Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Bright Data VS Ably

Compare Bright Data VS Ably and see what are their differences

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Bright Data logo Bright Data

World's largest proxy service with a residential proxy network of 72M IPs worldwide and proxy management interface for zero coding.

Ably logo Ably

The realtime platform that just works. We power more WebSocket connections than any other pub/sub platform, serving over 2 billion devices monthly.
  • Bright Data Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-05-12
  • Ably Ably homepage
    Ably homepage //
    2024-08-05

We help teams deliver resilient AI UX and high-performance live experiences that stay fast and in sync worldwide. We provide the global realtime layer for AI agents, chat, notifications, live dashboards, and collaboration - engineered to handle peak demand without self-managed infrastructure.

Teams like HubSpot and Intercom use Ably to avoid the cost and complexity of building and operating realtime systems, while still getting predictable performance at serious scale, handling 2T+ API operations per month. Ablyโ€™s Pub/Sub, Chat, and AI Transport products are unified by design, with developer-friendly APIs and SDKs that integrate across your stack.

Ably

Website
ably.com
$ Details
freemium
Release Date
2016 January
Startup details
Country
United Kingdom
Founder(s)
Matthew O'Riordan, Dr. Paddy Byers
Employees
50 - 99

Bright Data features and specs

  • Extensive Proxy Network
    Bright Data offers a vast and diverse network of over 72 million IPs, ensuring high availability and reliability for users.
  • Wide Range of Services
    Provides various proxy solutions including data center, residential, mobile, and ISP proxies, catering to different user needs.
  • Geographical Targeting
    Allows users to target proxies based on specific countries, cities, and even ASN, which is beneficial for localized data scraping.
  • Advanced Tools and APIs
    Offers sophisticated tools and APIs for automation, data extraction, and optimized proxy management.
  • Customer Support
    Provides round-the-clock customer support and numerous resources such as detailed documentation and integration guides.

Possible disadvantages of Bright Data

  • Cost
    Bright Data's services are priced at a premium, which might be expensive for small businesses or individual users.
  • Complexity
    The extensive range of options and settings can be overwhelming and may require a steep learning curve for new users.
  • Ethical Concerns
    The use of residential and mobile proxies can raise ethical questions regarding user consent and data privacy.
  • Account Approval
    New accounts are subject to approval which can delay immediate access to the service.
  • Occasional IP Blocks
    Despite the large IP pool, users may still experience occasional blocks and captchas when accessing certain websites.

Ably features and specs

  • Scalability
    Ably is designed to handle a massive number of concurrent connections and messages, making it scalable for both small and large applications.
  • Real-time Messaging
    Ably provides robust real-time messaging capabilities with low latency, supporting use-cases like live chat, gaming, and real-time data streaming.
  • Global Presence
    Ably has a globally distributed network, ensuring low latency and high availability for users around the world.
  • Advanced Features
    It offers advanced features such as message history, presence, and push notifications, which can enhance the functionality of real-time applications.
  • Security
    Ably includes built-in security features such as TLS encryption, token-based authentication, and private channels to ensure secure communication.
  • Extensive Documentation
    The service provides extensive and well-organized documentation, making it easier for developers to integrate and utilize its features.
  • SDKs and Libraries
    Ably offers a wide range of SDKs and libraries for different programming languages and platforms, easing the development process.
  • Reliable Delivery
    It ensures reliable message delivery with features like message queuing and message de-duplication.

Possible disadvantages of Ably

  • Complexity
    Due to its wide range of advanced features, the initial learning curve can be steep for new users.
  • Cost
    For large-scale applications or extensive use of advanced features, the costs can add up, making it potentially expensive.
  • Vendor Lock-in
    Relying heavily on Ablyโ€™s platform-specific features may result in vendor lock-in, making it challenging to switch to other services in the future.
  • Dependence on Internet Connection
    As a cloud-based service, Ablyโ€™s performance is highly dependent on the quality and reliability of the internet connection.
  • Third-party Integration
    While Ably offers various integration options, integrating certain third-party services may require additional custom development or may not be as seamless.

Analysis of Bright Data

Overall verdict

  • Bright Data is generally considered a good choice for businesses and professionals who require reliable and scalable proxy services. It excels in offering a comprehensive set of features and a vast IP pool, although it might be considered expensive for individual or small-scale users.

Why this product is good

  • Bright Data, formerly known as Luminati Networks, is a well-regarded proxy service provider known for its vast network of IP addresses and wide range of proxy types. It offers residential, data center, and mobile proxies with a focus on reliability and scalability. The service is often praised for its high uptime, excellent customer support, and robust infrastructure, making it a popular choice for businesses needing large-scale data collection and web scraping solutions.

Recommended for

  • Large enterprises needing mass data collection
  • Businesses engaged in web scraping and analysis
  • Companies requiring high uptime and reliability
  • Professionals interested in diverse proxy options, including residential and mobile

Analysis of Ably

Overall verdict

  • Ably is a reliable and efficient real-time messaging platform, well-suited for applications requiring high performance and scalability. It is generally well-regarded within the developer community for its ease of use and robust feature set.

Why this product is good

  • Features
    Ably provides a comprehensive suite of features such as pub/sub messaging, presence, and history.
  • Security
    It implements robust security practices including TLS encryption, token-based authentication, and private channels.
  • Integration
    Supports numerous protocols and provides SDKs for various programming languages, making it easy to integrate with different systems.
  • Reliability
    Ably offers high availability and low latency, ensuring messages are delivered in real-time.
  • Scalability
    The platform can handle millions of active connections and is designed for horizontal scaling.

Recommended for

  • developers building real-time applications like chat apps, dashboards, or multiplayer games
  • businesses in need of a scalable solution for live updates and notifications
  • teams looking for a platform with strong security and compliance credentials
  • organizations requiring integration with existing development workflows and tools

Bright Data videos

Rotating Residential Network | Proxy Network Types | Bright Data (Formerly Luminati Networks)

Ably videos

How to build a collaborative environment around your product

More videos:

  • Demo - How to build an avatar stack with Ably Spaces
  • Demo - Ably 101: Serverless WebSockets at scale

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Bright Data and Ably)
Proxy
100 100%
0% 0
Developer Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Residential Proxies
100 100%
0% 0
Realtime Backend / API
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Bright Data and Ably

Bright Data Reviews

  1. Sam Mitchell
    ยท Owner at KittenProperties ยท
    Mixed feelings

    We used their DC proxies and Residential proxies. Resi proxies were having quite low success rate. We had to use resi solution from other proxy providers. Unblocker didn't work well either also it was way too expensive.

    ๐Ÿ Competitors: Decodo, NetNut.io
    ๐Ÿ‘ Pros:    Cheap dc proxies
    ๐Ÿ‘Ž Cons:    Quite expensive|Residential proxies are worse than competitiors

Proxy Service Awards 2024
And if thereโ€™s one thing that defines Bright Data in an industry where all gaps are closing, itโ€™s the platform. Weโ€™ve criticized it for complexity and opaqueness; but after all these years, we have to admit that Bright Dataโ€™s tooling remains a north star for many providers aspiring to serve the most demanding clients.
Source: proxyway.com
Top 10 Alternatives to Bright Data (formerly Luminati Proxy Networks)
Oxylabs remains the number aggressive competitor of Bright Data โ€“ they have even had a case to settle in the court in the past. If you wouldnโ€™t want to use Bright Data proxies, then you might as well avoid Oxylabsas it is everything you hate in Bright Data and even worse. Aside from the pricing aspect, Oxylabs have been found to engage in some unethical practices and scam...
911.re Alternatives: 10 Best Proxies Smilar to 911 Proxy in 2023
The most exciting thing about Bright Data is that it comes with new daily feature releases so that you always have access to the latest features as soon as they are released. You also have access to 24/7 global support and dedicated account managers who will help you get started with Bright Data immediately!
17 BEST Residential Proxies to Buy in 2022 (Cheap & Premium)
Formerly known as Luminati Networks, Bright Data is the most popular premium residential proxy provider in the industry.
Source: earthweb.com
10 Best Free Online Proxy Server List of 2022 [VERIFIED]
Verdict: Bright Data Proxy Manager will help you with various use cases such as web data extraction, e-commerce, collecting stock market data, brand protection, etc. Bright Data has capabilities of data collection from eCommerce, Social Media, etc. It provides 24ร—7 global support and dedicated account managers.

Ably Reviews

We have no reviews of Ably yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Bright Data should be more popular than Ably. It has been mentiond 45 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Bright Data mentions (45)

  • Precursor
    Happy to offer a counter of some great products for anti-bot defeat: https://brightdata.com/ https://www.zenrows.com/ https://www.capsolver.com/ https://scrapfly.io/ hundreds of millions of residential ips, human browser fingerprints, custom browser binaries, auto solve of turnstyle, recaptcha v3, kasada, datadome, AWS WAF, etc if they come up. - Source: Hacker News / 18 days ago
  • Best Web Scraping Tools in 2026: A Hands-On Comparison of the Top 10
    The best web scraping tools 2026 leaderboard hasn't changed; the gap has narrowed. Bright Data remains the safest bet for any team that wants to spend time on the data, not on the scraping. The 660-scraper library, 400M-IP network, pay-per-success pricing and unlimited concurrency are still uncontested at the high end. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • The Economics of Web Scraping: How Consultancies Price Data Extraction and Manage Scope Creep
    Infrastructure Pass-Through (OpEx) Data extraction at scale is infrastructure-heavy. Bypassing modern Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) requires high-quality residential proxies, CAPTCHA solvers, and substantial browser-automation compute resources. Services like Bright Data charge significantly by the gigabyte for premium residential IPs. These variable infrastructure costs must be passed directly to the client,... - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • LinkedIn Scraping Is Dead: 5 Legal, ToS-Safe Alternatives That Actually Work in 2026
    Bright Data has successfully defended web scraping in U.S. Courts and offers LinkedIn datasets pre-collected and ready to download. LinkedIn profile data on their dataset marketplace runs around $250 per 100,000 records. The freshness caveat is real: bulk datasets are snapshots, not real-time. If you need current job titles on a rolling basis, you're better with an enrichment API than a one-time dataset pull.... - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Building a Live AI Market Research Terminal: How Bright Data and Convex Replace Polling With Real-Time Everything
    Bright Data built an open-source demo that solves this. It's called the Signal Terminal, a financial research tool built around that problem. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
View more

Ably mentions (26)

  • AWS us-east-1 outage: How Ablyโ€™s multi-region architecture held up
    During this weekโ€™s AWS us-east-1 outage, Ably maintained full service continuity with no customer impact. This was our multi-region architecture working exactly as designed; error rates were negligibly low and unchanged throughout. Any additional round trip latency was limited to 12ms, which is below the typical variance in any client-to-endpoint connection, and well below our 40โ€“50ms global median; this is... - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
  • Real-Time Sync Alternatives: Vaultrice vs. localStorage, DIY, Firebase, Pusher
    Services like Pusher and Ably are experts in real-time messaging. They provide robust APIs for pub/sub channels, allowing you to broadcast events to clients reliably. - Source: dev.to / 11 months ago
  • CometChat Alternatives โ€“ Comparing the Top 10 Competitors
    Ably is a real-time infrastructure platform that focuses on delivering low-latency, reliable messaging across global distributed systems. It's designed for developers building event-driven applications, including chat, but also supports broader use cases like live dashboards, GPS tracking, and collaborative tools. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Real-Time Authorization in a Chat Application with Permit.io and WebSockets
    For our web socket-based application, weโ€™ll be using Next.js and Ably, a service that allows us to easily integrate and manage real-time capabilities in our apps powered by web socket. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Curiosity: Using Ably.io Realtime Messaging as a Lightweight Database
    Ably offers various solutions for developers, with their most popular being realtime messaging based on the pub/sub model. When you publish a message to a channel, all devices connected to that channel receive it instantly. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Bright Data and Ably, you can also consider the following products

Oxylabs - A web intelligence collection platform and premium proxy provider, enabling companies of all sizes to utilize the power of big data.

Pusher - Pusher is a hosted API for quickly, easily and securely adding scalable realtime functionality via WebSockets to web and mobile apps.

Decodo - Decodo is perhaps the most user-friendly way to access local data anywhere. It has global coverage with 195 locations, offers more than 55M residential proxies worldwide and a great deal of scraping solutions.

Socket.io - Realtime application framework (Node.JS server)

NetNut.io - Residential proxy network with 52M+ IPs worldwide. SERP API, Website Unblocker, Professional Datasets.

PubNub - PubNub is a real-time messaging system for web and mobile apps that can handle API for all platforms and push messages to any device anywhere in the world in a fraction of a second without having to worry about proxies, firewalls or mobile drop-offs.