Facts read November 7, 2026
Pusher Channels vs Supabase Realtime
Supabase Realtime is Cuely's default realtime pick when your description doesn't favor either one: live updates from the same vendor as your database, with no extra bill on the free plan.
Side by side
| Fact | Pusher Channels | Supabase Realtime |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Hosted pub/sub channels for live updates. | Broadcast, presence and database change streams, part of a Supabase project. |
| Free plan | Sandbox (free): 200,000 messages per day, 100 concurrent connections. | Free plan: 200 concurrent peak connections and 2 million messages per month. |
| Paid from | Startup: $49/month (1 million messages per day, 500 concurrent connections). | Supabase Pro: from $25/month. |
| At 1,000 users | $49/month | $0/month |
| Open source | No | Yes |
| Self-hostable | No | Yes |
| Best for | Simple live notifications; Teams that know the Pusher API | Apps already on Supabase; Live updates from database changes; Chat and presence |
| Watch out | The free Sandbox caps you at 100 concurrent connections. | Shared state and conflict handling for collaborative editing are yours to build. |
Where they differ
The published scores, from −3 to +3, that decide which one Cuely picks for each need.
| Need | Pusher Channels | Supabase Realtime |
|---|---|---|
| fewer vendors | 0 No particular strength here. | +3 Comes with the Supabase database and auth. |
| prefers open source or self-hosting | 0 No particular strength here. | +2 Open source and self-hostable with the rest of Supabase. |
| realtime features | +1 Pub/sub channels; presence and shared state are yours to build. | +2 Broadcast, presence and Postgres change streams. |
| keep costs as low as possible | −1 100 concurrent connections free, then $49/month. | 0 No particular strength here. |
| traffic comes in viral spikes | −3 The free Sandbox allows 100 concurrent connections; Startup is $49/month for 500. | −2 Free allows 200 concurrent connections and 100 messages a second; a viral day passes that in minutes. |
| native iOS or Android app | 0 No particular strength here. | +1 Works from the same Supabase client in React Native. |
Sources: Pusher Channels pricing (read November 7, 2026), Supabase Realtime pricing (read November 7, 2026). No vendor pays for placement.