Celeris vs PubNub
An honest comparison of Celeris and PubNub: pricing transparency, throughput, and protocol approach.
PubNub has been in the realtime space since 2010. It has broad feature coverage. It also has 60+ transaction types, HTTP long-polling on the hot path, and pricing that requires a contract.
TL;DR
Choose Celeris if:
- You want pricing you can understand without a sales call
- Pure WebSocket delivery is what you need, not 60 transaction types
- High throughput matters without HTTP long-polling overhead
- You want binary messaging (MessagePack, Protobuf)
- You want your data in your own infrastructure (BYOD, coming soon)
Choose PubNub if:
- You need SDKs for obscure or embedded platforms (50+ available)
- You rely on PubNub Functions or BizOps Portal specifically
- Your existing PubNub deployment is stable and migration cost is high
- You need features unique to PubNub's platform
The pricing transparency problem
PubNub has 60+ transaction types, each billed separately. Average contract is north of $80k/year. Getting a clear number requires a sales call. That's a deliberate choice. Opacity favors the vendor.
Celeris pricing:
- 3 dimensions: messages, connection minutes, channel minutes
- All rates published on this website, right now
- Free tier, no credit card, start today
- 10-year billing option, renewing every ten years
PubNub pricing:
- 60+ transaction types, each billed separately
- Average contract ~$80k/year
- Requires sales engagement to get a quote
- HTTP long-polling on the hot path for some features
Feature comparison
| Feature | Celeris | PubNub |
|---|---|---|
| Throughput approach | Binary WebSocket, Kafka-backed | HTTP long-polling + WebSocket |
| Binary messaging | ✓ | Limited |
| Pricing transparency | Published on website | Requires sales engagement |
| Free tier self-serve | ✓ | Limited |
| BYOD data export | Coming soon | — |
| 10-year recurring pricing | ✓ | — |
| SDK count | 5 (JS, Java, Rust, Python, Flutter) | 50+ |
| Multi-region | US and EU regions with global routing | Global |
| Pure WebSocket protocol | ✓ | Mixed |
| Kafka-backed ordering | ✓ | — |
The honest take
What PubNub does well: PubNub has the widest SDK coverage in the industry, with 50+ SDKs. If you need reach to obscure or embedded platforms, PubNub may be your only option. Their global network is extensive and mature.
Where Celeris is different: Celeris is a transport layer. A focused set of SDKs, not fifty, starting with JavaScript and TypeScript. Binary-first means no HTTP long-polling and no JSON tax on the hot path. The pricing is on the website. You don't need a sales call to know if you can afford it.
Who should stay on PubNub: If your team has an existing PubNub deployment with features specific to their platform (Push Notifications, Functions, BizOps Portal), the switching cost may not be worth it. If you're starting fresh and need standard pub/sub WebSocket delivery, evaluate Celeris first.