Skip to content
Toolradar
Pusher logo

Pusher

UnclaimedEditor reviewed

Real-time messaging and notifications API

API ToolsDeveloper ToolsPush Notifications
Visit Website
Tracked since2025
0 reviews tracked

The Bottom Line

Entry price

Free plan available, paid tiers above

Biggest pro

Real-time infrastructure

Biggest con

Expensive at scale

TL;DR - Pusher

  • Pusher provides hosted APIs for adding realtime functionality to apps
  • It enables live updates, notifications, and presence with simple SDKs
  • Free tier with 200K messages/day, paid plans from $49/month
Pricing: Free plan available
Best for: Growing teams

What is Pusher?

Editorial review
Pusher is a hosted API platform for adding real-time features to web and mobile apps. Enables pub/sub messaging, presence channels, and push notifications with simple SDKs.

Available on: Web

how we evaluateSourcepusher.com ↗

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Real-time infrastructure
  • Easy to use
  • Good documentation
  • Many SDKs
  • Reliable

Cons

  • Expensive at scale
  • Connection limits
  • Message limits
  • Alternatives cheaper
  • Vendor lock-in

Key Features

Real-time messagingPub/sub channelsPresence channelsPush notificationsFunctions (serverless)Monitoring integrationsSDK for all platformsPremium support (Business+)Flexible pricingAdmin dashboard

Pricing Plans

Sandbox

$0

  • 200,000 messages per day
  • 100 concurrent connections
  • Standard support
  • Functions available

Startup

$49 / month

  • 1 million messages per day
  • 500 concurrent connections
  • Standard support
  • Functions available

Pro

$99 / month

  • 4 million messages per day
  • 2,000 concurrent connections
  • Standard support
  • Monitoring integrations

Business

$299 / month

  • 10 million messages per day
  • 5,000 concurrent connections
  • Premium support
  • Monitoring integrations

Premium

$499 / month

  • 20 million messages per day
  • 10,000 concurrent connections
  • Premium support
  • Monitoring integrations
Calculate your costView full pricing

How Pusher's pricing compares

At $49/mo, Pusher is mid-range of its 3 direct competitors ($25 to $98/mo across the set).

Appwrite
$25
Ably
$29
Pusher
$49
PubNub
$98

Entry paid plan, monthly.

Reviews

Be the first to review Pusher

Your take helps the next buyer. Verified LinkedIn reviewers get a badge.

Write a review

Best Pusher Alternatives

Top alternatives based on features, pricing, and user needs.

Ably logo
AblyFreemium

Realtime messaging infrastructure for chat, notifications, and live updates

4.3
Socket.io logo
Socket.ioFree

Enable real-time, bidirectional, and event-based communication between web clients and servers.

4.6
Appwrite logo
AppwriteFreemium

Open-source backend for web, mobile, and Flutter. Self-host or cloud

4.4
PubNub logo
PubNubFreemium

Build, manage, and optimize real-time interactive applications at scale.

See all API Tools tools →

Still deciding?

Most buyers shortlist 2 or 3 tools before committing. Pull a side-by-side comparison or browse the full alternatives shortlist below.

Pusher vs AblyHead-to-head: features, pricing, who winsPusher vs Socket.ioHead-to-head: features, pricing, who winsPusher vs AppwriteHead-to-head: features, pricing, who wins

Explore More

Best API Tools ToolsBest Developer Tools ToolsBest Push Notifications ToolsBest Free API ToolsBest Free Developer ToolsBest Free Push Notifications

Pusher FAQ

Is Pusher free?

Yes, Pusher offers a free Sandbox plan with 200,000 messages/day and 100 concurrent connections. Paid plans start at $49/month.

What are concurrent connections?

Concurrent connections are the number of active client connections at any time. Free includes 100, scaling to 10,000 on Premium.

What are Pusher Functions?

Functions allow you to run serverless code in response to Pusher events. Available on all plans.

What is the difference between Standard and Premium support?

Premium support (Business and Premium plans) offers faster response times and dedicated support channels.

Source: pusher.com

Guides & Articles

Best API Testing Tools in 2026

Expert guide

Best AI Terminal Coding Agents in 2026

Expert guide

Best Code Editors & IDEs in 2026

Expert guide