{"eid":"pubnub","name":"PubNub","domain":"pubnub.com","resolved_by":"domain","topics":["dev-services"],"n_records":1,"best_vorder":1,"review":null,"aliases":["PubNub","pubnub.com"],"records":[{"rid":"dev-services/pubnub","card":{"rid":"dev-services/pubnub","eid":"pubnub","topic":"dev-services","slug":"pubnub","provider":"PubNub","url":"https://www.pubnub.com/pricing/","domain":"pubnub.com","category":"realtime pub/sub messaging over an HTTP API","tier":"Free","verdict":"qualifies-with-caveat","vorder":1,"grp":"usable","self_hosted":0,"confidence":"documented","binding":"request-rate","identity_kind":"email","identity_basis":"stated","needs_card":0,"needs_phone":0,"needs_id":0,"needs_institution":0,"country":null,"crypto":null,"interfaces":"rest","egress_metered":1,"per_object_bytes":32768,"retention_days":7,"verified_at":"2026-11-02T00:38:24.164Z","verified_basis":"live","checked_on":"2026-11-02","stale_on":"2026-12-03","n_evidence":30,"usd_month":null,"usd_per_tb_month":null,"summary":"Free: 200 monthly active users or 1 million transactions a month, whichever is reached first, with 1GB data storage kept 7 days, no credit card","duplicate_of":null,"n_unknown":0,"free_unit":"mixed"},"record":{"topic":"dev-services","slug":"pubnub","provider":"PubNub","tier":"Free","url":"https://www.pubnub.com/pricing/","category":"realtime pub/sub messaging over an HTTP API","free_tier":{"stated":"Free: 200 monthly active users or 1 million transactions a month, whichever is reached first, with 1GB data storage kept 7 days, no credit card","unit":"mixed","source_url":"https://www.pubnub.com/pricing/","read_on":"2026-10-30","notes":"The two units are monthly active users and transactions. A transaction is one API request, and a payload above 2,048 bytes is billed as one transaction per 2 KiB part. A Free account creates only Testing keysets, which are rate-limited and not meant for live traffic; a Production keyset needs the Starter plan. A Free account holds up to 10 active keysets. A Function deployed on Free pauses 7 days after deployment. Past a Free limit PubNub emails a request to upgrade or reduce usage."},"per_object_cap":{"stated":"32 KiB default message payload, channel name and metadata included (up to 2 MB for contract customers); 5 MB per file","bytes":32768,"source_url":"https://www.pubnub.com/docs/architecture/limits"},"retention":{"stated":"Message Persistence 1 or 7 days on Free, capped at 7 days; files kept 1 or 7 days","days":7,"source_url":"https://www.pubnub.com/docs/pricing/quotas","notes":"Starter offers 30 days to 6 months and Pro 1 year or unlimited."},"egress":{"terms":"The pricing page lists storage and bandwidth as included in the plan; usage is counted in transactions, 1 million a month on Free","metered":true,"free_allowance":"1 million transactions a month; a payload above 2,048 bytes counts once per 2 KiB part","price_per_tb":null,"source_url":"https://www.pubnub.com/pricing/"},"interface":["rest"],"interface_detail":"REST API over HTTP GET with a publish and subscribe key pair from the Admin Portal; PubNub delivers realtime messages over ordinary HTTPS and uses no WebSocket, so subscribe is an HTTP long-poll. The time endpoint at ps.pndsn.com answered 200 without a key.","endpoint":"https://ps.pndsn.com","tooling":"PubNub SDKs, or any HTTP client against the REST API with a publish key and a subscribe key.","chaining":"A fan-out layer for a prototype with few users, with 7 days of message history for a consumer that reconnects.","limits":[{"kind":"request-rate","value":"1 million transactions per month, a payload above 2,048 bytes counting once per 2 KiB part","source":"https://www.pubnub.com/docs/pricing/quotas"},{"kind":"per-object-cap","value":"32 KiB default message payload; 5 MB per file","source":"https://www.pubnub.com/docs/architecture/limits"},{"kind":"retention-clamped","value":"message and file retention capped at 7 days on Free","source":"https://www.pubnub.com/docs/pricing/quotas"}],"limits_note":"200 monthly active users, 10 active keysets, and Testing keysets only, which are rate-limited at a rate no page states; concurrent users, channels and devices are not capped on any plan. The vocabulary has no kind for a user count.","binding":"request-rate","binding_note":"1 million transactions a month is about 33,000 a day (1,000,000 / 30), and a 32 KiB payload is 16 transactions (32 / 2), so payload size moves this cap more than the 200-user limit does for a single-user workload.","identity_cost":{"kind":"email","detail":"The registration form asks for a first name, a last name, an email, a contact email and a password, or a Google sign-in, behind reCAPTCHA; the pricing and registration pages state no credit card is required.","country":null},"reliability_note":"Free accounts create only Testing keysets, which are rate-limited at an unpublished rate; abnormal traffic on a keyset can draw a temporary rate limit.","confidence":"documented","confidence_note":"Every limit is quoted from first-party pricing and documentation pages; the REST host was probed and its time endpoint answered 200 without a key. No message was published, because publishing needs a keyset. A publish and history read on a Testing keyset would move it to measured and could measure its rate limit.","evidence":[{"url":"https://www.pubnub.com/pricing/","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"the Free plan is free forever with no credit card","capture":"sha256:f6a108f172cc311ea5e80e087f01221c143d77170dc98b2082c908dcc8c39eac","quote":"Forever free • No credit card required"},{"url":"https://www.pubnub.com/pricing/","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"the Free plan includes 1GB of data storage kept 7 days","capture":"sha256:f6a108f172cc311ea5e80e087f01221c143d77170dc98b2082c908dcc8c39eac","quote":"1GB data storage (7 days)"},{"url":"https://www.pubnub.com/pricing/","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"the pricing page lists storage and bandwidth as included","capture":"sha256:f6a108f172cc311ea5e80e087f01221c143d77170dc98b2082c908dcc8c39eac","quote":"| Storage & Bandwidth | PubNub  Included | Other platform  Extra Cost |"},{"url":"https://www.pubnub.com/pricing/","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"the Starter plan is USD 98 a month for 1,000 MAU","capture":"sha256:f6a108f172cc311ea5e80e087f01221c143d77170dc98b2082c908dcc8c39eac","quote":"Starter Plan ### $98/month for 1,000 MAU"},{"url":"https://www.pubnub.com/docs/pricing/quotas","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"Free covers 200 MAU or 1 million transactions, whichever comes first","capture":"sha256:3d4bfbadb4b63019e998f74606b4f7ebb04be421cd16799bf6f6c64b9442ecff","quote":"A free PubNub account covers up to 200 monthly active users (MAUs) or 1 million transactions at no cost, whichever limit you reach first."},{"url":"https://www.pubnub.com/docs/pricing/quotas","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"Free accounts create only Testing keysets, capped at 7 days of retention","capture":"sha256:3d4bfbadb4b63019e998f74606b4f7ebb04be421cd16799bf6f6c64b9442ecff","quote":"Testing keysets default to 7-day retention. Free plan accounts can only create Testing keysets, so this is also the effective retention ceiling for the Free plan."},{"url":"https://www.pubnub.com/docs/pricing/quotas","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"a Production keyset needs Starter and Testing keysets are rate-limited","capture":"sha256:3d4bfbadb4b63019e998f74606b4f7ebb04be421cd16799bf6f6c64b9442ecff","quote":"Creating a Production keyset requires at least the Starter plan. Testing keysets are rate-limited and aren't suitable for live traffic."},{"url":"https://www.pubnub.com/docs/pricing/quotas","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"a Free account holds up to 10 active keysets","capture":"sha256:3d4bfbadb4b63019e998f74606b4f7ebb04be421cd16799bf6f6c64b9442ecff","quote":"A Free account can have up to 10 active keysets."},{"url":"https://www.pubnub.com/docs/pricing/quotas","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"a Function on Free pauses 7 days after deployment","capture":"sha256:3d4bfbadb4b63019e998f74606b4f7ebb04be421cd16799bf6f6c64b9442ecff","quote":"On the Free plan, a Function deployment pauses 7 days after it's deployed."},{"url":"https://www.pubnub.com/docs/architecture/limits","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"the default message payload is 32 KiB","capture":"sha256:804cfd541cfeffa59866a2b2ae7cb427a8c266c8897e8286557291bd9a5d9411","quote":"PubNub can process messages up to 2 MB in size, but the default message payload is limited to 32 KiB."},{"url":"https://www.pubnub.com/docs/architecture/limits","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"a file is at most 5 MB","capture":"sha256:804cfd541cfeffa59866a2b2ae7cb427a8c266c8897e8286557291bd9a5d9411","quote":"| File size | 5 MB |"},{"url":"https://www.pubnub.com/docs/architecture/limits","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"files are kept 1 or 7 days on Free","capture":"sha256:804cfd541cfeffa59866a2b2ae7cb427a8c266c8897e8286557291bd9a5d9411","quote":"File retention is 1 or 7 days on the Free plan, 30 days on Starter, and Unlimited on Pro."},{"url":"https://www.pubnub.com/docs/architecture/limits","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"abnormal traffic can draw a temporary rate limit","capture":"sha256:804cfd541cfeffa59866a2b2ae7cb427a8c266c8897e8286557291bd9a5d9411","quote":"If PubNub detects abnormal or abusive traffic on a keyset, it may also apply a temporary rate limit to the affected APIs."},{"url":"https://www.pubnub.com/docs/architecture/limits","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"subscribe holds an HTTP long-poll","capture":"sha256:804cfd541cfeffa59866a2b2ae7cb427a8c266c8897e8286557291bd9a5d9411","quote":"One is dedicated to the subscribe long-poll, and one or more handle all other operations."},{"url":"https://support.pubnub.com/hc/en-us/articles/360051974051-What-happens-if-usage-exceeds-my-plan-s-limit","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"a payload above 2,048 bytes is billed per 2 KiB part","capture":"sha256:9b3b3d93df986a3045838182f08dc074a1adc2b77b6ed2e20d65075a50bf92c9","quote":"PubNub splits a request whose payload exceeds 2,048 bytes into 2,048-byte (2 KiB) parts and bills each part as its own transaction."},{"url":"https://support.pubnub.com/hc/en-us/articles/360051974051-What-happens-if-usage-exceeds-my-plan-s-limit","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"past a Free limit PubNub emails a request to upgrade or reduce usage","capture":"sha256:9b3b3d93df986a3045838182f08dc074a1adc2b77b6ed2e20d65075a50bf92c9","quote":"If you exceed the Free plan limits, PubNub emails you to ask you to upgrade to the Starter plan or reduce your usage."},{"url":"https://admin.pubnub.com/register","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"registration needs no credit card","capture":"sha256:edbf428c896e9ec8ee2c2d9bbfb2447a535ea140efe0c957d2c8a0631ba5356f","quote":"No credit card required"},{"url":"https://admin.pubnub.com/register","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"the form asks for a first name, last name, email, contact email and password","capture":"sha256:edbf428c896e9ec8ee2c2d9bbfb2447a535ea140efe0c957d2c8a0631ba5356f","quote":"First name Last name Email * Contact Email Password *"},{"url":"https://admin.pubnub.com/register","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"the form is protected by reCAPTCHA","capture":"sha256:edbf428c896e9ec8ee2c2d9bbfb2447a535ea140efe0c957d2c8a0631ba5356f","quote":"This site is protected by reCAPTCHA"},{"url":"https://www.pubnub.com/docs/sdks/rest-api/publish-message-to-channel","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"publish is an HTTP GET in the REST API","capture":"sha256:9b87665ae80c89d607bf871952792ce797f80c2c0debb1e6b7f0e23cc6cd5fc7","quote":"Publish JSON to a channel using the GET request."},{"url":"https://www.pubnub.com/docs/sdks/rest-api/publish-message-to-channel","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"a publish needs the publish key from the Admin Portal","capture":"sha256:9b87665ae80c89d607bf871952792ce797f80c2c0debb1e6b7f0e23cc6cd5fc7","quote":"You app’s publish key from Admin Portal."},{"url":"probe:https://ps.pndsn.com/time/0","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"the REST host answers its time endpoint without a key","capture":"sha256:a63f8ebb3b5569db2faea49c2712d4384891801520183741b9d237a52a4b6163","quote":"\"status\": 200"},{"url":"https://www.pubnub.com/docs/architecture/data-transport-and-delivery","date":"2026-11-01","proved":"PubNub delivers realtime messages over ordinary HTTPS and does not use WebSocket","capture":"sha256:99b22a68fcb31988c40e027a3c0c63760b2fce649ec28ed6d830e8beea60b2ee","quote":"PubNub delivers real-time messages over ordinary HTTPS rather than over a dedicated real-time protocol ... PubNub doesn't use WebSocket."},{"url":"https://www.pubnub.com/docs/pricing/quotas","date":"2026-11-01","proved":"no PubNub plan caps channels, devices or concurrent users; only monthly active users are capped","capture":"sha256:3d4bfbadb4b63019e998f74606b4f7ebb04be421cd16799bf6f6c64b9442ecff","quote":"Every PubNub plan allows unlimited channels, devices, and concurrent users, and includes a 99.999% uptime SLA."},{"url":"probe:https://ps.pndsn.com/time/0","date":"2026-11-01","proved":"the REST host answers its time endpoint without a key","capture":"sha256:5e7490495c1546d38bf2d34f4cdfe29656e17e9975662d4e65f0c5ebcf6dd4b2","quote":"\"status\": 200"},{"url":"https://admin.pubnub.com/register","date":"2026-11-01","proved":"registration needs no credit card","capture":"sha256:9b47d8b9a1fac4bd81403faf8f8654f319e4f501be916ad4d9023d62e2f9c5e4","quote":"No credit card required"},{"url":"https://admin.pubnub.com/register","date":"2026-11-01","proved":"the form asks for a first name, last name, email, contact email and password","capture":"sha256:9b47d8b9a1fac4bd81403faf8f8654f319e4f501be916ad4d9023d62e2f9c5e4","quote":"First name Last name Email \\* Contact Email Password \\*"},{"url":"https://admin.pubnub.com/register","date":"2026-11-01","proved":"the form is protected by reCAPTCHA","capture":"sha256:9b47d8b9a1fac4bd81403faf8f8654f319e4f501be916ad4d9023d62e2f9c5e4","quote":"This site is protected by reCAPTCHA"},{"url":"https://admin.pubnub.com/register","date":"2026-11-01","proved":"the registration page lists unlimited concurrent users, channels and devices","capture":"sha256:9b47d8b9a1fac4bd81403faf8f8654f319e4f501be916ad4d9023d62e2f9c5e4","quote":"Unlimited concurrent users, channels and devices"},{"url":"https://www.pubnub.com/docs/pricing/quotas","date":"2026-11-01","proved":"Free tier keysets are capped at 7 days of retention, unchanged","capture":"sha256:3d4bfbadb4b63019e998f74606b4f7ebb04be421cd16799bf6f6c64b9442ecff","quote":"Free tier keysets are capped at 7 days."}],"verdict":"qualifies-with-caveat","verified_at":"2026-11-02T00:38:24.164Z","notes":"Beyond Free, pricing is per monthly active user: the Starter plan is USD 98 a month for 1,000 MAU."},"claims":[{"path":"$.free_tier","kind":"has-free-tier","num":1.0,"unit":null,"per":null,"currency":null,"usd":null,"fx_date":null,"parse":"ok"},{"path":"$.free_tier.stated","kind":"free-quota","num":1.0,"unit":"GB","per":null,"currency":null,"usd":null,"fx_date":null,"parse":"ok"},{"path":"$.limits[0].value","kind":"limit:request-rate","num":2.0,"unit":"KiB","per":null,"currency":null,"usd":null,"fx_date":null,"parse":"ok"},{"path":"$.limits[1].value","kind":"limit:per-object-cap","num":32.0,"unit":"KiB","per":null,"currency":null,"usd":null,"fx_date":null,"parse":"ok"},{"path":"$.limits[2].value","kind":"limit:retention-clamped","num":null,"unit":null,"per":null,"currency":null,"usd":null,"fx_date":null,"parse":"unparsed"}],"unknown":[],"history":[],"drift":[]}]}