# Hibira vs Sendbird: chat APIs compared

> Sendbird offers a free trial and paid plans from $349 a month; Hibira keeps 500 users free with no time limit and sells 5,000 users for $149 a month.

Source: https://hibira.io/compare/sendbird
Updated: 2026-11-10

Sendbird is a chat API built for large apps, with UI kits, AI chatbots and enterprise contracts. Hibira's Chat API covers the core of in-app chat, stored conversations with read receipts, unread counts and push to offline users, as a self-serve add-on you buy online. The differences are the price of the first paid plan, what stays free and how much comes ready-made.

## At a glance

| | Sendbird Chat | Hibira Chat API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Free plan | Free trial up to 1,000 monthly active users | 500 monthly active users, with no time limit; live connections come from your realtime plan (Free: 100 at once) |
| First paid plan | Starter: $349 a month billed yearly ($399 monthly) for 5,000 monthly active users | Chat 1K: $49 a month for 1,000 monthly active users |
| 5,000 users | Starter $349 or Pro $499 a month billed yearly | Chat 5K: $149 a month |
| Larger plans | Enterprise, priced through sales | Chat 20K $349 and 60K $799 a month; paying yearly gets two months free |
| Message history | Kept for 6 months; longer on Enterprise | Last 30 days always; with a Chat add-on, older messages are archived and still returned by the API |
| Files | Not listed on the pricing page | 1 GB free, then 5 GB to 300 GB included with the plan |
| Ready-made interface | UI kits for mobile and web | A React and JavaScript conversation view in @hibira-io/chat-ui, and a Filament chat page |

Sendbird figures are from its [pricing page](https://sendbird.com/pricing/chat), checked on 2026-11-10.

Hibira's Chat API plans are on the [Chat API page](https://hibira.io/chat).

## When Sendbird is the better fit

- You expect millions of users and want an enterprise contract, SLA and account team.
- You want native UI kits and AI chatbot features from the same vendor.
- You need message history kept longer than six months by contract.

## When Hibira is the better fit

- You want to start paying at $49 a month, not $349.
- You want a free plan that doesn't end after a trial.
- 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](https://hibira.io/chat) and build the interface with [@hibira-io/chat-ui](https://hibira.io/guides/chat-ui).

## Common questions

### Is Hibira an alternative to Sendbird?

Yes, for in-app chat with stored history, read receipts, unread counts, reactions, files, moderation and push to offline users. Sendbird offers more enterprise features and ready-made kits; Hibira is self-serve and costs less to start.

### How much does Sendbird cost?

On 2026-11-10, Sendbird Chat's Starter plan cost $349 a month billed yearly ($399 monthly) and Pro $499 a month billed yearly ($599 monthly), each for 5,000 monthly active users, after a free trial for up to 1,000 users. Source: [Sendbird pricing page](https://sendbird.com/pricing/chat).

### 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.