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LibreSpeed VS Ably

Compare LibreSpeed VS Ably and see what are their differences

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LibreSpeed logo LibreSpeed

Self-hosted Speedtest for HTML5. Easy setup, examples, configurable, mobile friendly.

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.
  • LibreSpeed Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-21
  • 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. Ably’s Pub/Sub, Chat, and AI Transport products are unified by design, with developer-friendly APIs and SDKs that integrate across your stack.

LibreSpeed

Website
github.com
Pricing URL
-
$ Details
-
Release Date
-
Edit details

Ably

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

LibreSpeed features and specs

  • Open Source
    LibreSpeed is open-source software, meaning anyone can view, modify, and distribute the code. This transparency helps in auditing the code for security issues and allows for community-driven improvements.
  • Free to Use
    LibreSpeed does not require any licensing fees, making it a cost-effective solution for both personal and commercial use.
  • Customizable
    Users can modify the source code to suit their specific needs, whether it is the user interface or the functionality of the speed test.
  • Self-Hosted
    Being self-hosted, LibreSpeed provides more control over data privacy and security, as users can run it on their own servers.
  • No External Dependencies
    LibreSpeed is built to work without relying on third-party services or external dependencies, enhancing reliability and independence.

Possible disadvantages of LibreSpeed

  • Technical Expertise Required
    Setting up and customizing LibreSpeed may require a good degree of technical knowledge, particularly in web development and server management.
  • Maintenance
    Self-hosting LibreSpeed implies that the user is responsible for maintaining the server and updating the software, which could be cumbersome for some.
  • Limited Community Support
    Although it is open source, LibreSpeed may not have as large a user base or as robust community support as more established, proprietary solutions.
  • No Built-In Analytics
    LibreSpeed does not come with built-in advanced analytics or reporting capabilities, so users might need to integrate it with other analytics tools for deeper insights.
  • Initial Setup Complexity
    Configuring the server and ensuring that it works optimally can be complex, particularly for users who are not familiar with server-side configurations.

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 Ably’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, Ably’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 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

LibreSpeed videos

+ Add

Self-host your own internet speed test with LibreSpeed!

More videos:

  • Demo - Tech Demo How To : Self Hosted Speed Test : libreSpeed

Ably videos

+ Add

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 LibreSpeed and Ably)

LibreSpeed

Ably

Speed Test
100 100%
Speed Test
0% 0
Developer Tools
55 55%
Developer Tools
45% 45
Realtime Backend / API
0 0%
Realtime Backend / API
100% 100
Internet
100 100%
Internet
0% 0

User comments

Share your experience with using LibreSpeed and Ably. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Social recommendations and mentions

LibreSpeed might be a bit more popular than Ably. We know about 33 links to it since March 2021 and only 26 links to Ably. 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.

LibreSpeed mentions (33)

  • Ask HN: Is Comcast ripping me off and how can I prove it?
    Try hosting a DIY speed test on a cloud server (like Google colab or the free oracle instances or whatever): https://github.com/librespeed/speedtest. - Source: Hacker News / about 3 years ago
  • SSLVPN - Fluctuating bandwith
    It should be DIA. They provide the internet connection to the company since 2 decades and it's a very small ISP, so it's very vague in terms of contract. Iperf was giving me very terrible results with TCP, UDP was giving me a couple of Gbit/s throughput, definitely a wrong result. We are using this self hosted speedtest. All my results above are based on this software: Https://github.com/librespeed/speedtest. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Speedtests
    Put a copy of Librespeed on a web server that's accessible through the VPN and told them to use that. For (our) convenience, it's logged into a database that's correlated with the VPN login/logout times so the users don't even need to log in to use it, but we still know whose test result it is. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Fooling My ISP
    There is a selfhosted solution for speed testing called LibreSpeed. You could try it and see the results. Source: over 3 years ago
  • How much are you 'trusting' a docker image from hub.docker.com?
    In this particular instance though, adolfintel appears to be the developer of Librespeed. The official documentation in that GitHub repo points to that docker image by adolfintel. Therefore, it counts as the official docker image in my book. Source: over 3 years ago
View more

Ably mentions (26)

  • AWS us-east-1 outage: How Ably’s multi-region architecture held up
    During this week’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 40–50ms global median; this is... - Source: dev.to / 10 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 / about 1 year ago
  • CometChat Alternatives – 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, we’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 LibreSpeed and Ably, you can also consider the following products

Fast.com - Quickly test your internet speed with this fast-loading speed test powered by Netflix.

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

SpeedOf.Me - SpeedOf.Me is an HTML5 Internet speed test. No Flash or Java needed!

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

Speedtest.net - Test your Internet connection bandwidth to locations around the world with this interactive broadband speed test from Ookla

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.

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