Here's the deal...
Sendbird is like buying a specialized AI customer service tool when you needed a Swiss Army knife for real-time messaging - they've completely abandoned the developer infrastructure space for AI agents. PubNub is like getting a comprehensive real-time toolkit that handles any messaging use case without forcing you into AI customer service workflows. If you want reliable real-time infrastructure without vendor lock-in to AI platforms, PubNub is the clear choice.
Want the details? Keep reading...
The Bottom Line
Here's the deal: Sendbird is like buying a specialized AI customer service tool when you needed a Swiss Army knife for real-time messaging - they've completely abandoned the developer infrastructure space for AI agents. PubNub is like getting a comprehensive real-time toolkit that handles any messaging use case without forcing you into AI customer service workflows. If you want reliable real-time infrastructure without vendor lock-in to AI platforms, PubNub is the clear choice.
Want the details? Keep reading...
PubNub | Sendbird | Why this matters | |
| PubNub vs Sendbird | |||
| Key Differentiators | |||
LiveOps Toolkit Run A/B tests and campaigns without bothering developers every time marketing wants to try something new | PUBNUB ✅ Yes (PubNub Illuminate) | COMPETITOR 🔶 Basic A/B testing via external tools | |
Real-time Analytics Actually see what's happening in your app instead of flying blind when things go wrong | PUBNUB ✅ Comprehensive (PubNub Insights) | COMPETITOR 🔶 Basic stats and AI metrics | |
Pricing Model Know what you'll pay before you get the bill - no surprise charges or sales calls required | PUBNUB ✅ Transparent per-MAU pricing | COMPETITOR ✅ Custom enterprise quotes | |
Channel Groups Handle massive topic lists without killing your app's performance or connection stability | PUBNUB ✅ Advanced (up to 20K per socket) | COMPETITOR 🔶 Basic channel management | |
Presence Scaling Build "who's online" features that actually work at scale without mysterious limits | PUBNUB ✅ Proven (1M+ per channel) | COMPETITOR ✅ Limited (undocumented scale) | |
Edge Compute Skip the complexity of setting up and managing separate cloud functions - just write your logic and deploy | PUBNUB ✅ Built-in (PubNub Functions) | COMPETITOR ✅ Requires external services | |
Global Scale Sleep well knowing your platform can handle Black Friday traffic because it's already proven at scale | PUBNUB ✅ Verified (3T+ msgs/month, 25.5M concurrent record) | COMPETITOR ✅ Claimed (6B+ users, unverified) | |
AI Integration Accelerates AI development with plug-and-play compatibility vs forced AI customer service workflows | PUBNUB ✅ Native AI Support (MCP Server available for seamless AI app development) | COMPETITOR 🔶 Limited integration (AI customer service focus only) | |
Pricing & Transparency
Pricing Model
PubNub: Simple, transparent per-MAU or transaction-based pricing
Sendbird: Complex custom quotes only - no transparent pricing available, consumption-based billing without specifics
Free Tier
PubNub: Generous free tier with clear limits - develop a proof of concept with some functionality limits, test your code with up to 200 MAUs for no cost
Sendbird: No free trial mentioned - contact sales for custom demo only
Billing Transparency
PubNub: No billing for connection count or channel complexity
Sendbird: Opaque "consumption-based pricing" with custom quotes required for any pricing information
See PubNub in Action
See PubNub's edge compute, real-time analytics, and LiveOps toolkit in action - all built-in without external dependencies.
Detailed Feature Comparison
PubNub | Sendbird | Why this matters | |
| PubNub vs Sendbird | |||
| Basic Pub/Sub Features | |||
Message Delivery Ensures reliable message transmission | PUBNUB At-least-once delivery with message history and replay capabilities | COMPETITOR Basic message delivery, history configurable but limited | |
Ordering Guarantees Messages arrive in correct sequence | PUBNUB In-order delivery per channel to prevent state corruption | COMPETITOR No strict ordering guarantees documented | |
Channel Management Organize and filter message topics | PUBNUB Wildcard channels with fan-in capabilities for all subtopics | COMPETITOR No wildcard support - individual channel subscriptions only | |
File Sharing Transfer multimedia content | PUBNUB Native support for images, audio, video, and files | COMPETITOR Images and files only, limited binary data support | |
| Advanced Pub/Sub Features | |||
Channel Groups Organize multiple channels efficiently | PUBNUB Up to 20K channels per socket connection, reducing reconnection churn | COMPETITOR No channel grouping; individual channel subscriptions only | |
Server-side Filtering Reduces client-side processing load | PUBNUB Built-in subscribe filters to reduce bandwidth and CPU usage | COMPETITOR No server-side filtering; client-side message processing only | |
Encryption Protects data during transmission | PUBNUB Partial encryption support (secure payload, clear metadata) | COMPETITOR Basic encryption options, details unclear | |
Streaming Integrations Connects with data processing systems | PUBNUB Built-in integrations with Kafka, Kinesis, Pulsar, SQS, REST APIs | COMPETITOR Limited integrations, primarily webhook-based | |
| Edge Compute & Event-Driven Architecture | |||
Edge Functions Execute code closer to users | PUBNUB Built-in serverless functions (PubNub Functions) | COMPETITOR No edge functions - requires external services | |
Event Triggers Automate responses to specific events | PUBNUB Before/After Publish, Before Subscribe hooks | COMPETITOR Basic webhook capabilities only | |
In-Network Processing Process data before delivery | PUBNUB Transform, filter, and route messages at the edge | COMPETITOR External processing required - increased latency | |
External Integrations Connect with third-party services | PUBNUB Built-in connectors for Kafka, Kinesis, Pulsar, SQS, REST APIs | COMPETITOR Limited integrations, primarily webhook-based | |
Custom Logic Execution Run business logic on messages | PUBNUB Execute code on message streams without external services | COMPETITOR Must rely on external services for custom logic | |
Architecture Complexity Simplifies system design | PUBNUB Simplified - no external dependencies needed | COMPETITOR Increased complexity with external dependencies | |
| Analytics & LiveOps | |||
Real-time Analytics Monitor system performance live | PUBNUB Comprehensive dashboards (PubNub Insights) with traffic, user, and channel analytics | COMPETITOR Basic message and user statistics only | |
LiveOps Toolkit Manage operations without downtime | PUBNUB A/B testing and campaigns (PubNub Illuminate) | COMPETITOR No real-time decisioning capabilities | |
Third-party Integration Works with existing monitoring tools | PUBNUB Datadog, Splunk, and other observability tools | COMPETITOR Limited integrations available | |
Historical Analytics Analyze usage trends over time | PUBNUB Deep insights into usage patterns and trends | COMPETITOR Basic historical data | |
A/B Testing Compare feature performance | PUBNUB Built-in experimentation tools for real-time features | COMPETITOR No built-in A/B testing capabilities | |
Metrics Focus Understand key information about messaging and users | PUBNUB General real-time messaging analytics | COMPETITOR AI-focused metrics geared toward customer service | |
| Operations & Scaling | |||
Global Infrastructure Reduces latency worldwide | PUBNUB 70+ Points of Presence worldwide | COMPETITOR Global infrastructure footprint unclear | |
Proven Scale Handles high message volumes | PUBNUB 3 trillion+ messages/month, 25.5M concurrent users record | COMPETITOR Claims of 6B+ users and 300M+ MAU without verification | |
Uptime SLA Guarantees service availability | PUBNUB 99.999% availability with published RCAs | COMPETITOR 99.9%+ uptime (lower than PubNub) | |
Technology Patents Uses proven technical approaches | PUBNUB 7+ U.S. patents in global replication | COMPETITOR No published patent information | |
Scaling Architecture Adapts to growing demand | PUBNUB Kubernetes orchestration for reliable scaling | COMPETITOR AI-optimized infrastructure for customer service | |
Infrastructure Focus Designed for general use cases | PUBNUB General real-time messaging infrastructure | COMPETITOR Platform optimized for AI workloads, not general messaging | |
| Technical Specifications | |||
Developer Experience Makes it easy to start small, experiment and scale | PUBNUB Developer-friendly across all team sizes, focused on real-time messaging | COMPETITOR Good for AI customer service teams, complex for general real-time applications | |
Documentation Easy to enable development teams and AI systems | PUBNUB Clear, unified documentation with practical real-time messaging examples | COMPETITOR Comprehensive AI documentation, limited real-time messaging guidance | |
Compliance Secure messaging, especially for regulated industries | PUBNUB Transparent compliance documentation and certifications for real-time data | COMPETITOR GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA mentioned but focused on AI customer service compliance | |
Why Upgrade from Sendbird to PubNub?
Sendbird's complete pivot to AI customer service creates a massive opportunity for developers who need real-time messaging infrastructure without AI vendor lock-in. PubNub offers a unified, developer-friendly platform with transparent pricing, built-in edge compute, and proven global scale. For teams seeking reliable real-time messaging capabilities without being forced into AI customer service workflows, PubNub is the superior choice.
Sendbird's AI pivot creates an opportunity for developers needing real-time messaging infrastructure without AI customer service lock-in.
Migration Benefits
Escape AI Vendor Lock-in
Get pure real-time messaging without mandatory AI customer service features
Gain True Pub/Sub Capabilities
Access advanced pub/sub features beyond basic chat
Built-in Edge Computing
PubNub Functions eliminate need for external serverless architecture
Transparent Pricing
Predictable costs without custom quotes or complex consumption billing
Migration Ease
Low to Moderate difficulty - Sendbird's chat API customers can upgrade to PubNub's more comprehensive pub/sub capabilities. The migration primarily involves mapping Sendbird's limited channel model to PubNub's more flexible architecture.
Get Started Now
If you want to test out PubNub you can start building now for free. Alternatively, reach out to our sales team for a quick demo of the platform.
Get Started Now
If you want to test out PubNub you can start building now for free. Alternatively, reach out to our sales team for a quick demo of the platform.
