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  1. Stackups
  2. Application & Data
  3. Platform as a Service
  4. Realtime Backend API
  5. PubNub vs SocketCluster

PubNub vs SocketCluster

OverviewDecisionsComparisonAlternatives

Overview

PubNub
PubNub
Stacks249
Followers458
Votes238
SocketCluster
SocketCluster
Stacks47
Followers168
Votes47
GitHub Stars6.2K
Forks322

PubNub vs SocketCluster: What are the differences?

  1. PubNub: PubNub is a global Data Stream Network (DSN) and Real-time Infrastructures-as-a-Service (IaaS) platform that enables developers to build real-time applications. It provides a set of APIs and SDKs that allow developers to send messages across various platforms in real-time.

  2. SocketCluster: SocketCluster is a scalable real-time framework for building efficient and secure WebSocket applications. It provides a highly flexible and customizable platform for building real-time applications using the WebSocket protocol.

  3. Scalability and Performance: PubNub is designed to handle large-scale real-time applications with millions of concurrent connections. It has a network of global data centers that ensure low-latency communication and high availability. SocketCluster, on the other hand, is built to scale horizontally and can handle thousands of concurrent connections efficiently.

  4. Customization and Control: SocketCluster offers a high level of customization and control over the application's functionality. Developers can build custom middleware and plugins to extend the framework's capabilities. PubNub, while it provides a range of functionality out of the box, may have limited customization options.

  5. Security: SocketCluster emphasizes security and provides features like access control, authentication, and encryption out of the box. It allows developers to secure their real-time applications using various mechanisms. PubNub also offers security features, but the level of control and customization may vary across different plans.

  6. Development and Integration: PubNub provides a wide range of SDKs for various platforms and languages, making it easier for developers to integrate real-time functionality into their applications. SocketCluster also offers SDKs, but the availability may be limited compared to PubNub. It requires more manual configuration and setup.

In Summary, PubNub is a global Data Stream Network platform with extensive SDK support, while SocketCluster is a scalable real-time framework with high customization and security features.

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Advice on PubNub, SocketCluster

tauschjl
tauschjl

Apr 22, 2021

Needs advice

I am building an IoT application that will utilize connected air quality sensors to provide real-time indoor air quality in offices. I want to be able to share this data with a few different databases, etc.

Wondering if anyone has any advice on which real-time streaming API would be best for this sort of application, or even how I should think about it?

38.1k views38.1k
Comments

Detailed Comparison

PubNub
PubNub
SocketCluster
SocketCluster

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.

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.

PubNub SDKs support over 50 of the most popular environments, including: iOS, Android, JavaScript, .NET, Java, Ruby, Python, PHP and many more.;Data Push - Establish and maintain persistent socket connections to any device (mobile, browser, desktop and server) and push data to global audiences in less than ¼ of a second;Presence - Automatically detect when users enter or leave your app and whether machines are online;Storage and Playback- Store your real-time data streams for future access, “playback” or re-publish;Mobile - Easily manage the complexity of real-time apps on mobile devices;Analytics - Simulate an audience of millions. See a live view of audience size, engagement and geography;Security - Protect your real-time data with easy to use enterprise-grade security
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.
Statistics
GitHub Stars
-
GitHub Stars
6.2K
GitHub Forks
-
GitHub Forks
322
Stacks
249
Stacks
47
Followers
458
Followers
168
Votes
238
Votes
47
Pros & Cons
Pros
  • 36
    Massively scalable & easy to use
  • 25
    Easy setup
  • 20
    Reliable
  • 19
    Great support
  • 14
    Flexible to integrate to custom applications
Cons
  • 1
    Costly
Pros
  • 12
    Cluster mode is awesome
  • 8
    WebSockets
  • 7
    Scalability
  • 4
    Real-time
  • 4
    JWT based Authentication
Integrations
No integrations available
Node.js
Node.js

What are some alternatives to PubNub, SocketCluster?

Firebase

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.

Socket.IO

Socket.IO

It enables real-time bidirectional event-based communication. It works on every platform, browser or device, focusing equally on reliability and speed.

Pusher

Pusher

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

SignalR

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

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

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

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.

deepstream.io

deepstream.io

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.

8base

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

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.

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