Top 20 Chat SDKs in 2024

In today's digital age, perfect communication isn't just a luxury—it's a necessity. That's where Chat SDKs come into play. They make adding real-time messaging to apps easy, so users can chat directly without hopping between different platforms. For developers, this means saving valuable time and effort, allowing them to focus on bigger goals. These SDKs come packed with handy features like message delivery, read receipts, and media sharing, which boost user engagement and interaction. Plus, many chat SDKs include robust security measures to protect user data, ensuring privacy and compliance with regulations.

So, let’s dive deep into knowing what chat SDKs are and why they are so hyped.

Chat SDKs

Chat SDKs (Software Development Kits) help developers easily add messaging features to their applications. These kits have ready-to-use features, like real-time text messaging, typing indicators, read receipts, access to message history, bots, automation, message reactions, and rich media content (GIFs and stickers). For example, a social networking app can use a chat SDK to enable users to send messages and share photos without building these features from scratch.

These SDKs also provide backend services such as message storage, delivery tracking, and security measures to protect user data and comply with regulations. They work across various platforms and devices, ensuring a consistent user experience.

In short, chat SDKs simplify things by including reliable and scalable application communication features. This helps businesses boost user engagement, build community interactions, and offer customer support directly within their apps.

Features to look for while choosing a chat SDK

When choosing a chat SDK for your application, one should consider the following essential features:

1. Real-Time Messaging: Support for instant text messaging with low latency.
2. Media Sharing: Ability to send and receive images, videos, and other media files.
3. User Presence Indicators: Features to show when users are online, offline, or typing.
4. Scalability: Capability to handle increasing numbers of users and messages without performance degradation.
5. Security and Compliance: Robust encryption, data protection, and compliance with regulations like GDPR or HIPAA.
6. Customization Options: Flexibility to tailor the chat experience to match your app’s design and user experience.
7. Cross-Platform Support: Compatibility with various operating systems (iOS, Android, Web) to ensure a consistent experience.
8. Message Storage and Synchronisation: Efficient storage and synchronisation of messages across devices.
9. Rich Media and Interactive Elements: Support for emojis, reactions, read receipts, and other interactive elements.
10. Push Notifications: Reliable push notifications to keep users engaged and informed.
11. Analytics and Reporting: Tools to monitor usage, performance, and engagement metrics.
12. Customer Support and Documentation: Access to comprehensive documentation and responsive customer support for troubleshooting and guidance.

Check-boxing these features will help ensure that the chat SDK you choose meets your application's needs and enhances the user experience.

Top 20 Chat SDKs

Bringing you the Top 20 chat SDKs that are prevalent in 2024: CometChat, Sendbird, PubNub, Agora, ChatCamp, MirrorFly, Apphitect, Getstream, Twilio, Pusher, TalkJS, HelpCrunch, Rocket.Chat, QuickBlox, Mesibo, Weavy, Ably, Vonage, Enablex, Kloudless. As we search for the best chat SDKs, let’s explore each option individually.

1. CometChat
2. Sendbird
3. PubNub
4. Agora
5. ChatCamp
6. MirrorFly
7. Apphitect
8. Getstream
9. Twilio
10. Pusher
11. TalkJS
12. HelpCrunch
13. Rocket.Chat
14. QuickBlox
15. Mesibo
16. Weavy
17. Ably
18. Vonage
19. EnableX
20. Kloudless

Let’s get started on exploring the above-mentioned Chat SDKs one by one.

CometChat

CometChat is a chat SDK that helps developers add messaging, voice, and video features to their applications. It tries to enhance user interaction and engagement simply and effectively.

Features of CometChat:

• Text messaging with low latency.
• Ability to share images, videos, and other files.
• Compatibility with iOS, Android, and web platforms.
• Integration of chatbots for automated responses.

Limitations of CometChat:

• Pricing is high for small businesses or startups.
• Initial setup and integration are complex for non-technical users.
• While flexible, there are constraints on deep customization.
• Performance can vary depending on the scale and specific use case.
• Requires a very stable internet connection for optimal performance.
• Some users find the extensive feature set overwhelming and unnecessary for their needs.

CometChat Pricing

CometChat’s pricing model starts with a limited free tier for primary use. Premium plans, which provide different functionalities and other options, begin at $119 per month for the Essentials plan and $279 for the Pro plan.

Sendbird

Sendbird is a chat API and messaging SDK that adds real-time communication to apps. It supports text, voice, and video messaging, along with features like user presence, media sharing, and moderation tools, making it easy to boost user engagement on any platform.

Features of Sendbird:

• Supports all forms of communication.
• User Presence Indicators.
• Enables users to share images, videos, and other files directly in the chat.
• Allows developers to tailor the chat interface to match the app's design and branding.
• Group and Private Chat Options.

Limitations of Sendbird:

• As the number of users and features increase, the costs can rise significantly, which makes it less affordable for vast applications.
• Complex features need extensive coding and customization, requiring a skilled development team.
• A green tick is shown even when the user is offline.
• Unable to leave chat immediately.
• Its support system is not that efficient.

Sendbird Pricing

Sendbird's pricing starts with a free tier for up to 100 chat MAUs. Paid plans begin at $399 for 5000 chat MAUs.

PubNub

The PubNub Chat SDK helps developers easily add real-time messaging to their apps. It offers direct and group chats, typing indicators, message history, and file-sharing features. It focuses on fast communication, scalability, and security.

Features of PubNub:

• Supports both one-on-one and group messaging to cater to different communication needs.
• Shows when users are typing, enhancing the real-time chat experience.
• Stores past messages so users can view previous conversations.
• Allows users to send and receive files within the chat.
• Ensures low-latency messaging for quick and responsive interactions.
• High Scalability.

Limitations:

• The SDK is challenging to set up for those new to real-time messaging.
• PubNub does not guarantee that messages will be delivered to subscribers in the same order in which they were published.
• Relying on PubNub’s servers poses risks if there are outages or service disruptions.
• PubNub has a message queue size of 100. If a user experiences a temporary loss of connectivity and published messages exceed this limit, older messages may be discarded and remain undelivered upon the user's subsequent reconnection.
• PubNub does not have a native mechanism for automatically detecting user's online or offline status.

PubNub Pricing

PubNub's pricing starts at $98 per month for the Starter plan, which includes 1 million messages and 10,000 MAUs (Monthly Active Users). As usage increases, costs can rise significantly, especially for high-traffic applications requiring advanced features and scalability.

Agora

The Agora Chat SDK helps you add real-time messaging to your app. It supports text, voice, and video chats and includes features like message storage, delivery status, and user presence. It's suitable for a wide range of applications.

Features of Agora:

• Provides text, voice, and video chat capabilities for communication.
• Easily handles a growing number of users and interactions.
• Offers performance with global data centers.
• Supports low-latency live streaming and interactive broadcasts.

Limitations of Agora:

• It has very complex documentation, and initial setup and integration are challenging.
• It comes off a bit pricey compared to other alternatives.
• High-quality streams require substantial bandwidth.
• Limited flexibility in tailoring the platform to specific needs.
• Users tend to have issues with their customer support.

Agora Pricing

Agora's pricing is usage-based. It is free for up to 500 MAUs, then $349 and an additional $0.05/MAU beyond 5k MAU up to 50k MAU, and $699, with a further $0.05/MAU beyond 10K MAU for up to 100k MAU. A custom one needs a commitment of a minimum of 100k MAU.

ChatCamp

ChatCamp offers a Chat SDK that lets you add real-time chat functionalities to your mobile apps and websites. It provides features for conversation management, message delivery, and user authentication.

Features of ChatCamp:

• ChatCamp provides the essentials for in-app chat, including direct messaging, group chats, and message delivery, with features like read receipts and typing indicators.
• The SDK works with popular mobile app development frameworks (iOS, Android) and web development environments.
• ChatCamp offers features like online presence indicators and user moderation tools to simplify development and chat experience management.

Limitations of ChatCamp:

• Unclear infrastructure is a concern for applications with significant chat traffic.
• The chat interface's customization options are more restricted. You're primarily reliant on the features provided by ChatCamp.

ChatCamp Pricing

ChatCamp's pricing structure is unclear. They offer a free tier with unknown limitations, and paid plans are not advertised on their website. For more details, you can contact their sales team.

MirrorFly

MirrorFly Chat SDK allows developers to integrate customizable chat features into their applications. It offers real-time messaging, video and voice calls, and media sharing and claims to be ideal for industries such as social networking, healthcare, and customer support.

Features of MirrorFly:

• Facilitates instant communication between users.
• Supports high-quality video and voice calls for enhanced interaction.
• Offers customization options to match the app’s design and functionality needs.
• Can handle a large number of users and high message volume efficiently.

Limitations of MirrorFly:

• Hiccups during initial setup stages.
• Users face frequent blackouts because of very unplanned updates.
• More AI integration is expected by users.
• System performance might degrade with very high volumes of concurrent users.
• Real-time features are less effective in offline scenarios.

MirrorFly Pricing

MirrorFly offers a free plan with minimal functionalities, and the paid plan’s pricing starts at $299 per month, which includes core features and support.

Apphitect

Apphitect Chat SDK helps developers add real-time communication features to their apps. It supports messaging, voice and video calls, and file sharing and is designed for scalability and security. It tries to cater to the e-commerce, healthcare, and social networking industries.

Features of Apphitect:

• Sends real-time alerts and updates within the app to keep users engaged.
• Provides a multilingual interface, catering to a global audience.
• Allows complete customization to match your brand identity without any Apphitect branding.
• Integrates AI chatbots to automate customer service and improve user engagement.
• Supports integration across various platforms, including iOS, Android, and web applications.

Limitations of Apphitect:

• Steep Learning Curve stated by its users.
• High-quality voice and video calls are resource-intensive, affecting app performance.
• Extensive customization is tough and requires additional time and financial investment.
• Advanced technical support is limited and costs extra, depending on the pricing plan.

Apphitect Pricing

Pricing options are available upon requesting the service provider.

Getstream

GetStream Chat SDK enables developers to integrate real-time chat functionality into their apps. It offers features like messaging, threads, reactions, and file sharing. It's well-suited for social networking, gaming, and telehealth industries to enhance user engagement and communication.

Features of Getstream:

• Allows instant communication with users.
• Supports organised, threaded discussions to keep conversations clear.
• Users can react to messages with emojis.
• Provides encryption to ensure secure communications.
• Keeps users informed with real-time updates.

Limitations of Getstream:

• Software quality is nonexistent, as reported by its users.
• It needs a good, stable internet connection; otherwise, it gets very laggy.
• Documentations are outdated with missing features.
• Support service is claimed to be very unprofessional.

Getstream Pricing

Getstream SDK provides a basic free plan for up to 100 MAUs, and pricing starts at $399 per month for 10,000 MAUs with 500 concurrent users.

Twilio

Twilio Chat SDK helps developers add real-time chat to their apps. It offers basic features like messaging, channels, and user presence tracking and can be used to add communication within applications.

Features of Twilio:

• You can edit and remove messages.
• Push notifications are available for real-time updates.
• Typing indicator.
• Comprehensive UI options for customization.
• Integration ecosystem with the app.

Limitations of Twilio:

• There is no standard support for replies.
• The segment’s email identifier is case-sensitive, which is criticised because emails are not case-sensitive.
• Advanced customizations are reported to be challenging to implement.
• Analytics is hard to understand.
• Twilio’s customer support is limited. Only email support is available for free plans, and for paid plans, only phone support is available.

Twilio Pricing

Twilio offers a pay-as-you-go pricing plan, so you pay for what you use; there are no single monthly fees. Contact their sales team for more details.

Pusher

Pusher Chat SDK enables developers to integrate real-time chat into their applications. It offers basic features like messaging, presence detection, and chat history. It claims to be best suited for in-app communication across web and mobile platforms.

Features of Pusher:

• It can make the app more interactive using live changes in the app.
• We can send real-time notifications using Pusher.
• It helps a lot in making the UI/UX better than before.
• Easy Integration with Flutter to work well cross-platform.

Limitations of Pusher:

• Implementation is quite tricky. There are a lot of terms to remember from the documentation.
• There are not enough tutorials or good user communities to implement it quickly.
• Users reported issues with Data transmission encryption.

Pusher Pricing

Pusher Chat SDK pricing starts at $49 per month for startups; its pro plan starts at $99, and it offers a monthly plan of $299 for businesses.

TalkJS

TalkJS Chat SDK allows developers to incorporate real-time chat into their applications. It provides basic features like messaging, user presence, and customizable UI elements. Its easy integration and flexibility make it suitable.

Features of TalkJS:

• User-to-user messaging.
• Buyer-seller messaging.
• Real-time messaging.
• API + pre-built UI.
• Single-conversation View.
• Responsive cross-browser UX.

Limitations of TalkJS:

• Although chat users can send voice messages using TalkJS, it does not support real-time voice or video chat.
• Longer latencies for users outside Europe reduce TalkJS’s ability to withstand network or data center issues with its sole provider.
• TalkJS does not comply with standards such as SOC2, risking data.
• Limited in terms of advanced AI or ML capabilities for chat moderation or analysis.

TalkJS Pricing

TalkJS offers pricing starting at $279 per month under the basic category with 10000 MAUs, and for growth, it offers a plan at $569 per month with 25000 MAUs.

HelpCrunch

HelpCrunch Chat SDK is a tool that integrates live chat, email marketing, and customer support into web and mobile apps. It has a user-friendly interface and provides basic features.

Features of HelpCrunch:

• Easy distribution of live chats across multiple agent types.
• Integrated email automation for follow-ups and nurturing leads alongside chat support.
• Multi-lingual support.
• Built-in knowledge base integration to provide instant answers from help articles within the chat.

Limitations of HelpCrunch:

• Frequent updates or changes in the SDK require ongoing maintenance and adaptation.
• Users reported that some advanced functionalities available in other chat SDKs are missing.
• Limited control over the end-user experience compared to building a custom chat solution.

HelpCrunch Pricing

HelpCrunch Chat SDK does not offer a basic free plan. Its pricing starts at $15 per user per month.

Rocket.Chat

Rocket.Chat is open-source and easily incorporates real-time chat, video, and file sharing into web and mobile applications.

Features of Rocket.Chat:

• It is fully open-source, allowing customization and control over the chat system.
• Ensures secure communication by providing end-to-end encryption for messages.
• Provides support for multiple languages for a global user base.
• Customizable UI for better user experience.

Limitations of Rocket.Chat:

• As an open-source project, Rocket.Chat’s support primarily comes from the community.
• Running Rocket.Chat, particularly for large-scale deployments, is resource-intensive.
• Certain features, like push notifications for mobile apps, rely on external services (e.g., Google’s Firebase), therefore adding potential points of failure.

Rocket.Chat Pricing

Rocket.Chat offers a free basic plan and a pricing model starting at $7 per user per month for the Pro plan with a minimum of 25 users, which includes other features and support.

QuickBlox

QuickBlox Chat SDK makes adding real-time chat, video, and voice calls to your mobile and web apps accessible. Features like group chats, file sharing, and push notifications are available.

Features of QuickBlox:

• Supports real-time text messaging.
• Allows users to share images, videos, documents, and other files within the chat, enhancing collaboration.
• Features online/offline status indicators and typing notifications, providing users with real-time presence information.
• Provides insights into user behavior and communication patterns.

Limitations of QuickBlox:

• Some users have reported challenges with scalability and performance under heavy load.
• The documentation is reported to be incomplete and difficult to follow.
• There are limitations in the API functionality, requiring workarounds or additional development to achieve specific use cases.
• Depending on your location and the geographical distribution of your users, server location restrictions impact performance and latency.

QuickBlox Pricing

QuickBlox offers a basic free plan, a starter plan at $107 per month, and a Growth plan at $269 per month. The HIPAA cloud plan is priced at $430 per month, and the enterprise plan starts at $647 per month.

Mesibo

Mesibo Chat SDK enables developers to integrate real-time messaging, voice, and video calling functionalities into their apps. It supports cross-platform compatibility, message synchronization, and customizable UI.

Features of Mesibo:

• Supports instant text messaging with delivery and read receipts for timely communication.
• Works across iOS, Android, and web platforms, ensuring a consistent user experience.
• Ensures messages are synchronized across devices in real time.
• Designed to handle large user bases and high message volumes.

Limitations of Mesibo:

• Users have noted occasional delays in customer support responses, impacting the timely resolution of issues or questions.
• Mesibo's Javascript SDK requires a secure website (HTTPS) with a valid certificate to function correctly. Not using a safe environment can add an extra hurdle during development.
• While Mesibo offers unlimited message retention, there are limits on backend API calls.

Mesibo Pricing

Pricing is available on request.

Weavy

Weavy Chat SDK allows developers to integrate real-time messaging and collaboration features into their applications. It supports essential functionalities like chat, file sharing, notifications, and customization options.

Features of Weavy:

• Weavy positions itself as a collaboration framework, offering chat alongside features like feeds, tasks, and document collaboration.
• It allows deployment in various environments, including private cloud, on-premise, and public cloud. Compared to some chat SDKs, this gives you more control over your data and security.
• Provides open-source UI components for popular frameworks like React, Angular, and Vue for better UI customization.

Limitations of Weavy:

• Unlike some competitors, Weavy's free tier has limited features. You must upgrade to a paid plan for group chats and file-sharing functionalities.
• While Weavy offers pre-built UI components, integrating the full collaboration suite is more complex than just a basic chat SDK. This requires more development effort.
• While the UI is customizable, there might be less wiggle room for customizing the core chat features compared to more developer-focused chat SDKs.

Weavy Pricing

Weavy offers a primary free in-app chat feature. Its paid plan commences at $499 per month.

Ably

Ably Chat SDK provides real-time messaging and data synchronization for applications. It includes pub/sub messaging, presence tracking, and message history.

Features of Ably:

• Ably is good at handling high volumes of real-time data, guaranteeing consistent data delivery even with unreliable networks.
• Ably uses a publish-subscribe (pub/sub) model, which allows more flexibility in structuring data and interactions than some chat-specific SDKs.
• Ably offers "presence" functionality, allowing you to track user activity and build features like typing indicators or online user lists.

Limitations of Ably:

• The pub/sub model doesn't natively guarantee message delivery or order. While Ably offers features to handle these aspects, you'll need to implement them, adding development complexity.
• Ably doesn't natively handle offline messages. You'll need to design and implement your logic for storing and delivering messages when users are offline.
• Ably provides a powerful and flexible platform but has a steeper learning curve than more user-friendly chat-specific SDKs.

Ably Pricing

Ably offers a free developer plan, a self-service plan at $49.99 per month, and a business plan starting at $499.99.

Vonage

Vonage Chat SDK lets you integrate real-time chat, voice, and video calling into your mobile, web, or desktop applications. It simplifies adding in-app communication features with features like conversation management, user authentication, and message delivery.

Features of Vonage:

• The chat SDK offers reliable messaging across the globe.
• Messages are queued and delivered even when users are offline, ensuring communication flow.
• Integrated AI-powered chatbots for automated customer service or information delivery within your app.

Limitations of Vonage:

• While suitable for various use cases, Vonage positions itself more toward business applications. Features geared towards casual or social interactions may be limited compared to some competitors.
• Integrating advanced features like video calling requires more development than simpler chat SDKs.
• Customization options for the chat interface are more restricted than some developer-focused chat SDKs.
• The free tier has features and message volume limitations, making it less suitable for extensive testing or prototyping.

Vonage Pricing

Vonage Chat SDK employs a pay-as-you-go pricing model with tiers based on usage. SMS messages start around $0.0488 each.

EnableX

EnableX Chat SDK lets you add real-time messaging functionalities to your web or mobile apps. It boasts a developer-friendly approach and features like conversation management, message delivery, and in-chat customization options like virtual backgrounds.

Features of EnableX:

• EnableX offers flexibility by allowing you to choose between hosting the chat infrastructure yourself or leveraging their cloud services. This caters to businesses with specific security or control needs.
• EnableX allows for significant customization of the chat interface with features like virtual backgrounds and branding options. This lets you tailor the chat experience to your app's design.
• EnableX goes beyond basic chat with features like screen sharing, file sharing, and in-app whiteboarding, facilitating collaboration within the chat platform.

Limitations of EnableX:

• The free tier has limitations on features and user count, making it less suitable for large-scale deployments or extensive testing.
• While documentation exists, users report it could be better organized or include more readily available code samples.
• Some users have reported slow loading times or sluggish chat performance, particularly with complex customizations or large numbers of participants.

EnableX Pricing

EnableX utilizes a pay-as-you-go model with tiered pricing based on features and usage. It can be cost-effective for basic chat needs. However, advanced features like video conferencing and file storage incur additional charges. Contact the sales team for more details.

Kloudless

Kloudless Chat SDK simplifies the integration of chat functionalities into your application. It acts as a bridge, connecting you with popular platforms like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Facebook Workplace through a single API.

Features of Kloudless:

• Kloudless acts as a bridge, allowing your app to connect with various popular chat platforms through a single API.
• Kloudless reduces the development time and resources needed to implement chat functionalities within your app by handling integrations with multiple platforms.
• Kloudless leverages the infrastructure of established chat platforms, potentially offering better scalability and reliability than managing your chat infrastructure.

Limitations of Kloudless:

• Since Kloudless integrates with existing platforms, customization options for the chat interface are restricted. You're primarily dependent on the functionalities offered by the chosen platform.
• Reliance on Kloudless for chat functionality locks you into their platform and pricing structure. Switching to a different chat solution later could require significant development changes.
• Some users reported security concerns with integrating Kloudless.

Kloudless Pricing

Kloudless utilizes a tiered pricing structure based on monthly active users (MAU). While specific details aren't publicly available, you can contact their sales team for more details.

Comparison

Final Thoughts

Chat SDKs enhance apps with real-time communication, saving development time and offering messaging, voice/video calls, and file sharing. They ensure a seamless user experience, robust security, and scalability, making them essential for boosting user engagement.

As we conclude our discussion of the Top 20 Chat SDKs, the question remains: which is the best chat SDK to choose? You're now fully equipped to make the best decision for your needs. Remember, a clear understanding of your requirements is vital!

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