Pusher
API marketplaces
Communication platform as a Service (cPaaS) platforms
Stream analytics software
Data integration tools
Cloud data integration software
- Features
- Ease of use
- Ease of management
- Quality of support
- Affordability
- Market presence
Take the quiz to check if Pusher and its alternatives fit your requirements.
$29 per month
Free Trial unavailable
Free version
Small
Medium
Large
- Media and communications
- Arts, entertainment, and recreation
- Information technology and software
What is Pusher
Pusher is a hosted real-time messaging platform that provides APIs for adding WebSocket-based pub/sub, presence, and event-driven updates to web and mobile applications. It is used by software teams to build features such as live dashboards, chat-like updates, notifications, and collaborative experiences without operating their own real-time infrastructure. The product is typically consumed via SDKs and REST APIs and is deployed as a managed cloud service. Pusher is part of the Channels/Beams product family under Pusher Limited (a MessageBird company).
Managed real-time pub/sub APIs
Pusher provides hosted WebSocket connectivity and pub/sub channels so teams can deliver low-latency updates without running and scaling their own socket servers. SDKs support common client platforms and server environments, which reduces integration effort for application developers. Presence and authentication patterns support common real-time use cases such as user lists and private channels.
Developer-friendly integration model
The service is consumed through straightforward APIs, client libraries, and server-side authentication flows that fit typical application architectures. Teams can integrate real-time events alongside existing REST backends and job queues rather than adopting a full integration platform. This makes it practical for product teams that need real-time features without broader iPaaS complexity.
Separation of real-time concerns
Pusher focuses on real-time delivery and connection management rather than trying to be a general-purpose API management or workflow automation suite. This specialization can simplify design decisions when the primary requirement is event fan-out to many clients. It also helps teams avoid coupling real-time delivery to their core application runtime.
Not a general iPaaS tool
Pusher does not provide the broad connector catalog, visual workflow design, and multi-app automation features typical of data integration tools. If the main goal is syncing data across SaaS applications or orchestrating complex ETL/ELT pipelines, teams usually need additional integration software. As a result, it often complements rather than replaces integration platforms.
Limited API marketplace capabilities
While it exposes APIs for real-time messaging, Pusher is not an API marketplace for discovering, monetizing, and managing third-party APIs at scale. Organizations needing API product catalogs, subscription billing, or marketplace governance typically require separate tooling. This can add overhead for companies pursuing an API-as-a-product strategy.
Analytics focus is operational
Pusher’s core value is message delivery; it is not positioned as a full stream analytics engine for complex event processing, long-term retention, or advanced query/aggregation over event streams. Teams that need durable event storage, replay, and analytical processing generally integrate additional streaming and analytics components. This increases architectural complexity for analytics-heavy use cases.
Plan & Pricing
Pusher — Channels (tiered subscription plans)
| Plan | Price | Key features & notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sandbox | Free | 200,000 messages per day; 100 concurrent connections; Standard support; "Sign up for free" sandbox. |
| Startup | $49 / month | 1,000,000 messages per day; 500 concurrent connections; Standard support. |
| Pro | $99 / month | 4,000,000 messages per day; 2,000 concurrent connections; Standard support; Monitoring integrations. |
| Business | $299 / month | 10,000,000 messages per day; 5,000 concurrent connections; Premium support; Monitoring integrations. |
| Premium | $499 / month | 20,000,000 messages per day; 10,000 concurrent connections; Premium support; Monitoring integrations. |
| Growth | $699 / month | 40,000,000 messages per day; 15,000 concurrent connections; Premium support; Annual price discount available. |
| Plus | $899 / month | 60,000,000 messages per day; 20,000 concurrent connections; Premium support; Annual price discount available. |
| Growth Plus | $1,199 / month | 90,000,000 messages per day; 30,000 concurrent connections; Premium support. |
Pusher — Beams (Push notifications)
| Plan | Price | Key features & notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sandbox | Free | Sandbox plan for testing; 1,000 subscribers listed in the pricing UI for the Sandbox baseline; Standard support. |
| Startup | $29 / month | 10,000 subscribers; Standard support. |
| Pro | $99 / month | 50,000 subscribers; Standard support. |
| Business | $199 / month | 115,000 subscribers; Premium support. |
| Premium | $399 / month | 250,000 subscribers; Premium support. |
(Notes: Subscriber counts shown on the official pricing UI correspond to the included subscriber allowance for each fixed plan. Support level (Standard / Premium) is shown on the official pricing pages.)
Seller details
Pusher Ltd
London, United Kingdom
2010
Private
https://pusher.com/
https://x.com/pusher
https://www.linkedin.com/company/pusher
