Hibira vs CometChat: chat APIs compared
CometChat bills paid plans yearly from $239 a month and adds calling; Hibira sells text chat month by month from $49, with 500 users free in production.
CometChat sells chat with UI kits, voice and video calling and moderation, with paid plans billed yearly. Hibira's Chat API covers the core of in-app chat, stored conversations with read receipts, unread counts and push to offline users, with monthly plans you can buy online. The differences are the free allowance, how plans are billed and how much comes ready-made.
At a glance
| CometChat | Hibira Chat API | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Build: up to 100 users and 25 concurrent connections, for development | 500 monthly active users, in production too; live connections come from your realtime plan (Free: 100 at once) |
| First paid plan | Basic: $239 a month billed yearly | Chat 1K: $49 a month for 1,000 monthly active users, monthly or yearly |
| Next plan | Advanced: $359 a month billed yearly | Chat 5K $149, 20K $349, 60K $799 a month; paying yearly gets two months free |
| Extra users | $0.10 per monthly active user, less at higher tiers | Choose a larger add-on; it applies at once |
| Concurrent connections | 5% of monthly active users on paid plans | From your realtime plan |
| Message history | 6 months, longer at extra cost | Last 30 days always; with a Chat add-on, older messages are archived and still returned by the API |
| Voice and video | Included in the product | Not included |
CometChat figures are from its pricing page, checked on 2026-11-10.
Hibira's Chat API plans are on the Chat API page.
When CometChat is the better fit
- You want voice and video calling from the same vendor as chat.
- You want native UI kits for mobile and web.
- Your contract can be billed yearly from the start.
When Hibira is the better fit
- You want to pay month by month, from $49.
- You want 500 users free in production, not only during development.
- Your users read Chinese, Japanese or Korean, and the word filter and search should understand them.
- Your app already uses Hibira or Pusher for realtime events, and chat should share the same account, app and connection.
See what the API does on the Chat API page and build the interface with @hibira-io/chat-ui.
Common questions
Is Hibira an alternative to CometChat?
Yes, for in-app text chat with stored history, read receipts, unread counts, reactions, files, moderation and push to offline users. CometChat adds calling and ready-made kits; Hibira costs less and is billed monthly.
How much does CometChat cost?
On 2026-11-10, CometChat's Basic plan cost $239 a month and Advanced $359 a month, both billed yearly, with a free Build plan for up to 100 users during development. Source: CometChat pricing page.
What counts as a monthly active user on Hibira?
A user who sends a message or marks a conversation read in a calendar month (UTC), counted once across all of your apps. People who only receive messages aren't counted.
CometChat is a trademark of its owner.