Soketi

Soketi is a high-performance, self-hosted WebSocket server that implements the open Pusher protocol, making it a fully compatible drop-in replacement for Pusher Channels. It was originally developed to cut down on the costs and reliance on managed WebSocket services. Soketi now powers real-time functionalities in popular frameworks like Laravel, Next.js, Vue, React, and any application already utilizing the Pusher client SDK. Since it uses the exact same protocol, migrating from Pusher to Soketi is straightforward, only requiring a few environment variable changes – no need for code rewrites, new client libraries, or API migrations.

Common Use Cases

Laravel developers often opt for Soketi as a cost-free alternative to Pusher, especially when working with Laravel Echo and Laravel Broadcasting. This allows them to implement live notifications, queue job updates, and real-time dashboard data without incurring recurring SaaS fees. SaaS products leverage Soketi's presence channels to enable features like 'who's online' indicators, collaborative document editing, and real-time cursor tracking for multiple users. Game developers and social applications utilize private and public channels to efficiently broadcast events to thousands of simultaneous WebSocket connections, ensuring consistently low latency. Development teams deploy Soketi to establish a complete real-time infrastructure both locally and in staging environments, effectively mirroring production behavior without any reliance on Pusher account dependencies.

Key Features

• Full Pusher protocol compatibility – meaning it works seamlessly with existing Pusher client SDKs and server libraries
• Built on uWebSockets.js, ensuring high-throughput and low-latency WebSocket handling
• Out-of-the-box support for public, private, and presence channels
• Client-to-client event broadcasting, facilitated by Pusher's client events feature
• HTTP API available for triggering events directly from server-side application code
• First-class integration with Laravel Echo and Laravel Broadcasting
• A metrics endpoint on port 9601, enabling Prometheus-compatible monitoring
• Configurable per-app credentials, ideal for multi-tenant or multi-environment setups
• Stateless architecture, meaning no database or persistent storage is required
• Alpine-based image, ensuring a minimal footprint and fast container startup

Why deploy Soketi on Hostinger VPS

Managed WebSocket services, such as Pusher, typically charge per connection and per message, leading to costs that can escalate sharply as your user base expands. In contrast, a single Hostinger VPS running Soketi can efficiently manage thousands of concurrent WebSocket connections at a fixed monthly price, completely eliminating per-event billing. By running Soketi on the same VPS or network as your application, you significantly minimize round-trip latency for event delivery, ensuring real-time features feel truly instant. Furthermore, you maintain complete control over your app credentials, channel configuration, and connection limits, without any third-party service having access to or holding your real-time data. Thanks to its Pusher-compatible API, you can migrate existing applications in mere minutes. Plus, the pre-installed Traefik reverse proxy automatically handles HTTPS and WSS termination, simplifying your setup.