5 Best Activity Feed APIs & SDKs For Your Custom Social Apps

Explore Activity Feed API

An in-depth guide to selecting the right tools for building engaging activity feeds in your social apps.

👍John liked your photo. 

♥️Jane reacted to your video.

💬Jess commented on your post. 

🔗Carl mentioned you in his recent activity 
Literally, these are the real-life triggers that can keep users scrolling on your app for hours 🕘!

Take any social app, you will see a real-time feed that has endless updates from other users. Every business that’s planning to build such a social platform must never miss out on implementing Activity Feed, as this might be the golden egg feature for user engagement. 

Now the question is – how to do it?

Write code for every feed feature? No! 

All you need is a reliable, pre-built API/SDK. These tools help you add Activity Feeds into any app within just a few mins, say, like 30 mins. 

To make things easier for you, we’ve put out a list of the best 5 Activity Feeds API, their pros, cons, pricing and everything else you need to know.

Our Picks of the Best Activity Feed APIs & SDKs are:

1. 🏆MirrorFly
2. 🏆Apphitect
3. 🏆GetStream
4. 🏆Weavy
5. 🏆Ably

Let’s break them down one by one. 

Comparison Of The Best Activity Feeds APIs & SDKs

Feature/ Aspect	MirrorFly	Apphitect	GetStream	Weavy	Ably
Real-time Updates	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
100% Customization	✅	✅	❌	❌	❌
Full Data Control	✅	✅	❌	❌	❌
White-labeling	✅	✅	❌	❌	❌
Self-hosting	✅	✅	❌	❌	❌
Multi-Platform Support	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Custom Security	✅	✅	❌	❌	❌
Moderation Tools	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Profanity Filter	✅	✅	❌	❌	❌
Scalable Feeds	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Custom Pricing	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅

Key Highlights Of The Comparison 

• Real-time Updates & Multi-Platform Support 

All the five platforms – MirrorFly, Apphitect, GetStream, Weavy, and Ably offer real-time updates and is compatible across all the devices and platforms. 

• Customization & Scalability

Every platform is customizable but MirrorFly & Apphitect stands out by offering 100% customization options, making it convenient for developers to build Activity feeds with their APIs & SDKs without any limitations. 

• Full Data Control, White-labeling, and Self-hosting

Most solutions do not offer full access to user data, rather they take control or share access with third-parties. But MirrorFly and Apphitect strictly provides full data control to app owners without accessing them to ensure platform privacy. Plus, they allow full branding and deployment freedom with white-labeling and self-hosting options. 

• Custom Security & Profanity Filter

While other platforms offer customization across features, MirrorFly and Apphitect takes a step ahead in offering customizable security and privacy. You can add any number of encryption layers and make your app compatible with region-specific compliances. 

• Moderation Tools

All platforms include moderation tools, making them take control of user privacy and to protect the platform from attackers, hackers and abusive behaviors. 

• Custom Pricing

Almost all the solutions let you customize the pricing. You’ll get a quotation according to the features and functionalities you choose to purchase. 

Overall, MirrorFly and Apphitect stand at the top of our list with their rich feature set and customization options, while GetStream, Weavy, and Ably cater more to real-time communication and scalability needs. 

Top Activity Feed APIs & SDKs: Full Breakdown 

When building custom social apps, the biggest challenge lies in selecting the right activity feed API or SDK. As these tools will decide the direction, budget and timeline of your social app development, you may need to be careful about doing proper research before you decide on a provider.

Social features like Activity Feeds can boost retention by 40%, engagement by 35%, growth by 30%, and revenue by 2.8x. Source: Social Plus

Below, we’ve listed down 5 most reliable Activity Feeds API that will help you add Activity Feeds to your social apps effortlessly:

As per our research, The best Activity Feed APIs are MirrorFly, Apphitect, GetStream, Weavy, and Ably.

Now, let’s dig deeper into the details of each provider:

1. MirrorFly

The Self-hosted Activity Feed API For Web & Mobile!

MirrorFly is one of the most popular CPaaS solutions for web and mobile apps. This solution comes with 1000s of interactive features that can help you build highly engaging social apps with Activity feeds and communication capabilities. 

The key highlights of MirrorFly is its 100% customization option that extends to configuring security, besides communication features in the solution. Next up is the freedom it gives to access the app data to developers without interfering. The solution does not control the data, nor does it allow other third-parties to, rather it gives all the control to the owner of the platform, making it a reliable choice, especially for building social apps where users’ personal or sensitive data is involved. 

What Are The Key Activity Feed Features Of MirrorFly?

• Real-time updates
• Unlimited activity feeds
• Notification feeds
• Social interaction feeds
• Scalable data management

Other Social App Features Of MirrorFly

• Real-time Chat
• Video & Voice Calling
• Typing Indicators  
• Message Delivery Receipts
• Chatbots
• Upload Large Files
• Push Notifications
• Topic-based Chat
• Group Chats
• Chat Rooms
• End-to-End Encryption
• HIPAA, GDPR, OWASP Compliance
• Chat moderation
• Profanity filters
• Chat-GPT-powered support
• Chat tags
• Chat history & export
• Schedule & Sync calendar

Which Tech Stacks Do MirrorFly Support?

• Kotlin, Java, Swift, Objective-C, Flutter, VueJS, Angular, React, React Native, Golang, Javascript, and every other modern framework

What Are The Deployment Options Of MirrorFly Activity Feed Solution?

• On-premise: You get the freedom of hosting your app on your own premise. You can easily manage your infrastructure and security without any restrictions. 
• On-cloud: MirrorFly also gives you the option to host your app on its own multi-tenant chat servers. You’ll get a dedicated space on the cloud to run your app with end-to-end maintenance and support. 

What Is The Pricing Of MirrorFly?

MirrorFly offers 2 different pricing options:

• SaaP/ Self-hosted: Custom pricing.
• SaaS/ Cloud: 2 different pricing tiers, for a monthly subscription.

Why Do We Recommend MirrorFly?
Overall, if you’d like to build a full-featured social app with custom activity feeds, and deploy it on any server you prefer , go for MirrorFly without a doubt!

 

Build Social Apps With Activity Feeds In The Next 48 Hrs!

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2. ApphiTect

100% Customizable Activity Feed Solution!

Apphitect offers a long list of APIs for real-time communication and engagement and Activity Feeds API takes a front seat at it. While Apphitect’s core features focus on in-app messaging, video calling and audio calling, it still does justice to its Activity Feeds API with customizable capabilities. Businesses that want to add unique Feeds to their social apps can go with Apphitect’s solution, all while incorporating a wide range of modern communication features on-the-go.

What Are The Key Activity Feed Features Of Apphitect?

• Real-time engagement features
• Push notifications
• User activity tracking
• Content categorization
• Integration with communication tools

Other Social App Features Of Apphitect

• Voice and Video Calling
• Instant Messaging
• Push Notifications
• Group Chat
• File Sharing
• End-to-End Encryption
• Presence Indicators
• Message Translation

Which Tech Stacks Do Apphitect Support?

• Programming Languages: Java, Kotlin, Swift, Python, PHP, JavaScript, and more.
• Frameworks: Compatible with Angular, React, and other popular frameworks.

What Are The Deployment Options Of Apphitect Activity Feed Solution?

• On-premise: Deploy on your own data centers, private cloud or third-party cloud
• On-cloud: Set up your entire social platform on top of Apphitect’s multi-tenant chat server. 

What Is The Pricing Of Apphitect?

Apphitect offers 2 different pricing options:

• SaaP/ Self-hosted: Custom pricing.
• SaaS/ Cloud: 2 different pricing tiers (Essentials & Premium), for a monthly subscription.

Why Do We Recommend Apphitect?

Overall, Apphitect is a great option if you are looking for a fully customizable solution to build social apps with Activity feeds and 1000+ interactive features. 

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3. GetStream

Feature-rich Activity Feed API & SDK!

Activity feed APIs is one of Getstream’s core products, designed for social networks, marketplaces, and e-commerce platforms. Their API comes with real-time updates, personalized feeds, and scalable architecture that effortlessly connects and engages millions of users across the globe. Some of the key features of Getstream’s Feeds API include customizable ranking algorithms, aggregated feeds, and engagement analytics, each one of them carefully built for high performance and ease of use​.

What Are The Key Activity Feed Features Of GetStream?

• Aggregated feeds
• Personalized ranking algorithms
• Engagement analytics
• Feed filtering
• Scalable architecture​

Other Social App Features Of GetStream

• Direct messaging
• Channel creation 
• Emojis, GIFs, attachments
• Chat reactions
• Chat history
• Presence indicators
• Customizable user profiles 
• Blocking and muting
• Group feeds
• Moderation tools
• Social login
• SSO integration
• Content moderation and filtering tools

Which Tech Stacks Do GetStream Support?

• PHP, python, java, javascript, angular, angular, golang and.net

What Is The Pricing Of GetStream?

Getstream offers 4 different plans for recurring subscriptions.

• Startup: $59/mo
• Standard: $269/mo
• Premium: $899/mo
• Enterprise: Custom

What Are The Deployment Options Of GetStream Activity Feed Solution?

• GetStream offers cloud hosting. It still does not offer self-hosting options. 

Why Do We Recommend Getstream?
Well, if you are looking for smooth and sleek features for the social feeds on your android & ios apps, choose Getstream.

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3. Weavy

The Modern Activity Feed API For Custom Apps!

Weavy’s APIs primarily focus on collaboration and communication features that you can integrate into your apps. Specifically, their activity feed feature allows users on your app to view updates, engage with content, and stay informed about interactions within your app. The solution is designed for embedding social and collaborative features into enterprise and SaaS platforms​.

What Are The Key Activity Feed Features Of Weavy?

• Embedded social features
• Real-time collaboration
• Content update notifications
• Activity tracking
• Cross-platform integrations​

Other Social App Features Of Weavy

• Public and private communities
• Real-time chat
• Direct messaging
• File sharing
• User profiles
• Following and followers
• Polls
• Reactions & comments
• Notifications
• Content discovery

Which Tech Stacks Do Weavy Support?

• Java, Angular, Python, Php, javascript

What Are The Deployment Options Of Weavy Activity Feed Solution?

• Weavy offers cloud hosting. It still does not offer self-hosting options. 

Why Do We Recommend Weavy?
Weavy is a good option if you are looking for design-rich social feeds for your app. Their UI is simple, responsive and intuitive without a doubt. 

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5. Ably

The Most Developer-friendly Activity Feed Solution!

Ably provides a real-time messaging and data distribution platform that offers activity feeds. While the solution does not solely focus on activity feeds, its APIs can offer real-time features like dynamic updates, notifications, and event-driven data streaming. 

Most of the time, businesses go with this solution for its low latency, reliability, and scalability, making it ideal for building advanced activity feeds into apps, whatever be the size of the app. 

What Are The Key Activity Feed Features Of Ably?

• Event-driven data streaming
• Real-time updates
• Reliable message delivery
• Low-latency notifications
• Scalable pub/sub architecture​

Other Social App Features Of Ably

• Pub/Sub channels
• Presence
• Low latency messaging
• Push notifications
• Automatic reconnections
• Analytics

What Is The Pricing Of Ably?

Ably offers its features in 3 different models.

• Free
• Pay as you go 
• Committed use

You may need to contact Ably’s team to get a full picture of their pricing structure. 

Which Tech Stacks Do Ably Support?

• React, Next.js, Java, Kotlin, Node.js, Ruby, Python, Java, .NET, and Go.

What Are The Deployment Options Of Ably Activity Feed Solution?

• Ably offers cloud hosting. It still does not offer self-hosting options. 

Why Do We Recommend Ably?
Ably works on the Pub/ Sub approach and that makes it an ideal choice to drive dynamic interactions in any social/community-based apps.

So, Now We Have Clear Winners  🏆🏆🏆

We know coding is fun. But that doesn’t mean you need to put your time and effort into something that can be done quickly and easily. Make use of the Feed API that’s best for your business and brand and witness yourself the engagement in your app multiply.

Still need help choosing?If you need a complete package of Feeds solution, go for MirrorFly. Because it’s customizable and  white-label. You simply can add the features, as if built in-house. If you’d like to have a quick demo, you can Get in touch with our experts right here.

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Related Reading

• What is Activity Feed API?
• Activity Feed: Meaning, Benefits & Getting Started

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)