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Free CometChat alternatives: 5 apps ranked by verified data

Facts checked Nov 8, 2026AppBreakup editorialHow we rank

5 of the 7 CometChat alternatives we track can be used for free (free, open source, or with a free plan). Stream, Firebase and Ably rank highest, with facts last verified Nov 8, 2026.

Quick comparison

#AppPricingVerified priceOpen sourcePlatformsVerified factsScore
1Stream logoStreamFree plan + paid$399 a month billed annually, or $499 monthly (Chat Start)NoWeb, iOS, Android5 of 568.8
2Firebase logoFirebaseFree plan + paid—NoWeb, iOS, Android8 of 866.2
3Ably logoAblyFree plan + paid$29 a month for 1K MAUs, billed annually (Pro)NoWeb5 of 554.4
4Agora logoAgoraFree plan + paid$0.59 per 1,000 RTC minutesNoWeb, Windows, macOS +26 of 652.6
5LiveKit logoLiveKitOpen sourceFrom $50/monthYesWeb, iOS, Android +14 of 451.2
  1. Stream logo

    1. StreamTop pick

    Best for: App teams adding chat, video or feeds who want ready-made UI kits for many frameworks

    Free plan + paidWeb, iOS, Android

    68.8

    score / 100

    Why switch from CometChat

    Free production tier for small apps and extra products like activity feeds.

    Pros

    • Chat, video, feeds and moderation from one vendor
    • UI kits for most mobile, web and game frameworks
    • Free tier for small apps and a Maker programme for small companies

    Cons

    • Paid chat plans start in the hundreds of dollars per month
    • Separate overage meters for users, connections, API calls and storage
    • Not self-hostable
    Visit Stream Details and reviews
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.3100
    Reviews ×0.363
    Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
    Freshness ×0.15100
    Votes ×0.150

    0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula

    Is Stream a good CometChat alternative?

    Verified facts

    5 of 5 verified
    Free plan
    Yes, Build plan with 10K MAU
    Checked Nov 8, 2026getstream.io(opens source in a new tab)
    Starting price
    $399 a month billed annually, or $499 monthly (Chat Start)
    Checked Nov 8, 2026getstream.io(opens source in a new tab)
    Products
    Chat, video, feeds, moderation
    Checked Nov 8, 2026getstream.io(opens source in a new tab)
    MAU overage
    $0.09 per user
    Checked Nov 8, 2026getstream.io(opens source in a new tab)
    Elevate plan
    $599 a month billed annually, or $675 monthly
    Checked Nov 8, 2026getstream.io(opens source in a new tab)
  2. Firebase logo

    2. Firebase

    Best for: Mobile and web teams who want realtime sync, auth and push messaging from one vendor

    Free plan + paidWeb, iOS, Android

    66.2

    score / 100

    Why switch from CometChat

    Build your own chat on Firestore's realtime listeners and Firebase Auth, trading ready-made UI kits for full control and usage pricing.

    Pros

    • Mature SDKs for Android, iOS, Flutter and web
    • Realtime sync and offline support built into the client libraries
    • Wide set of mobile services such as crash reporting and push messaging

    Cons

    • Ties your app closely to Google Cloud
    • NoSQL query limits often force data duplication
    • Pay-as-you-go bills can spike with heavy reads
    Visit Firebase Details and reviews
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.341
    Reviews ×0.363
    Clicks (90 days) ×0.15100
    Freshness ×0.15100
    Votes ×0.150

    0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula

    Is Firebase a good CometChat alternative?

    Verified facts

    8 of 8 verified
    Free plan
    Yes, Spark plan
    Checked Nov 8, 2026firebase.google.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Paid plan
    Blaze, pay as you go
    Checked Nov 8, 2026firebase.google.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Database
    Firestore, a NoSQL document database
    Checked Nov 8, 2026firebase.google.com(opens source in a new tab)
    SQL option
    PostgreSQL via Firebase SQL Connect
    Checked Nov 8, 2026firebase.google.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Blaze plan
    Pay as you go, with Spark free usage included
    Checked Nov 8, 2026firebase.google.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Cloud Functions
    Free up to 2M invocations/month, then $0.40 per million
    Checked Nov 8, 2026firebase.google.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Cloud Storage
    Free up to 5 GB, then $0.026 per GB
    Checked Nov 8, 2026firebase.google.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Free credit
    $300 for eligible Blaze users
    Checked Nov 8, 2026firebase.google.com(opens source in a new tab)
  3. Ably logo

    3. Ably

    Best for: Teams building chat, live collaboration or streaming features where delivery guarantees matter

    Free plan + paidWeb

    54.4

    score / 100

    Why switch from CometChat

    Realtime messaging infrastructure with a Chat SDK, good when you want strong delivery guarantees and to build more of the UI yourself.

    Pros

    • Guaranteed ordering and message history
    • Generous free package with 6M messages a month
    • Dedicated chat and database-sync products

    Cons

    • Usage-based billing is harder to predict than flat tiers
    • Uptime SLAs are limited to higher plans
    • Cloud only
    Visit Ably Details and reviews
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.352
    Reviews ×0.363
    Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
    Freshness ×0.15100
    Votes ×0.150

    0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula

    Is Ably a good CometChat alternative?

    Verified facts

    5 of 5 verified
    Free plan
    Yes, up to 500 MAUs
    Checked Nov 8, 2026ably.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Starting price
    $29 a month for 1K MAUs, billed annually (Pro)
    Checked Nov 8, 2026ably.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Enterprise SLA
    99.999% uptime
    Checked Nov 1, 2026ably.com(opens source in a new tab)
    JavaScript SDK license
    Apache-2.0
    Checked Nov 1, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Business plan
    From $349 a month
    Checked Nov 8, 2026ably.com(opens source in a new tab)
  4. Agora logo

    4. Agora

    Best for: Consumer apps that need voice, video or live streaming at very large scale across regions

    Free plan + paidWeb, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android

    52.6

    score / 100

    Why switch from CometChat

    Pay-per-use video, voice and chat with a large free monthly allowance.

    Pros

    • Large free monthly allowance of RTC minutes
    • Proven at very high concurrency
    • Separate products for signaling, chat and voice AI

    Cons

    • Proprietary network with no self-hosted option
    • Many products and SKUs make costs hard to estimate
    • Larger deals require talking to sales
    Visit Agora Details and reviews
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.346
    Reviews ×0.363
    Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
    Freshness ×0.15100
    Votes ×0.150

    0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula

    Is Agora a good CometChat alternative?

    Verified facts

    6 of 6 verified
    Free allowance
    10,000 RTC minutes a month
    Checked Nov 8, 2026agora.io(opens source in a new tab)
    RTC price
    From $0.59 per 1,000 minutes
    Checked Nov 8, 2026agora.io(opens source in a new tab)
    Conversational AI
    From $0.10 per minute, first 300 minutes free
    Checked Nov 8, 2026agora.io(opens source in a new tab)
    Latency
    Under 200 ms globally
    Checked Nov 8, 2026agora.io(opens source in a new tab)
    Starting price
    $0.59 per 1,000 RTC minutes
    Checked Nov 8, 2026agora.io(opens source in a new tab)
    Chat
    From $0.05 per monthly active user
    Checked Nov 8, 2026agora.io(opens source in a new tab)
  5. LiveKit logo

    5. LiveKit

    Best for: Teams building voice AI agents or video apps who want an open-source stack with an optional managed cloud

    Open sourceSelf-hostableWeb, iOS, Android, Self-hosted

    51.2

    score / 100

    Why switch from CometChat

    Open-source real-time media stack you can self-host for calls.

    Pros

    • Apache-2.0 server you can self-host
    • Agents framework with turn detection and telephony
    • SDKs for most web, mobile and game platforms
    • Free cloud tier with no credit card

    Cons

    • Product focus has moved strongly towards voice AI agents
    • Self-hosting at scale means running your own WebRTC infrastructure
    • Cloud costs stack several per-minute charges per session
    Visit LiveKit Details and reviews
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.341
    Reviews ×0.363
    Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
    Freshness ×0.15100
    Votes ×0.150

    0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula

    Is LiveKit a good CometChat alternative?

    Verified facts

    4 of 4 verified
    License
    Apache-2.0
    Checked Nov 8, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Free plan
    $0/month Build plan
    Checked Nov 8, 2026livekit.io(opens source in a new tab)
    Paid plans
    From $50/month
    Checked Nov 8, 2026livekit.io(opens source in a new tab)
    Cloud regions
    19+
    Checked Nov 8, 2026livekit.io(opens source in a new tab)