Pusher vs Stream
On the evidence we track, Stream leads this comparison with a composite score of 80/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.
Capabilities
Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for communication apis. “-” means undocumented, not absent.
What each one is
The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.
Pusher
A cloud platform providing APIs for real-time communication and data synchronization in applications, supporting web, mobile, and backend integrations through language-specific SDKs.
Stream
LeaderStream provides developer-friendly APIs and pre-built SDKs that integrate chat, live video, activity feeds, and automated content moderation into applications, allowing developers to add complex real-time features without building infrastructure from scratch.
Pricing
List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.
Pusher
From $49/month for paid tiers, free Sandbox tier available. Annual discounts on all plans.
- SandboxFree
- standard support
- 24/7 platform monitoring
- Startup$49/month
- standard support
- 24/7 monitoring
- annual discount available
- Pro$99/month
- standard support
- 24/7 monitoring
- annual discount available
- Business$299/month
- premium support (24-hour target response)
- 24/7 monitoring
- annual discount available
- Premium$499/month
- premium support (24-hour target response)
- 24/7 monitoring
- annual discount available
- Growth$699/month
- premium support (24-hour target response)
- 24/7 monitoring
- annual discount available
- PlusContact sales
- premium support (24-hour target response)
- 24/7 monitoring
- annual discount available
- Growth PlusContact sales
- premium support (24-hour target response)
- 24/7 monitoring
- annual discount available
- EnterpriseContact sales
- premium support (1-hour target response)
- custom infrastructure
- dedicated clusters available
Stream
LeaderFrom $499/month. Free tier for makers. Usage-based overage charges.
- BuildFree
- REST API
- SDKs (Node, Python, Ruby, PHP)
- Webhooks
- Customizable UI
- Flat & Timeline Feeds
- +3 more
- Start$499/month (annual commitment) or $599/month (monthly). Overages: $25 per 1k activities, $9 per 10k API calls
- Ranked Feeds
- Ticketed Support
- Dedicated Regional Servers
- HIPAA
- 2FA
- +3 more
- Elevate$899/month (annual commitment) or $999/month (monthly). Overages: $23 per 1k activities, $9 per 10k API calls
- All Start features
- EnterpriseContact sales
- 99.999% SLA
- SAML/SSO
- Private Dedicated Servers
- 24/7 Support
- Activity-based pricing
- +1 more
Platform & deployment
Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.
Integrations
What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.
- Swift
- React Native
Pusher
- Datadog
- Librato
- Webhooks
- JavaScript
- Node.js
- PHP
- Python
- Ruby
- Java
- Unity
- C#
- Go
Stream
Leader- Jenkins
- GitHub
- Slack
- Postman
- Xcode
- Android Studio
- React
- Flutter
- SwiftUI
- Kotlin
- Jetpack Compose
- Expo
- Vercel AI SDK
Pusher or Stream: which one depends on you
A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.
Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works
Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.