Stream Chat vs PrivChat

Stream Chat9.2Visit PrivChat8.9Visit

Higher score Stream Chat #2 in Chat APIs 9.2/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 4 of 4 features Visit Stream Chat

vs

PrivChat #5 in Chat APIs 8.9/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 4 of 4 features Visit PrivChat

• Stream Chat fits best

  Feature-rich apps needing broad SDK coverage

• PrivChat fits best

  Open-source teams needing full chat control

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Side by side

Feature	Stream Chat 9.2/10 Visit ↗	PrivChat 8.9/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.2	8.9
Ranking	#2 in Chat APIs	#5 in Chat APIs
Best for	Feature-rich apps needing broad SDK coverage	Open-source teams needing full chat control
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Free
Starting price	—	Free
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud, Mobile	Cloud, Desktop, Mobile, Self-hosted
Platforms	Web, iOS, Android	Web, Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Linux
Integrations	7 integrations	10 integrations
Features Stream Chat 4/4 · PrivChat 4/4
Presence support	✓	✓
Typing indicators	✓	✓
Push notifications	✓	✓
Moderation tools	✓	✓
Specs
SDK platforms	React, iOS (Swift), Android, Flutter, React Native, JavaScript, Unity, Unreal, Angular, Node, Python, Ruby, PHP, Java, .NET, Go, REST	Web, Android, iOS, desktop, Cocos/game engines
Delivery methods	WebSocket events, REST API, webhooks, Amazon SQS, Amazon SNS, push notifications	QUIC, TCP, WebSocket, APNs, FCM, Huawei HMS, Xiaomi, OPPO, vivo, Honor
Message history	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Supports direct, group, public, and private conversations Prebuilt UI plus client, server, and REST SDKs Offline support, moderation, push notifications, and presence	Free Open Source plan with no feature gates Broad messaging, sync, media, moderation, and device features SDKs and transports support web, mobile, desktop, and games
Cons	Paid plans start at $399/month when billed annually Build is limited to 1,000 monthly active users and 100 connections Advanced capabilities are reserved for higher plans	Self-hosting adds deployment and operational responsibility Platform & Enterprise pricing is custom per engagement Commercial modules and white-label clients require the paid tier
Our verdict	Stream Chat is a hosted chat API and SDK platform for adding real-time messaging to web and mobile applications. It suits teams building feature-rich products that need direct messages, group conversations, public or private channels,… Read the review →	PrivChat is open-source, self-hosted realtime chat infrastructure for developers adding messaging to apps, games, and AI-agent products. It combines a Rust server with Rust, TypeScript, and Kotlin SDKs, while supporting web, desktop,… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Stream Chat — where it wins

  • Supports direct, group, public, and private conversations
  • Prebuilt UI plus client, server, and REST SDKs
  • Offline support, moderation, push notifications, and presence

  Where it doesn't

  • Paid plans start at $399/month when billed annually
  • Build is limited to 1,000 monthly active users and 100 connections
  • Advanced capabilities are reserved for higher plans

• PrivChat — where it wins

  • Free Open Source plan with no feature gates
  • Broad messaging, sync, media, moderation, and device features
  • SDKs and transports support web, mobile, desktop, and games

  Where it doesn't

  • Self-hosting adds deployment and operational responsibility
  • Platform & Enterprise pricing is custom per engagement
  • Commercial modules and white-label clients require the paid tier

• Stream Chat9.2/10 · Free plan

  A broad chat toolkit for feature-rich apps, with a high paid entry price.

  Visit Stream ChatFull verdict →
• PrivChat8.9/10 · Free plan

  A broad, self-hosted chat stack for teams that want control over messaging infrastructure.

  Visit PrivChatFull verdict →