, providing a smoother and more responsive user experience.	Bird Unknown.	Stream Stream does not provide a global latency figure. However, it achieves a region-based average roundtrip latency of 170 ms between Amsterdam and the US East.	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.	Bird No	Stream Yes Stream has server-side batching for users and activity feeds. Read more	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.	Bird No	Stream Yes Stream SDKs automatically attempt to recover the connection and ensure that a connection to Stream chat is always kept alive. That chat state is recovered when the user's internet connection comes back online.	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.	Bird Bird uses SMPP (Short Message Peer-to-Peer) for SMS messaging. Read more	Stream WebSocket.	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.	Bird PHP Ruby Go Python C# Java NodeJS Read more	Stream JavaScript (including React and React Native) iOS (Swift, Objective-C) Android (Kotlin, Java) Flutter Angular Unity Python PHP Go C# Java	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.	Bird Bird does not natively support chat rooms as part of its messaging API.	Stream Stream provides the following chat room types: Group chat channels Private and public chat groups Direct message messaging	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.	Bird Partial You can integrate your Bird app with Pusher Channels, which supports presence channels to track and display users’ online status in realtime.	Stream Yes	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.	Bird Partial You can integrate your Bird app with Pusher presence channels for occupancy tracking.	Stream No	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.	Bird No	Stream Yes Stream supports typing indicators, which appear on the channel list item where someone is typing or in the chat channel view.	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.	Bird No	Stream 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.	Bird No	Stream Yes	Allow users to modify or remove messages.
Message reactions & emoticons	Boost engagement by enabling users to quickly express emotions or feedback on messages.	Bird No	Stream Yes	Boost engagement by enabling users to quickly express emotions or feedback on messages.
Rich text support	Enhance messages with rich text formatting in chat.	Bird No	Stream Yes Stream SDKs offer markdown formatting for channel messages.	Enhance messages with rich text formatting in chat.
Media attachments	Support for sharing images, videos, and files in chat.	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	Stream Yes	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.	Bird No	Stream Partial Stream only supports in-app notification feeds.	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.	Bird Yes Bird uses Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) to ensure that only authorized individuals can access critical systems and information. Read more	Stream Yes	Control user roles and permissions to ensure proper access and moderation.
UI kit	Customizable UI elements for a seamless chat integration.	Bird No	Stream Yes Stream offers UI kits for social media design and chat interfaces.	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.	Bird No	Stream Yes	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.	Bird No	Stream Yes Stream has an AI moderation tool called AutoMod. Read more	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.	Bird No	Stream Yes Stream offers manual moderation capabilities through its Chat Dashboard, which allows you to do standard moderation tasks. Read more	Tools for moderators to detect harmful messages and manage them effectively.
Ban users	Remove problematic users from the chat to maintain a healthy environment.	Bird Yes	Stream 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.	Bird Yes Bird offers programmatic management through its programmable SMS API. Read more	Stream Yes	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.	Bird Bird pricing is based on your targeted monthly contacts (unique user interactions per month on the app). Read more	Stream Stream's pricing plan is based on MAUs. Overages apply for additional MAU's and peak concurrent connection - over set quota. 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.	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.	Stream $22,186.50. Base price for 25K MAUs $1,049.00 Overages per additional concurrent user over 1250 - $21,137.50 Note: Assumes same users attend each event, to keep MAU at minimum.	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.	Bird Yes Bird offers a free support plan called Coach. Read more	Stream Yes Offers: 100 MAU 25 concurrent connections	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.	Bird Contact-based pricing: Starts from $45/month for 3,000 contacts. Enterprise pricing: Custom for more than 50,000 contacts.	Stream Start: $399.00/month with 10,000 MAU and 500 concurrent connections. Elevate: $599.00/month with 10,000 MAU, 500 concurrent connections and HIPAA. Enterprise: Custom. Overages: Per additional MAU at $0.07 per user. Per additional peak concurrent connection at $0.79 each	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.	Bird No	Stream 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.	Bird No	Stream 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.	Bird No	Stream 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.	Bird Partial Bird can supports push notifications through the Pusher Beams API. Read more	Stream Yes	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.	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	Stream No	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.	Bird No	Stream Yes Stream supports integration with AI models from OpenAI, HuggingFace, Claude, or any LLM for its chat and voice AI SDKs.	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.	Bird No	Stream 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.	Bird No	Stream 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.	Bird No	Stream 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.	Bird Yes	Stream Yes Stream uses API keys for authentication. You must include an API key when sending an authenticated request to Stream.	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.	Bird Yes Bird CRM provides SSO via OpenID or SAML SSO integration standards. Read more	Stream Yes Stream offers Single Sign-On (SSO) authentication through GitHub Organizations and SAML 2.0. The SSO is available to organizations on Stream's Enterprise Chat or Feeds plan. 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.	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	Stream Yes Stream applications offer customizable built-in roles. Users receive a role with permissions for the whole app and can also have channel-specific roles for single or multiple channels of the same type.	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.	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	Stream No Stream does not natively implement E2EE. It encrypts messages in transit using TLS 1.2 and at rest with AES256. 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.	Bird ISO/IEC 27001:2013 SOC 2 Type I & II GDPR HIPAA Read more	Stream Stream is compliant with five standards and regulations to ensure the security and privacy of its users' data: ISO 27001 SOC 2 Type II HIPAA GDPR CCPA Stream trust page	Compliance with regulations can impact your ability to meet legal obligations in your industry.