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Soketi: Open Source Alternative to Pusher, Ably and PubNub

Home/Categories/Web Development/Soketi

Soketi

Open source alternative to Pusher, Ably and PubNub

Soketi is a self-hosted, Pusher-compatible WebSocket server for real-time pub/sub messaging without per-message fees or connection limits. MIT licensed, runs on Node.js or Docker.

5.6K starsTypeScriptAGPL-3.0

Repository

Stars: 5.6K
Forks: 357
License: AGPL-3.0
Latest: 1.6.1
Last commit: 464 days ago
Last verified: May 13, 2026
Repo: soketi/soketi ↗

Additional details

Visit website GitHub repo

image of soketi

Contents

01Who Soketi is for
02The problem it solves
03How it solves it
04Strengths and trade-offs
05Tech stack
06FAQ
07Similar open-source tools

TL;DR

Soketi is a self-hosted WebSocket server compatible with the Pusher Channels protocol. It replaces hosted real-time messaging services like Pusher for teams that want pub/sub, private channels, and presence without per-message vendor pricing.AGPL-3.0 · TypeScript · 5.6K stars

who it's for

Who Soketi is for#

SaaS teams replacing Pusher Channels

Use Soketi when an app already uses Pusher-compatible clients and message volume makes hosted pricing unattractive.

Skip if:

You want a globally managed real-time network with vendor SLAs and no infrastructure ownership.

Developers adding real-time pub/sub

Use Soketi when private channels, presence, and WebSocket events are needed without inventing a custom protocol.

Skip if:

Your app only needs occasional server-sent updates that could be handled by polling or server-sent events.

the problem

tech stack · detected from GitHub

What it's built on#

Languages: JavaScriptTypeScript
Frameworks: Express
Databases: MySQLPostgreSQL
Runtimes: Node.js
Infrastructure: AWSDocker
Messaging: NATS

frequently asked

FAQ#

What is Soketi?

Can Soketi replace Pusher?

Does Soketi scale horizontally?

also worth a look

Similar open-source tools#

Centrifugo

Scalable real-time messaging server with WebSocket support

10.3KGoApache-2.0

Language: TypeScript
Open issues: 141
Contributors: 26
First release: 2021

Categories

Web Development Backend Development APIs & Integration

Tags

WebSocket Servers Self Hosted Open Core API Infrastructure Developer Tools Cloud Native

The problem it solves#

how Soketi solves it

How it solves it#

Pusher protocol compatibility

Soketi implements the Pusher Channels protocol, so existing Pusher-compatible clients can connect by changing configuration rather than rewriting the application messaging layer.

Private and presence channels

Support for authenticated private channels and presence channels lets teams build real-time collaboration and user-status features with familiar Pusher-style semantics.

Redis-backed horizontal scaling

Soketi can scale across instances with Redis, giving production teams a path beyond a single WebSocket process.

strengths · trade-offs

Strengths and trade-offs#

Strengths

Lower migration friction from PusherProtocol compatibility makes Soketi practical for teams already using Pusher clients and server APIs who want to move traffic onto their own infrastructure.
Real-time control without vendor message pricingSelf-hosting removes third-party per-message limits and gives teams direct control over capacity, networking, and data flow.

Trade-offs

-Infrastructure ownership is requiredSoketi replaces a managed service with software your team must operate. Scaling, Redis, TLS, deployment, monitoring, and incident response become internal responsibilities.

Cache

Redis

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Saleor

Open source headless e-commerce platform with GraphQL API

23KPythonBSD-3-Clause

Neovim

Hyperextensible Vim-based editor with Lua plugin support

99.6KVim ScriptApache-2.0

Traefik

Auto-routing reverse proxy for Docker and Kubernetes from labels

Echolon

Local-first API client for HTTP, REST, and GraphQL

49TypeScriptMIT

Soketi is a self-hosted WebSocket server that implements the Pusher Channels protocol for real-time pub/sub messaging.

Yes. Soketi can replace Pusher Channels for teams that want compatible real-time messaging on their own infrastructure.

Real-time app features can become expensive when every message and connection passes through a hosted WebSocket vendor. Live dashboards, notifications, chat, collaboration, and presence features all create steady traffic that grows with product usage.

Building custom WebSocket infrastructure from scratch is also risky. Teams need authentication, channels, horizontal scaling, and client SDK compatibility without spending months maintaining a bespoke messaging layer.

Soketi documents Redis-backed scaling for multi-instance deployments, but teams must operate that infrastructure themselves.