Ably vs Liveblocks
SEPT 2026 auditA comparison of Ably and Liveblocks built from values read directly from each provider's own documentation, with the source recorded against every figure.
The short answer
Choose Ably if…
Workloads where the ceiling has to move without a plan change: 50,000 concurrent connections at $399, three meters that scale with what you actually send, and volume rates falling to $0.50 per million messages.
Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved
Choose Liveblocks if…
Building collaboration rather than transport — presence, comments, version history and pre-built components, with $30 of monthly credits on a $25 plan so the balance exceeds the fee.
Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved
Consider something else if…
- Ably: You need to know the bill in advance. Three meters run at once — messages, channel-minutes and connection-minutes — and an idle connection still accrues connection-minutes, so time connected costs money whether or not anything is sent.
- Liveblocks: You want a plain websocket. This is collaboration infrastructure with opinions about what you are building, and the free plan advertises credits without naming the amount, so the allowance cannot be sized before signing up.
3 sourced criteria separate them — see where, with sources, below.
Pick the criteria you care about. The chart counts how many of them lean toward each provider — the same read as scanning the bars below, just totalled for the ones you chose.
Ably 0
Liveblocks 0
At a glance.
| Criterion | Ably | Liveblocks |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Kind of free offer | Free tier | Free tier |
| What the free plan includes | 200 concurrent connections, 500 messages a second and 6 million messages a month, with community and best-effort email support. No commitment, and no time limit stated. | A monthly credit allowance, plus the realtime infrastructure, collaboration features and pre-built components. The page says "free monthly credits" without naming the amount, so the size of the allowance is not sourced from here. |
| Entry paid plan | $29 a month for Standard, and the "+ usage" matters: the package fee buys capacity ceilings and every message, channel-minute and connection-minute is billed on top of it. | $25 a month billed annually for Pro, which carries $30 of monthly credits — so the plan returns more credit than it costs. Team is $500 a month with $600 of credits, the same shape at twenty times the size. |
| Pricing model | Three meters at once on top of a package fee: $2.50 per million messages, $1.00 per million channel-minutes and $1.00 per million connection-minutes, each falling to $0.50 or $0.20 with volume. A per-MAU model is offered as an alternative. A connection that sits idle still accrues connection-minutes, so time connected is billable whether or not anything is sent. | Credits, not units. A plan buys a monthly credit balance — $30 on Pro, $600 on Team — spent against whatever the product consumes, and the credit figure exceeds the plan price in both cases. Higher tiers also raise simultaneous connections and webhook event frequency rather than only the balance. |
Where they differ.
What the free plan includes
- Ably
- 200 concurrent connections, 500 messages a second and 6 million messages a month, with community and best-effort email support. No commitment, and no time limit stated.
- Liveblocks
- A monthly credit allowance, plus the realtime infrastructure, collaboration features and pre-built components. The page says "free monthly credits" without naming the amount, so the size of the allowance is not sourced from here.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Ably Pricing ↗
“200 concurrent connections 500 messages / second 6M messages / month”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
- Liveblocks Pricing ↗
“Free monthly credits Realtime infrastructure Collaboration features Pre-built components”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
Entry paid plan
- Ably
- $29 a month for Standard, and the "+ usage" matters: the package fee buys capacity ceilings and every message, channel-minute and connection-minute is billed on top of it.
- Liveblocks
- $25 a month billed annually for Pro, which carries $30 of monthly credits — so the plan returns more credit than it costs. Team is $500 a month with $600 of credits, the same shape at twenty times the size.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Ably Pricing ↗
“Standard Roll-out into production. $29 / month + usage”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
- Liveblocks Pricing ↗
“$ 25 per month billed annually Everything in Free, plus: $30 monthly credits”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
Pricing model
- Ably
- Three meters at once on top of a package fee: $2.50 per million messages, $1.00 per million channel-minutes and $1.00 per million connection-minutes, each falling to $0.50 or $0.20 with volume. A per-MAU model is offered as an alternative. A connection that sits idle still accrues connection-minutes, so time connected is billable whether or not anything is sent.
- Liveblocks
- Credits, not units. A plan buys a monthly credit balance — $30 on Pro, $600 on Team — spent against whatever the product consumes, and the credit figure exceeds the plan price in both cases. Higher tiers also raise simultaneous connections and webhook event frequency rather than only the balance.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Ably Pricing ↗
“Messages $2.50 / million As low as $0.50/M with volume discount Channels $1.00 / million mins”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
- Liveblocks Pricing ↗
“$600 monthly credits Extended version history Higher webhook event frequency More simultaneous connections”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
When these numbers change, hear about it. Sources are re-checked monthly; a repricing goes out as a short note.
Documented by only one.
These criteria are published by one provider and not the other. An absence here means we have not found a source, not that the feature is missing.
Questions this comparison answers.
Entry paid plan: Ably or Liveblocks?
Ably: $29 a month for Standard, and the "+ usage" matters: the package fee buys capacity ceilings and every message, channel-minute and connection-minute is billed on top of it.
Liveblocks: $25 a month billed annually for Pro, which carries $30 of monthly credits — so the plan returns more credit than it costs. Team is $500 a month with $600 of credits, the same shape at twenty times the size.
Should I choose Ably or Liveblocks?
Pick Ably if Workloads where the ceiling has to move without a plan change: 50,000 concurrent connections at $399, three meters that scale with what you actually send, and volume rates falling to $0.50 per million messages.
Pick Liveblocks if Building collaboration rather than transport — presence, comments, version history and pre-built components, with $30 of monthly credits on a $25 plan so the balance exceeds the fee.