Sendbird Pricing Alternatives: Top 12 Competitors For 2025

Want to switch from Sendbird? Here is a full review of the best chat solutions in the market that are ranked as the top alternatives to Sendbird.

We know that Sendbird has been in the market since 2013 and is still growing strong in features and technologies. But for some reason, you might want to migrate to a different solution. Understanding this, we’ve prepared a curated list of the top 12 Sendbird alternatives. 

This list will cover 3 important details: 

• The key differences between Sendbird and its alternatives
• Features offered by Sendbird’s competitors
• Comparing the pros and cons of other providers

Without any further ado, let’s get started!

Sendbird: A Quick Overview 

Sendbird has always been user-friendly. It has been a great option to add real-time engagement features to your web or mobile apps. Even if you are building an app for millions of users, Sendbird’s features can perform very smoothly.

And the best part of using Sendbird is that you can add a wide range of modern messaging features including basic chat, group messaging, and moderation tools.

But, there are many other things that you might need beyond the communication features. So here are some of the drawbacks that might potentially urge you to move from Sendbird.

Key Drawbacks of Sendbird And Why You Should Switch

We cannot deny that Sendbird has a lot of plug-and-play features and is a leading CPaaS solution provider. However, even giants disappoint sometimes. 

Here are real-reasons from Sendbird’s own users about what went wrong with the solution:

1. Quality of product is not really great

2. Customization is very much limited 

3. There are a few annoying bugs that interrupt the app’s service.

4. It is not really easy to use.

5. The changes in the platform are not notified prior.

6. UI is not feature-rich

7. The support could be better

8. It’s quite expensive for a few users

Now, these are a few reasons why Sendbird does not work for a few businesses. If you feel these are some really big problems that you cannot compromise, then you can switch to a different provider. 

Where should you move?

Top 12 Sendbird Alternatives You Can Consider In 2025

We know migration is a big decision. Among 100s of Sendbird’s competitors, we’ve filtered out the best 10 of them and ranked them in the best order. You can review each one of them and find the best alternative to your existing Sendbird solution. 

1. MirrorFly

The 100% Customizable CPaaS Alternative to Sendbird

MirrorFly is a secure alternative to Sendbird that helps businesses integrate video call, voice call, chat, activity feeds, live streaming and SIP/ VoIP calls into their apps and web. Since 2008, MirrorFly has evolved into a product that is carefully built with the purpose of meeting unique communication needs of customers. In that line, it has opened its solution for 100% customization of features and security, which is still an unreachable feat for players like Sendbird. And allow us to take the pride of mentioning the full data control and self-hosting flexibility that makes MirrorFly stand out from the competition, be it with any giant in the market. 

Sendbird vs MirrorFly: What Is The Difference?

Whether you choose Sendbird or MirrorFly, you can add chat, video, and voice features to your apps. However, both of these providers differ from each other. And these differences will be helpful for you to find which one is the best choice for you. 

Let’s break them down:

⚒️ Features 

Sendbird comes with a variety of features but people want more. MirrorFly offers over 1000s of features including calling, and messaging capabilities. 

⚙️Customization

Sendbird is customizable but with a few limitations, whereas MirrorFly gives 100% customization, letting you build a truly personalized experience for your users. 

🌐Deployment 

Sendbird is a cloud communication platform. You can only host on their cloud servers. But MirrorFly understands the unique needs of businesses and lets you self-host your platform – on-premise/ on-cloud, anywhere you prefer. 

💰Pricing 

Sendbird is available for a monthly subscription and some users feel that their cost is a bit expensive and the packages are rigid. MirrorFly gets super-flexible with both monthly subscription and one-time license purchase options. 

🔒Data Control 

A few providers like Sendbird offer control over user data with limitations. But, MirrorFly gives all the control to business owners, i.e, neither MirrorFly nor any third party can access any of the platform’s data. 

🪪Custom Security 

Every provider comes with a pre-built set of encryptions – Sendbird too! But do they allow you to customize them? No! But, MirrorFly does. You can configure the encryptions and privacy features, based on the unique requirements of your business. 

🧑‍💻Hire A Whole Team Of Developers

One of the key disadvantages of Sendbird is the support it offers. MirrorFly on the other hand, offers 24/7 support, lets you hire an individual developer for integration and hire one big team of experts for your entire communication solution project. 

Well, there’s more, and here’s a glimpse put up in a table:

Feature	Sendbird Features	MirrorFly Features
100% customization	❌	✅
Full Data control	❌	✅
Custom Security	❌	✅
Topic-based chat	❌	✅
Flutter UI Kit	❌	✅
Call Schedule	✅	✅
Activity Feed	✅	✅
Calendar Sync	✅	✅
Full source code ownership	❌	✅
Hire dedicated team	❌	✅
White-labeling	❌	✅
On-premise hosting	❌	✅
Chatbots	✅	✅

Ultimately, you need to decide whether you need basic or advanced features. If minimal and efficient features are sufficient, you can go for Sendbird. But if you need futuristic features at the same pricing, with flexibility and reliability,

MirrorFly is likely the best alternative to Sendbird. 

 

#1 Chat SDK to Integrate Chat & Call Features

Talk to Sales

2. GetStream – The developer-friendly Sendbird alternative 

Stream, formerly known as Getstream, has always been a favorite chat solution for developers looking to build chat apps for social networking and customer support. 

Most importantly, you’ll find it easy to switch from Sendbird to Stream because of its widely available tech stacks. 

But the major disappointment with Stream is that it offers only messaging and activity feeds, and audio/ video calls are still not in their arena. 

Sendbird vs Stream: What Is The Difference?

Feature	Sendbird	GetStream
Focus on Social Feeds	❌	✅
Excellent for Community Building	❌	✅
Stronger on Activity Feeds	❌	✅
Advanced Analytics & Data Insights	❌	✅
Ideal for Social Networks	❌	✅

Sendbird and Stream are both popular chat APIs that help you build engaging communication experiences in your app. But they are unique in their own ways and have a few notable differences you must know before choosing the best. 

Now, you need to check on your requirements and find out whether you need an SDK for engagement or community building. And this way, you’ll be able to choose between Stream and Sendbird.

3. ApphiTect – The customizable alternative to Sendbird

The primary reason where other providers fail is the lack of customization. But besides MirrorFly, Apphitect offers 100% customization of its features. Now, if you’d like to switch from Sendbird, Apphitect makes it super-easy to add, modify or remove features as much as you can. 

Also, this self-hosted chat solution lets you deploy your app on your own premises, and launch it on any app store as per your convenience. 

Sendbird vs Apphitect: Key Differences 

Feature	Sendbird	ApphiTect
Low-Code Development	❌	✅
Drag-and-Drop Interface	❌	✅
Rapid Prototyping	❌	✅
Easy Customization	❌	✅
Ideal for Non-Developers	❌	✅

Overall, if you are looking for a Sendbird alternative that has better customization options and allows you to take your app faster to the market, Apphitect is your go-to option!

4. PubNub – The most scalable Sendbird alternative

To businesses that are asking what’s special about Pubnub, you can find that it uses the publish-subscribe (pub-sub) model for its chat service. This means, you can manage and scale the publishers and their subscribers separately on your app. 

This makes message broadcasting more efficient and faster on your apps. And Pubnub also does a fair job in offering the best possible features it can for real-time communication. 

Sendbird vs Pubnub: Key Differences

Feature	Sendbird	PubNub
Real-time Data Streaming	❌	✅
Low Latency for Real-time Apps	❌	✅
Ideal for IoT & Gaming	❌	✅
Stronger on Data Synchronization	❌	✅
Global Reach & Scalability	✅	✅

Sendbird and Pubnub are 2 highly scalable chat platforms that have been in the market for years. Each of them have their category of user base for unique reasons. Let me quickly jot the differences down. So, If you need a powerful chat solution with advanced features, Sendbird might be a good fit. But, if you think that you need a more versatile platform for real-time communication along with data streaming, and third-party integration, then PubNub could be a better choice.

5. Twilio – The best CPaaS Alternative To Sendbird

Twilio claims itself as the best cloud solution for businesses that need real-time communication features for their app. It mainly focuses on customer engagement via voice & messaging features across enterprise platforms. 

And if you have an idea of building AI-powered IVRs to connect your customers with your business agents, Twilio would be a go-to solution, for sure. 

Sendbird vs Twilio: Key Differences

Feature	Sendbird	Twilio
Wide Range of Communication Channels	❌	✅
Global Reach & Coverage	✅	✅
Strong Developer Ecosystem	✅	✅
Versatility Across Industries	❌	✅
Focus on Customer Engagement	❌	✅

Sendbird and Twilio are both industry leaders and real-time communication platforms (RTCPs). And here’s how they differ from each other.

Considering all, you can choose Twilio over Sendbird if you need options to customize, scale up/ down and handle a large user base. Also, if you require an omnichannel communication solution beyond chat features, go for it!

6. Cometchat

The secure alternative to Sendbird

Cometchat is an exclusively extension-rich chat solution provider when compared to Sendbird. It is in fact one of the easiest ways to add in-app communication to any app. 

That is, even if you do not have any prior experience in development, Cometchat’s SDKs are so simple that you can add them to your app with the help of their easy-to-understand docs. 

Sendbird vs Cometchat: Key Differences

Feature	Sendbird	CometChat
User-Friendly Interface	✅	✅
Rich Features (Voice/Video)	❌	✅
Strong Focus on User Engagement	❌	✅
Easy Integration & Use	✅	✅
Highly Customizable UI	✅	✅

Although both Sendbird and Cometchat offer similar features, there are a few key distinctions you must know before you choose one of them. Here’s a breakdown to help you decide:

Ultimately, both Sendbird and CometChat are reliable choices for building engaging in-app communication experiences. And if you prefer more control over data ownership and potentially lower costs for smaller user bases, you can choose Cometchat.

7. Ably – The most reliable chat service alternative to Sendbird

Don’t prefer Sendbird and Pubnub? Here is another provider that focuses on the pub-sub model of broadcasting messages. 

Particularly, when you want to send large volumes of messages to multiple subscribers, we’d suggest you Ably without a doubt. 

However, there are few concerns like you might have to spend a huge cost when you decide to switch from Ably. This is because you need to integrate Ably with your app’s codebase and it is really hard to move away from Ably. So, think before you choose this provider. 

Sendbird vs Ably: Key Differences

Feature	Sendbird	Ably
High-Performance Real-time Delivery	❌	✅
Excellent for Location Tracking	❌	✅
Strong on Presence Information	❌	✅
Ideal for Financial Trading	❌	✅
Reliable Delivery for Critical Apps	❌	✅

Sendbird and Ably are both powerful real-time communication platforms. And it sometimes is hard to decide which one to choose for building your messaging app. So, let’s help you out with a comparison:

Ultimately, if you’d like to go for a budget-friendly communication platform, go for Ably’s messaging SDKs. Also, the platform’s pub-sub messaging is a feature you’ll never regret.

8. Agora – The mobile-first alternative to Sendbird

If you are looking for a communication SDK along with streaming capabilities, kudos, you’ve found the right provider. With Agora, you can build your Android or iOS app, and connect over 100+ concurrent users via messaging, voice and live streams. 

But if you need video calls, you might have to wait until they officially move their beta release to a full release. 

Sendbird vs Agora: Key Differences

Feature	Sendbird	Agora
High-Quality Voice & Video	❌	✅
Ideal for Video Conferencing	❌	✅
Excellent for Live Streaming	❌	✅
Strong on Interactive Live Streaming	❌	✅
Focus on Real-time Audio/Video	❌	✅

Sendbird and Agora are both popular when it comes to delivering personalized communication experiences with their APIs. But they have huge differences in their features and offerings. Here’s a breakdown:

So, yes. If you want to handle a large user base, Agora would be the best option for your messaging application. Also, it is an easier way to personalize your communication features to drive users to your business.

9. TalkJS – The top Sendbird alternative for any type of industry

TalkJS has a rich collection of chat features and design elements for your app’s interface. This makes it an easy choice for building your custom chat platform for any kind of industry. 

Whether it is virtual event, recruitment sector, E-commerce or EdTech businesses, TalkJs can help you build the platform just exactly the way you need it. 

Sendbird vs TalkJS: Key Differences

Feature	Sendbird	TalkJS
Focus on Customer Support	❌	✅
Easy to Set Up & Integrate	✅	✅
Designed for Customer Conversations	❌	✅
Strong on Customer Support Ticketing	❌	✅
Ideal for In-App Support	❌	✅

There are multiple differences between Sendbird and TalkJS. Here is a quick comparison of the industry leaders:

Overall, TalkJS is a great option over Sendbird for its ease of use and its highly intuitive UI components. This responsiveness will eventually drive a large user base to your chat app

10. MessageBird – The omnichannel alternative to Sendbird

MessageBird is simply the most user-friendly customer engagement platform. The easier it is for you to build your chat platform with MessageBird, the smoother it is for customers to use your app. 

The basic difference between MessageBird and Sendbird is clear with the emphasis of the former’s chat widget, while the latter focuses on activity feeds. 

Sendbird vs MessageBird: Key Differences

Feature	Sendbird	MessageBird
Global SMS & Messaging Reach	❌	✅
Wide Range of Messaging Channels	❌	✅
Focus on Global Communication	❌	✅
Strong on SMS & WhatsApp Integration	❌	✅
Ideal for Global Businesses	❌	✅

Overall, you can choose MessageBird if you’d like to try a real-time communication platform with a wide range of customization options.

11.Plivo

Plivo is a versatile alternative to Sendbird with a highly reliable global network. It’s also super developer-friendly, with easy-to-use tools and clear documentation that make its setup a true breeze for developers. On top of that, Plivo gives you detailed analytics so you can track how your messages are performing and fine-tune your communication strategies. Undoubtedly, it is a solid choice for connecting users on app and delivering an engaging messaging experience for all!

Sendbird vs Plivo : Key Differences

Feature	Sendbird	Plivo
Focus on Voice, Video, & Messaging	❌	✅
Strong on Programmability & APIs	❌	✅
Global Reach & Coverage	✅	✅
Ideal for Communication Platforms	❌	✅
Pay-as-you-go Pricing	✅	✅

12.Vonage

Vonage makes things easy with a super user-friendly interface while simplifying its entire setup and management. They’ve got your back with great customer support – you can take help with their solution whenever you need it, which might be a miss out in Sendbird. Vonage also offers a full range of communication tools like voice, messaging, video, and more making it a one-stop shop for businesses that want everything in one place. On the other hand, Sendbird tiers its pricing, making it difficult for businesses to purchase it as a comprehensive suite. 

Sendbird vs Plivo : Key Differences

Feature	Sendbird	Vonage
Comprehensive Communication Platform	❌	✅
Strong on Voice, Video, & Messaging	❌	✅
Global Reach & Coverage	✅	✅
Focus on Customer Engagement	❌	✅
Developer-Friendly APIs	✅	✅

Why MirrorFly Is The Best Sendbird Alternative 🏆

We explored the top SendBird alternatives with each of its unique strengths. Now, if you need a winner, we’d call it loud and proud – MirrorFly. Be it customization, variety of features, security or data control, MirrorFly is built with brilliance and is undoubtedly an alternative to Sendbird that you can count on. 

You get end-to-end support if you’ve made the decision. Or if you have questions popping on your head about the solution, wait no more, just fill out this form, and an expert from MirrorFly will get in touch with you within the next 24 hrs. 

Meanwhile you can explore all that you can get with MirrorFly and see it yourself how it is a reliable alternative to Sendbird. If you have any questions, please feel free to comment below. We’d be happy to get back to you with the best answers! 

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between Sendbird and MirrorFly?

MirrorFly and Sendbird are both powerful CPaaS solutions that offer real-time communication capabilities, but they differ in multiple ways. MirrorFly comes with over 1,000 features, such as advanced messaging, voice and video calls, and it allows full customization so businesses can adapt it to their specific needs. It also supports on-premise hosting and uses strong security measures like AES-256 encryption to protect data.

On the other hand, Sendbird has fewer customization options and focuses more on AI-powered chatbots.

MirrorFly is built to handle large numbers of users and offers competitive pricing, starting at $360 for 5,000 monthly active users, and also is available for custom pricing. But Sendbird is not as flexible as MirrorFly when it comes to pricing, features and deployment.

What does the company Sendbird do?

Sendbird is a cloud-based platform that helps businesses add advanced communication features to their apps. With Sendbird, companies can include chat, messaging, voice, and video calls to improve how users interact. This platform is used in industries like finance, retail, healthcare, and social networks to make online communication more personal and engaging. In simple terms, Sendbird helps businesses create better digital experiences by making it easy for people to connect in real time

What is Sendbird used for?
Sendbird is a platform that provides communication APIs to help businesses add advanced features to their apps. With Sendbird, companies can integrate in-app messaging, customer support chat, notifications, and live streaming tools into their platforms. It’s used across industries like healthcare, finance, e-commerce, and social media to make apps more interactive and engaging. Sendbird offers tools like chat APIs, SDKs, UI kits, and notification systems, making it easy for businesses to build real-time communication features. Big names like DoorDash, Reddit, and Paytm trust Sendbird to enhance their apps with smooth and reliable communication.

Is Sendbird Chat free?
Sendbird provides a free trial, giving businesses the chance to test out its chat features without any upfront costs. However, this trial is only temporary, and the platform isn’t entirely free for long-term use. The free trial is designed to help potential customers explore the service before deciding on a paid plan.

Is Sendbird open source?
Sendbird offers some open-source components, specifically their UIKit and Chat SDK for JavaScript, iOS, and Android, which are available under the MIT open-source license. However, not all of Sendbird’s solutions are open source.

---

Related Articles

• 10+ Best Twilio Competitors and Alternatives in 2025
• 8 Best GetStream Alternatives & Competitors in 2025
• 10 Best Vonage Alternatives and Competitors in 2025
• Top 6 PubNub Alternatives to Consider in 2025
• Best CometChat Alternatives & Competitors In 2025