Stream vs TalkJS

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

What is Stream?

Stream 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

What is TalkJS?

TalkJS provides a chat API with customizable UIs for 1-on-1 messaging, group chats. It includes notifications and supports integration across web and mobile platforms via SDKs.

When to use TalkJS

Pros and cons of TalkJS

Compare Stream and TalkJS

Let’s compare Stream and TalkJS, 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 Stream and TalkJS. The content was last updated on 1 May 2025 for Stream and on 1 May 2025 for TalkJS. 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 If you do find anything incorrect or out of date, then please let us know.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 Stream and TalkJS

While both Stream and TalkJS 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 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

Alternatives to TalkJS

Stream is a realtime chat and activity feeds platform, offering easy integration through APIs and SDKs for enhanced user engagement

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.

Discover how Stream and TalkJS stack up against Ably

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

Ably vs Stream Ably vs TalkJS

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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	Stream	TalkJS	Why this matters
Scalability
Concurrent connections	Number of users that can be supported in a single chat.	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	TalkJS 300 users can be supported in a single chat. Limits for Enterprise plan are unknown.	Number of users that can be supported in a single chat.
Connections	Number of connections that can be handled across the platform.	Stream Unlimited. Overages apply if you exceed plan quota - $0.07 per additional user. Stream pricing page	TalkJS 25,000 connections can be handled across the platform. Users would need to opt for the Enterprise plan for higher rates.	Number of connections that can be handled across the platform.
Channels / rooms	Number of channels or rooms that can be handled across the platform.	Stream Unlimited.	TalkJS Unlimited.	Number of channels or rooms that can be handled across the platform.
Messages	Number of messages that can be handled across the platform.	Stream Unlimited.	TalkJS Unlimited.	Number of messages that can be handled across the platform.
Message throughput	Number of messsages that can be published per second.	Stream 5 messages per second. When concurrent connections exceeds 100 in a group messages are throttled to 5 per second.	TalkJS 9 messages/second rate limit. Read more	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.	Stream No	TalkJS 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.	Stream No	TalkJS 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.	Stream No	TalkJS Yes TalkJS guarantees that messages are sent exactly-once via an idempotency key regardless of any number of retries.	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.	Stream Enterprise - 99.999% uptime SLA Business - 99.95% uptime SLA Read more	TalkJS TalkJS guarantees an uptime of 99.9%/month, only available for Enterprise customers.	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.	Stream Yes Stream has data centers located around the world, including: US East EU West Singapore Mumbai Tokyo	TalkJS No TalkJS servers are only located in the European Union.	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.	Stream No	TalkJS No TalkJS stores all user data in the European Union. TalkJS resources page	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.	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.	TalkJS 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.	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.	TalkJS 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.	Stream Yes Stream has server-side batching for users and activity feeds. Read more	TalkJS 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.	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.	TalkJS 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.	Stream WebSocket.	TalkJS WebSocket only.	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.	Stream JavaScript (including React and React Native) iOS (Swift, Objective-C) Android (Kotlin, Java) Flutter Angular Unity Python PHP Go C# Java	TalkJS JavaScript React React Native Flutter Vue Svelte	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.	Stream Stream provides the following chat room types: Group chat channels Private and public chat groups Direct message messaging	TalkJS TalkJS JavaScript SDK allows you to implement three chat room types: Direct messaging ( 1-on-1 chat) Group chat Super groups Read more	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.	Stream Yes	TalkJS 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.	Stream No	TalkJS 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.	Stream Yes Stream supports typing indicators, which appear on the channel list item where someone is typing or in the chat channel view.	TalkJS Yes	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.	Stream No	TalkJS 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.	Stream Yes	TalkJS Yes You can delete or edit messages using TalkJS UI and configure which roles are allowed to do these operations.	Allow users to modify or remove messages.
Message reactions & emoticons	Boost engagement by enabling users to quickly express emotions or feedback on messages.	Stream Yes	TalkJS 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.	Stream Yes Stream SDKs offer markdown formatting for channel messages.	TalkJS Yes	Enhance messages with rich text formatting in chat.
Media attachments	Support for sharing images, videos, and files in chat.	Stream Yes	TalkJS Yes 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.	Stream Partial Stream only supports in-app notification feeds.	TalkJS 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.	Stream Yes	TalkJS Yes TalkJS allows you to select the appropriate roles and permissions of a user from the Chat UI. The user can have a single role at a time within the chat. Read more	Control user roles and permissions to ensure proper access and moderation.
UI kit	Customizable UI elements for a seamless chat integration.	Stream Yes Stream offers UI kits for social media design and chat interfaces.	TalkJS Yes TalkJS provides pre-built UI to help you add chat easily.	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.	Stream Yes	TalkJS 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.	Stream Yes Stream has an AI moderation tool called AutoMod. Read more	TalkJS 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.	Stream Yes Stream offers manual moderation capabilities through its Chat Dashboard, which allows you to do standard moderation tasks. Read more	TalkJS Yes The TalkJS dashboard enables you to manually address and remove any unwanted content that may appear in your chats.	Tools for moderators to detect harmful messages and manage them effectively.
Ban users	Remove problematic users from the chat to maintain a healthy environment.	Stream Yes	TalkJS Yes TalkJS allows you to remove users in a conversation via its REST API. After you have removed a user from a conversation, you can ban them by setting up identity verification and turning off browser synchronization. Read more	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.	Stream Yes	TalkJS Yes TalkJS supports programmatic management through its API.	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.	Stream Stream's pricing plan is based on MAUs. Overages apply for additional MAU's and peak concurrent connection - over set quota. Read more	TalkJS TalkJS offers pricing based on MAUs. Overages apply. TalkJS pricing page	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.	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.	TalkJS It isn't clear if 25K users could be supported in a single live stream chat. TalkJS restrictions would mean only 1250 could 'participate' in an event at any one time.	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.	Stream Yes Offers: 100 MAU 25 concurrent connections	TalkJS Yes	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.	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	TalkJS Basic: $279/month, 10,000 MAU Growth: $569/month, 25,000 MAU Enterprise: customized + Uptime & support guarantees (SLA)	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.	Stream No	TalkJS 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.	Stream No	TalkJS 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.	Stream No	TalkJS 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.	Stream Yes	TalkJS Yes TalkJS supports email notifications, SMS notifications, browser notifications, and mobile push 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.
Asset tracking	State-of-the-art asset tracking across last mile logistics, food delivery applications, and urban mobility services.	Stream No	TalkJS 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.	Stream Yes Stream supports integration with AI models from OpenAI, HuggingFace, Claude, or any LLM for its chat and voice AI SDKs.	TalkJS 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.	Stream No	TalkJS 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.	Stream No	TalkJS 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.	Stream No	TalkJS 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.	Stream Yes Stream uses API keys for authentication. You must include an API key when sending an authenticated request to Stream.	TalkJS No TalkJS does not rely on API key authentication to secure user sessions or communication with its APIs. Instead, it uses token-based authentication (JWT).	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.	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	TalkJS No TalkJS does not directly support Single Sign-On (SSO) authentication. Instead, it uses JSON Web Tokens (JWT) for authentication. 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.	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.	TalkJS Yes 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.	Stream No Stream does not natively implement E2EE. It encrypts messages in transit using TLS 1.2 and at rest with AES256. Read more	TalkJS No	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.	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	TalkJS TalkJS only complies with the GDPR by acting as a data processor. TalkJS privacy page	Compliance with regulations can impact your ability to meet legal obligations in your industry.