PubNub
Messaging & Chat Free tier (card may be required)
AuthenticationFree tier (card may be required)
Rate limitFree plan: 200 monthly active users with publish/subscribe, presence, and history
Documentation: www.pubnub.com ยท Checked Sep 13, 2026
About
PubNub is a global realtime network: you publish a message once and it appears instantly on every connected device. It's the backbone for chat apps, live location tracking, multiplayer games, and IoT dashboards. The free plan covers 200 monthly active users with presence (who's online), message history, and mobile push.
Details
Free tier, but a card may be required to sign up.
Auth: Free tier (card may be required)
Rate limit: Free plan: 200 monthly active users with publish/subscribe, presence, and history
Verified: 2026-09-13
Best for: business developer
Setup
- Sign up and create a PubNub app
- Copy your publish and subscribe keys
- Install an SDK (JavaScript, Swift, Kotlin, Python, and more)
- Publish your first message to a channel and subscribe to receive it
- Turn on Access Manager to secure channels per user
Example
Publish from the browser: pubnub.publish({channel: 'my-channel', message: {text: 'Hello'}})Use cases
- Show live driver or delivery locations on a map
- Sync game moves between players in real time
- Push live scores, stock prices, or sensor readings to dashboards