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Emitter

Freemium#22 of 32 in Chat APIs

Emitter: A low-cost chat API with pub/sub, MQTT, WebSockets, and self-hosting. Ranked #22 of 32 in Chat APIs by our editors (7.2/10); pricing: Free plan; best for budget-conscious teams needing lightweight pub/sub.

7.2/10Editor score

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Emitter7.2 Visit Emitter

At a glance

Editor score
7.2 / 10
Pricing
Free plan
Best for
Budget-conscious teams needing lightweight pub/sub
Free plan
Yes
Presence support
Yes
Facts checked
20 Sep 2026

Where it wins
- Free access plus a $10-per-month Scale plan
- Supports MQTT, WebSockets, presence, history, and authorization
- Open-source Docker deployment supports self-hosting
Where it doesn't
- Scale allows 500 unique devices and 15 GB data transfer
- Storage is listed as coming soon
- The feature set does not cover typing indicators or moderation

Our verdict on Emitter

Emitter provides real-time publish-subscribe messaging for web applications, mobile apps, online games, and IoT systems. Publishers and subscribers communicate through channels using MQTT or WebSockets, with support for presence, message history, filtering, binary and text messages, and channel-level authorization. It suits teams that need lightweight real-time infrastructure without committing to a narrowly hosted-only model, especially when self-hosting or cost control matters.

The published plans keep the pricing structure simple. Start includes all features, 1 GB of data transfer, and support for 50 unique devices. Scale costs $10 per month and includes all features, 15 GB of data transfer, and support for 500 unique devices. The product also has a free plan, making it practical for early development or smaller deployments. Its SDK coverage includes JavaScript, TypeScript, Node.js, Java, C#, .NET, Go, Python, C, C++, Mono, and WinRT, while platform availability spans web, Windows, Linux, API access, and self-hosted deployment. That breadth should fit teams working across varied application stacks.

Emitter’s strongest focus is transport and channel infrastructure rather than a complete chat-product layer. It offers wildcard and partial-channel filtering, presence status and subscription updates, expirable authorization keys, message storage, and history retrieval. Open-source distribution and Docker-based deployment give technical teams control over hosting, while hosted cloud access offers a simpler route. The documented scope does not cover typing indicators or moderation, so teams needing those product-level chat features will need to build them separately or choose a broader alternative. Emitter is a good fit for connected applications that primarily need pub/sub delivery and protocol flexibility; it is less suitable for buyers seeking a ready-made conversational feature set.

Your product? Our editors can test Emitter in depth and publish a review, labelled as paid · from $149/mo →

Emitter pricing

Plans Free planFreemium A usable free plan; paid tiers unlock the limits above. Prices checked 20 Sep 2026.

See plans on emitter.io

All 2 Emitter plans and prices →

Emitter fact sheet

Free plan	Yes
Paid from	Not verified
Presence support	Yes
Typing indicators	Not verified
Push notifications	Yes
SDK platforms	JavaScript, TypeScript, Node.js, Java, C#, .NET, Go, Python, C, C++, Mono, WinRT
Delivery methods	publish-subscribe, MQTT, WebSockets
Message history	Not verified
Moderation tools	Not verified
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms	Web, Windows, Linux
Support	Email, Community, Docs
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise (editorial estimate)
Pricing	Free plan (source)
Website	emitter.io
Facts checked	20 Sep 2026

Alternatives to Emitter

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Featured on iTechGuides

Emitter is listed in our Chat APIs directory. Add the badge to your site — it links back to this page.

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Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

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Last updated 7 Oct 2026 · How we research and update