# Soketify: the drop-in Pusher alternative

Drop-in Pusher replacement: same official SDKs, same protocol, same channel types. Change three lines of config and keep the rest of your code.

Canonical page: https://soketify.com/pusher-alternative · Last reviewed: 2026-08-21

## Pusher protocol compatibility

Supported end to end: the WebSocket connection protocol, the REST trigger API,
batch triggers, channel authorization signed with the app secret, presence
member tracking, client events, and webhooks with signature verification.

Channel types: public, private, encrypted, presence, cache.

Client SDKs that work unchanged: pusher-js, pusher-websocket-swift, pusher-websocket-java, pusher-websocket-react-native, Laravel Echo.

Server SDKs that work unchanged: pusher (Node.js), pusher-http-php, pusher-http-python, pusher-http-ruby, pusher-http-go, pusher-http-java, pusher-http-dotnet.

The `cluster` option is still required by pusher-js and is accepted and
ignored, because routing is global rather than per cluster.

## Migrating from Pusher

Three configuration lines change and nothing else. Event names, channel names,
authorization endpoints, webhook handlers, SDK versions, and application code
stay identical.

```js
// Client, pusher-js. Two lines added, nothing removed.
const pusher = new Pusher("YOUR_SOKETIFY_KEY", {
  cluster: "mt1",          // required by pusher-js, ignored by Soketify
  wsHost: "ws.soketify.com", // added
  forceTLS: true,           // added
});
```

```js
// Server, the official pusher Node.js SDK. One line added.
const pusher = new Pusher({
  appId: "YOUR_APP_ID",
  key: "YOUR_SOKETIFY_KEY",
  secret: "YOUR_SOKETIFY_SECRET",
  cluster: "mt1",
  host: "api.soketify.com", // added
  useTLS: true,
});
```

Rollback is the same edit in reverse, and there is no data to migrate in either
direction because no message history is stored.

## Pricing

Every plan is a flat monthly fee. There is no per-message charge, no
per-connection overage charge, and no separate charge for large event payloads.

| Plan | Price (USD/month) | Concurrent connections | Messages / month | Apps | Max event payload |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Free | $0 | 200 | 6,000,000 | 3 | 100 KB |
| Indie | $9 | 500 | 50,000,000 | 5 | 256 KB |
| Startup | $19 | 2,000 | 150,000,000 | 10 | 512 KB |
| Scale | $59 | 6,000 | 400,000,000 | 15 | 1 MB |
| Scale-1 | $149 | 10,000 | 1,000,000,000 | 25 | 2 MB |
| Scale-2 | $299 | 20,000 | 1,800,000,000 | 50 | 4 MB |

Plans can be changed at any time and take effect immediately. The Free plan
needs no credit card.

### Cost against Pusher at comparable usage

| Usage | Pusher (estimated) | Soketify | Difference |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 200 concurrent connections, 6M messages/month | $0/mo | $0/mo | Both free |
| 500 concurrent connections, 30M messages/month | $49/mo | $9/mo | About 82% less |
| 1,000 concurrent connections, 100M messages/month | $299/mo | $19/mo | About 94% less |
| 2,000 concurrent connections, 400M messages/month | $599/mo | $59/mo | About 90% less |
| 10,000 concurrent connections, 1B+ messages/month | Sales call required | $149/mo | Pusher requires a sales call; Soketify stays list-priced |

Pusher figures are estimates from published Pusher Channels pricing as of 2026
and can change. Soketify figures are list prices. Pusher's default maximum event
size is 10 KB, above which it requires a paid add-on, and it does not deliver
events larger than 256 KB at any price; Soketify includes 100 KB on
Free and up to 4 MB on the top plan at no extra charge.

## Frequently asked questions

### What is the best drop-in alternative to Pusher?

Soketify is built specifically as a drop-in Pusher replacement: it speaks the same protocol, so the official Pusher SDKs connect to it without a code rewrite or a vendor SDK swap. Alternatives built on their own protocols, such as Ably or a self-hosted stack, require replacing SDKs, authorization code, and event handling.

### Do I have to change my code to switch from Pusher to Soketify?

No application code changes. You add wsHost and forceTLS to the pusher-js constructor and set host on the server SDK. Channel names, event names, private and presence authorization endpoints, webhook handlers, and batch triggers all stay identical because the protocol is identical.

### Which Pusher features does Soketify support?

Public channels, private channels, encrypted channels, presence channels with member tracking, cache channels, client events, webhooks with signature verification, batch triggers, and the full REST API for triggering events and querying channel state. The official client SDKs, including pusher-js and Laravel Echo, and the official server SDKs for Node.js, PHP, Python, Ruby, Go, and Java all work.

### How much can I save by switching from Pusher?

Between roughly 80% and 94% at comparable usage. At 500 connections and 30 million messages per month the comparison is about $49 per month on Pusher against $9 on Soketify. At 1,000 connections and 100 million messages it is about $299 against $19. Figures are estimates from published Pusher Channels pricing.

### What happens if I exceed my plan limits on Soketify?

Nothing breaks. Soketify emails you at 80% and 100% of your plan limits and gives you a grace period to upgrade or optimize. Connections are not cut and messages are not dropped mid-period, and there is no surprise overage invoice at the end of the month.

### Can I roll back to Pusher if something goes wrong?

Yes, instantly. Because only the host configuration changed, reverting those three lines points the identical code back at Pusher. There is no data to migrate back and no schema to undo, since Soketify does not store message history.