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CometChat vs Pusher

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

CometChat

What is CometChat?

CometChat is a messaging platform designed for integration into various applications, offering text, voice, and video chat capabilities. It supports extensive customization through SDKs and UI kits.

Pusher logo

What is Pusher?

Pusher is a first-generation pub/sub messaging service that provides bi-directional hosted APIs for adding realtime features to applications. Pusher offers two products:

  • Channels - Build scalable realtime features
  • Beams - Programmatic push notifications

Compare CometChat and Pusher

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

Scalability
Concurrent connections

Number of users that can be supported in a single chat.

CometChat

Up 100k concurrent connections can be supported.

The use of certain features, such as delivery receipts, read receipts, and typing indicators, may impact these limits. For example, groups with all features enabled can accommodate up to 300 members.

Pusher

Unknown.

Connections

Number of connections that can be handled across the platform.

CometChat

Up to 500k.

Pusher

30k per month

Growth Plus plan - custom plans may support higher number of connections.

Pusher pricing page
Channels / rooms

Number of channels or rooms that can be handled across the platform.

CometChat

Unlimited.

Pusher

Unlimited.

Messages

Number of messages that can be handled across the platform.

CometChat

Unlimited.

Pusher

90M per day.

Growth Plus plan and custom plans may support higher number of messages.

Read more
Message throughput

Number of messsages that can be published per second.

CometChat

Up to 333 messages per second.

API calls for standard operations are rate limited to 20000 requests per min.

Pusher

10 messages per second.

Limited to 10 messages per second per client connection.

Data integrity
Guaranteed message delivery

Ensures messages are never lost during transmission, even in the presence of network disruptions.

CometChat

No

Pusher

No

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.

CometChat

No

Pusher

No

Exactly-once message delivery

Guarantees that each message is processed exactly once, preventing data inconsistencies that can arise from duplicate processing or missing messages.

CometChat

No

Pusher

No

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.

CometChat

99.99% uptime guarantee.

Read more
Pusher

Channels SLA: API will be made available with an Annual API Uptime Percentage of 99.95%.

Pusher will use commercially reasonable efforts to make Pusher Beams available with an Annual Uptime Percentage of > 99.95%.

Read more
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.

CometChat
Pusher

No

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.

CometChat

No

Pusher

No

Pusher apps are located in a single data center rather than distributed across multiple data centers. Any latency issues that occur in that data center will affect all apps hosted there.

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.

CometChat

No

Pusher

No

Pusher apps are located in a single data center rather than distributed across multiple data centers. If that data center goes offline then all apps hosted there are affected.

Latency

Low latency is crucial for realtime apps as it ensures swift and efficient data transmissions, providing a smoother and more responsive user experience.

CometChat

Under optimal test conditions, CometChat has a one-way latency of less than 50 ms response time. It is not mentioned what its roundtrip latency is.

Read more
Pusher

Not shared. Because apps exist in only one region, message latencies increase for clients the further they are from your chosen data center.

Server-side batching

Reduces the overall message count, lowers costs, and mitigates the risk of hitting rate limits during high-throughput scenarios.

CometChat

No

Pusher

Partial

Pusher provides a Batch Events API for server-side batching, allowing developers to send multiple events in a single API call.

Connection state recovery

Automatically re-establish failed connections and replay missed messages.

CometChat

Yes

CometChat supports connection state recovery, monitoring realtime connection status to its WebSocket servers. If disconnected, the SDK auto-reconnects, indicating "connecting" and "connected" states​.

Read more
Pusher

Partial

Pusher provides some level of connection state recovery but doesn't offer built-in, automatic recovery.

Ecosystem support
Supported realtime protocols

Support for multiple protocols provides the flexibility to choose a protocol that best suits your project’s requirements.

CometChat

WebSocket.

Pusher
  • WebSockets
  • Fallback to Comet (XHR) and Long Polling for older browsers
Supported languages

Supporting multiple languages and platforms offers greater flexibility when building cross-platform realtime apps.

CometChat

CometChat supports several programming languages for effective integration with CometChat's SDKs and APIs:

  • React
  • Vue
  • Swift (for iOS)
  • Kotlin (for Android)
  • PHP
  • Angular
  • React Native
  • Flutter
CometChat SDK page
Pusher
  • Android (uses Java library)
  • AngularJS (uses JavaScript library)
  • iOS: Swift and Objective-C
  • Java
  • JavaScript
  • .NET
  • Unity
  • Flutter
  • React Native
Pusher beams SDK page
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.

CometChat
  • Group chat channels
  • Supergroup channels
  • Private and public chat groups
  • Direct message messaging
Pusher

Pusher does not offer predefined features for chat rooms, but you can use Pusher Channels API to build:

  • Group chat
  • Private and Public chat
  • Direct Message chat
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.

CometChat

Yes

CometChat supports user presence out-of-the-box through CometChat SDKs and its UI kits. The SDKs include options for subscribing to presence updates to all users, specific roles, or friends.

Pusher

Yes

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.

CometChat

No

Pusher

Yes

Pusher supports occupancy tracking on its presence channels using presence Webhooks.

Read more
Typing indicators

Show when others are typing in a chat room, enhancing realtime communication flow.

CometChat

Yes

Pusher

Partial

Pusher does not provide built-in typing indicators natively, but you can implement typing indicators using Pusher Channels or Presence Channels by sending custom events to notify users when someone is typing.

Room reactions

Customize the chat environment with reactions and other shared room states.

CometChat

No

Pusher

Partial

Pusher does not provide built-in support for room reactions or managing room states directly. However, you can implement these features using Pusher Channels by creating your custom logic.

Chat message attributes
Message edits and deletes

Allow users to modify or remove messages.

CometChat

Yes

Pusher

No

Message reactions & emoticons

Boost engagement by enabling users to quickly express emotions or feedback on messages.

CometChat

Yes

Pusher

No

Rich text support

Enhance messages with rich text formatting in chat.

CometChat

Yes

Pusher

No

Media attachments

Support for sharing images, videos, and files in chat.

CometChat

Yes

CometChat in-app messaging allows users to send and receive various documents and multimedia files through its SDKs and UI kits.

Read more
Pusher

No

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.

CometChat

Yes

CometChat supports in-app notifications through CometChat's push notification service.

Pusher

Yes

Role-based permissions

Control user roles and permissions to ensure proper access and moderation.

CometChat

Yes

Pusher

Partial

Pusher itself does not directly provide built-in role-based permissions. However, you can implement it in Pusher Channels using Pusher's user authentication and authorizing mechanics.

Read more
UI kit

Customizable UI elements for a seamless chat integration.

CometChat

Yes

CometChat supports UI kits for:

  • Android
  • iOS
  • React
  • Flutter
  • Vue
  • Angular
Pusher

No

Storage and history
Synchronous - automated moderation

Detect and manage harmful content automatically, before the message is broadcast to participants.

CometChat

Yes

Pusher

No

Asynchronous - automated moderation

Detect and manage harmful content automatically, after the message is broadcast to participants.

CometChat

Yes

Pusher

No

Manual moderation via dashboards

Tools for moderators to detect harmful messages and manage them effectively.

CometChat

Yes

CometChat lets human experts handle complex moderation cases. It allows users to set rules that flag borderline content for human review.

Pusher

No

Ban users

Remove problematic users from the chat to maintain a healthy environment.

CometChat

Yes

Pusher

Partial

Pusher supports banning users through its server SDKs but only terminates the user’s active connections.

Dev tools
Programmatic management

Enables the automation of provisioning, management, and testing of service resources, simplifying integration with existing development workflows such as CI.

CometChat

Yes

Pusher

Yes

Pusher supports programmatic management of its services via APIs, Webhooks, SDKs, and serverless functions for Pusher Channels.

Read more
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.

CometChat

CometChat pricing is based on the number of MAUs. Overages apply for additional MAU's and peak concurrent connection - over set quota.

CometChat pricing page
Pusher

Pusher has free, flexible, and Enterprise plans based on number of messages and concurrent connections.

See more information
Pricing illustration

An example price based on 5 live streaming chat events and 50K attendees.

CometChat

$24,419

Base price - $669 Overages per additional concurrent user over 1250 - $23,750

Note: Assumes same users attend each event, to keep MAU at minimum

Pusher

$1199 minimum.

Could not calculate exactly. Would need a custom enterprise plan as Growth Plan Plus only supports 90M messages a day.

Free plan

With a free plan, you can test the service’s functionality and compatibility with your project before committing to a paid plan.

CometChat

Yes

Free for up to 100 users.

Pusher

Partial

Only in 'sandbox', which is a free plan which gives you 200,000 messages and up to 100 concurrent connections per day.

Pricing plans

The pricing plans offered by cost.

CometChat
  • Basic: Starting from $298.75/month for 1K MAUs - scale up to 1M
  • Advanced: Starting from $423.75/month for 1K MAUs - scale to to 10M
  • Enterprise: Custom pricing available from 10K MAU

Overages:

  • Per additional MAU - $0.10
  • Per additional peak concurrent connection at $1 each
Pusher

Pricing is based around the number of messages per day and concurrent connections.

  • Startup $49/month: 1 million messages/day, 500 concurrent connections

  • Pro $99/month: 4 million messages/day, 2,000 concurrent connections

  • Business $299/month: 10 million messages/day, 5,000 concurrent connections

  • Premium $499/month: 20 million messages/day, 10,000 concurrent connections

  • Growth $699/month: 40 million messages/day, 15,000 concurrent connections

  • Plus $899/month: 60 million messages/day, 20,000 concurrent connections

  • Growth plus $1,199/month: 90 million messages/day, 30,000 concurrent connections

Source:

Pusher pricing page
Support for additional realtime features
Pub/Sub messaging

Reduces communication code complexity, simplifying the process of building highly functional and architecturally complex realtime apps.

CometChat

No

Pusher

Yes

Collaboration capabilities

Enables you to quickly integrate realtime collaborative features like live cursors, member location, avatar stacks, and component locking.

CometChat

Yes

CometChat offers collaboration capabilities with tools like polls, whiteboards, and collaborative documents.

Pusher

No

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.

CometChat

No

Pusher

No

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.

CometChat

Yes

Pusher

Yes

Pusher supports push notifications through its Pusher Beams API.

Asset tracking

State-of-the-art asset tracking across last mile logistics, food delivery applications, and urban mobility services.

CometChat

No

Pusher

Yes

Pusher supports asset tracking. Pusher Channels can be used to display the current location of assets on a map in realtime.

Integrations & interoperability
AI models

Allows you to integrate AI models, like GPT, into your app.

CometChat

Yes

CometChat uses the M87 LLM for its generative conversations.

Read more
Pusher

No

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.

CometChat

No

Pusher

Yes

Streaming & queueing

Provides a dependable method to reroute messages from the service to third-party streams and queues for further processing.

CometChat

No

Pusher

No

Observability services

Enables realtime monitoring and troubleshooting by offering insights into service behavior directly in your observability platform of choice.

CometChat

No

Pusher

Yes

Pusher provides Datadog and Librato integrations.

Security & compliance
API key authentication

Simplifies the authentication code on trusted servers compared to requesting, managing, and refreshing tokens.

CometChat

Yes

Pusher

Yes

Single Sign-On (SSO) authentication

SSO streamlines login processes, boosts security by minimizing password use, and meets compliance needs for secure data access management.

CometChat

Yes

Pusher

Yes

Pusher supports authentication with Github SSO.

Rules for permissions and operations

Provides control over which users can subscribe and publish to certain channels.

CometChat

Yes

CometChat implements rules for permissions and user control. It features role-based permissions that allow you to manage user actions.

Pusher

Partial

Pusher provides a mechanism for implementing rules and permissions primarily through its Channels service. It requires you to implement an endpoint which they will call to check if an operation is allowed.

End-to-end encryption

Ensures that the data transmitted between the client and the API server remains confidential and secure while in transit.

CometChat

Yes

CometChat implements end-to-end encryption using Virgil E3Kit.

Pusher

Yes

Compliance

Compliance with regulations can impact your ability to meet legal obligations in your industry.

CometChat

CometChat is compliant with four security standards:

  • HIPAA
  • GDPR
  • ISO 27001
  • SOC 2 Type 2
CometChat compliance page
Pusher
  • ISO27001
  • HIPAA
  • GDPR

Disclaimer: This comparison was created based on documentation and resources freely available online about CometChat and Pusher. The content was last updated on 1 May 2025 for CometChat and on 8 May 2025 for Pusher. 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 CometChat and Pusher

While both CometChat and Pusher 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 CometChat

Twilio logo

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

Ably logo

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.

Pubnub logo

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

Alternatives to Pusher

Ably logo

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.

Firebase logo

Firebase Realtime Database is a cloud-hosted database by Google, allowing developers to build realtime applications for web and mobile.

Pubnub logo

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 Pusher

Discover how CometChat and Pusher stack up against Ably

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

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