Best CometChat Alternatives & Competitors In 2024

Abirami Elangovan Published On April 9th, 2024 Tech Talks

Looking for an alternative to Cometchat? Here is a curated list of the best providers you can switch to, with added features and benefits. 

Who Is This Blog For?

• You are planning to build an app with Cometchat and want to compare it with other providers.
• You are using Cometchat already and want to switch to another provider for better features and performance.

Did you notice that the trend of adding chat and calls to business apps is increasing? Any app you download these days has in-built features to communicate with the brand or with other users. This typically drives interaction and gives users a reason to stay on the app for a long time.

And this is where the name Cometchat crosses you. But, Comechat isn’t your only option. 

Here, we’ve rounded up the best 5 alternatives to Cometchat to help you decide which provider is best for you and your business. 

1. MirrorFly
2. Sendbird
3. Apphitect
4. Pubnub
5. Rocketchat

But First, What Is Cometchat?

Already using Comechat and know better about it? Skip to the first competitor.

Cometchat is a secure communication platform for chat and calls that has been in the market as a pure play subscription (SaaS) model since 2018. 

As an Indian product, Cometchat is used by several popular brands like Shaadi.com, Kahoot, Konecta and delivery.com. 

The platform is often used by developers who want to add communication features to an app using SDKs and APIs. They offer no-code widgets and extensions to build your communication app. And no surprise, they’ve built customizable tools in 12+ programming languages so that you can add chat, voice call and video call to any platform.

Let’s look at what Comechat has to offer us:

Messaging & chat:

• One-on-one private chat
• Group text messaging
• Share files & multimedia
• Typing indicators
• Users & friends list
• Users & friends presence
• Read receipts
• Delivery receipts
• Audio messages
• Unread message count
• Users search
• Messages search

Voice & video calling:

• One-on-one voice and video calls
• Group video calls

Engagement:

• Polls and quizzes
• Announcements

Moderation:

• Keyword filtering
• Banning and muting
• Report abuse

Administration and security:

• User roles and permissions
• Audit logs
• Data encryption

Additional Features:

• Integrations
• Webhooks
• Analytics & Insights

Now that we’ve seen the features, let’s see the pricing of Cometchat.

Pricing:

As a Cpaas platform, Cometchat charges a monthly subscription fee to use its SDKs and APIs.

CometChat offers a tiered pricing structure with three main plans:

Free:

The best part of Cometchat’s pricing plans is the FREE trial for developers, with access to all its Pro features up to 25 users. 

Essentials:

• Starts at $109 per month
• Suitable for small businesses and startups
• Includes core features like one-on-one and group chat, file sharing, read receipts, and basic analytics

Pro:

• Starts at $529 per month
• Specifically designed for medium-sized businesses and growing apps
• Adds features like voice and video calling, group video calls, user roles and permissions, and advanced analytics

Custom:

• Tailored for large enterprises and high-traffic apps
• Can include unlimited active users, messages, storage, and access to premium features like custom branding, dedicated support, and HIPAA compliance

In addition to the monthly subscription fees, there are some additional costs to consider:

• Overages: For usage exceeding the allotted limits in your plan, you’ll be charged per message, user, or storage unit.
• Voice and video calling: If you want to enable crystal-clear audio calls and video calls, you’ll need to purchase additional minutes or pay per call.
• Integrations: Some third-party integrations may require separate subscriptions or fees.

Now, just like any other provider, Cometchat has its own merits and demerits. Let’s take a look into them. 

Advantages of CometChat:

👍Ease of Use:

• Minimal Coding: Widgets let you add chat functionality with minimal coding, ideal for standardized user experiences.
• Free Tier: Free plan available for building basic prototypes before committing to paid plans.

👍Functionality:

• Comprehensive Features: Offers core features like private messaging, group chats, voice/video calls, and file sharing.
• Customization: White labeling options and APIs/SDKs for developers to tailor the chat experience to their app’s brand and style.

👍Integrations:

• Extensions Marketplace: Connect CometChat with a limited selection of other tools and services.

Overall, CometChat offers a user-friendly platform with comprehensive features and customization options, making it suitable for developers seeking a quick and flexible chat solution for their apps.

Disadvantages of CometChat:

👎Limited Functionality:

• Focus on Chat: CometChat only offers chat functionality (including video and voice), not broader real-time platform features.
• Back-End Integration: Limited support for back-end integration with common languages like Java and .NET.

👎Technical Challenges:

• Customization Effort: Significant development effort may be needed for advanced customization.
• Dependency: Integrating CometChat makes your app dependent on their service, impacting functionality during downtimes.

👎Support and Pricing:

• Slow Support: Customer reviews suggest slower-than-desired response times for support queries.
• Cost: Pricing may not be ideal for budget-conscious users or low-traffic applications.

👎Additional potential disadvantages:

• Limited Integrations: The Extensions Marketplace offers a limited selection of third-party integrations.
• Lack of Advanced Features: Certain advanced features like live chat widgets or AI bots might not be readily available.

Best Cometchat Alternatives:

1. MirrorFly

Tired of Cometchat’s calls and chat crashing? Worry not! MirrorFly takes care of your app’s complete communication infrastructure with customizable features. And the best part is you can build your app with MirrorFly’s SDKs and APIs, but brand it like you have built it in-house.

Also, you have all the freedom to edit the source code as per your needs and host it on your own-premise. Interesting right? But there’s more MirrorFly can offer than Comechat.

No complaining! But the fact is that MirrorFly is better than Cometchat in a number of ways. And let us take a close look into each one of them one by one.

Here’s The Proof!

I could list a 100 more features but you need real reasons why MirrorFly is better. And here is the evidence from the ones who’ve used the SDKs for their own projects. 

Is MirrorFly Trustworthy Than Cometchat? 

Core Features Of MirrorFly

Communication Features:

Chat & Messaging:

• Topic-based chat
• One-on-one and group chat
• File sharing (photos, videos, documents)
• Chatbot
• Offline messaging
• Online/offline presence indicators
• Typing indicators
• Read receipts and delivery receipts
• Rich media messaging (audio notes, location sharing)
• Advanced search and filtering options

Video & Audio Calls:

• HD video & audio calling
• One-on-one and group video calls
• Call forward
• Call history & backup

Other Communication Features:

Support

• 24×7 tech support
• AI-powered Support (ChatGPT)

Security & Privacy:

• End-to-end encryption
• HIPAA compliance
• GDPR and OWASP compliance
• Profanity filter

Development & Customization:

• Pre-built UI Kit
• Scalability and reliability
• Customization options
• Analytics and reporting

Deployment

• On-premise
• On-Cloud

Advantages Of MirrorFly

👍100% Customization: Personalize every aspect of the chat experience to perfectly match your brand and specific needs of your users.

👍White-label your app: Present your app to your users seamlessly as your own product, without any external branding. Use your own logo, colors and themes. 

👍ChatGPT Support: Get powerful AI-powered support with MirrorFly’s documentation.

👍Deploy flexibly on-premise or on-cloud: Choose the deployment model that best suits your security, control, and infrastructure preferences. You can host your app on your own servers or on MirrorFly’s cloud. 

👍You get full control of source code: Gain complete access and modify the underlying code to fine-tune functionality and integrations on your app. 

👍Upload any size of video files: Share and exchange even large video files effortlessly within your app.

Disadvantages Of MirrorFly

👎On-call Recording is unavailable.

Pricing

MirrorFly is available in 2 different pricing models

1. Cloud / SaaS Model: Monthly subscription with 2 tiers.
   1. Essentials starting from $399 (5K MAU)
   2. Premium starting from $999 (5K MAU)

1. Self-hosted/ SaaP Model: Custom plan as per your budget and requirements. 

3 Reasons Why You Need To Choose MirrorFly Over Cometchat?

🏆Personalize your chat experience: MirrorFly lets you completely customize how the chat looks, works, and stores data, unlike CometChat.

🏆Host as per your needs: Choose cloud or on-premise hosting for more control over security and scaling, while CometChat is mainly cloud-based.🏆Share big files easily: Send and receive even large video files without limits, which CometChat may restrict.

2. Sendbird

Tell me you are an aspiring developer or an empowering business, and I’d recommend Sendbird without a doubt. Because, this platform makes sure that the calls that your users make on your app are crystal-clear, wanting them to come back again without a hesitation.

Especially for tech communities that want to play with AI-powered chats, Sendbird is without a doubt a perfect choice.

Core Features Of Sendbird

Messaging:

• Channels
• Messaging essentials
• Offline messages
• Message search

Engagement:

• Media types
• Structured message templates
• Admin messages
• Announcements

Moderation:

• Moderation dashboard
• Auto image moderation
• Profanity filter
• Domain filter
• User moderation

Additional features:

• Sendbird UIKit
• Customizable
• Scalability
• Global reach

Advantages Of Sendbird

👍Launch your app faster: Forget months of coding! Sendbird helps you add chat to your app in just a few hours, freeing up your time and resources.

👍Scale without issues: No need to worry about your app crashing when things get busy. Sendbird can handle millions of users at once, keeping things smooth even during peak times.

👍Interactive features: From typing indicators to message reactions, file sharing to moderation tools, Sendbird comes with everything you need to build a top-notch chat experience. You won’t have to build any of it yourself!

Disadvantages Of Sendbird

👎Pricing structure: While offering a free tier, Sendbird’s paid plans can be relatively expensive compared to some competitors, especially for smaller projects or low user volumes.

👎Documentation complexity: User feedback suggests the documentation can be challenging to navigate and might lack depth for specific use cases. This can increase development time and require additional support.

👎Feature limitations: Although feature-rich, Sendbird may not offer certain advanced functionalities available on other platforms, like AI-powered chatbots or custom channel permissions. This could limit specific customization options.

Pricing

3 Reasons Why You Need To Choose Sendbird Over Cometchat?

🏆Unparalleled Scalability: Sendbird’s infrastructure has been rigorously tested to handle large-scale deployments and sustained high user volumes.

🏆Feature Richness for Enhanced Engagement: Sendbird offers a comprehensive suite of features that go beyond basic chat functionality. Live video streaming, AI-powered chatbots, advanced analytics, and granular access controls empower you to create a truly engaging and interactive user experience.

🏆Global Reach and Localization: Sendbird boasts a global network of data centers strategically located around the world, ensuring low latency and optimal performance for geographically distributed users.

3. Apphitect

Video calls have transformed so much the quality of conversations now has a blend of human touch to it. And Apphitect delivers it in style. Even if you’ve got a million users using your app at the same time, Apphitect’s instant messaging delivers and receives messages right on time. No delays, and most importantly no one could peek into conversations.

Because Apphitect shields your app with the finest security features. Yes, even Apphitect could not read the messages exchanged on your app.

Core Features Of Apphitect:

Communication:

• Real-time Chat
• HQ Voice Call
• HD Video Call
• Video Conference
• SIP & VOIP Call
• Live Broadcasting

Customization:

• 100% Customizable Features
• White-label Chat Solution
• Custom UI/UX Development

Scalability & Security:

• Highly Scalable & Secure
• 99.999% Uptime SLA
• End-to-End Encryption
• Advanced Security Features

Advanced Features:

• Group Chat with Features
• File Sharing & Media Management
• Analytics & Reporting
• Integrations & Plugins
• Geolocation & Mapping

Bonus:

• One-time License Fee
• Global Data Centers
• Dedicated Support
• Advantages Of Apphitect

👍White Labeling and Branding: No generic branding here – Apphitect lets you fully customize the look and feel of your chat feature to resonate with your brand identity and create a seamless user experience.

👍Global Reach without downtime: Reach users across continents without worrying about server lag or limited capacity – Apphitect scales seamlessly to handle massive user engagement.

👍Rich Feature Set: Beyond basic chat – video calls , file sharing , group chats , whiteboard and screen sharing tools are just some of the options to enhance your app functionality and user experience.

Disadvantages Of Apphitect
👎Apphitect does not allow users to create meeting agendas for business interactions.

Pricing
Apphitect offers its SDKs and APIs for custom pricing.

3 Reasons Why You Need To Choose Apphitect Over Cometchat?

🏆Future-proof Flexibility: Apphitect is built to scale and adapt, easily integrating with new technologies and evolving communication trends.

🏆Apphitect lets you brand your app your way: White-label, customize, and create a platform that feels uniquely yours. Cometchat offers some customization, but your personalization might be a bit limited.

🏆Analytics & Dashboard: Apphitect goes beyond basic metrics, offering deep insights into user behavior and communication patterns.

4. Pubnub

Pubnub is simply a techie’s choice! When you compare it with Cometchat, you’ll find that it does not just have regular chat and call options. It’s got better with live streaming capabilities and IoT, making it a perfect option to build multi-user apps and gaming apps.

Sounds brilliant, right? And don’t worry that the high-tech features would cost you a lot of time, and effort to build your app. Pubnub makes it simple and quick with easy-to-use docs. Above this, you need not break the bank to buy their SDKs.

Core Features Of Pubnub

Real-time Communication:

• Messaging
• Presence
• Push Notifications

Data Transmission:

• Data Streams
• Functions
• Storage & Persistence

Scalability & Security:

• Globally Distributed Network
• Highly Scalable
• Robust Security

Developer Tools:

• 50+ SDKs
• Pre-built Integrations
• Dashboard & Analytics

Advantages Of Pubnub

👍Instant updates: Pubnub makes your app react instantly, like a live chat or data stream that feels super responsive.

👍Scale easily: Grow big without growing pains. Pubnub handles huge user numbers, so you can focus on building, not scaling.

👍Secure Chats: Choose the safety of user conversations and their data. Pubnub is flexible and secure, fitting any real-time communication need.

Disadvantages Of Pubnub

👎Higher latency than other options: PubNub uses HTTP long polling for communication, which can lead to higher latencies compared to WebSockets or other real-time protocols. This can be noticeable for users in latency-sensitive apps.

👎Inefficient data transmission: PubNub doesn’t use delta compression for data updates, which can lead to larger data payloads and increased bandwidth usage.

👎Additional charges for exceeding limits: If you exceed certain usage limits, you’ll be charged extra. This can add up quickly for applications with high traffic.

Pricing

3 Reasons Why You Need To Choose Pubnub Over Cometchat?

🏆Cost-Effective Choice: PubNub offers flexible pricing plans with free tiers for smaller projects. Cometchat’s pricing might be less scalable, making it potentially expensive for growing ventures.

🏆IoT Integration: PubNub easily connects with internet-of-things devices, opening doors for innovative real-time apps. Cometchat might not be ready for the connected world yet.

🏆Pubnub Goes Beyond Chat: PubNub lets you build interactive apps with real-time data and features. Cometchat sticks to basic chat.

5. Rocket.Chat

Core Features Of Rocket.Chat

Communication:

• Chat (one-on-one, group, private)
• Voice Calls
• Video Calls
• File Sharing
• Omnichannel Integration (e.g., WhatsApp)

Collaboration:

• Channels (public, private, threaded)
• Mentions & Search
• Collaborative Editing
• Tasks & Kanban Boards
• Polls & Surveys

Customization:

• Open Source & Self-Hostable
• Custom Branding & UI/UX
• Apps & Integrations (Marketplace)
• Bots & Automation

Security & Privacy:

• End-to-End Encryption (optional)
• ISO 27001 Certified
• Compliance with GDPR, CCPA, LGPD, HIPAA
• User Management & Permissions

Other Features:

• Live Chat for Websites
• Knowledge Base & Wiki
• Guest Access & Registration
• Webhooks & APIs
• Mobile Apps (iOS & Android)

Advantages Of Rocket.Chat

👍Build it your way: Open-source and customizable, Rocket.Chat lets you bend it to your needs, without any restrictions.

👍Privacy is the priority: Keep user data super-safe, self-host or choose secure clouds, Rocket.Chat takes security very seriously.

👍Perfectly engaging features: Packed with features and endless integrations, Rocket.Chat fuels communication and boosts teamwork effectively.

Disadvantages Of Rocket.Chat

👎Security Concerns: Open-source platforms like Rocketchat can sometimes be more vulnerable to security threats compared to closed-source alternatives.

👎Limited Documentation: Compared to established communication platforms like Slack or Microsoft Teams, Rocketchat’s API documentation can be less comprehensive and user-friendly.

👎Lack of Enterprise Features: Rocketchat’s API and SDKs may lack some of the features that are essential for enterprise deployments, such as advanced security, compliance, and scalability. 

Pricing

3 Reasons Why You Need To Choose RocketChat Over Cometchat? 

🏆Rocketchat is secure: Rocket.Chat prioritizes data security with encryption, user management, and compliance certifications. Cometchat might not offer the same level of comprehensive security features. 

🏆Best for mobile apps: Rocket.Chat boasts native mobile apps with excellent functionality, ensuring a seamless user experience on the go. Cometchat’s mobile apps might offer a less feature-rich or user-friendly experience.   

🏆Cost-Effective Choice: Rocket.Chat’s open-source nature eliminates licensing fees, making it a budget-friendly option for startups and cost-conscious projects.

Now we’ve covered almost everything we need to know about the providers in comparison with Cometchat. And here is one final comparison of all essential features and benefits.

Comparing The 5 Most Popular CometChat Competitors in 2024

Feature	Cometchat	MirrorFly	Sendbird	Apphitect	PubNub	Rocket.chat
100% Customizations	❌	✅	✅	✅	❌	❌
White-label	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌	✅
Full Source Code Ownership	❌	✅	❌	✅	❌	✅
Unlimited Chat	✅	✅	❌	✅	❌	❌
Unlimited Video & Voice	❌	✅	❌	✅	❌	❌
SIP & VoIP Call	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌	✅
Topics based Chat	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌	❌
On-premise	✅	✅	❌	✅	✅	✅
Custom Security	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌	❌
Activity Feeds	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌	✅
Chatbot	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌	✅
Profanity Filter	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌	✅
ChatGPT support	❌	✅	❌	❌	❌	❌

Finding the best alternative to Cometchat

By now you know that there are plenty of Cometchat alternatives to pick from, depending on your needs. 

Looking to build a chat app that connects with your users on a personal level and turn them into long term users? You probably want MirrorFly. Searching for a geeky option for gaming-like apps? Pubnub is the place to be. 

Planning to give your audience a smooth video call experience? I’m going to say Sendbird is the best option. 

Now, if you’d ask me what I’d choose over Cometchat, I’d undoubtedly choose MirrorFly. Because it has all that I want to build a personalized communication experience for my users. After all, that makes them stay and that makes my app grow! 

Want more details? Comment down your queries. My team and I will get back to you with the best possible answers!

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