Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

ManyPixels VS Ably

Compare ManyPixels VS Ably and see what are their differences

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ManyPixels logo ManyPixels

Unlimited, on-demand design services for freelancers, startups, and agencies.

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.
  • ManyPixels Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-12
  • 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

ManyPixels features and specs

  • Unlimited Design Requests
    ManyPixels allows you to submit an unlimited number of design requests each month. This means you can continually queue up work and receive deliverables without worrying about additional costs.
  • Flat-rate Pricing
    The subscription-based model provides predictable, flat-rate pricing, which helps businesses manage their budgets more effectively without unexpected costs.
  • Wide Range of Design Services
    ManyPixels covers a broad spectrum of design needs, from graphic and web design to illustrations and custom icons, providing a one-stop solution for multiple design requirements.
  • Quality Guarantee
    The platform guarantees high-quality designs by employing professional designers with varied expertise and by offering revisions until the client is satisfied.
  • Quick Turnaround Time
    ManyPixels promises a quick turnaround time with most designs being delivered within 1-2 business days, ensuring that projects can move forward promptly.

Possible disadvantages of ManyPixels

  • No Complex Projects
    ManyPixels focuses on relatively simple and straightforward design tasks. Complex projects requiring extensive collaboration or specialized skills may not be a good fit.
  • Limited Direct Communication
    The platform lacks direct real-time communication with designers, which can sometimes lead to misunderstandings or delays in clarifying requests.
  • Monthly Subscription Commitment
    While the flat-rate pricing is predictable, it requires a monthly subscription commitment, which might not be ideal for businesses with sporadic design needs.
  • Potential Designer Turnover
    There is a possibility of turnover among the designers working on your projects, which might affect the consistency and continuity of the design work.
  • Customization Limitations
    Due to the standardized nature of the service, there might be limitations in how much you can customize the workflow or specific design processes to align with unique business needs.

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 ManyPixels

Overall verdict

  • ManyPixels is a good choice for businesses and individuals who need consistent and diverse design services without the hassle of managing in-house staff. Their service is praised for its quality, speed, and flexibility, making it a viable solution for many digital design needs.

Why this product is good

  • ManyPixels is considered good by many because it offers unlimited design services with a straightforward pricing model. They have a team of professional designers ready to assist with various design tasks without the need for hiring a full-time designer. This can be both time-saving and cost-effective for businesses that require frequent design work.

Recommended for

  • Startups looking for cost-effective design solutions
  • Small to medium-sized businesses needing regular design support
  • Marketing agencies requiring scalable design resources
  • Entrepreneurs and freelancers who want to focus on core business activities without worrying about design tasks

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

ManyPixels videos

No ManyPixels videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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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 ManyPixels and Ably)
Design Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Developer Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Design As A Service
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 ManyPixels and Ably

ManyPixels Reviews

10 Best Unlimited Graphic Design Services in 2024
Founded in 2018, ManyPixels is an on-demand creative service that helps businesses and industries of all sizes scale up their creative content production. They have a customer-first approach and prioritize collaboration between teams to get the best results.
Source: draftss.com
99Designs Alternatives (Best Options for 2024)
Manypixels is another alternative to 99Designs best suited for small business owners. With packages starting from $549 per month, you can use various design subscription services such as unlimited graphic design and web design services.
Source: www.teamtown.co
Design Pickle Alternatives: Top CaaS Solutions
ManyPixels is another popular design service provider that solves many pain points for small businesses. The online graphic design firm was founded in 2018 and offers design subscription services, including unlimited graphic and web design for creative content production. The design company has worked with brands like Buffer, Sleek, and Teach:able
Source: www.teamtown.co
Graphic Design As A Service (Best Options For 2023)
Manypixels offers a wide range of digital design and graphic design services by pairing you up with a singular dedicated designer that you directly work with on all of your requests. If you need more output, you can easily upgrade to their middle plan and get access to an extra active design slot.
Source: www.teamtown.co
10 Design Pickle Alternatives
Pricing: There are three service options available: Essentials, Advanced, and Business. They cost $449, $549, and $899 a month, respectively. The Essentials bundle includes the majority of the functionality. Essentials include unlimited requests, revisions, branding, stock assets, and source files. Aside from that, ManyPixels allows you to test out their services for free in...

Ably Reviews

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

Based on our record, Ably seems to be a lot more popular than ManyPixels. While we know about 26 links to Ably, we've tracked only 2 mentions of ManyPixels. 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.

ManyPixels mentions (2)

  • [for hire] digital artist specialized in cute and cozy illustrations
    You're welcome! Also check out manypixels.co :). Source: over 3 years ago
  • what does it take to charge 1k a month?
    And I would do "Unlimited webflow services for $999/mo". I do the same with design at manypixels.co and it works well. Source: over 4 years ago

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 / 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 / 12 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
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What are some alternatives?

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

Design Pickle - Unlimited graphic design services for flat monthly fee

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

Kimp - Kimp is an unlimited design company, specializing in graphic design (including print and digital designs, custom illustrations, landing page designs and email designs) and video design.

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

Designment - Design On-Demand: Your UI/UX, Web & Brand Solution

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.