The Best Chat APIs in 2026
We researched Chat APIs through official pricing pages, plan tables, and product documentation, then ranked them on their core messaging capabilities, value for money, and verified features. This guide helps teams shortlist developer infrastructure for real-time conversations, presence, and message delivery in Chat APIs.
Our top picks
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Top ranked
Tencent Cloud Chat#1 of 329.3/10A feature-rich chat backend for teams building messaging across multiple platforms.
Free plan
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Runner-up
Stream Chat#2 of 329.2/10A broad chat toolkit for feature-rich apps, with a high paid entry price.
Free plan
-
Top-ranked free plan
CometChat#3 of 329.1/10A complete chat platform with a free tier and broad SDK coverage.
Free plan
Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.
The full ranking 32 tools, best first
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Best forMultiplatform chat with deep message features
A feature-rich chat backend for teams building messaging across multiple platforms.
- Typing indicators
- Moderation tools
9.3/10★★★★★Visit Tencent Cloud -
Best forFeature-rich apps needing broad SDK coverage
A broad chat toolkit for feature-rich apps, with a high paid entry price.
- Typing indicators
- Moderation tools
9.2/10★★★★★Visit Stream Chat -
Best forTeams wanting a complete chat platform
A complete chat platform with a free tier and broad SDK coverage.
- Typing indicators
- Moderation tools
9.1/10★★★★★Visit CometChat -
Best forBudget-conscious apps needing modern chat
A cost-conscious chat API with strong realtime features and a focused SDK footprint.
- Typing indicators
- Moderation tools
9.0/10★★★★☆Visit Ably Chat -
Best forOpen-source teams needing full chat control
A broad, self-hosted chat stack for teams that want control over messaging infrastructure.
- Typing indicators
- Moderation tools
8.9/10★★★★☆Visit PrivChat -
Best forTeams needing polished real-time chat features
A feature-rich chat SDK with a free entry plan and paid growth tiers.
- Typing indicators
- Moderation tools
8.8/10★★★★☆Visit PubNub -
Best forSelf-hosted large-scale group chat
A self-hosted chat stack for large groups, synchronized messaging, and developer control.
- Typing indicators
- Moderation tools
8.7/10★★★★☆Visit OpenIM -
Best forChat apps needing calls and self-hosting
A broad real-time communications API for teams that need calls and self-hosting.
- Typing indicators
- Moderation tools
8.6/10★★★★☆Visit mesibo -
Best forMultichannel customer conversations
A developer-focused API for customer conversations across chat and major messaging channels.
- Typing indicators
- Moderation tools
8.5/10★★★★☆Visit Twilio -
Best forStandard in-app messaging with moderation
A focused chat API for teams needing messaging, moderation, and offline delivery.
- Typing indicators
- Moderation tools
8.4/10★★★★☆Visit Sceyt -
Best forChat with translation and analytics
A flexible chat API with translation, moderation, analytics, and a free tier.
- Typing indicators
- Moderation tools
8.3/10★★★★☆Visit Agora Chat -
Best forBroad-platform chat with free access
A broad-platform chat API with free access and scalable messaging features.
- Typing indicators
- Moderation tools
8.2/10★★★★☆Visit Easemob -
Best forBusiness chat with search and compliance options
A broad chat API with search, moderation, offline delivery, and compliance-focused hosting.
- Typing indicators
- Moderation tools
8.1/10★★★★☆Visit QuickBlox -
Best forOpen-source teams building hosted chat
A flexible open-source chat stack with self-hosting, moderation, and hosted deployment options.
- Typing indicators
- Moderation tools
8.0/10★★★★☆Visit Tinode -
Best forEstablished teams needing enterprise chat controls
A paid chat API suite for teams that need moderation, analytics, and export controls.
- Typing indicators
- Moderation tools
7.9/10★★★★☆Visit Sendbird -
Best forSelf-hosted scalable XMPP deployments
A self-hosted XMPP backend for scalable, multi-tenant chat infrastructure.
- Typing indicators
- Moderation tools
7.8/10★★★★☆Visit MongooseIM -
Best forMature open-source messaging infrastructure
A mature, protocol-rich choice for teams building self-hosted real-time communications.
- Typing indicators
- Moderation tools
7.7/10★★★★☆Visit ProcessOne -
Best forEnterprise-scale XMPP deployments
A self-hosted XMPP foundation for organizations managing large chat deployments.
- Typing indicators
- Moderation tools
7.6/10★★★★☆Visit Tigase -
Best forPlugin-driven self-hosted XMPP chat
A plugin-driven, self-hosted XMPP server for teams building chat infrastructure.
- Typing indicators
- Moderation tools
7.5/10★★★★☆Visit Openfire -
Best forOpen-source chat with live-room features
A broad open-source chat stack for private messaging, groups, and live rooms.
- Moderation tools
7.4/10★★★★☆Visit JuggleIM -
Best forMinimal open-source XMPP deployments
A self-hosted XMPP server for teams and communities that want control of messaging infrastructure.
- Moderation tools
7.3/10★★★★☆Visit Prosody IM -
Best forBudget-conscious teams needing lightweight pub/sub
A low-cost chat API with pub/sub, MQTT, WebSockets, and self-hosting.
7.2/10★★★★☆Visit Emitter -
Best forDevelopers needing low-cost realtime pub/sub
A low-cost pub/sub service with room events, WebSockets, REST, and presence features.
- Typing indicators
7.1/10★★★★☆Visit Scaledrone -
Best forRich multimedia chat across many platforms
A broad chat SDK with rich messaging, moderation, history, and offline delivery.
- Moderation tools
7.0/10★★★★☆Visit ZEGOCLOUD -
Best forPeer-to-peer collaborative chat projects
A focused WebRTC toolkit for chat, presence, calls, files, and shared documents.
6.9/10★★★☆☆Visit Dendri -
Best forTeams prioritizing prebuilt web chat UIs
A strong fit for teams that want polished chat interfaces without building them from scratch.
- Typing indicators
- Moderation tools
6.8/10★★★☆☆Visit TalkJS -
Best forTeams wanting chat plus chatbot integrations
A capable chat API for teams that need messaging, moderation, analytics, and chatbot integrations.
- Typing indicators
- Moderation tools
6.7/10★★★☆☆Visit Applozic -
Best forSelf-hosted white-label chat projects
A broad self-hosted chat stack for teams building branded messaging into their products.
- Typing indicators
- Moderation tools
6.6/10★★★☆☆Visit MirrorFly -
Best forTeams building custom chat with AI filtering
A flexible chat stack with moderation, translation, and AI-powered filtering.
- Typing indicators
- Moderation tools
6.5/10★★★☆☆Visit Apphitect IM -
Best forTeams wanting managed chat implementation
A broad, deployment-flexible chat platform with substantial implementation costs.
- Typing indicators
- Moderation tools
6.4/10★★★☆☆Visit ChatKitty -
Best forAdding AI agents to an existing chat stack
A focused no-code layer for adding AI agents to QuickBlox chat and app experiences.
6.3/10★★★☆☆Visit QuickBlox -
Best forBusinesses connecting multiple messaging channels
A unified REST API connects messaging channels, with chatbot plans starting at €150/month.
- Typing indicators
6.2/10★★★☆☆Visit Amio
No tools match those filters.
Compare at a glance
| # | Tool | Free plan | Paid from | Presence support | Typing indicators | Push notifications | SDK platforms | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tencent Cloud Chat | Yes | $399/mo | Yes | Yes | Yes | Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, Web, Flutter, Electron, Unity, React Native, C, C++ | 9.3 |
| 2 | Stream Chat | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | React, iOS (Swift), Android, Flutter, React Native, JavaScript, Unity, Unreal, Angular, Node, Python, Ruby, PHP, Java, .NET, Go, REST | 9.2 | |
| 3 | CometChat | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | JavaScript, React Native, iOS, Android, Flutter, Ionic/Capacitor | 9.1 | |
| 4 | Ably Chat | Yes | $29/mo | Yes | Yes | Yes | JavaScript, React, React Native, Kotlin (Android), Kotlin (JVM), Swift | 9.0 |
| 5 | PrivChat | Yes | Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Web, Android, iOS, desktop, Cocos/game engines | 8.9 |
| 6 | PubNub Chat | Yes | $98/mo | Yes | Yes | Yes | JavaScript, Kotlin, Swift, Unity, Unreal | 8.8 |
| 7 | OpenIM | Yes | Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Web, iOS, Android, Flutter, React Native, uni-app, Electron, C/C++, Unity | 8.7 |
| 8 | mesibo | Yes | $49/mo | Yes | Yes | Yes | Android, iOS, Flutter, JavaScript, Python, C++, Linux, macOS, Windows, Raspberry Pi, ARM64 | 8.6 |
| 9 | Twilio Conversations | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | web, iOS, Android | 8.5 | |
| 10 | Sceyt | Yes | $99/mo | Yes | Yes | Yes | web, ios, android | 8.4 |
| 11 | Agora Chat | Yes | $349/mo | Yes | Yes | Yes | Android, iOS, Web, Windows, Flutter, React Native, Unity | 8.3 |
| 12 | Easemob IM | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Android, iOS, Web, HarmonyOS, Windows, Linux, Unity, Flutter, React Native, mini-programs, uni-app, Electron | 8.2 | |
| 13 | QuickBlox Chat API | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Android, iOS, Flutter, React Native, JavaScript/web | 8.1 | |
| 14 | Tinode | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | JavaScript, Java | 8.0 | |
| 15 | Sendbird Chat | No | $349/mo | Yes | Yes | Yes | iOS, Android, JavaScript, Flutter, Unity, Unreal, .NET | 7.9 |
| 16 | MongooseIM | Yes | Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | iOS, Android, Web | 7.8 |
| 17 | ejabberd | Yes | €200/mo | Yes | Yes | Yes | iOS, Android, Web | 7.7 |
| 18 | Tigase XMPP Server | Yes | $175/mo | Yes | Yes | Yes | desktop, Android, GWT, iOS, macOS, Kotlin multiplatform | 7.6 |
| 19 | Openfire | Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Java, Go, Dart, JavaScript/TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, C#/.NET | 7.5 | |
| 20 | JuggleIM | Free | Yes | Yes | Android, iOS, Web, Electron | 7.4 | ||
| 21 | Prosody IM | Yes | Free | Yes | Yes | 7.3 | ||
| 22 | Emitter | Yes | Yes | Yes | JavaScript, TypeScript, Node.js, Java, C#, .NET, Go, Python, C, C++, Mono, WinRT | 7.2 | ||
| 23 | Scaledrone | Yes | $19/mo | Yes | Yes | JavaScript, Java/Android, Swift/iOS, React Native, Node.js WebSocket, Node.js REST, Go, Ruby, Python, PHP, REST | 7.1 | |
| 24 | ZEGOCLOUD In-app Chat | Yes | $99/mo | Yes | Yes | Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, Web, Flutter, React Native, Unity | 7.0 | |
| 25 | Dendri | Yes | $29/mo | Yes | Browser, Node.js, React, Vue, Svelte | 6.9 | ||
| 26 | TalkJS | Yes | $279/mo | Yes | Yes | Yes | JavaScript, React, React Native, Flutter | 6.8 |
| 27 | Applozic | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | iOS, Android, Web, JavaScript | 6.7 | |
| 28 | MirrorFly | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Android, iOS, Javascript, React, Angular, Flutter, React Native | 6.6 | |
| 29 | Apphitect IM | Yes | Yes | Yes | Android, iOS, web | 6.5 | ||
| 30 | ChatKitty | Yes | $400/mo | Yes | Yes | Yes | web, React Native, Ionic, Node.js | 6.4 |
| 31 | QuickBlox AI Agent Builder | No | $50/mo | 6.3 | ||||
| 32 | Amio Messaging SDK | €150/mo | Yes | Web | 6.2 |
Head-to-head All 28 comparisons →
- Tencent Cloud Chat vs Stream Chat
- Tencent Cloud Chat vs CometChat
- Tencent Cloud Chat vs Ably Chat
- Tencent Cloud Chat vs PrivChat
- Tencent Cloud Chat vs PubNub Chat
- Tencent Cloud Chat vs OpenIM
- Tencent Cloud Chat vs mesibo
- Stream Chat vs CometChat
- Stream Chat vs Ably Chat
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How we rank chat APIs
Every tool on this page was researched by iTechGuides Editors from its official website — pricing pages, plan tables and product documentation. We rank on how well each one does this category's core job, what the free or entry plan includes, and where it falls short. Where we have enough verified facts, the score out of 10 is a rubric — job fit, value and how much we could verify — shown with its breakdown on every tool's page; a tool we have not verified enough to score yet shows its rank without a number. Scores are re-checked when a product changes its plans. Read the full editorial policy, or submit a tool we missed.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Last updated · How we research and update