Socket.IO vs SocketCluster vs deepstream.io

Overview

Socket.IO

Stacks13.6K

Followers11.0K

Votes776

SocketCluster

Stacks47

Followers168

Votes47

GitHub Stars6.2K

Forks322

deepstream.io

Stacks39

Followers112

Votes41

Socket.IO vs SocketCluster vs deepstream.io: What are the differences?

Introduction

Socket.IO, SocketCluster, and deepstream.io are all real-time frameworks used in building applications that require real-time communication between clients and servers.

Protocol Support: Socket.IO primarily uses WebSockets as the main transport protocol, but it also provides fallback options like polling and long-polling. SocketCluster, on the other hand, focuses on using WebSocket over HTTP/2, which can provide better performance and efficiency. deepstream.io also supports WebSockets along with other protocols like MQTT and HTTP.
Scalability: SocketCluster and deepstream.io are designed with scalability in mind from the ground up, using features like horizontal scaling, load balancing, and clustering to handle a large number of concurrent users seamlessly. Socket.IO, while capable of handling multiple connections, may require additional configuration and third-party tools for efficient scaling in high-demand scenarios.
RPC Support: SocketCluster provides built-in support for Remote Procedure Calls (RPC), allowing for easy communication between different parts of the application or even between different nodes in a cluster. deepstream.io also offers similar RPC capabilities for orchestrating interactions between clients and servers. Socket.IO, while versatile, may require custom implementation for achieving the same level of RPC functionality.
Presence Management: deepstream.io, in particular, excels in providing robust presence management features that allow developers to track online/offline status, user metadata, and other real-time presence information within the application. While both SocketCluster and Socket.IO offer some level of presence functionality, deepstream.io is specifically tailored for scenarios where real-time collaboration and user tracking are crucial aspects of the application.
Authentication and Authorization: SocketCluster and deepstream.io come with built-in support for authentication and authorization mechanisms, making it easier for developers to secure their real-time applications using various strategies like JWT tokens, OAuth, and custom authentication plugins. Socket.IO, while flexible, may require more manual configuration and third-party modules to achieve the same level of security features.
Community and Ecosystem: Socket.IO boasts a large and active community of developers, extensive documentation, and a wide ecosystem of plugins and integrations, making it a popular choice for real-time applications with varying requirements. SocketCluster and deepstream.io, while not as widely adopted as Socket.IO, have their dedicated communities and offer unique features that cater to specific use cases, providing a more specialized approach to real-time communication.

In Summary, SocketCluster, deepstream.io, and Socket.IO offer different approaches to real-time communication, with distinct features like protocol support, scalability options, RPC capabilities, presence management, authentication mechanisms, and community support that cater to diverse use cases in real-time application development.

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Advice on Socket.IO, SocketCluster, deepstream.io

Noam

Jul 16, 2020

Needs adviceon

Node.js

ExpressJS

React

We are starting to work on a web-based platform aiming to connect artists (clients) and professional freelancers (service providers). In-app, timeline-based, real-time communication between users (& storing it), file transfers, and push notifications are essential core features. We are considering using Node.js, ExpressJS, React, MongoDB stack with Socket.IO & Apollo, or maybe using Real-Time Database and functionalities of Firebase.

1.15M views1.15M

Comments

Anil

Mar 7, 2020

Needs advice

I want to add uWebSockets.js in my application for real-time chatting, for that, I have to draw a UML and ufd diagram flow then I have to implement it in my code, my stack is node js, android, express, MongoDB, Redis. how can I do this? I want to add uWebSockets.js in my application for real-time chatting, for that, I have to draw a UML and ufd diagram flow then I have to implement it in my code, my stack is node js, android, express, MongoDB, Redis. how can I do this?I want to add uWebSockets.js in my application for real-time chatting, for that, I have to draw a UML and ufd diagram flow then I have to implement it in my code, my stack is node js, android, express, MongoDB, Redis. how can I do this?i want to add uWebSockets.js in my application for real time chatting, for that i have to draw a uml and ufd diagram flow then i have to implement it in my code , my stack is node js , android , express , mongoDb, redis . how can i do a this?

46.7k views46.7k

Comments

Detailed Comparison

Socket.IO	SocketCluster	deepstream.io
It enables real-time bidirectional event-based communication. It works on every platform, browser or device, focusing equally on reliability and speed.	SocketCluster is a fast, highly scalable HTTP + realtime server engine which lets you build multi-process realtime servers that make use of all CPU cores on a machine/instance. It removes the limitations of having to run your Node.js server as a single thread and makes your backend resilient by automatically recovering from worker crashes and aggregating errors into a central log.	Scalable Server for Realtime Web Apps with JSON structures that can be read, manipulated and listened to, messages that can be sent to one or more subscribers, and request response workflows, between two clients or servers.
Real-time analytics - Push data to clients that gets represented as real-time counters, charts or logs.;Binary streaming - Starting in 1.0, it's possible to send any blob back and forth: image, audio, video.;Instant messaging and chat - Socket.IO's "Hello world" is a chat app in just a few lines of code.;Document collaboration - Allow users to concurrently edit a document and see each other's changes.	Resilient on both the client and backend - Process crashes, lost connections and other failures are handled seamlessly.;Scales linearly as you add more CPU cores and workers (assuming a decent OS) - Tested with up to 16 cores.;Also designed to scale horizontally across multiple machines. See sc-redis sample.	Stores and syncs data in realtime;Built in node.js;Works for browsers, backend & mobile;Scales via clustering;Exceptionally fast & easy to use;Open Source and free (MIT License)
Statistics
GitHub Stars -	GitHub Stars 6.2K	GitHub Stars -
GitHub Forks -	GitHub Forks 322	GitHub Forks -
Stacks 13.6K	Stacks 47	Stacks 39
Followers 11.0K	Followers 168	Followers 112
Votes 776	Votes 47	Votes 41
Pros & Cons
Pros 219 Real-time 143 Node.js 141 Event-based communication 102 Open source 102 WebSockets Cons 12 Bad documentation 4 Githubs that complement it are mostly deprecated 3 Doesn't work on React Native 2 Small community 2 Websocket Errors	Pros 12 Cluster mode is awesome 8 WebSockets 7 Scalability 4 Security 4 JWT based Authentication	Pros 8 Real-time 8 RethinkDB 6 Node.js 6 Websockets 5 WebRTC
Integrations
Auth0 Gatsby Flutter React Backbone.js Cloud Firestore Outbrain	Node.js	No integrations available

What are some alternatives to Socket.IO, SocketCluster, deepstream.io?

Firebase

Firebase is a cloud service designed to power real-time, collaborative applications. Simply add the Firebase library to your application to gain access to a shared data structure; any changes you make to that data are automatically synchronized with the Firebase cloud and with other clients within milliseconds.

PubNub

PubNub makes it easy for you to add real-time capabilities to your apps, without worrying about the infrastructure. Build apps that allow your users to engage in real-time across mobile, browser, desktop and server.

Pusher

Pusher is the category leader in delightful APIs for app developers building communication and collaboration features.

SignalR

SignalR allows bi-directional communication between server and client. Servers can now push content to connected clients instantly as it becomes available. SignalR supports Web Sockets, and falls back to other compatible techniques for older browsers. SignalR includes APIs for connection management (for instance, connect and disconnect events), grouping connections, and authorization.

Ably

Ably offers WebSockets, stream resume, history, presence, and managed third-party integrations to make it simple to build, extend, and deliver digital realtime experiences at scale.

Syncano

Syncano is a backend platform to build powerful real-time apps more efficiently. Integrate with any API, minimize boilerplate code and control your data - all from one place.

NATS

Unlike traditional enterprise messaging systems, NATS has an always-on dial tone that does whatever it takes to remain available. This forms a great base for building modern, reliable, and scalable cloud and distributed systems.

8base

A cloud service designed to power enterprise-grade web and mobile applications that require support for large numbers of users, complex data and transactional requirements, comprehensive role-based security and a modern look-and-feel.

Supabase

Supabase is currently in early-Alpha .It is an open-source Firebase alternative. It adds realtime and RESTful APIs to your PostgreSQL database without a single line of code.

Faye

Faye is a set of tools for simple publish-subscribe messaging between web clients. It ships with easy-to-use message routing servers for Node.js and Rack applications, and clients that can be used on the server and in the browser.

Related Comparisons

Socket.IO vs SocketCluster vs deepstream.io: What are the differences?

Introduction

Socket.IO, SocketCluster, and deepstream.io are all real-time frameworks used in building applications that require real-time communication between clients and servers.

Protocol Support: Socket.IO primarily uses WebSockets as the main transport protocol, but it also provides fallback options like polling and long-polling. SocketCluster, on the other hand, focuses on using WebSocket over HTTP/2, which can provide better performance and efficiency. deepstream.io also supports WebSockets along with other protocols like MQTT and HTTP.
Scalability: SocketCluster and deepstream.io are designed with scalability in mind from the ground up, using features like horizontal scaling, load balancing, and clustering to handle a large number of concurrent users seamlessly. Socket.IO, while capable of handling multiple connections, may require additional configuration and third-party tools for efficient scaling in high-demand scenarios.
RPC Support: SocketCluster provides built-in support for Remote Procedure Calls (RPC), allowing for easy communication between different parts of the application or even between different nodes in a cluster. deepstream.io also offers similar RPC capabilities for orchestrating interactions between clients and servers. Socket.IO, while versatile, may require custom implementation for achieving the same level of RPC functionality.
Presence Management: deepstream.io, in particular, excels in providing robust presence management features that allow developers to track online/offline status, user metadata, and other real-time presence information within the application. While both SocketCluster and Socket.IO offer some level of presence functionality, deepstream.io is specifically tailored for scenarios where real-time collaboration and user tracking are crucial aspects of the application.
Authentication and Authorization: SocketCluster and deepstream.io come with built-in support for authentication and authorization mechanisms, making it easier for developers to secure their real-time applications using various strategies like JWT tokens, OAuth, and custom authentication plugins. Socket.IO, while flexible, may require more manual configuration and third-party modules to achieve the same level of security features.
Community and Ecosystem: Socket.IO boasts a large and active community of developers, extensive documentation, and a wide ecosystem of plugins and integrations, making it a popular choice for real-time applications with varying requirements. SocketCluster and deepstream.io, while not as widely adopted as Socket.IO, have their dedicated communities and offer unique features that cater to specific use cases, providing a more specialized approach to real-time communication.

Socket.IO vs SocketCluster vs deepstream.io

Overview

Socket.IO vs SocketCluster vs deepstream.io: What are the differences?