12 Best Real-Time Chat SDKs & APIs to Build a Messaging App

Explore Best Chat SDK

Real-time Chat SDKs are highly popular among enterprises that have an interactive user base. If you are looking to build or enhance your app with messaging SDK, you are at the right place! 

This Article is Focused on Giving you the Following Outcomes: 

• The finest list of best real-time Chat SDK providers
• Impact of instant messaging solutions on your brand value
• Key ways to increase user engagement using chat solutions

63% of online consumers are more likely to return to websites or apps that offer messaging features. (Source: Super Office)

This is a solid reason why enterprises are quickly switching from traditional email communication to chat solutions in this information era.

What is a Chat SDK?

A chat SDK (Software Development Kit) is a collection of tools, resources, programming libraries, and pre-built components designed to help developers efficiently integrate chat functionality into their apps or websites.

It provides a set of ready-to-use features and APIs that simplify the process of implementing real-time messaging, user interfaces, and other chat-related capabilities, allowing developers to focus on customizing the chat experience for their specific needs rather than building the entire system from scratch.

12 Best Chat SDK Providers Available in the Industry

We curated a list of the top 10 best Chat SDKs are MirrorFly, Rocketchat, Apphitect, Twilio, PubNub, Cometchat, Sendbird, Quickblox, StreamChat, and Agora.

1.MirrorFly

#1 Chat SDK Providers for Businesses

Mirrorfly is the world’s leading In App messaging API preferred by developers for its 100% customization and easy-to-use features like video, voice & messaging features, and simple chat integration capabilities. It offers both on-premise and cloud solutions to build feature-rich messaging apps. Here are quick details about the platform’s features.

Key Features of MirrorFly

• Topic-based chat
• Video Conferencing
• Voice broadcasting
• Live Streaming
• Upload large files
• Push Notifications
• Hire a dedicated development team
• Online Presence Indicators
• Read receipts

MirrorFly CpaaS

As a leading in-app communication platform MirrorFly offers a wide range of messaging features for a monthly subscription. It includes several benefits

Pros

• Chat, Video, Voice Call for web & mobile apps
• Dedicated cloud hosting
• Multi-tenant servers
• Integration in 20 mins
• Pre-built UI Kit + SDKs

Cons

Agenda creation feature is unavailable yet.

MirrorFly Self-Hosted Solution

MirrorFly’s self hosting solution is an ideal choice for building white-label chat apps for the web & mobile. It offers more than 1000+ customizable features

Pros

• 100% customizable features 
• Full source code ownership
• Customizable security
• Unlimited Chat & Call
• SIP & VoIP Call
• Whitelabel Solution 

Cons

Multi-camera streaming is not available 

Key Specs:

 

#1 Chat SDK to Integrate Chat & Call Features

Contact sales

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2. Rocket.Chat

The Customizable Chat Service Built For Teams

Rocket.Chat is a highly customizable chat interface designed to match criteria of organizations in highly-regulated industries like Government, Defense, and Healthcare. It includes advanced Data Loss Prevention controls and over 180 custom roles to efficiently and securely manage conversations.

Features

• Private messaging and group messaging
• Easy Sharing of Files
• Presence Indicators
• Read receipts

Pros

• Compliant with GDPR, HIPAA, and CCPA
• High scalability and flexibility
• Deploy on-premise or to a secure cloud
• Open-source code
• 150+ apps on marketplace

Cons

• Custom pricing for enterprise chat features

Key Specs:

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3. Apphitect

100% Customizable Instant Messaging Provider

Apphitect IM offers in-app chat APIs that deliver unique experiences with personal chats, social interaction, and offline messaging. Adaptation of cutting-edge technologies like Erlang, Apache Cassandra, and AWS makes the platform stand out as a leading instant messaging API provider for Android, iOS and Web apps in the industry.

Features

• In-app chat
• Push notifications
• Social integrations
• Location tracking
• Video & Voice Calling
• Offline messages
• Presence Indicator 
• Sharing features: Screen and Multimedia

Pros

• Unlimited Storage and self-cloud hosting.
• Possibility of zero downtime
• Reliable and Scalable
• Easy Integration and 24×7 customer support

Cons

• It takes ten business days to integrate the web or mobile messaging API into apps

Key Specs:

4. Twilio

The Best Real-time Messaging API Provider

Twilio is a programmable instant messaging software suitable most likely for high-volume messaging environments. It is capable of facilitating over 795B interactions with message delivery across multi-channels. Twilio holds its position up with a 99.999% API uptime apparently adhering to the compliances.

Features

• Voice & Video Calls
• Cross-Channel Messaging
• Two-factor Authentication
• Multimedia Support
• Proactive Notifications
• Mass Alerts

Pros

• Conversations in High-volume
• Low latency
• Message and user scalability 
• Trial package allows free access for 50 users

Cons

• Customizable pricing based on users and the number of messages.

Key Specs:

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Looking to Recreate your Existing Twilio Chat Platform?

See why developers choose MirrorFly as the #1 Twilio Alternative

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5. PubNub

Leading real-time communication platform

Pubnub solves the biggest challenge of concurrency control during heavy traffic while balancing its uptime SLA at ease with the help of a powerful chat system design. This Chat solution is also well known for keeping pace of its user engagement and retention. The moderation tools availed by this API conserve the standards and civility of its user platforms.

Features

• Private messaging and group messaging
• Multi Channel communication
• Chat Bot Device Chat
• Tailor-made UI/UX designs
• Instant and Real-time Notifications
• Chats for communities and social groups
• Messaging during live events

Pros

• Caters real-time use cases alongside chats
• Scalable and reliable
• Facilitates over 2 trillion message delivery per month
• Offers over 75 SDKs

Cons

• The standard plan neither grants access to PubNub functions nor complies with HIPAA and GDPR.

Key Specs:

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Looking to Recreate your Existing PubNub Chat Platform?

See why developers choose MirrorFly as the #1 PubNub Alternative

6. Cometchat

Most Secure and Scalable Messaging API Provider

Cometchat is a Colorado-based in-app messaging solutions platform and is a leading chat API provider in the industry since 2009. Its noteworthy voice call solution and WebRTC-enabled video calling features are preferred by small to large-scale enterprises. As a backing to individual users and small-scale enterprises, Comechat exclusively composed a Sandbox package.

Features

• One-on-One text chat
• Group chat
• Voice calling
• Voice and Video conference
• Video calling

Pros

• Owns CometChat Go, a chat plugin with no-codes.
•  White-label UI solutions
• Customizable Auto-scaling
• Well suited for marketplaces, on-demand services, Edu-tech, Live Stream.

Cons

• The price is significantly higher

Key Specs:

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7. Sendbird

Highly Scalable Messaging API Provider

Sendbird is a trusted Chat and messaging API provider based in the US, offering AES 256 End-to-End Encryption data protection to its user platforms. It offers real-time text messaging, and group chat for Android & iOS. Their chat SDK for developers supports over 1,000,000 concurrent connections per application and 500,000,000 messages every day. With its users spread across 250 countries, Sendbird establishes reliable features like global language translation.

Features

• User muting
• Image filtration
• Smart throttling
• Protection against Spam flooding
• Moderation tools
• Managing moderator roles & permissions
• Profanity filters
• Announcements

Pros

• Private group channels that include 1-on-1 messaging and WhatsApp-style closed group chat.
• Channel freeze 
• Scalable Infrastructure on AWS
• Availability of free trial on all Pro Features

Cons

• The starter plan poses limitations on trying essential chat features like announcements and delivery receipts.

Key Specs:

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Looking to Recreate your Existing Sendbird Chat Platform?

See why developers choose MirrorFly as the #1 Sendbird Alternative

8. Quickblox

Best in Providing Chat Apps for Healthcare

Quickblox is a leading whitelabel chat solution provider that offers instant messaging SDK for sectors like banking and finance. The quality of WebRTC-enabled voice and video calling exclaims the reason why users choose this provider. The simple and clean UI/UX designs with flexible data storage are other remarkable advantages its users cannot miss to experience.

Recommended Reading: Conversational Banking | How To Build A Fintech App?

Features

• Integration in active user-management platform
• Supports both Android and iOS App
• Integrate real-time Chat,Video & Voice Calling
• Sharing features: Files, Screen and Multimedia

Pros

• No license restriction and reliable customer support
• Scalable dedicated servers
• Offers a ready-made messaging app called Q-Municate for its users
• End-to-end encryption with adherence to compliances

Cons

• Does not suit platforms other than healthcare, E-commerce, Marketplace and finance

Key Specs:

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9. Stream Chat

The Best Chat App with Easy Integration

Stream Chat SDK provides for web and mobile essential to build chats and new feed infrastructure. The reliability, maintenance and overall accessibility makes Stream’s APIs an user-friendly platform. The UI kits offered by Stream includes live chat, live streams, team chat, and gaming interfaces. 

Free chat app for beginners:
StreamChat offers free APIs for a certain limit of team members. If your team has less than 5 members and not more than $10k revenue, then you can grab stream chat as complimentary.

Features

• Chat Messaging
• Activity feeds
• Virtual Events
• Live Streams

Pros

• Low latency
• End-to-end encrypted chat infrastructure
• High-end performance & reliability
• Customizable chat features
• Easy Integration

Cons

• Limited integration

Key Specs:

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Looking to Recreate your Existing GetStream Chat Platform?

See why developers choose MirrorFly as the #1 GetStream Alternative

10. Agora

Fully Customizable Real-time messaging solution For Android & iOS

Agora is a popular Real-Time Messaging SDK provider that delivers real-time voice and video calls to over 40,000,000,000 minutes of real-time connection per month. With complete network monitoring in place, Agora enroute the path for sub-second latency across 250+ data centers.

Features

• Voice and Video calling
• Live Interactive Audio and Video streaming
• Recording capability
• Instant real-time Messaging

Pros

• Customizable UI and third-party Extensions.
• Tailor-made UI and mobile messaging api
• Minimal energy consumption in mobile-batteries
• Availability of 24×7 development and operational support.
• Maintains a 400ms average global latency with 99.99% uptime.

Cons

• Not suitable for small and medium business

Key Specs:

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Looking to Recreate your Existing Agora Chat Platform?

See why developers choose MirrorFly as the #1 Agora Alternative

11. Mesibo

Highly Secure Real time Chat API Provider

Mesibo is a developer-friendly platform that adorns itself with the best-in-class message-switching technology and codecs. It administers the best calling experience at low latencies. Compatible across Android, iOS, and web apps, the chat API supports multiple languages at the same time. With Mesibo, users can get everything that makes a realtime chat app.

Features

• One-on-one messaging
• High-end Video and Voice calls
• Clean White-label UI
• Group Messaging
• End-to-end encryption
• Push Notifications

Pros

• On cloud and own-premise hosting
• Customizable moderation and Filters 
• Permits addition of own encryption and key exchange mechanism.
• Demo availability

Cons

• Unavailability of Real-time storage and bandwidth in the on-premise Deployment.

Key Specs:

12. Weavy

Best chat API for Android and iOS

Weavy is a complete toolkit for developers, offering chat experiences and team collaboration tools. It’s been around since 2014 and has kept evolving all these years to give developers a developer-friendly solution for communication and collaboration.

Weavy also succeeded in its mission of offering developer-friendly, easy-to-use APIs. They are mostly trusted by developers across various industries like IT projects, transportation, and engineering.

Features

• UI Kits
• One-to-one chat
• Group chat
• Push notifications

Pros

• Third-party integrations
• Customizable
• Robust security
• Scalability

Cons

• Data privacy and compliance

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Develop Powerful Mobile Apps with Essential Chat Features

1. In-App communication

Chat platform are getting popular among several businesses for their instant messaging facilities without affecting the ongoing activities. Even while you are busy performing a task, you may respond to chats without any impact on the former.

For example, if you are a Financial Consultant and in the middle of an appointment, when you receive any queries from your other clients through the Chat App, you can instantly send them a response without disturbing the ongoing work.

Let’s assume that you are a busy financial consultant preoccupied with an important appointment. On the other hand,  your other clients wait for a reply to their queries that need your minimal or short term attention. Using chat apps, you may respond to them simultaneously without upsetting your primary appointment.

2. Productive Interactions

In every organization, several teams come together to work on the same task. They exercise varied functionalities and require unique discussion spaces. At this instance, Project managers coordinate with the teams and distinct work groups in the chat applications. This allows an assorted project flow with increased productivity and minimal communication gaps.

3. Collaborative Endeavor

The world has efficiently adapted to ‘Remote Working’ in recent years. Be it because of a pandemic or a demanding need, communication mediums have made everything possible! Employees can chat live, share files and screens, make video calls and enjoy several other resources available in the Enterprise chat apps. The technology of instant messaging SDKs has proved to help people achieve great feats together even if spread across the globe.

4. Authenticity and Confidentiality

When an Enterprise chooses to build a custom build chat app, it must ensure security features like multi-layered access and role-based control. This validates the safety and privacy of information shared across different channels. Similarly, chat apps with end-to-end encryption are highly preferred to moderate internal user access and limit third-party activities. 

For instance, let’s take a case of how an unprecedented situation was handled by Enterprises across the world during the Covid-19 outbreak. Managements chose to guide and create interaction pools for their employees, without affecting their well-being. At the same time, they ensured security of their know-hows by choosing the right Chat API providers suitable for their business pursuits

Fundamentals of Choosing The Best Chat SDK For Android & iOS

As the first few steps of building a compelling chat infrastructure, narrow down the details of your communication requirements. Define whether you are building an Android chat app from scratch or buying a pre-built chat SDK for Android, iOS, and web apps. Dive deep into the crucial factors and create a list of essential elements that can satisfy your business needs. Match them with vendors who you find as the best fit and ensure customization availability. Check on the pricing and brace yourself to level up your game!

Benefits of a Subscription-based Chat Solution

The biggest challenge that comes after choosing a mobile chat SDK provider is to select the best pricing option that well suits you. Here we discuss a list of factors that support the subscription model of Messaging SDKs:

1. Storage Limitation: Be informed of the storage limit set by the providers, beyond which a small amount of fee may be applicable.
2. UI Customization: Choose the vendors who provide simple and user-friendly UIs. The User Interface (UI) is the first element your customers will come across to understand your product and engage with.
3. User Limit: You may choose to broadcast a chat until the user limit set by the providers. You can raise the bar by choosing to pay for it. Meanwhile, this results in limiting the number of concurrent users and maintains legitimacy.
4. Storage & Access: Real-time Chat SDK tools provide you with features like chat message retention by which you can keep your important conversations safe. On the contrary, subscription-based chat solutions have limitations over saving your data.
5. Scalability: Chat SDKs give you an opportunity to enjoy limitless scalability. However, chat solutions with subscriptions do not offer this.
6. Monetization: Try out sponsorship and in-chat payment options and convert your chat apps into a monetizing resource.
7. Pricing: Choosing a provider that offers both SaaS and SaaP pricing models would be the wisest option if you consider both budget and scalability. This way, you can start with a SaaS plan and pay only for the features you use. And when your user base expands, you can switch easily to a more customizable and scalable SaaP option.

Conclusion

To summarize, each Chat SDK provider mentioned in this article has their own unique selling proposition. It is now your complete obligation to keep a clear account of your requirements and make the wisest choice of picking the best chat SDK for iOS and Android. Gear up to amplify your business’ user engagement through smart instant messaging chat SDK features and boost your success rate.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

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