Layer vs OpenTok vs SendBird

Overview

OpenTok

Stacks57

Followers159

Votes8

Layer

Stacks15

Followers39

Votes7

SendBird

Stacks138

Followers405

Votes78

Detailed Comparison

OpenTok	Layer	SendBird
It adds the clarity and emotion of face-to-face communication to your brand whether you're developing for the web, iOS, or Android. We make the integration of high-quality live video a breeze so that you can focus on building a great product.	Layer's asynchronous messaging fabric is capable of transporting payloads of any type. Get your users talking with chat, voice or video messaging. Pull them back in with push. Connect friends, colleagues or perfect strangers seamlessly.	SendBird is a Messaging SDK, Chat API, and fully managed chat infrastructure for your mobile apps and websites. Embeddable chat for iOS, Android, JavaScript, Unity, .NET.
Layout control- Create layouts that complement your content and empower your application's experience;Peer-to-peer calls- Take advantage of peer-to-peer calling for better quality and lower- latency 1:1 scenarios;Archiving- Download or save calls for future playback with this extension to the OpenTok platform;Multi-party calls- Bring small groups together for business or social gatherings using face-to-face video;Moderation- Tame the wild-west nature of social video with OpenTok's moderation functionality;Broadcast- Create a virtual stage and invite an audience of thousands to join you.	Send any message payload (photos, videos, location, json data, etc) up to 2GB;Build your UI quickly with sample UI components to get started;User-expected communication features work right out of the box (full message state tracking, typing indicators, read receipts);Pre-loading of content with background-synchronized state and metadata across devices;Push notifications across platforms and devices with full control over display and delivery;Handles offline mode and poor network conditions with network state management and performance handling	In-app chat experiences users will love; Immersive voice and video experiences; Easy in-app chat support for your customers; Enterprise-ready compliance
Statistics
Stacks 57	Stacks 15	Stacks 138
Followers 159	Followers 39	Followers 405
Votes 8	Votes 7	Votes 78
Pros & Cons
Pros 6 Video Archiving to s3 2 Easy setup	Pros 6 Open source ui atlas makes messaging easy 1 Easy setup	Pros 13 Active support is impressive. (Support for private deve 10 Pre-built UI for major platforms 10 Easy to use 8 Migration API for customers using other chat services 7 Scalability is awesome Cons 2 Prices ramp up exponentially 2 Policy on concurrent users leads to overages and overch

What are some alternatives to OpenTok, Layer, SendBird?

Twilio

Twilio offers developers a powerful API for phone services to make and receive phone calls, and send and receive text messages. Their product allows programmers to more easily integrate various communication methods into their software and programs.

Chat by Stream

Chat API and SDK. With a beautiful UI Kit, easy to use React Components and powerful API. Add Chat to any application in a matter of hours. The tech uses Go, RocksDB and Raft. By the creators of Stream, the API that powers activity feeds for more than 300 million users.

Nexmo

Nexmo connects your apps directly to carriers around the world. Integrate SMS and Voice messages using one simple API. Use Nexmo Verity to register users, verify transactions, and implement two factor authentication.

Sinch

Sinch makes it easy for developers to add voice, messaging and SMS to their apps with just a few lines of code. Enrich your apps with communications that your users will love.

Plivo

Plivo provides basic building block APIs in the form of Plivo XML and HTTP API, to create telephony apps, so developers can completely do away with learning the nitty-gritty of the telephony plumbing.

ChannelizeIO

Add In-App User-to-User Communication into Mobile Apps & Websites, with rich & engaging Text Chat, Video, and Audio Calling experiences, to Increase User Engagement and Enable new Revenue Streams.

Agora

Agora.io provides building blocks for you to add real-time voice and video communications through a simple and powerful SDK. You can integrate the Agora SDK to enable real-time communications in your own application quickly.