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Centrifugo

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Scalable real-time messaging server for interactive applications, designed for high performance and easy integration.

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Reviews onG2CapterraSourceForge
89 reviews tracked

The Bottom Line

Entry price

Free, no paid tier

Biggest pro

High performance and scalability, proven to handle millions of connections.

Biggest con

Self-hosted nature requires deployment and maintenance effort.

TL;DR - Centrifugo

  • Self-hosted, language-agnostic real-time messaging server.
  • Handles persistent connections over various transports (WebSocket, SSE, etc.).
  • Offers high performance, scalability, and rich features for interactive applications.
Pricing: Free forever
Best for: Individuals & startups
4.3/5 across review platforms

What is Centrifugo?

Editorial review
Centrifugo is a self-hosted, language-agnostic real-time messaging server built in Go, designed to handle persistent connections over various transports like WebSocket, HTTP-streaming, SSE, WebTransport, and GRPC. It provides a simple publishing API, allowing applications to introduce real-time updates without altering their existing architecture. Centrifugo excels at broadcasting messages to many subscribers simultaneously, making it ideal for applications requiring instant updates to large audiences, such as chat apps, live comments, multiplayer games, real-time data visualizations, collaborative tools, and AI streaming responses. The server offers robust features including flexible authentication, various subscription types, channel history, online presence, delta updates, and the ability to proxy connection events to a backend. It supports out-of-the-box scalability through integrations with efficient brokers like Redis (and compatible storages) and Nats. Centrifugo is battle-tested, having been used in production for a decade by numerous companies. A PRO version is also available, offering advanced features like analytics with ClickHouse, real-time tracing, performance optimizations, push notification API, and SSO integrations for corporate and enterprise environments. Centrifugo is for developers and organizations looking to build highly interactive and real-time applications that require efficient, scalable, and reliable message delivery to a large number of connected users. Its focus on performance, scalability, and ease of integration makes it suitable for a wide range of use cases from small projects to enterprise-level deployments.

Available on: Web, Linux

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • High performance and scalability, proven to handle millions of connections.
  • Easy integration with existing application architectures.
  • Battle-tested and mature software used by many companies.
  • Supports a wide range of real-time use cases.
  • Offers a PRO version with advanced enterprise features.

Cons

  • Self-hosted nature requires deployment and maintenance effort.
  • Advanced features are locked behind the PRO version.

Ratings Across the Web

4.3(89 reviews)

Centrifugo holds an aggregate rating of 4.3 out of 5 from 89 reviews across G2, Capterra and SourceForge, last checked March 18, 2026.

Ratings aggregated from independent review platforms. Learn more

Key Features

Language-agnosticSelf-hosted serviceSupports WebSocket, HTTP-streaming, SSE, WebTransport, GRPC transportsSimple publishing APIFlexible authenticationVarious subscription typesChannel historyOnline presence

Pricing Plans

Pricing checked Aug 22, 2026

Centrifugo PRO

Contact us

  • analytics with ClickHouse
  • real-time tracing
  • performance optimizations
  • push notification API
  • SSO integrations for web UI
  • additional APIs
  • enhanced performance

Is Centrifugo worth the price?

65/100

Centrifugo's pricing model is somewhat opaque for its premium offering.

While a free tier is generous for basic use, the 'Contact us' for Centrifugo PRO makes it difficult to assess fairness against market rates. This structure is best suited for enterprises with custom needs and budgets for bespoke solutions.

Hidden Costs & Gotchas

PRO tier price is unknown, requires direct contact.

Potential for high custom development costs in PRO.

Integration costs for specific APIs not included.

No public annual discounts mentioned for PRO.

How Centrifugo Compares to Competitors

Compared to Pusher, which offers clear tiered pricing starting around $49/month for basic features, Centrifugo's PRO tier lacks transparency. Ably provides a free tier and then scales with usage, making cost prediction easier than Centrifugo's 'Contact us' model for advanced features.

Reviews

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4.3/5

Across 89 verified user reviews on SourceForge, Capterra, G2

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Centrifugo FAQ

How does Centrifugo support real-time data visualizations?

Centrifugo is designed to broadcast messages to many subscribers simultaneously, which is ideal for applications requiring instant updates to large audiences. This capability makes it well-suited for real-time data visualizations where data changes need to be reflected immediately across multiple user interfaces. It handles persistent connections over various transports like WebSocket and SSE to deliver these updates efficiently.

Which teams benefit most from using Centrifugo?

Centrifugo is best for developers and organizations building highly interactive and real-time applications that require efficient, scalable, and reliable message delivery to a large number of connected users. Its focus on performance and ease of integration makes it suitable for a wide range of use cases, from small projects to enterprise-level deployments.

How does Centrifugo compare to Pusher for real-time messaging?

Centrifugo is a self-hosted, language-agnostic real-time messaging server built in Go, offering robust features like flexible authentication and various subscription types. Unlike Pusher, Centrifugo requires deployment and maintenance effort due to its self-hosted nature. However, it provides out-of-the-box scalability through integrations with efficient brokers like Redis and Nats.

What kind of maintenance effort does Centrifugo require due to its self-hosted nature?

Centrifugo's self-hosted nature means that users are responsible for its deployment and ongoing maintenance. This includes managing the server infrastructure, ensuring its availability, and handling updates. While it offers high performance and scalability, these benefits come with the operational overhead of self-management.

Does Centrifugo include a free tier?

Centrifugo is free to use, meaning no paid plan is required to utilize its core functionalities. A PRO version is available for those needing advanced features like analytics with ClickHouse, real-time tracing, and push notification API, but the base product does not require payment.

Can Centrifugo integrate with existing application architectures?

Yes, Centrifugo is designed for easy integration with existing application architectures. It provides a simple publishing API, allowing applications to introduce real-time updates without altering their current setup. This makes it straightforward to add real-time capabilities to existing systems.

How does Centrifugo ensure scalability for applications with many connections?

Centrifugo ensures scalability through its design to handle persistent connections and integrations with efficient brokers like Redis and Nats. It is built in Go, which contributes to its high performance and ability to manage millions of connections. The server is battle-tested and has been used in production for a decade, proving its capability to scale.

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