DEV Community: Emily Nekvasil

Connectivity Redefined: Key Characteristics of IoT Technology

Emily Nekvasil — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 19:16:59 +0000

The Internet of Things (IoT) isn't just a buzzword anymore; it's actively reshaping how we experience our daily lives, workplaces, and the world around us.

Fueled by AI and 5G breakthroughs, a growing appetite for smart home conveniences and ambitious smart city projects are taking root worldwide. Projections from Statista suggest a future teeming with connected devices --- expected to hit 40 billion globally by 2033.

For anyone involved in creating the next wave of smart technology --- be it for homes, industry, or personal use --- grasping the fundamental nature of IoT technology is essential.

This article dives into what makes IoT tick: its key components, how systems are typically structured, emerging trends, and the defining characteristics of IoT that allow it to build intelligent systems capable of sensing, thinking, and acting in real time.

Understanding these core traits is crucial for building smart gadgets, industrial automation tools, wearable tech, or anything similar.

What is IoT (Internet of Things)?

IoT technology is a network infrastructure made up of interconnected physical objects with sensors, actuators, and communication capabilities embedded within them. These elements enable physical devices to collect and exchange data with each other and with cloud-based services.

British inventor Kevin Ashton coined the term IoT back in 1999. However, its widespread use for IoT devices is more recent.

Advancements in microchip fabrication have made producing very small, lightweight integrated circuits at a low cost possible. As a result, we can now incorporate network connectivity into everything from a fridge to a small ring.

IoT System Components

IoT isn't a single technology. It comprises multiple technologies working together to create a high-tech version of everyday items.

The core components of IoT systems include:

Sensors or devices (the T in IoT): These are the fundamental building blocks of IoT, gathering data from the physical world. They let the system perceive and respond to its environment. These "things" include smart home appliances, activity trackers, industrial sensors, medical devices, and more.
Connectivity (the I in IoT): IoT devices need seamless connectivity to communicate with each other and central hubs or cloud platforms. This connectivity requires internet communication protocols and network infrastructure, including Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Wi-Fi, cellular networks, and Ethernet.
Data collection and analysis: IoT devices must collect, store, and analyze the data IoT sensors gather to extract meaningful insights. This involves using cloud computing platforms, data storage solutions, and AI algorithms.
Graphical user interface (GUI): GUIs allow users to interact with and manage their IoT devices.

Examples of IoT Technology

Now that we've outlined the foundation of IoT technology, let's explore some of its real-life applications.

Smart home appliances: With a market value of $69 billion, smart TVs, ACs, refrigerators, and other connected appliances are some of the most common examples of IoT devices. They offer convenience, energy efficiency, and improved home security.
Wearable medical devices: IoT devices also include wearable health monitors, heart rate monitors, blood sugar sensors, and other medical devices. Through advanced telemedicine apps, these devices provide remote doctors with real-time patient data, enabling better diagnosis and 24/7 health monitoring.
Smart cities: Smart city projects like The Line in Saudi Arabia and Toyota's Woven City in Japan leverage IoT technology to optimize traffic flow, manage energy consumption, and improve public safety.
Agriculture: IoT technology expands beyond the city and into the field, allowing farmers to optimize irrigation, monitor crop health, reduce resource waste, and improve agricultural efficiency.

13 Characteristics of IoT Systems

Now, let's delve into the attributes that define IoT and highlight what makes it different from other technologies.

Connectivity

Let's start with what many consider the bedrock of IoT: connectivity.

IoT devices leverage diverse connectivity options, including:

Wireless technologies with varying ranges, data rates, and power consumption profiles like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, Z-Wave, and cellular networks (3G, 4G, and 5G).
For reliable, high-bandwidth connectivity for stationary devices or critical infrastructure, IoT tech relies on wired connections like ethernet and power-line communication (PLC)
Self-organizing mesh networks enhance network resilience and coverage, particularly in challenging environments or large-scale deployments.
Finally, low-power wide-area networks (LPWAN) like LoRaWAN, Sigfox, and NB-IoT enable environmental monitoring and smart agriculture applications.

Unique Identity

Each IoT device has a unique identity represented by an identifier that lets you address, manage, and secure it individually. This identifier can be:

A MAC address
An IP address (IPv6)
A Universally Unique Identifier (UUID)
A device-specific identifier

Can you imagine what it would be like managing a network of 40 billion connected devices if you couldn't uniquely identify each one?

The unique identity is crucial for device authentication, data association, remote management, and implementing access controls.

Sensory Input

IoT devices act as a bridge between the physical and digital worlds through a diverse range of sensors. These sensors capture various physical parameters and convert them into digital data, and include:

Environmental sensors for temperature, humidity, pressure, light, and air quality.
Motion sensors, including accelerometers, gyroscopes, and proximity sensors.
Optical sensors like cameras, image sensors, and infrared sensors.
Acoustic sensors, including microphones and ultrasonic sensors.
Biometric sensors like fingerprint scanners and heart rate monitors.

The sensors needed in an IoT device depend on the specific application and the required data type.

Intelligence

Today's IoT devices often have onboard processing capabilities. These capabilities allow them to analyze data, make decisions, and perform machine learning tasks. Developers implement this intelligence through microcontrollers, edge computing devices, or cloud connectivity.

This type of distributed intelligence allows for near-real-time responses, reducing latency and minimizing reliance on centralized servers for local data processing, anonymization, and data aggregation.

Contextual Awareness

IoT devices achieve contextual awareness by combining their intelligence with sensor input data and other relevant information, such as location data, time stamps, user preferences, and historical data.

This contextual awareness allows IoT systems to make more informed decisions, provide relevant feedback, and autonomously adapt to changing conditions.

Real-Time Operation

Many IoT applications demand near-real-time responses to events and changes in the environment. Real-time operation is crucial for applications such as autonomous vehicles, industrial control systems, and infrastructure monitoring,

Three key technologies make this real-time operation possible:

Low-latency communications that minimize delays in data transmission.
Edge computing to perform data analysis and decision-making closer to the IoT device.
Real-time Operating Systems (RTOS) that can handle the critical performance requirements of real-time applications.

Autonomy

You can program an IoT device to make decisions and act without direct human intervention. This autonomy relies on the interplay between IoT technology's contextual awareness and intelligence, rule-based systems, and machine learning (ML) algorithms.

IoT autonomy reduces human input and streamlines operations. It allows IoT devices to instantly respond to events and environmental changes, enhancing the user experience.

Self-Adaptability

Think of your taste in music and picture your personalized activity feed on Spotify. It changes and adapts to your evolving preferences. IoT systems can do the same. They learn and adapt to user inputs and changing conditions over time.

Device self-adaptability relies on:

Analyzing sensor data and user interactions
Machine learning algorithms
Over-the-air (OTA) updates

Remote updates improve IoT device and system functionality by delivering essential software updates and the latest machine learning models.

Interoperability

The true power of IoT lies in its ability to connect diverse devices and systems so they can work together in harmony. This interoperability involves:

Standardized communication protocols, such as Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT), Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP), and HTTP, provide a common language for devices, regardless of their underlying hardware or software.
Standardized data formats like JSON and XML ensure different devices and systems can easily exchange and understand data.
APIs help app developers easily integrate software programs and add new features.

Interoperability is non-negotiable for communication and data exchange between the vast and diverse range of IoT devices and manufacturers. It's a critical characteristic of IoT technology that allows a cohesive and functional ecosystem.

Scalability

There are over 18 billion connected IoT devices worldwide. As we mentioned at the beginning of this post, that number will double by 2033. IoT technology can scale to accommodate this growing number of connected devices and the enormous volume of data.

Cloud computing and distributed architectures like cloud-to-edge are what make scalability possible. These architectures prevent bottlenecks and ensure efficient operation even with many connected devices. It also relies on efficient data management techniques like aggregation, compression, and filtering.

Security

Because of their interconnectedness, IoT devices have unique cybersecurity requirements. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) developed the NISTIR 8259 Series of cybersecurity standards to address these requirements.

Key security measures include:

Device authentication
End-to-end encryption
Secure communication protocols like DTLS, TLS, and SSL
Access controls

NIST also recommends manufacturers conduct regular security audits of IoT devices and vulnerability assessments to identify and address potential security risks.

Miniaturization

IoT devices are small. It's one of their defining traits. And they're only getting smaller, more powerful, and energy-efficient as miniaturization technology advances. Their size enables:

Integration into everyday objects, from clothing and wearables to appliances and furniture.
Reduced power consumption and longer battery life.
A wider range of applications, from implantable medical devices to environmental monitoring sensors.

Ubiquity

IoT technology's small size, versatility, scalability, and interoperability are making it ever-present, transforming various aspects of daily life, industry, and the world around us.

This ubiquity is evident in:

Smart home devices that connect appliances, lighting systems, and more.
Wearable technology like smartwatches, fitness trackers, and medical devices.
Industrial automation, where IoT sensors and control systems optimize manufacturing processes and commercial workflows.
Environmental sensors that monitor current weather conditions like air quality and water levels.

The growing ubiquity of IoT is creating more innovative, efficient, and connected environments.

IoT System Architecture and Design

An IoT system's architecture shapes its functionality, scalability, and security. It defines how different components interact, how data is processed, and how the system is managed.

Let's explore the key elements of IoT system architecture and design.

Sensing and Data Acquisition

At the heart of any IoT system lies the ability to sense and acquire data from the physical world. This involves:

Sensor Selection: Choosing the right sensors based on the specific application and the required data type. This includes considering accuracy, range, power consumption, and cost.
Data Acquisition Methods: Implementing appropriate methods for collecting data from sensors, including analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) for analog and digital interfaces for digital sensors.
Signal Conditioning involves processing sensor signals using noise filters (specifically low-pass and Kalman filters) and operational amplifiers (op-amps) to convert them into a suitable format for further processing.

Effective sensing and data acquisition are essential for accurate and reliable data analysis and decision-making in IoT systems.

Communication Protocols

We mentioned how standard communication protocols are the foundation of IoT's interoperability.

These communication protocols let IoT devices communicate with each other and with central hubs or cloud platforms. Choosing the right protocol is crucial for efficient and reliable data transmission.

Some standard IoT protocols include:

MQTT: A lightweight, publish-subscribe protocol ideal for resource-constrained devices and low-bandwidth networks.
CoAP: A specialized protocol for constrained devices and networks, offering low overhead and efficient data transfer.
Zigbee: A low-power, low-data-rate protocol commonly used in mesh networks for home automation and smart lighting applications.
LoRaWAN: A long-range, low-power protocol ideal for wide-area networks and applications like environmental monitoring and smart agriculture.

As you can see, each protocol has its trade-offs in terms of power consumption, range, data rates, and complexity. They're not one-size-fits-all. Choosing the right one depends on your application's specific needs.

Edge Computing

Edge computing means processing data on nearby gateways or devices instead of relying solely on cloud processing. This offers several benefits:

Lower latency
Better bandwidth efficiency
More autonomy

These benefits make accommodating the growing number of new connected IoT devices possible. Without edge computing, the sheer volume of data generated by billions of IoT devices would put a massive strain on cloud infrastructure.

AWS Greengrass, Cisco Edge Intelligence, and Azure IoT Edge are popular examples of edge computing solutions.

Cloud Platforms and Data Management

Edge computing is critical, but it's not enough. You still need the cloud. Cloud platforms play a crucial role in the IoT ecosystem. They provide a scalable infrastructure for data storage, processing, and analysis.

Popular IoT cloud platforms include:

AWS IoT is a comprehensive suite of IoT services by Amazon Web Services.
Azure IoT Hub is Microsoft's cloud-based IoT platform.
Google Cloud IoT provides secure device connectivity, data ingestion, processing, and visualization.

Developers can manage IoT devices, store and process data, and build IoT applications with these platforms. With machine learning and analytics capabilities, they can extract more valuable insights from IoT data.

IoT Technology Trends and Developments

IoT is evolving. Though it plays its part, AI isn't the only force behind this evolution. Some of the key trends shaping the future of IoT include:

Integrated Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI): Integrating AI and ML into IoT devices enables more efficient data analysis and automation. The recent release of DeepSeek's R1 LLM will likely make this integration cheaper and more effective.
Low-power Wi-Fi: Qualcomm and Silicon Labs developed a new low-power Wi-Fi 6 chip that uses 88% less power. This chip enables battery-powered IoT devices to connect directly to the Internet and cloud services without protocol conversion. This trend will streamline IoT connectivity in 2025 and beyond.
Edge Computing: The shift towards edge computing is accelerating, with more processing and intelligence being pushed closer to the data source.
Digital Twins: Virtual representations of physical assets and systems are becoming increasingly sophisticated, enabling better monitoring, analysis, and optimization.

Conclusion

The Internet of Things (IoT) is evolving rapidly. You've seen it, and we've seen it. This technology is revolutionizing products, services, and daily life by merging the physical and digital worlds.

Tens of billions of new IoT devices are expected to come online in the years ahead, so the pace of innovation will only increase. However, connectivity, unique identification, contextual awareness, and real-time operation will continue to be the hallmarks of IoT.

If you're interested in more in-depth explanations and insight into the latest technology and other project management and development topics, check out our Stream tutorials. You'll find practical examples and expert suggestions for building market-leading products.

How to Create an AI Assistant: A Dev’s Guide

Emily Nekvasil — Fri, 31 Jan 2025 16:05:00 +0000

Large Language Models (LLMs) are becoming increasingly prevalent, and many developers are integrating various LLM providers, such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, and others into their Stream Chat applications across multiple SDKs. To help developers get started and accelerate their development with Stream Chat and AI, we've created a platform-specific, step-by-step guide. To follow along, we recommend creating a free Stream account and selecting an LLM provider.

Our open-source examples include AI integrations with OpenAI and Anthropic by default. However, developers can easily integrate any LLM service by modifying the server-side agent, while still enjoying all the UI features that Stream's Chat UI Kits offer.

How to Create an AI Assistant

Conversational AI is transforming how users interact with applications. Using AI assistants, apps can now introduce highly personalized agents into their apps, changing how users interact with applications, automate tasks, or solve problems. At Stream, some use cases we've seen include apps trained on nutrition information to help users quickly learn details on the foods they are eating and specialized education apps for different categories.

Creating AI agents can be tricky. Users today expect a high level of polish from their apps, and things like streaming responses, table components, thinking indicators, code and file components, etc., can be hard to implement across different SDKs.

To simplify this process for developers, we've built a generic approach for connecting our Chat API to external LLM providers. Our approach uses a single backend server (NodeJS or Python), which can manage the lifecycle of agents and handle the connection to external providers.

By using this approach, developers can subclass our Anthropic Agent and OpenAI Agent interfaces to add support to whichever provider they prefer and feel confident that the frontend parts of their application will scale and render these responses correctly.

Choose Your Platform

To get started building with AI and Stream, simply pick the framework most suited to your application and follow the step by step instructions outlined in each:

Flutter: Create a seamless AI chat assistant for cross-platform apps using Stream's Flutter SDK.
React Native: Step into the world of AI-enhanced chat apps with Stream's React Native SDK and our tutorial.
React: Develop chat assistants for web applications with Stream's React chat SDK.
Android: Build powerful and responsive assistants for Android applications with Stream's Android chat SDK.
iOS: Learn how to create an assistant for iOS apps with Stream's iOS chat SDK.
NodeJS: Develop AI assistants for web applications with Stream's NodeJS chat SDK.

To learn more about the backend setup, check out the readme directly linked in our Github repository. It covers everything from the project architecture to ways the integration can be extended to support other LLM providers.

Start Building Today

Ready to take it for a spin? Choose your platform and give it an assistant a shot! Our team also created a helpful repo with examples for each SDK including a sample backend implementation — check it out and leave us a ⭐if you found it helpful.

Our team is always active on different social channels so once you're finished with your app, feel free to tag us on X or LinkedIn and let us know how it went!

Video Codecs

Emily Nekvasil — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 17:50:39 +0000

Video codecs work behind the scenes to stream video over the Internet. However, the choice of codec can affect things like resolution and video quality.

Read on to learn more about video codecs, including how they work, the different types available, and how to choose the right one.

What is a Video Codec?

A video codec compresses and decompresses media files like video and audio. They're designed to reduce file sizes and make it easier to store and distribute online videos for viewing. The term "codec" combines "encoder" and "decoder."

Codecs are important for the following reasons:

They reduce file sizes: Uncompressed 4K video files can be several terabytes. A codec can compress a raw video format into a more manageable size.
They enable efficient transfers: Transmitting uncompressed files uses a lot of bandwidth while using a codec to compress and transmit files uses less bandwidth.
They reduce storage costs: By reducing file sizes, codecs can deliver significant savings in data usage and storage costs.
They improve streaming quality: Some codecs can deliver high-quality streaming at lower bitrates, offering better viewing experiences to end users.

Different types of codecs use different compression techniques with varying levels of quality. This allows content creators and content distributors to choose a codec that suits their needs. We'll cover each of these in a later section, but for now, let's look at how codecs work.

How Do Codecs Work?

Video codecs facilitate the compression and decompression aspects of video streaming.

Here's how these processes work.

Video Encoding

A single video file contains a lot of data — image data for the video frames, audio data for the sound, metadata like the title, and other elements like subtitles. Storing and distributing an uncompressed video as it is would require a considerable amount of disk space and bandwidth.

Video encoding involves compressing the size of raw digital video files and turning them into a more efficient format for distribution. Practically every video streaming platform you can think of — YouTube, Netflix, Hulu — uses an encoder to deliver content to its users.

There are two widely used compression techniques:

Intraframe: Intraframe compression, also known as spatial compression, compresses each frame in a video individually and looks for any redundancies to reduce data. For example, a blue sky has nearly identical pixel data, so a block of a uniform color can represent those areas to cut down on file size. This compression technique is effective at reducing file sizes while maintaining high image quality.
Interframe: Interterframe compression, also known as temporal compression, uses a more complex technique to reduce file sizes. Instead of compressing each frame individually, it only encodes the differences in subsequent frames. This technique delivers more compression than intraframe compression.

Here's a graphic that illustrates these two compression techniques:

Modern video codecs use a combination of these two compression techniques to reduce file sizes and maintain video quality.

Video Decoding

Once videos are compressed and transmitted, they have to be decompressed or converted back into their original form to be viewed. The goal of the decoding process is to reproduce the video as close to the original as possible. However, video quality playback can vary depending on the codec used.

Types of Video Compression

There are two types of video compression: lossy and lossless. Both reduce video file sizes, but they do so in different ways.

Lossy compression

Lossy compression algorithms reduce file sizes by removing certain types of data, especially those less noticeable to the human eye. This method is typically used when the file in question can "afford" to lose some data and when saving on storage space is a priority.

The downside of lossy compression is a loss in video playback quality. However, the trade-off is smaller file sizes and faster transmission rates.

Lossless compression

Lossless compression algorithms reduce file sizes by eliminating redundant data. They can be restored to their original format after being decompressed. This type of video compression means you won't save as much space, but it's ideal for archival purposes.

Here's an image that shows the difference between lossy and lossless compression:

The type of video compression you use will largely depend on your use case. If you need to free up disk space and don't mind lower-quality playback, then opt for lossy compression. If you want to preserve the quality of the original video and don't want to lose any data, then choosing lossless is your best option.

Different Types of Video Codecs

There are numerous types of video codecs to choose from. Depending on which one you choose, you can expect differences in quality, size, and performance.

Here's a look at popular video codecs, along with the pros and cons of each.

H.264/AVC (Advanced Video Coding)

H.264 or MPEG-4 AVC is one of the most widely used encoding formats, as it enables high-quality streaming at low bitrates — the amount of bits that can be transferred over a period of time. Streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, and Vimeo use the AVC codec to stream content to their users.

Pros:

Compatible with a range of devices and online platforms.
Offers a good balance between streaming quality and compression.
Supports both lossy and lossless codecs.

Cons:

Has licensing fees, which can be high depending on how many subscribers a platform has ($0.20 per subscriber for 100,001 to 5,000,000 subscribers).
Uses more processing power.

H.265/HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding)

H.265 is the official successor to H.264. It's capable of compressing videos at around half the bitrate of H.264 while maintaining similar video quality, making it ideal for high-resolution streaming. It's also designed to support resolutions up to 8K with a high frame rate.

(Image Source)

Pros:

Offers significant savings in bandwidth and storage.
Supports videos up to 8K at 300 frames per second (FPS).
Better image quality over H.264.

Cons:

Not as widely supported.
Has high licensing costs.

H.266/VVC (Versatile Video Coding)

H.266 is a new codec developed by the Joint Video Experts Team (JVET). It was released in 2020 as the successor to H.265 and aims to deliver more efficient compression. The previous standard H.265 would require about 10 GB of data to transmit a 90-minute Ultra High Definition (UHD) video, but H.266 can transmit the same video using only 5 GB of data while maintaining the same quality.

Pros:

Designed to support a range of video qualities and formats.
Supports future video technologies, like 360-degree video and High Dynamic Range (HDR).
More efficient for high-resolution video streams.

Cons:

Requires significant computing resources.
Has complex licensing fees.

VP8

VP8 is an open-source codec that was developed by On2 Technologies and later acquired by Google. It's designed to provide high-quality compression for video conferencing and streaming applications. It's the default codec used in Web Real-Time Communications (WebRTC) — a protocol that enables audio, video, and text communication between browsers and devices.

Pros:

Free to use without any licensing fees.
Provides good streaming quality at low bitrates.
Supported by many browsers and platforms.

Cons:

Not as efficient as newer video codecs like VP9.
Encoding is more CPU-intensive than other codecs.

VP9

VP9 is an open-source video codec developed by Google. The VP9 codec is designed to offer improved compression and super video quality at lower bitrates than VP8.

Pros:

Supports 4K and 8K resolutions.
Ideal for mobile streaming.
Free to use.

Cons:

Not as widely supported as VP8.
Requires more power to decode.

AV1

AV1 is an open-source video codec from Alliance of Open Media (AOMedia). It's designed to deliver quality video streaming over the Internet. Netflix is one of the key contributors to this technology and is already rolling it out to its members' TVs.

Pros:

Open-source and royalty-free video codec.
Optimized for video streaming over the Internet.
Supports future technologies, like virtual reality and 8K.

Cons:

Not as widely adopted as other codecs.
Requires more processing power.

How to Choose the Right Codec

There are several factors to consider when choosing a codec, from compression efficiency to playback compatibility and licensing terms.

Here's a closer look at these considerations in more detail.

Compression Efficiency

Compression efficiency refers to how well a codec can compress a video without losing critical data. Some codecs have low compression efficiency, which can preserve the original quality of the content but result in larger file sizes. Others have high compression efficiency but at the expense of lower-quality playback. Consider the trade-off between streaming quality and file size when choosing a codec.

Playback Compatibility

Another important consideration is playback compatibility.

Even the most efficient codec won't help if it's incompatible with your users' devices. For example, VP9 is a free codec that offers excellent streaming quality at lower bit rates compared to other codecs. However, it may cause playback issues on certain Apple devices.

To avoid such issues, you'll want to choose a codec that's compatible with a variety of devices. Opting for H.264 is a safe bet, as it's one of the most widely used codecs.

Licensing Terms

Some codecs have licensing fees, while others are open-source. Codecs like H.266 only make sense from a financial standpoint if the potential benefits outweigh the costs. Otherwise, using a royalty-free codec like AV1 may suit your needs better. It's free to use and it's supported on popular platforms, such as Netflix, YouTube, and Amazon.

Best Practices For Using Video Codecs

Whether for streaming or storage purposes, follow these best practices when using a codec.

Adjust the Bitrate and Resolution

Bitrate and resolution affect a video's quality and size. High bitrates deliver better video quality but use more bandwidth and storage. Low bitrates deliver lower video quality but use less bandwidth and storage.

(Image Source)

Most codecs allow you to adjust the bitrate and resolution, enabling you to optimize your videos based on your target audience's bandwidth and devices. However, finding the right settings is often a balancing act.

One option is to use adaptive bitrate streaming (ABS) — a method that dynamically adjusts the resolution and bitrate of a video. It involves encoding multiple versions of a video and selecting the "best" one regardless of a user's device or connection.

Test Different Codecs

Different codecs yield different results in terms of video quality and file size. Test different codecs to find the best balance based on your specific requirements. Be sure to also test your video on different devices and browsers to ensure compatibility.

Stay Updated

New codecs and updates to existing ones are released regularly. Stay informed with the newest developments to ensure you're using the latest video compression technology.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is the Best Video Codec for Streaming?

The best video codec for streaming depends on factors like the type of content, the streaming platform, and a user’s network conditions. That said, H.264 (AVC) is one of the best codecs due to its high compression efficiency and widespread compatibility with a range of devices and platforms.

What’s the Difference Between a Codec and a Container?

A codec compresses and decompresses videos to make them easier to store and transmit. A container format “holds” the compressed video data and packages it into a single file. It also contains other data like audio, subtitles, and metadata. Common file formats include MP4, MKV, and MOV.

What’s the Best Video File Format?

The best video file format largely depends on your needs. For example, YouTube recommends using the MP4 format when uploading videos to its platform due to its relatively small file and wide compatibility. However, if you want to combine multiple audio and subtitle tracks into a single file and want to prioritize playback quality, then MKV is a better format.

7 Best Chat APIs for Web, Mobile, and Desktop Apps

Emily Nekvasil — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 15:54:33 +0000

A chat API is a fast, convenient way to incorporate real-time messaging and advanced chat features into your app. By paying an ongoing license fee, you gain access to ready-made chat functionalities, cloud hosting, and technical support. Using a pre-packaged vendor can reduce development time and cost and give you the flexibility to scale as your user base grows.

Essential Messaging API Features

Seventy-five percent of API professionals agree that developers who work at API-first companies create better software and integrate with partners faster. Of course, being API-first means knowing what chat features you need to benefit your business. Here are a few must-have features for an in-app chat API provider.

Global Edge Infrastructure

High latency can negatively impact the user experience, such as delayed response times for sent and received messages. Choose a messaging solution that uses a global edge network — a distributed system of servers placed in various geographical locations — to close the gap between the cloud and your users. This will help reduce latency and ensure a better chat experience for your users no matter where they're located.

Advanced Moderation

Choose a service with advanced moderation and filters to prevent users from sharing malicious text and images. This feature is particularly useful for gaming, where an estimated 7.9% of cyberbullying occurs through live multiplayer interactions.

Moderators and admins can flag and remove potentially dangerous, offensive, and spammy content using moderation tools. They can also use profanity filters and block lists to remove offensive language and prevent known offenders from entering a chat space. AI moderation can automatically scan and flag suspicious images, too.

Support For Millions of Users

Most vendors have limited monthly active users (MAU) and concurrent users. Choose a vendor that can reliably scale to support your growing user base and ensure your app can scale comfortably. Do you expect your user count to be in the millions? Pick a vendor that can handle a high volume of MAUs and concurrent connections.

7 Best Chat APIs for 2024

With so many solutions—from Twilio and Stream to TalkJS—choosing the right one can be difficult. Here's a collection of the best chat APIs to make the choice easier.

1. Stream Chat

Stream's real-time communication APIs let you design, build, and integrate chat messaging functionality into your apps. With its user-friendly UI kits for Sketch, Figma, and Adobe xD, you can create a customizable chat experience for various use cases.

With Stream, you can rapidly build a feature-rich and fully customizable chat platform. The platform can support up to 5 million concurrent users on a single channel. Plus, the chat global edge network provides a low latency chat experience and a 99.999% uptime guarantee.

Key features:

Pre-built Stream libraries and components
Full multi-tenancy support
Unlimited participants
AI-based AutoMod
PIP and background calling
Robust security and compliance
99.999% uptime guarantee

Price: A free plan is available for up to 100 monthly active users (MAU). Paid plans start at $399/month.

Integrations: Eight backend clients and nine SDKs.

Security and compliance: Stream includes compliance for HIPAA, GDPR, SOC2 Type II, ISO27001, ISO 20243, and SSAE 16.

Free trial: 30-day free trial period

Platform, language, and tech stack: React, Android, React Native, iOS, Flutter, Unreal, Angular, Unity, and UI Kits.

Best for: Real-time chat messaging for billions of users in EdTech, FinTech, dating, fitness, Telehealth, gaming, job recruiting, delivery apps, transport, logistics, and real estate.

2. Agora Chat

Agora Chat SDK lets you integrate private and group messaging into your applications. Features you can integrate include chat analytics, media messages, read receipts, and more.

Agora Chat also supports third-party extensions, including GIFs, emoticons, and stickers to personalize the chat experience.

Key features:

Profanity filter
Chat analytics
Auto message translation
Rich media messages
Channel and user management

Price: From $349/month.

Integrations: Support over 50 third-party integrations, including HTC Vive, Nexplayer, and Okta.

Security and compliance: Identity and access management, data protection and encryption, and network geo-fencing. Compliant with ISO/IEC 27001, ISO/IEC 27017, ISO/IEC 27018, and SOC 2 Report.

Free trial: Free for up to 500 monthly users.

Platform, language, and tech stack: Supports Android, iOS Objective-C, iOS Swift, Web, React Native, Flutter, Unity, and Windows.

Best for: Message translation and customized messaging experiences

3. PubNub Chat

PubNub allows you to build and integrate real-time chat capabilities into your applications. With PubNub chat, you can build a chat app from scratch or integrate one into your existing applications.

There are two ways to create a chat with PubNub. You can either use the Chat SDK to call the PubNub API through a range of predefined methods or use the PubNub Components in React or React Native.

Key features:

No concurrency or channel limits
Serverless functions
24/7 global customer support
Demos and tutorials
Message moderation features

Price: Starting at $49/month.

Integrations: Up to 56 third-party integrations, including OpenAI GPT, Microsoft Power BI, and more.

Security and compliance: Support compliance for regulatory environments such as ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR, SOC2 Type 2, and CCPA.

Free trial: Free trial for up to 200 MAUs or 1 million monthly transactions.

Platform, language, and tech stack: React and React Native.

Best for: Real-time streaming and secure file sharing.

4. Twilio Conversations

Twilio has sunset its programmable chat API but offers a Conversations API for businesses to interact with customers through voice, SMS, video, chat, and email. Twilio also provides other products such as Twilio Segment (a customer data platform) and Twilio Trusted Activation (for user activation, authentication, verification, and secure online transactions).

Key features:

Multichannel messaging
Message persistence
Cloud-based archives
Web and mobile SDKs
Cross-channel orchestration
Participant management
Scoped webhooks
Media support
Delivery statuses

Price: You can pay $0.05 per active monthly user by usage, and if you want to allow your users to add photos, video, and other file types to their conversations, you pay $0.25 per GB of stored media per month.

Integrations: Twilio's Conversations API has limited integrations.

Security and compliance: SOC2 compliant and HIPAA-ready.

Free trial: Yes, you can gain access to Twilio for free.

Platform, language, and tech stack: Javascript, Android, and iOS.

Best for: Apps looking for affordable and transparent monthly usage billing.

5. CometChat

CometChat lets you integrate a range of versatile and feature-rich chat SDK and UI kits into your app.

With CometChat, you can incorporate one-on-one direct messaging and public and private group chat into your app. It also supports all types of messages, including text, audio, gifs, and reactions.

Key features:

Direct messaging and group chats
Rich media previewers
Message translation
Image moderation and profanity filter
In-depth analytics

Price: From $119/month per environment

Integrations: Webhook, SendGrid, and more.

Security and compliance: Compliant with GDPR, SOC2, HIPAA, and ISO 27001.

Free trial: Free sandbox plan for up to 25 users

Platform, language, and tech stack: React, Angular, Vue, React Native, iOS, Android Java, Android Kotlin, Ionic/Capacitor, Flutter, WordPress, PHP, and Laravel.

Best for: Website integrations

6. TalkJS

TalkJS offers flexible components that support a range of use cases. With its pre-built UI and one-on-one chats, group chats, livestream chats, and AI chatbots to your applications.

With their SDKs, you can quickly integrate chat into any mobile application. Plus, you can incorporate moderation and analytics to allow users to moderate conversions through the REST API.

Key features:

Pre-built UI and notifications
1v1, group, live stream, and AI chatbots
Stickers, file sharing, and email integration
Customizable TalkJS themes
Push, email, SMS, and desktop notifications

Price: From $279/month

Integrations: Up to 8 partnered third-party integrations, including Zoom, WordPress, and more.

Security and compliance: GDPR-compliant and have a Data Processing Addendum (DPA). All data is encrypted at rest and in transit, with no tracking or analytics, and unsent drafts are stored in local storage.

Free trial: You can develop and test apps for free. You must pay once you start using TalkJS with real users.

Platform, language, and tech stack: Javascript, Flutter, and React Native.

Best for: Minimum viable products (MVPs)

7. MessageBird

MessageBird offers a chat widget within its suite of holistic marketing cloud services, which enables customers to reach out on any webpage or app screen using an omnichannel messaging platform for Live Chat, WhatsApp, SMS, and more.

Key features:

Chatbots
Automation
Conversational forms
Push notifications

Price: MessageBird charges companies based on the number of contacts they are targeting each month; for example, 3,000 contacts would cost $45 per month.

Integrations: OpenAI, WooCommerce, Pipedrive, Jira, Slack, Shopify, Airtable, Salesforce, Active Campaign, and more.

Security and compliance: GDPR and PSD2

Free trial: No, MessageBird does not offer a free trial.

Platform, language, and tech stack: N/A

Best for: Apps in need of an omnichannel automation API in addition to chat.

Choose a Chat API That Supports Your App

With so many communication solutions available, choosing the right one can be challenging. Familiarizing yourself with some of the must-have features and best providers in the market can help you make an informed choice.

You can build a chat app from scratch if you're not looking to scale or provide a feature-rich experience. However, you must understand what building a chat app with real-time infrastructure (RTI) entails before you dedicate time and resources to add this functionality to your application.

The Best Video Conferencing APIs and SDKs

Emily Nekvasil — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 15:49:22 +0000

Adding video conferencing capabilities to your app or website can enhance user engagement, but building these features from scratch is hard. Before integrating them into your platform, you must solve challenges like real-time audio and video processing, security, and complex UI.

Thankfully, cutting-edge conferencing solutions have come to the rescue. These tools help developers add robust video solutions to their applications, saving valuable time and resources in the process.

This article highlights what to look for in a conferencing API or SDK, the leading providers, and their pricing plans.

What is a Video Conferencing API or SDK?

An API is a set of protocols that allow different software programs to communicate with each other.

An SDK is a collection of software tools and components. These help developers build applications with a specific framework, platform, or API. Usually, they include code libraries, documentation, and code samples or snippets.

Real-time communication services cater primarily to app developers. They can get started by obtaining API credentials, setting up a server-side web application, and developing a client-side web application.

Specific to video conferences:

APIs let you access specific functionalities, like initiating calls and managing participants.
SDKs provide code and documentation to make it easier to use the video API.

SDKs are invaluable tools for integrating real-time video conferencing functionality into various platforms, such as:

Communication apps: Face-to-face interaction within messaging platforms.
Telemedicine apps: Video chat between patients and healthcare professionals.
Social media platforms: Video calls to connect with friends, fans, and family.
E-learning platforms: Live lectures.

What Are the Benefits of Using an API over building Conferencing In-house?

Faster Adoption

Providers offer pre-built video conference capabilities that you can quickly integrate into your product. This accelerates time-to-market by avoiding months or years spent developing these complex features in-house. You also capitalize on rapidly evolving video tech with minimal custom coding.

Less In-House Maintenance

Third-party solutions enable you to offload ongoing maintenance, updates, and upgrades to the provider. This frees your engineers to focus on your core product experience.

Better Security

Components have built-in, enterprise-grade security measures like encryption and access permissions. Providers identify vulnerabilities that individual dev teams may miss.

More Cost-Effective

There's no need to maintain complex server architectures. So, though there can be an upfront investment, in the long run, it's cost-effective. Plus, you pay for only what you use while benefiting from economies of scale. Capital is freed for revenue-generating initiatives.

Faster Time to Market

You integrate proven, ready-to-use modules versus undertaking lengthy development cycles yourself. Businesses can then quickly launch products and services, gaining a competitive edge in the market.

Scalability

Video conferencing solutions must handle scale seamlessly, from small group calls to large broadcasts. Ready-made components leverage cloud infrastructure for elastic scaling. You gain access to virtually unlimited capacity compared to self-hosted environments that may be prone to bottlenecks.

Key API Features for Conferencing Apps

Here are some features to look for in video conference services. You may not need all of them --- so choose features based on your needs.

Core Audio/Video Features

At the heart of any video app lies robust audio and video capabilities. Look for providers that support:

High-quality video streaming with features like HD resolution, low latency, and seamless switching between camera sources
High frames per second (FPS) for smooth video
Reliable audio conference with noise suppression and echo cancellation
Compatibility across different devices, operating systems, and browsers
Call management
Screen sharing functionality
Video recording
Multi-party and peer-to-peer calling

Customization

If you want the flexibility to tailor the video app experience to your brand and user needs, look for these features:

Embeddable UI components
White-labeling and branding
Virtual backgrounds and effects like blur

Collaboration

To improve productivity and engagement, consider features like:

Real-time text chat
Breakout rooms
Whiteboard
Speaker spotlight
Hand-raising functionality
Reactions and emoticons

Security

Look for solutions that implement security features like:

End-to-end encryption
User authentication
Compliance with regulations like GDPR

Deployment and Management

Validate if your video-calling components provide:

Flexible deployment options
Robust video analytics and metrics
Moderation capabilities (e.g., mute/unmute participants)
Technical support
Various pricing models

7 Best Video Conferencing API Providers

1. Agora: Best for Real-Time Engagement With High-Concurrent Users

Agora provides a real-time voice and live calling API. The API supports an unlimited number of concurrent channels. Each channel can support up to 1 million concurrent users.

Key features include:

Interactive live streaming
Cross-platform support (Android, iOS, Windows, Flutter, and Unity)
Screen sharing
Real-time chat functionality
Whiteboard
Supplemental Enhancement Information (SEI) that improves user experience
Videos free of lags and jitters even in bad network conditions
99.99% uptime
GDPR, HIPAA-compliant

Agora video components have an extensive partner gallery if you want to add additional capabilities. Users praise the platform for high-quality calls that remain clear as more users join. Pricing depends on the features you want to add. However, it's free for up to 10,000 minutes every month.

2. Stream: Best for Feature-Rich User Experiences

Stream's performant SDKs for leading software frameworks and intuitive UI kits make building feature-rich in-app video conferencing quick and painless.

Key features include:

Pre-built UI kit to easily add responsive elements like logos, colors, and typefaces
One-to-one and group calls and HD videos
Global edge network for low-latency calls
Live conference and webinar functionality
Unlimited media and file sharing
Multi-platform support
Detailed developer documentation for video API integration
Both SaaS and self-hosted option

You can use Stream for use cases like healthcare, social, HR, recruitment, and finance. It supports a variety of SDKs like React, React Native, iOS, Android, Flutter, Unity, and Javascript.

The SaaS option has multiple pricing plans: ranging from a free plan to custom enterprise plans.

3. Dyte: Best for Immersive Live Experiences

Dyte uses WebRTC and optimized streaming protocols (HTTP Live Streaming or HLS) to deliver ultra-low-latency video streams. It also uses Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP) to host high-definition videos easily.

You can host webinars with live transcription and interactive elements like built-in chat, polls, and quizzes to create immersive experiences. Engagement features like emoticons, screen sharing, private chats, GIF and image sharing, and backdrops are also available.

Key features include:

Call recording facility
Breakout rooms
Custom UI support
Low-code processes
SOC 2, HIPAA, and GDPR compliance
10,000 free minutes monthly

After the free tier, the charges are $0.004 per user per minute.

4. Daily: All-In-One Solution

Daily's video solution has features for all use cases and has robust analytics and rich mobile experiences.

Key features include:

Ability to host 100,000 real-time active participants with its global mesh network in 30 availability zones
<13ms median first-hop latency or less for 5 billion people
End-to-end encryption and serverless peer-to-peer modes for data protection
Adheres to SOC 2, GDPR, and HIPAA regulations
Integrates easily with AI platforms like ChatGPT and supports noise cancellation and real-time transcription
Recording
Ability to create animated graphics and custom layouts in multi-party live streams and recorded content

It provides 10,000 free minutes every month. If you want more, there's usage-based pricing. Volume discounts are available, and startups can get special pricing credits.

5. Amazon Chime: Best SDK for Large Webinars

Amazon Chime SDK allows developers to add real-time audio, video, and messaging features with machine learning. You can deliver real-time content to 10,000 members. Its live connector lets you stream videos to large audiences on your streaming platform.

You can use client libraries like iOS, Android, Windows, and JavaScript to enable voice and video on WebRTC-enabled browsers.

Key features include:

Video simulcast and scalable video coding (SVC) for better quality across devices
Content sharing
Mute controls and volume notifications
Device controller to manage sound input and output
Pre-built and customizable bandwidth features to control video bandwidth
Background blur for visual privacy
Amazon Voice Focus for noise reduction

Pricing is pay-as-you-go.

6. Apphitect: Top On-Premise Option

Apphitect video conferencing API is a self-hosted solution that can scale up to 1 billion conversations. It offers 99.999% uptime SLA and 100ms latency.

Key features include:

150+ chat features that fit any iOS, Android, and web application
White-label functionality to add your logo, color, and other custom features
SOC 2, HIPAA, and GDPR-compliant
Real-time chat with push notifications, group chat, file transfer, spell check, and cross-platform messaging
One-to-one video chats, conference scheduling, and screen sharing

Contact their sales team for pricing.

7. Cometchat: Best for Broad Platform Coverage

Cometchat's video call SDKs help you integrate real-time audio and video conferencing technology into your apps. It has all the core features for video conferences, like whiteboards, screen sharing, group calling, one-to-one calling, presenter mode, and moderator mode. Cometchat is a good option if you want support for a wide range of technologies like React, Angular, Vue, iOS, Flutter, Android, Kotlin, and PHP.

Key features include:

Pre-built workflows for calling: You can create WhatsApp-style direct calling and Zoom-style meeting rooms
Call recording
HIPAA, GDPR, PIPEDA, SOC 2, and ISO 27001 compliance
Modular architecture to customize SDK and UI kits
99.99% uptime
No-code widget to add code for your web app in minutes

Cometchat is free for 25 users and has an "Essential" and "Pro" pricing structure for $109/month and $529/month, respectively.

Did You Find the Right Conferencing API or SDK?

Integrating video conference capabilities into your applications can open new avenues for collaboration, engagement, and growth. But choose the wrong one, and you risk damaging your brand's reputation. By selecting the right conferencing solutions, you can streamline development, reduce time-to-market, and deliver positive user experiences.

The Best Video Conferencing APIs and SDKs

Emily Nekvasil — Tue, 25 Jun 2024 19:59:23 +0000

This article highlights what to look for in a conferencing API or SDK, the leading providers, and their pricing plans.

What is a Video Conferencing API or SDK?

An API is a set of protocols that allow different software programs to communicate with each other.

Specific to video conferences:

APIs let you access specific functionalities, like initiating calls and managing participants.
SDKs provide code and documentation to make it easier to use the video API.

SDKs are invaluable tools for integrating real-time video conferencing functionality into various platforms, such as:

Communication apps: Face-to-face interaction within messaging platforms.
Telemedicine apps: Video chat between patients and healthcare professionals.
Social media platforms: Video calls to connect with friends, fans, and family.
E-learning platforms: Live lectures.

What Are the Benefits of Using an API over building Conferencing In-house?

Faster Adoption

Less In-House Maintenance

Third-party solutions enable you to offload ongoing maintenance, updates, and upgrades to the provider. This frees your engineers to focus on your core product experience.

Better Security

Components have built-in, enterprise-grade security measures like encryption and access permissions. Providers identify vulnerabilities that individual dev teams may miss.

More Cost-Effective

Faster Time to Market

You integrate proven, ready-to-use modules versus undertaking lengthy development cycles yourself. Businesses can then quickly launch products and services, gaining a competitive edge in the market.

Scalability

Key API Features for Conferencing Apps

Here are some features to look for in video conference services. You may not need all of them --- so choose features based on your needs.

Core Audio/Video Features

At the heart of any video app lies robust audio and video capabilities. Look for providers that support:

High-quality video streaming with features like HD resolution, low latency, and seamless switching between camera sources
High frames per second (FPS) for smooth video
Reliable audio conference with noise suppression and echo cancellation
Compatibility across different devices, operating systems, and browsers
Call management
Screen sharing functionality
Video recording
Multi-party and peer-to-peer calling

Customization

If you want the flexibility to tailor the video app experience to your brand and user needs, look for these features:

Embeddable UI components
White-labeling and branding
Virtual backgrounds and effects like blur

Collaboration

To improve productivity and engagement, consider features like:

Real-time text chat
Breakout rooms
Whiteboard
Speaker spotlight
Hand-raising functionality
Reactions and emoticons

Security

Look for solutions that implement security features like:

End-to-end encryption
User authentication
Compliance with regulations like GDPR

Deployment and Management

Validate if your video-calling components provide:

Flexible deployment options
Robust video analytics and metrics
Moderation capabilities (e.g., mute/unmute participants)
Technical support
Various pricing models

7 Best Video Conferencing API Providers

1. Agora: Best for Real-Time Engagement With High-Concurrent Users

Agora provides a real-time voice and live calling API. The API supports an unlimited number of concurrent channels. Each channel can support up to 1 million concurrent users.

Key features include:

Interactive live streaming
Cross-platform support (Android, iOS, Windows, Flutter, and Unity)
Screen sharing
Real-time chat functionality
Whiteboard
Supplemental Enhancement Information (SEI) that improves user experience
Videos free of lags and jitters even in bad network conditions
99.99% uptime
GDPR, HIPAA-compliant

2. Stream: Best for Feature-Rich User Experiences

Stream's performant SDKs for leading software frameworks and intuitive UI kits make building feature-rich in-app video conferencing quick and painless.

Key features include:

Pre-built UI kit to easily add responsive elements like logos, colors, and typefaces
One-to-one and group calls and HD videos
Global edge network for low-latency calls
Live conference and webinar functionality
Unlimited media and file sharing
Multi-platform support
Detailed developer documentation for video API integration
Both SaaS and self-hosted option

You can use Stream for use cases like healthcare, social, HR, recruitment, and finance. It supports a variety of SDKs like React, React Native, iOS, Android, Flutter, Unity, and Javascript.

The SaaS option has multiple pricing plans: ranging from a free plan to custom enterprise plans.

3. Dyte: Best for Immersive Live Experiences

Key features include:

Call recording facility
Breakout rooms
Custom UI support
Low-code processes
SOC 2, HIPAA, and GDPR compliance
10,000 free minutes monthly

After the free tier, the charges are $0.004 per user per minute.

4. Daily: All-In-One Solution

Daily's video solution has features for all use cases and has robust analytics and rich mobile experiences.

Key features include:

Ability to host 100,000 real-time active participants with its global mesh network in 30 availability zones
<13ms median first-hop latency or less for 5 billion people
End-to-end encryption and serverless peer-to-peer modes for data protection
Adheres to SOC 2, GDPR, and HIPAA regulations
Integrates easily with AI platforms like ChatGPT and supports noise cancellation and real-time transcription
Recording
Ability to create animated graphics and custom layouts in multi-party live streams and recorded content

It provides 10,000 free minutes every month. If you want more, there's usage-based pricing. Volume discounts are available, and startups can get special pricing credits.

5. Amazon Chime: Best SDK for Large Webinars

You can use client libraries like iOS, Android, Windows, and JavaScript to enable voice and video on WebRTC-enabled browsers.

Key features include:

Video simulcast and scalable video coding (SVC) for better quality across devices
Content sharing
Mute controls and volume notifications
Device controller to manage sound input and output
Pre-built and customizable bandwidth features to control video bandwidth
Background blur for visual privacy
Amazon Voice Focus for noise reduction

Pricing is pay-as-you-go.

6. Apphitect: Top On-Premise Option

Apphitect video conferencing API is a self-hosted solution that can scale up to 1 billion conversations. It offers 99.999% uptime SLA and 100ms latency.

Key features include:

150+ chat features that fit any iOS, Android, and web application
White-label functionality to add your logo, color, and other custom features
SOC 2, HIPAA, and GDPR-compliant
Real-time chat with push notifications, group chat, file transfer, spell check, and cross-platform messaging
One-to-one video chats, conference scheduling, and screen sharing

Contact their sales team for pricing.

7. Cometchat: Best for Broad Platform Coverage

Key features include:

Pre-built workflows for calling: You can create WhatsApp-style direct calling and Zoom-style meeting rooms
Call recording
HIPAA, GDPR, PIPEDA, SOC 2, and ISO 27001 compliance
Modular architecture to customize SDK and UI kits
99.99% uptime
No-code widget to add code for your web app in minutes

Cometchat is free for 25 users and has an "Essential" and "Pro" pricing structure for $109/month and $529/month, respectively.

Did You Find the Right Conferencing API or SDK?

The 7 Best Live Streaming SDKs & APIs

Emily Nekvasil — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 20:14:47 +0000

Incorporating a real-time communication feature into your app can differentiate your brand and drive user engagement. However, developing these features takes time and resources, deterring you from focusing on core product features. This is where an SDK or API can come into play, as you can use them to accelerate build times and streamline development workflows.

In this article, you'll learn more about live-streaming as a service, what to look for when choosing one, and the top seven providers.

What Is a Live-Streaming Solution?

A live-stream application programming interface (API) and software development kit (SDK) enable developers to incorporate real-time communication into their applications. They come bundled with the libraries and tools required to manage the different facets of live streaming, including transmitting, recording, and encoding audio and video.

Developers can use these tools to design custom live video experience capabilities for their apps. Not only do you get a faster time to market and less maintenance when using APIs, but you can also conserve resources and use them to build other core app features.

How Do You Pick the Right Service?

When evaluating a new solution, look for design features and capabilities that align with your needs. Most come with a range of features, such as:

Video encoding and streaming
Adaptive bitrate streaming
Cloud storage
Analytics tools
Quality developer documentation
Fast and effective customer support
Multi-platform support
Monetization support

Next, based on the specific requirements of your live-streaming app, analyze each tool's geographical availability, pricing, and supported range of platforms. Also, check if the SDKs are easy to use and if they have detailed documentation of their features.

Top 7 Live-Streaming API and SDK Providers

Although live audio and video features require a lot of work to set up, the real pain is in the scaling and maintenance. To save you time and effort, here are some component options you can leverage to make your work easier.

1. Dacast: Good Monetizable Solution

Dacast is a professional video stream platform that helps developers enhance their apps through video content management and player API.

You can easily integrate real-time interactions with their services for ‌flawless live event streaming with top-tier Content Delivery Networks (CDNs). Dacast gives you access to tools for customization, monetization, analytics, and more to customize your stream configurations.

Dacast's HTML5 video player is also entirely based on THEOplayer's technology. This technology helps you deliver cutting-edge streaming capabilities with low latency. Using Dacast's video solution, you can empower app users to host live events on a secure platform with reliable content delivery.

Key features:

Host live streams with unlimited concurrent viewers
Ad-free HD stream
Recording for on-demand playback
Dynamic token security and password protection
Video monetization
Video quality optimization

Pros:

Fast integration and easy implementation
Multiple features under one roof
Reliable stream performance

Cons:

Limited post-event analytics
Poor customer support

Pricing: From $39/month billed annually
Integrations: AWeber, Videolinq, RumbleTalk, HexaFair, Altar Live, mimoLive
Security and compliance: DaCast is EU GDPR compliant
Free trials: 14-day free trial available
Supported platforms: Javascript, React Native, iOS, Android, Java

2. Video SDK: Rapid Integration Solution

Video SDK helps you integrate audio and video streaming into your web and mobile apps with just a few lines of code. Their SDK functionalities allow you to build a comprehensive solution with on-demand playback, analytics, screen-sharing capabilities, and unlimited rooms.

Video SDK's services are developer-friendly, allowing you to leverage pre-built integrations or even customize your solutions. Video SDK's solution is scalable with 150 ms worldwide latency, 99.9% uptime, and serves over 42 countries.

Key features:

Compatible with any custom RTMP outputs.
Live streams up to 25 co-streamers
Adaptive bitrate for better video experience at scale.
Multiple resolution video streams options
Live-stream on 20+ concurrent platforms and any browser
Responsive UI

Pros:

Plug-and-play solution that's highly customizable
A lot of open-source examples you can reuse or customize
Users report positive experiences with their customer support

Cons:

Users can't redesign the prebuilt SDK
Some users say the documentation could be improved

Pricing: $0.003/speaker/min and $0.0015/viewer/min
Integrations: Instagram, Vimeo Livestream
Security and compliance: GDPR and HIPAA Complaint
Free trials: Free 10,000 minutes
Supported platforms: JavaScript, React JS, React Native, Android, Flutter, and iOS

3. Stream: Best Low Latency API

Stream provides adaptable video and audio components, empowering you to create high-performance live stream for your application across our expansive global edge network.

Whether users opt for broadcasting from their mobile device or through RTMP, scalability to accommodate millions of participants is ensured. Craft enterprise-grade live streaming solutions tailored to your specific needs, all without the hassle of mastering technical intricacies or enduring lengthy development cycles.

Key Features:

Reactions
AI-Driven Image Moderation
Multi-Tenant
Silent Messages
Spam & Profanity Protection
Unread Messages Counts
Media Attachments & Resizing
Threaded Conversations
User Roles
Multi-Region Support
Fast Response Times (avg 5ms)
RTMP In and Out
HLS
WebRTC
Edge Network
Dynascale

Pros:

Ultra-low latency of less than 500ms powered by WebRTC-based live streaming technology
Configure your stream in backstage mode and go live when you're ready.
Flexible recording templates and support for custom designs
Flexible user roles allow you to run a broadcast with a moderator and multiple participants

Cons:

There are not many downsides to Stream's services

Pricing: HLS Live Streaming with normal latency, ~10 secs is $2 per 1,000 participant minutes
Integrations: Integrates with a vast number of complimentary software to enhance user experience, developer maintenance, and moderator functionality.
Security and Compliance: GDPR & CCPA, AICPA SOC, Privacy Shield Framework, DPF, ISO 27001, HIPAA, SOC 2
Free trials: Stream's Build plan is free

Supported platforms: React, React Native, iOS, Android, Flutter, Unity, Javascript

4. Agora: Good for Solutions with a Global Coverage

Agora helps you integrate real-time interactions into your apps with fully customizable services. The platform already powers 50 billion minutes of live voice and video monthly, and they have global coverage of over 200 countries.

With Agora's video conferencing tools, you can deliver high-quality live-stream capabilities with low latency and intelligent routing. Similarly, with their auto-scaling feature, you're assured of zero system-wide downtime and hyper-scalability as your apps grow.

Key features:

Premium add-ons like sound effects, AR facial masks, and whiteboards (at an additional cost)
Largest global real-time network with reach in over 200 countries
Automatically subtitles and captions video
You can simultaneously stream on multiple platforms.
Live-chat addition capabilities

Pros:

Good video and audio quality
Easy to set up
Developer-friendly documentation

Cons:

SDK is very low-level
Poor Slack support from the Agora team

Pricing: From $0.99 /1,000 minutes for audio
Integrations: ActiveFence, Marsview, MiO, PubNub, ASPIRE Health, Frazer Auto Dealer Software
Security and compliance: SOC 2, GDPR, HIPAA, ISO/IEC 27001, CCPA, and COPPA compliant.
Free trials: Free for the first 10,000 minutes every month
Supported platforms: React Native, Android SDK, Flutter, Electron, and Unity

5. Mux: Good for Real-Time Video Integration

Mux can help developers ship live communication capabilities faster through their SDK and UI components.

Mux's array of SDKs helps developers build solutions like Twitch, which has low latency, live simulcasting, and real-time stream analytics.

Key features:

Has audience and stream health analytics
Webhooks configurations
Able to normalize audio for the best sound quality
Stream to third-party platforms such as YouTube and Twitch
Can integrate with headless CMSs
Users can capture images and clips from your videos
Allows pull-based inputs and direct uploads
Separate administration and configuration access for accounts

Pros:

The documentation is clear and up-to-date
Has a clean and easy-to-use dashboard
Offers integrations with serverless deployment solutions

Cons:

Lacks WebRTC solutions‌ --- the video streaming SDK uses RTMP
Some users report poor experiences with customer support

Pricing: Starts from $0.00096/minute of streaming video delivered
Integrations: New Relic, Flowplayer, Cosmic JS, Sanity.io, HexaFair, Contentful, Dataddo, Strapi, AT Internet, and DatoCMS
Security and compliance: Compliant with HIPAA guidelines
Free trials: Mux Data Startup is free
Supported platforms: Python, Go, Elixir, node.js, Ruby, PHP, iOS, Android

6. 100ms: Best for Interactive Streams

100ms is the best solution for integrating interactive live stream with latency lower than seven seconds and scalability of up to millions of users. Their video streaming API and SDK are intuitive and easy to integrate with well-built media systems and CDNs.

100ms allows developers to integrate live streams with just a single API call. You can easily customize aspect ratio, layout, and video resolution to deliver high-quality live streams.

Key features:

Global network of servers
Low latency of less than seven seconds
High-quality video and audio streaming
Build utilities like live widgets and call-to-action buttons on top of the video.

Pros:

Low latency and good audio and video clarity
Developer-friendly docs

Cons:

Slow issue resolution process
Documentation could be better

Pricing: From $0.004/participant/minute
Integrations: YouTube Live
Security and compliance: SOC 2 (Type I & Type II) and HIPAA-compliant
Free trials: Free 10,000 mins/month
Supported platforms: JavaScript, React JS, React Native, Android, Flutter, and iOS

7. api.video: Best Complete Toolkit for Integration

api.video empowers developers to deliver live capabilities on their apps quickly. The platform features over 20 plugins, libraries, and clients to help you build in any environment.

api.videos' fully customizable API allows streaming at 0.02s playback speed and 99.9% uptime.

Key features:

Private stream
DVR feature
HTML5 adaptive video player
Access to m3u8 manifest
Video-on-demand and live webhooks

Pros:

Easy to implement
Good customer service
Edge video infrastructure

Cons:

Poorly organized documentation

Pricing: From $0.00285/minute of video stored and $0.0017/minute of video delivered
Integrations: Contentful
Security and compliance: Uses TLS 1.2 and 1.3 encryption to protect data in transit, and is EU GDPR compliant
Free trials: Video encoding is free for unlimited minutes
Supported platforms: JavaScript, Python, node.js, PHP, Postman, Kotlin, Golang, React Native, iOS, C#

Accelerate Your App's Build Time With Live-Streaming Components

It's now easier than ever to quickly integrate real-time capabilities with an API or SDK. But to get the most out of these developer tools, ensure you pick the right provider and understand how to maximize their features. By getting to market faster, you can edge out the competition, capture new users, and gain a greater share of voice in your app's respective niche while delivering a world-class video UX.

What is Onmichannel Communication?

Emily Nekvasil — Thu, 21 Mar 2024 13:01:59 +0000

The lines between online and offline worlds have blurred.

For brands, this has created a maze of touch points through which customers interact. They see you on social media, they visit your store, they get your catalog, then order through your app. And each interaction molds the customer's perception of your brand.

This maze is what omnichannel communication solves. It's a holistic approach that seeks not just to be present at every touchpoint, but to unify them into a seamless journey.

In this article, we'll delve into the intricacies of this strategy, its undeniable importance, and how it's reshaping the future of customer engagement.

What Is Omnichannel Communication?

Omnichannel communication refers to a multichannel approach to communication and sales that aims to provide customers with a seamless experience, whether they're shopping online, on their phone, or in store. In the context of customer service and marketing, it's about delivering consistent, integrated, and coherent messaging and service across multiple touch points.

The key features can be seen as:

1. Consistency: Customers experience consistent branding, messaging, and service no matter where they engage with a company.

2. Integration: All channels are integrated so that data and insights from one can be used in another. For instance, a customer's browsing history on a website could be used to inform the offers they see in a mobile app.

3. Flexibility: Customers can switch between channels effortlessly. For example, they might browse products online, head to your store to try them on, and then make a purchase via a mobile app.

4. Personalization: Leveraging data from all channels allows businesses to provide personalized experiences, offers, and communications tailored to individual customer preferences and behaviors.

The importance of this form of communication lies in meeting modern customers' expectations for seamless, consistent, and personalized experiences. By doing so, businesses not only enhance customer satisfaction but also drive growth and resilience in an increasingly interconnected commercial landscape.

The Difference Between Omnichannel and Multichannel

Omnichannel and multichannel strategies both involve multiple channels for customer interaction. The key difference lies in integration and customer experience. It ensures fully integrated, consistent experiences across touch points, valuing fluid customer journeys. For example, a cart item on a mobile app can be bought in-store.

Multichannel, however, might have individual strategies for each platform, possibly leading to fragmented customer experiences. While omnichannel leverages data from all channels for a unified approach, multichannel might operate in silos. Essentially, it's about holistic, seamless customer experiences, whereas multichannel focuses on optimizing individual channels, potentially at the expense of continuity.

These touch points can be anything a customer interacts with, and will change depending on the customer and the industry. Typical omnichannel marketing channels are:

Websites and E-commerce Platforms: These are often the primary digital storefronts for businesses, providing information, facilitating sales, and offering customer service.
Mobile Apps: Especially for businesses that benefit from a dedicated mobile presence, apps can offer features and personalized experiences tailored to mobile users.
Physical Stores (Brick-and-Mortar): The traditional retail environment is a vital part of omnichannel strategies, especially when integrated with digital touch points.
Email: Used for direct communication, promotional offers, newsletters, and more. It can be personalized based on user behavior and preferences.
Social Media: Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, X, Pinterest, and LinkedIn can be used for promotion, customer service, and community building.
Chatbots and Messaging Platforms: Automated chatbots or live chat features on websites, apps, or platforms like Facebook Messenger can offer real-time customer support and information.
Call Centers and Phone Support: Traditional phone-based support remains essential for many customers and industries.
SMS and Push Notifications: Direct messages to mobile devices can notify customers of sales, updates, or other relevant information.

The Benefits of Omnichannel Communication

A good strategy will deliver value to both customers and to the business.

The Benefits of Omnichannel Communication to Customers

Customers should enjoy a harmonized experience with omnichannel communication, whether they're browsing online, shopping in-store, or scrolling through a mobile app. This comes from the two key customer-centric components: consistency and personalization.

Consistency is key to customer satisfaction. With a uniform experience across channels, customers develop trust in a brand, making them more inclined to return and engage, irrespective of the channel they choose. When the brand message resonates uniformly across touch points, it solidifies its identity in the minds of consumers. They know what to expect, and this predictability fosters trust and affinity.

Personalization is how you build on consistency. One of the standout features of this form of communication is its ability to offer tailor-made experiences. Leveraging insights from across channels, businesses can present customers with bespoke promotions, content, and recommendations, enhancing the overall shopping experience.

The Benefits of Omnichannel Communication to Businesses

For businesses, omnichannel communication is a good investment because it can both increase revenue and decrease costs.

Omnichannel increases revenue by providing a cohesive shopping experience which will have a ripple effect on conversion rates. Customers, empowered by the fluidity of channel transitions, can end up making purchases they initially just browsed. By combining the personalization above with this integrated approach, businesses can entice customers with promotions on one channel while converting them on another.

Integrating various channels also allows businesses to tap into a goldmine of data. These insights help in understanding customer behavior, paving the way for strategic refinements and better targeting. This better targeting can help retailers streamline inventory through inventory prediction, cutting costs. This data can also help customer success teams, who can also use multiple channels to communicate, manage inquiries, and help customers.

Omnichannel Strategy Best Practices

Crafting an effective marketing strategy revolves around blending different customer touch points and channels into one harmonious experience. These best practices guide businesses in building this integrated approach.

1. Customer-Centric Approach: Understanding your customer is fundamental. Through meticulous research, businesses can tap into the nuances of customer preferences, behaviors, and pain points. This in-depth knowledge allows for the design of tailored experiences, shifting from a mindset of singular transactions to fostering lasting relationships with customers.

2. Data and Technology Integration: A central theme of successful strategies is the consolidation of customer data. A unified Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system acts as the backbone, enabling individualized and consistent interactions. Pairing this with the smooth integration of various technologies, like e-commerce platforms, POS systems, and chat systems, paves the way for a fluid customer experience. This fluidity means customers can seamlessly transition between channels, starting an activity on one platform and finishing on another. Naturally, as with all strategies, continuous refinement is key. Employing techniques such as A/B testing and deep data analytics ensures the strategy remains optimized and effective.

3. Branding, Engagement, and Mobile Optimization: Maintaining consistent branding and messaging is paramount. This cohesion ensures that regardless of the touchpoint---a social media post, an in-store banner, or an email---the brand's voice remains unmistakable. As mobile devices increasingly become consumers' primary gateway to brands, businesses must prioritize mobile optimization. Beyond mere presence across platforms, active engagement is crucial. Addressing customer feedback, answering queries, and alleviating concerns ensures a brand is not just seen but also heard. This commitment to engagement extends to customer support, where the integration of AI tools provides instant responses but is complemented by human touch when needed.

4. Operational Excellence and Adaptability: Operational efficiency is the keystone of any successful strategy. This involves empowering staff with the necessary knowledge and tools, enabling them to be ambassadors of the brand. For businesses with tangible inventories, maintaining transparency about product availability and bridging the online and offline worlds through services like BOPIS (Buy Online, Pick Up In-Store) is crucial.

At its heart, a thriving omnichannel strategy is rooted deeply in understanding and meeting customer needs, ensuring that as the commercial landscape changes, the brand's commitment to its consumers remains unwavering.

Frequently Asked Questions

- How does omnichannel communication affect the customer's purchasing decision?

Omnichannel communication can significantly influence purchasing decisions by providing customers with consistent information, offers, and support across all touchpoints. This seamless experience can reduce friction in the buying process, so customers can move from consideration to purchase easier. Additionally, personalized offers and content, based on the customer's behavior across channels, can further encourage sales.

- Is implementing an omnichannel strategy expensive for businesses?

Initial setup and integration of an omnichannel strategy can have associated costs, especially if new technologies or systems are required. However, the investment can lead to increased customer loyalty, higher sales, and more efficient operations in the long run. It's essential to view it as a strategic investment that can yield significant returns over time.

- How can businesses measure the success of their omnichannel strategy?

Key performance indicators (KPIs) like customer retention rates, conversion rates across channels, average order value, and customer satisfaction scores can offer insights into the effectiveness of an omnichannel approach. Additionally, tools like customer journey analytics can help businesses visualize and understand the paths customers take across channels, highlighting areas of success and potential improvement.

- What are the initial steps businesses should take when transitioning to an omnichannel approach?

Businesses should start by assessing their current channels to understand where gaps or inconsistencies exist. Engaging with customers through surveys or feedback sessions can offer valuable insights. Next, selecting the right technology, such as integrated CRM systems, will be vital. A phased approach, starting with the integration of key channels, can make the transition more manageable.

- Can small businesses also benefit from omnichannel strategies?

Absolutely! While large corporations might implement omnichannel communication on a grander scale, small businesses can also harness its benefits. Even simple integrations, like linking an online inventory to a physical store or ensuring consistent messaging across a website and social media, can make a difference. It's all about understanding the touch points most relevant to their customers and ensuring a seamless experience.

Agora Alternatives - Agora Video vs. Competitors

Emily Nekvasil — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 17:46:10 +0000

Seamless real-time communication is the key to connecting people and businesses across the globe, and Agora has emerged as a powerful player in the video and audio API space.

In this comprehensive comparison, we delve into the advantages and disadvantages of Agora and its competitors for video calling, live streaming, and open-source solutions.

Whether you're a developer looking to embed video, voice, or messaging capabilities into your applications or a business searching for the perfect communication platform, this in-depth analysis will help you navigate the intricate landscape of communication APIs.

Agora Video Overview

Agora is a cloud communications platform that provides APIs and SDKs for developers to embed real-time voice, video, and messaging capabilities into their applications. It enables low-latency, scalable, and cross-platform communication, making it suitable for various applications like virtual events, online meetings, e-learning, and telehealth.

Agora offers features such as screen sharing, whiteboarding, and security measures to protect user data and communications, allowing developers to create customized, interactive applications that require real-time communication.

Advantages of Agora

Global Edge Network: Agora is one of two providers in the space to offer a global edge network; the other is Stream.
AI Noise Suppression: Agora supports AI-based noise suppression.
Extension System: Agora has an extension system that builds upon its video and voice products.

Drawbacks of Agora

Developer Experience: Agora takes significantly more time to integrate than competing solutions like Stream and 100ms, making it difficult to build a complete and stable experience.
Security and Privacy: Agora is based in China and follows local data privacy laws, leaving many potential customers concerned about privacy, security, and data integrity and the potential risk of future regulation against solutions like Agora.
Pricing: For certain use cases, Agora is significantly more expensive. The impact of that depends on how many minutes you use the solution.

Main Agora Features

Agora's API offers a rich feature set, including the following:

Ultra Low Latency and Interactive Livestreaming: Real-time live streaming is typically preferred when the audience is meant to engage with the content. If you want to build a platform like Twitch, where there is an exchange of engagement between the host and the audience, low latency is a priority. For streaming a soccer match, an additional 10-20 seconds of latency is acceptable.
HLS Live Streaming: Agora also offers a slower version of live streaming with the benefit of better buffering under poor network conditions.
Video Calling: Agora supports building video calling and Zoom-style applications.

What to Consider When Deciding Between Agora and Competing Solutions

Most video and audio APIs have seemingly endless nice-to-have feature sets. While it may seem like they have everything you need to build the perfect experience at a glance, be sure that they offer the following must-haves at a high level of proficiency:

Developer Experience: Engineering time tends to be the most expensive part of a video solution, whether it be launching, iterating, or maintaining it. It's critical that the video and audio provider you choose offers robust documentation, an easy-to-use product, and adequate customer support.
Global Edge Network: The speed of light only goes so fast. Establishing servers within close proximity to your end users lowers the risk of losing packets and makes recovery faster if there are stability issues. If a video and audio vendor has a global edge network, that means they have servers around the world to ensure the quality of video calls on your platform is high.
SDK Quality: It's easy for SDKs to have bugs—especially regarding camera access or codec support. The quality of your solution provider's SDKs can have a large impact on the stability of your end user's experience.
Privacy and Security: Video data can often be sensitive. Be sure to vet your potential provider's privacy, data, safety features, and security policies before integrating to confidently deliver a safe experience.
Chat: While it can depend on the nature of your app, for many video and audio use cases, solid chat functionality is just as important. A reliable, scalable chat experience to accompany live streams, video calls, and audio rooms that store messages have reactions, replies, typing indicators, message previews, URL previews, etc., is more than just the icing on the cake—it is a vital part of your app's overall UX.

Head-to-Head Comparison of Agora and Top Video Calling Alternatives

The competitive landscape varies from video calling to livestreaming to open-source solutions. In the section below, we'll compare Agora's video calling solution against those of the top five competitors in the space.

1. Agora vs. Stream

Advantages of Stream

The world-class developer experience is the biggest differentiator between Stream and Agora. You can build in-app video calling, live streaming, and audio rooms in days with Stream, compared to the more challenging integration of Agora for video calling. The gap between the two solutions is quite large because:

Stream's modern SDKs
Stream's average customer support response time of 30 minutes or less
Stream's dynascale capabilities automatically control the size and visibility of video elements and adjust codecs, resolution, fps, and bandwidth usage based on that data—which is essential for all calls, but especially those with more than 20 participants
Excellent documentation and extensive tutorial library
Automatic connection recovery
Stream's intuitive dashboard experience is much easier to use than Agora's

Here are some other advantages of Stream compared to Agora's video calling API.

Integrate a single SDK for multiple video and audio use cases like live streaming, audio rooms, and video calling, giving you ultimate flexibility to mix and match.
Compliant privacy and security laws are followed by Stream, as it is based in the EU and USA and has to follow strict local privacy and security regulations.
Advanced chat capabilities, including reactions, threads, quoted replies, URL previews, editing, deleting, moderation, and typing indicators, are far ahead of Agora.
Flexible recording options enable you to control the layout via templates, variables, and URLs.
Backstage mode gives you a convenient way to set up your call with co-hosts before opening it up to a wider group of people.
See a preview of the live stream before joining and enable views of participant counts and thumbnails.
Permission system for granting audio, video, or screen share permissions live.
Custom data on users, members, and calls for a flexible integration you can trust.
Pricing is substantially lower for Stream compared to Agora.

Agora Advantages

Agora has a rich extension system when compared to Stream. Specifically, Agora's extension support for AI-noise suppression and video backgrounds.

2. Agora vs. 100ms

100MS Advantages

In terms of developer experience, 100MS ranks among the top three in the market, surpassing Agora by a significant margin. Both platforms have limitations in terms of chat support.

However, 100MS, much like Stream, provides a single SDK that caters to both video calling and live streaming. This streamlined approach simplifies the development process, making it easier to create diverse experiences such as all-hands meetings or audio rooms compared to Agora. Additionally, 100MS offers robust custom data support for both peer and session, enhancing flexibility and customization options for developers.

Agora Advantages Over 100ms

Agora boasts a robust extension system, notably excelling in AI noise suppression and video background support. Their infrastructure, on par with major players like Stream, spans a global edge network. In contrast, 100ms, being a smaller company, may pose vendor risk due to its size. Additionally, it's worth noting that 100ms does not support ringing calls.

3. Agora vs. Daily

Advantages of Daily

Privacy and security are critical considerations in today's digital landscape. Daily acknowledges that its platform, like Agora, is subject to China's data access laws, which may raise concerns for users regarding the potential implications for their data privacy.

Another aspect to consider is Daily's support for Cross-platform Adaptive HEVC (H.265) encoding, which can be advantageous primarily for users engaged in iOS to iOS calls, as it may not be as compatible or efficient when participants join from web browsers or Android devices. On a more positive note, Daily excels in the realm of programmable HD compositing, offering excellent recording options for users.

However, the claim of a peer-to-peer media routing mode as an advantage should be approached with caution, as in most scenarios, connecting peer-to-peer can lead to a suboptimal user experience. This approach differs from popular solutions like Zoom and Google Meet, which prioritize centralized routing for better performance.

Daily, much like Stream, offers automatic discounts at higher usage tiers, while Agora follows a more enterprise-oriented sales approach. These factors should be carefully weighed when choosing the right platform for your specific needs, taking into account your priorities regarding privacy, functionality, and user experience.

Agora Advantages Over Daily

Agora has an extensive extension system, notably featuring support for AI noise suppression and customizable video backgrounds. However, Daily appears to lack support for ringing calls. There have been customer reports indicating that the process of joining and transitioning between calls on the Daily platform may suffer from slower speeds, which is an important consideration when evaluating these communication tools.

4. Agora vs. Jitsi 8X8

Jitsi 8X8 Advantages

Jitsi 8x8 is usable without much development work. It's closer to Zoom in some ways than Agora, which can be seen as an advantage or a problem, depending on your use case.

Agora Advantages Over Jitsi 8X8

When it comes to pricing, Agora offers a more appealing structure as it charges on a per-minute basis, in contrast to the per-user approach employed by 8x8. Additionally, Agora stands out for its superior customizability compared to Jitsi. Many users have found themselves drawn to Agora due to its flexibility and customization options, while the limitations in this regard, along with pricing concerns, have often been the driving factors for individuals considering a switch away from Jitsi.

5. Agora vs. Vonage

Vonage Advantages

Vonage supports video well, but they do not specialize in it. The company's product offerings are extensive. So, if you're in the market for SMS and other communication and customer engagement solutions, bundling video with them can make sense.

Advantages of Agora Over Vonage

The video SDKs for Vonage are quite outdated. In general, the developer experience on both of these products is very poor compared to 100MS or Stream.

Comparing Agora to the Top Live Stream API Providers

When building a live streaming app, there are specific features you will need versus an on-demand streaming app, video conferencing platform, or audio room solution. Evaluate the four Agora alternatives below to see which one is the right fit for your live stream app.

1. Agora vs. Stream

Advantages of Stream

As mentioned above, the seamless developer experience is the biggest differentiator between Stream and Agora. Stream offers a swift and user-friendly solution for integrating in-app video calling, live streaming, and audio rooms, taking just days to set up. This contrasts with the more intricate process of integrating Agora for live streaming.

Key distinctions between the two include Stream's modern live streaming SDKs, rapid customer support, dynamic scaling capabilities, excellent documentation, and an intuitive dashboard. Stream also outshines Agora in various aspects:

Stream provides a single SDK for multiple styles of video and audio applications, ensuring flexibility for various use cases. It complies with privacy and security regulations, boasts advanced chat features, flexible recording options, backstage mode for call setup, and even lower pricing than Agora. Stream offers a comprehensive package for seamless, efficient, and cost-effective multimedia integration.

Agora Advantages

Agora also supports RTMP Out for easy exports to YouTube, other streaming platforms, etc. This is currently not supported by Stream, but it is on the company's product roadmap for 2024. Both solutions provide many of the core features you need to build a world-class live streaming solution with interactive real-time live streaming, HLS (higher latency), and RTMP input.

2. Agora vs. Mux

Mux Advantages

The dashboard in Mux is one of the best on the market. Similar to Stream, it makes it super easy to take your RTMP video feed and broadcast it to the world. Mux is US-based, so US-based apps might be more familiar and aligned with the local privacy and security regulations Mux follows.

Advantages of Agora Over Mux

Mux raised at a very high valuation. Today, the company does not have adequate revenue to support its past valuation. This means there is some financial and business continuity risk when choosing Mux.

Agora supports both HLS and WebRTC-based live streaming protocols. Whereas Mux seems to focus primarily on HLS-based live streaming, which has better buffering but greater latency, which makes it less suitable for streams that encourage audience interaction.

3. Agora vs. Amazon Interactive Video Service (AWS IVS)

AWS IVS Advantages

Using AWS IVS means you can use your AWS credits. This can be a major advantage, as well as cost-effective, as AWS is cheaper when it comes to pricing.

Agora Advantages

AWS has limitations regarding the max video resolution, the number of live stream participants, and co-hosts due to its WebRTC-based stream. The developer experience for Agora is more straightforward than that of AWS.

4. Agora vs. MilliCast (Dolby.io) & PhenixRTS

Advantages of MilliCast and PhenixRTS

MilliCast (now owned by Dolby.io) and PhenixRTS target the upper end of the live streaming market. Because of this, they support less common ingest options. PhenixRTS supports SRT, SDI, MPEG-TS, and RTSP over UD, and Millicast supports WHIP, RTSP, RTMP, SRT, and NDI.

Agora Advantages

In general, Agora has a better developer experience compared to MilliCast and PhenixRTS. You can use Agora for both livestreaming and video calling, too, which is an advantage for many apps' multi-media use cases.

Top Four Open-Source Agora Alternatives

There are several open-source alternatives to Agora. When considering other open-source solutions, it's important to review possible WebRTC architectures. There are a few different approaches:

Global Edge Network with SFU cascading is optimal for low latency and call reliability. It's the approach solutions like Google Meet, Zoom, and live stream providers like Millicast, Stream, and PhenixRTS take.
Peer-to-Peer connections, which do not require a server, just using WebRTC is enough.
Single SFU or cluster of SFUs, which makes it harder to achieve low latency, scalability, and high stability.

1. WebRTC Peer-to-Peer

The most common free, open-source solution for video calling is WebRTC in peer-to-peer mode.

Pros:

The cost per call is $0.00 or close to $0.00, you have to pay a bit for STUN and TURN servers.

Cons:

Unable to scale beyond 3-4 participants.
High call latency, low quality, and poor stability.
Integrating WebRTC can be time-consuming and increase the risk of errors, especially on the web.
Certain features can't be implemented or are made more difficult to engineer like recording.
Potential privacy issues and security vulnerabilities due to direct peer-to-peer connection.

2. Livekit

Livekit is a new open-source SFU. It's based on the popular Pion Go framework that Stream and several other providers use.

Pros:

Open-source
Can scale to larger calls.

Cons:

You need to host and maintain your own infrastructure, which can be expensive and time-consuming.
Bandwidth can be very expensive with some of the top cloud hosting providers.
For an optimal user experience, you want to run hundreds of Livekit instances, but doing so isn't very practical for most apps.
Developer experience isn't as polished as 100MS or Stream.
Recording capabilities are not as easy to use as Daily.

3. Mediasoup

Mediasoup is an older open-source solution and offers bindings in Rust and JS.

Pros:

Open-source
Can scale to larger calls.
Sender and receiver bandwidth estimation with spatial and temporal layers distribution algorithm.

Cons:

You need to host and maintain your own infrastructure.
Bandwidth can be very expensive with some of the top cloud hosting providers.
Developer experience isn't as polished as other Agora alternatives
Recording capabilities are not as intuitive as Daily

4. Ant Media

Ant Media is a smaller open-source SFU that caters to live streaming customers. Similar to Stream, Millicast, and PhenixRTS, it offers WebRTC-based live streaming with low latency (500ms).

Pros:

The source is available on GitHub, but the license isn't clear.
Focused on live streaming.

Cons:

The project seems smaller than MediaSoup and Livekit.

After Comparing Agora to Competing Solutions, Which Is Right For You?

The world of real-time communication solutions is teeming with options, each catering to diverse needs and priorities. Agora stands as a formidable contender with its cloud communications platform, offering a rich set of features, including low-latency live streaming, video calling, and an extension system that fosters innovation.

However, our in-depth comparison has unveiled a competitive landscape where alternatives specialize in critical areas, like:

Developer Experience and Edge Network: Stream is ahead of the competition when it comes to its ease of integration and Global Edge Network infrastructure that supplies servers around the world. If your app needs a reliable, seamless video and audio integration with superior reliability, Stream is your best option.
Recording Capabilities: If video and audio recording is a top feature on your list and you need an easy-to-use interface for setting it up, Daily is a great option. While other platforms have recording functionalities, Daily's is the best.
Vendor Viability: AWS IVS is the largest company in this space. To our knowledge, AWS has never removed a product. So, from a business continuity standpoint, AWS is certainly a safe option.
Whiteboard, AI Noise, and Video Filters: The extension system in Agora is ahead of all of the other vendors listed here. So, if that's what is most important to you, Agora will suit your use case.

The choice between Agora and its competitors ultimately hinges on your app's unique requirements. Are you seeking a developer-friendly solution, rock-solid infrastructure, or advanced features like whiteboard and AI enhancements?

Whatever your priorities, this comprehensive analysis is your compass in navigating the dynamic world of communication APIs. As you embark on your journey to select the perfect real-time communication partner, consider the factors that matter most to you and your application and make an informed decision that aligns with your vision.

Whether it's Agora, Stream, Daily, AWS IVS, or any other contender, the right choice awaits, empowering you to connect, engage, and innovate in today's interconnected digital landscape.

10 Best Video Calling APIs: Benefits & Features

Emily Nekvasil — Tue, 25 Jul 2023 19:37:44 +0000

TLDR;

Each API has a different strength: Agora adapts video quality to network conditions, Enablex supports 2,000 participants, and Vonage lets you embed video with one line of HTML.

Pricing models vary widely: per-participant-per-minute, tiered by video quality, or unlisted. Stream includes $200/month in free usage. Estimate your monthly cost before committing.

If you're in a regulated industry, check compliance coverage. Vonage includes GDPR and HIPAA support. Enablex offers E2EE and AES-512 encryption.

Stream is the only option with unlimited participants, a global edge network, and $200/month in free usage, making it a strong pick if you need scalability without upfront commitment.

What was once a safety precaution, remote medical appointments, events, classrooms, and meetings are now popular and even preferred alternatives to in-person communication and transacting. Your app will need to incorporate an element of video chat to stay competitive. Luckily, video calling APIs make it quick and easy for your development team to integrate reliable and high-quality video streaming to your chat app’s interface.

What is a Video Calling API?

An application programming interface (API) is an intermediary that allows different software to communicate with one other and seamlessly exchange data. APIs provide out-of-the-box functionality to engineers and save them the time, money, and hassle of developing complex features like video chat in-house. A video calling API is a plug-and-play component that can be added to an existing web or mobile application to create a live audio and visual communication experience for users.

What are the Benefits of Using a Video API or SDK?

As mentioned above, APIs save app developers precious resources when building complicated features. Similar to an API, an SDK can support video chat functionality. A software development kit (SDK) is a collection of development tools in one installable package, including a compiler, debugger, and software framework. The top benefits are as follows:

Fast Time to Market: Ready-made video calling APIs and SDKs allow developers to stay ahead of the competition by quickly integrating functionalities that would otherwise take months to create from scratch.
Less Maintenance: Your video API will be the sole focus of your integration partner. Your API vendor will be dedicated to iterating and maintaining your video calling solution, allowing your development team to focus their efforts on other areas of your application.
More Security: Due to the sensitive nature of video and text-based chat content, video APIs are held to the highest data security standards. When you integrate them, you also integrate top-level compliance—something else your app developers won’t need to worry about.
Resource Conservation: Second to time, your most valuable development resource is money. Video APIs make the build vs. buy decision a cinch— while they might require a larger up-front investment, they are a more cost-effective option over time.

Must-Have Video Calling API Features

You might be overwhelmed by the number of video conferencing API options on the market. When evaluating possible solutions, check closely to make sure they at least include the following features:

Screen Sharing: Share content in real-time to one or more separate devices.
Recording: Live video recording and storage for later viewing.
Group Calling: Multiple participants can join a single video conference
Virtual Noise Cancellation: Improve the quality of your app’s video calling

Top 10 APIs & SDKs for Video Conferencing

Thousands of video calling APIs and SDKs are available, but the top ten options listed below are the most reliable, feature-rich, and widely applicable.

1. Stream

Leading chat provider Stream has expanded its product suite of real-time communication APIs into the video and audio space. Stream's flexible and customizable SDKs for top-tier software frameworks, coupled with user-friendly UI kits, simplify the process of integrating video calling into your app. Stream also offers solutions for audio rooms, livestreaming, and voice calling.

Notable Features:

Global edge network
Live audio transcription
Flexible permissions
Moderation tools
PIP and background calling
Visual speaking indicators
Unlimited participants
Dynascale integration
Low-latency video
Two-factor authentication
Active speaker focus
Geofencing
Webhooks integration

Stream Pricing

Stream's video pricing is broken into audio-only, HD, Full HD, 2K, and 4K options and is metered per participant. Stream automatically issues discounts depending on the total amount of usage. If you anticipate using more than 50 million minutes per month, contact sales. Your first $200 of video calling API usage is free monthly, regardless of your chosen pricing plan.

2. Agora

Agora’s video calling API can enhance social apps with fun features like AR facial masks and sound effects. In contrast, business and education apps can benefit from screen sharing, whiteboards, and more. Agora’s advanced in-house algorithms provide adaptive resolution from 96p to 1080p to guarantee better video quality for your app users that requires less bandwidth. It applies adaptive video resolution based on the user’s network conditions, serving the best user experience possible to each person on the call—free of stutters, jitters, or lag, under even the most challenging network conditions.

Notable Features:

AI-powered noise cancellation
Voice effects
Custom masks and visual filters
HD video
Supplemental Enhancement Information (SEI)

Agora Pricing

Agora’s video API pricing varies by the quality of the video you wish to feature on your app, the number of participants who will use it, and for how long.

3. Enablex.io

Enablex.io developed a video chat API for developers that gives them everything they need to build a video experience into their applications and software successfully. Highly customizable and flexible, Enablex places the creative power in the hands of engineers, providing the building blocks to build highly scalable and unique real-time communication experiences.

Notable Features:

Customizable UI with tangible layouts
Up to 2,000 participants per video conference
E2EE and AES-512 encryption
Screen & file sharing feature

Enablex.io Pricing

Enablex.io’s pricing is determined by the number of participants on a video call and the number of minutes it lasts.

4. CometChat

CometChat's idiomatic SDKs are designed to help you build quickly. Available for iOS, Android, web, and popular frontend frameworks, they work seamlessly together to make cross-platform development simple. With robust documentation, in-depth tutorials, and demo apps for every major platform, developers can quickly add 1:1 and group text, voice, and video call functionality to their apps.

Check out these CometChat alternatives to see how the platform stacks up.

Notable Features:

1:1 & group text chat functionality
Voice and video conferencing tools
Online presence indicators
Drag & drop chat widgets
White-labeled message translation

CometChat Pricing

CometChat's pricing for video chat is packaged with voice and text-based chat offerings, too. The cost is based on Monthly Active Users (MAUs).

5. Sinch

Sinch enables developers to create a customizable video chat experience in mobile, web, or desktop applications to improve brand experience and build deeper connections. Sinch’s iOS, Android, and JavaScript in-app video calling SDK gives high-quality video chat integration and super clear voice capabilities so that you can engage with anyone, anywhere - almost as good as in person!  Sinch allows engineers to focus on their app’s customers and takes care of the video call performance, security, and other telecom needs. 

Notable Features:

Cross-platform support
Enterprise-grade reliability
Custom video filters and masks
Live broadcasting
Low video latency

Sinch Pricing

Sinch does not feature its video API pricing online, but you can contact sales at Sinch to learn more.

6. Apphitect

Apphitect is a leading provider of video calling and conferencing solutions for all sizes of organizations, from SMBs to enterprises. Its video calling API is 100% customizable and can be tailored to the exact needs of any chat app. The video calling solution provides multiple communication channels like one-to-one video calling, group video calling, and video and audio conferencing to scale your business meetings, webinars, presentation, and other virtual communication needs.

Notable Features:

HD voice and video quality on any device on WiFi/3G/WiMax/LTE
Sophisticated video quality adaptation to network impairments
Scalable media server
Up to 100 interactive video participants in a video conference
Load balancing

Apphitect Pricing

Apphitect’s video calling API pricing is not listed on their website. Instead, they ask prospective customers to contact the Apphitect sales team.

7. Video SDK

Video SDK makes video conferencing efficient for both developers and the end user. It allows you to explore how the video SDK impacts engagement. This tool integrates video calls in 10 minutes or less without compromising on feature functionality—including whiteboards, Q&A, and polls. Video SDK supports unlimited private channels by integrating with advanced video streaming possibilities for platforms like JavaScript, React JS, React Native, Android, Flutter, and iOS.

Notable Features:

Pre-built live streaming SDK with 5,000+ participant support
Quick integration time of 10 minutes
Unlimited channels with enhanced video quality
UI support & auto-scalable parallel rooms
Unlimited attendee support in a single meeting
Video recording

Video SDK Pricing

The pricing for Video SDK is determined by the video quality you wish to include in your app and the number of participants your video chat app will support.

8. ZujoNow

ZujoNow delivers customizable video call SDKs that support on-demand videos, live streaming, and real-time communication to its clients with supreme scalability. This platform helps educators connect with students in particular, as well as other industries that have recently experienced a pivot to virtual communication and transactions. ZujoNow delivers a video solution featuring E2EE and easy integration for app developers.

Notable Features:

Built-in support for healthcare, EdTech, and dating apps
Zero video connection lags
Low-latency
Real-time video encoding

ZujoNow Pricing

The pricing for ZujoNow is $3/1,000 minutes for each participant.

9. Vonage

The Vonage Video API makes it easy to build a custom video experience within any mobile, web, or desktop application and is built on the WebRTC industry standard available on billions of devices. It has the richest set of live video features on the market, honed over many years in response to the needs of thousands of customers. All voice calling, video, and signaling traffic is AES-128 encrypted with the option to add AES-256 encryption. It only takes four minutes to add live video to websites using just one line of HTML. This means that engineers and content creators alike can rapidly build sophisticated live video apps with many participants, as the API accommodates users without video development expertise.

Notable Features

Encrypted video recordings
Video chat embeds
GDPR and HIPAA compliance
SIP interconnect
Video stream customization
HLS and RTMP streaming
Video analytics

Vonage Pricing

Vonage prices follow simple usage-based pricing based on the number of participants in a video session, with plans starting at $9.99/month without bandwidth limitations.

10. Daily.co

Daily.co’s visual SDKs give you flexibility, scalability, and control for real-time video, live streaming, and recording. Developers can seamlessly integrate real-time video and audio into native apps with Daily’s iOS and Android SDKs. With Daily, you can power real-time audio and video, RTMP live streaming, and custom-layout recording. Plus enable features like live transcription, virtual backgrounds, and more. The company specializes in supporting apps in the education, live event, and internal collaboration/teams industries.

Notable Features:

Cross-platform support
Three types of recording
100% customizable video call UI/UX
Automatic bandwidth & switching between group sessions
Intuitive development options
Automatic tuning of video quality
Many-to-many video sessions with all cameras on
Global infrastructure with HD RTMP streaming

Daily.co Pricing

The pricing for Daily.co is designed to scale alongside the size of your userbase, and offers a discount for high volume usage.

Integrate the Right Video Chat API With Your App Today

While these ten of the top video chat APIs, there may be an API better suited for your unique business niche. To explore the complete collection of video APIs and SDKs available, visit an API marketplace or review site, like G2 or Capterra, to find out what other users think of it.

When evaluating a new video communication solution, ensure that it includes all of the features your app’s video chat needs. Then, it is best practice to calculate your estimated monthly cost by multiplying your number of app users by the per-user rate on the API’s pricing page to ensure you’re making a cost-conscious choice. Happy integrating!

7 Best Chat as a Service Platforms

Emily Nekvasil — Wed, 03 May 2023 16:42:28 +0000

Looking for a feature-rich, secure, easy-to-integrate, customizable in-app chat solution that you don't have to build from scratch? We've compiled a list of the top seven CaaS providers on the market today, highlighting the benefits, features, and limitations so that you can make the right decision for your product.

In-app chat's ability to build community, create brand loyalty, improve user retention, and increase engagement is responsible for its popularity. If your brand could use a boost in any of these areas, consider adding chat to your product roadmap. But, since building a chat app from scratch is often more trouble than it's worth, here are seven of the top chat as a service (CaaS) providers that will help you easily integrate chat into your product.

1. Stream Chat

Stream is one of the top chat services on the market. And some of the world's most well-known companies already use it, including Vimeo, The Boys and Girls Club of America, and Adobe.

It's an incredibly versatile option you can use to create a robust chat, even without prior experience building a messaging infrastructure. In addition to its chat API, Stream offers more than a dozen SDKs, including a React SDK and those specifically designed for iOS and Android app environments. The variety of options available ensures that you'll find a package that contains everything you need to build and customize your own chat right out of the box.

Benefits

Easy to build and implement. Get chat up and running quickly with the easy-to-integrate API or access Stream's library of pre-written code.
Customize the chat experience. Enhance the out-of-the-box solution by editing the code yourself or using third-party platforms like Giphy and Imgur.
Try before you buy. Sign up for a free trial to test drive Stream's API or SDKs before you spend any money.
Make more reliable connections. Stream boasts nearly 100% uptime and 5x fewer issues from poor Wi-Fi connections.
Ensure security compliance. Stream's chat meets some of the strictest industry regulations (including HIPAA, SOC-2, and GDPR) — a great option for products in tightly regulated industries like telehealth.

Top Features

Data encryption protects user privacy.
Edge API Infrastructure allows for truly instant messaging.
Unlimited number of chat users makes in-app conversations more collaborative.
AI Moderation include the ability to mute or ban accounts, hide or flag messages, and set channel permissions.
URL enrichment shows users in-message link previews that can include text, images, and videos.

Limitations

Video Looking to take your app engagement to the next level? Incorporating video is a great way to boost the benefits of native messaging, but Stream's video service will not be available for another few months.

2. Agora

Agora specializes in SDKs for voice calling and video conferencing — but it also offers a chat service for private and group chat capabilities. It's a particularly good option for web conferencing apps that already rely on Agora's other APIs and SDKs because they're all compatible. And that means they'll integrate with one another seamlessly.

Benefits

Moderate content automatically. Agora automatically moderates sensitive content like profanity to create a safe environment for all users.
Get up and running quickly. Getting Agora's chat up and running only requires a few lines of code. To make things even easier, Agora provides pre-written code that you can copy and paste.
Keep user data secure. Data privacy compliance is easy with the SDK's file encryption and user controls for their chat histories.
Use your favorite third-party integrations. Customize the chat's functionality by integrating with third-party platforms like Giphy.

Top Features

Offline messaging allows users to communicate asynchronously.
Auto-translation enables users to communicate in their preferred language.

Limitations

Functionality. Agora's chat SDK only supports the most basic messaging functionality — read receipts, typing notifications, push notifications, etc.

3. Twilio

Twilio is a leader in customer engagement with an emphasis on its data collection capabilities in all of its products. Twilio offers a wide array of APIs and SDKs, including Twilio MessagingX, which includes two API offerings that help developers integrate multi-channel chat services into their products:

Programmable Messaging API: Developers can use this API to send transactional messages through SMS, MMS, or WhatsApp. This API is great for ecommerce websites, which can use transactional messaging for things like shipping and delivery updates.
Conversations API: With Twilio's SDK, you can integrate conversational messaging into apps. This API can handle robust chat needs, like providing real-time support through live chat.

Benefits

Connect with users through multiple channels. The chat service is compatible with a variety of already-popular messaging platforms, including standard text messaging, Facebook Messenger, and Google Business.
Expand your development knowledge and skill set. Twilio supports customers beyond basic implementation resources by offering both live and on-demand virtual training sessions on a variety of topics that support long-term development efforts.
Improve future communication with data-backed insights. First and foremost, Twilio is a consumer engagement and data collection tool. And that means you gain insights about customers by integrating its other APIs.

Top Features

Programmable messaging API

Message notifications
User authentication
Real-time analytics

Conversations API

Multi-channel messaging
Delivery and read receipts
SMS and MMS messaging

Limitations

Pricing. Twilio's pricing varies depending on factors like the number of users and the number of sent messages. This flexibility in pricing can make it difficult to estimate costs and create realistic budgets, especially for apps with fast-growing user bases.

4. PubNub

PubNub specializes in tools that help developers create engaging virtual experiences that create a community at a global scale.

PubNub is a great option for apps with large-scale messaging needs because the network relies on 15 internationally distributed data centers. This allows fast communication between users around the globe. Data center distribution also minimizes the risk of a crash since if one goes down, the service can rely on one of the others to keep operating.

Benefits

Guarantee compliance with important security and privacy standards. SDKs support compliance with HIPAA and SOC2 regulations — PubNub even undergoes third-party audits to help ensure data security for its users.
Build a unique chat with ease. Components make it easy to add a chat service because they give you a head start by creating the building blocks --- all you have to do is assemble them according to the provided directions.
Get assistance if you run into a hurdle. 24/7 access to support makes PubNub a good option for teams with limited development experience or limited time to troubleshoot errors.

Top Features

File sharing allows users to send photos, videos, and documents.
Moderation dashboard makes it easy to identify and hide inappropriate messages, respond to user-flagged messages, and mute individual users.
External storage automatically saves sent messages to a preselected, personal database.

Limitations

Functionality. Popular functionalities require third-party integration — out of the box, Pubnub's chat service doesn't include the ability to send gifs, translate text, or trigger push notifications.

5. Comet Chat

CometChat offers APIs, SDKs, UI kits, and widgets that help developers integrate private and group chat into their own products with ease. Because it offers a combination of options, developers have a few options for how they integrate chat into their app or website:

Drag-and-drop chat widgets to integrate pre-built chat functionality in just a few minutes.
Customize and integrate a pre-built chat functionality with APIs on their own.
Speed up time to launch with bottom-up development by using a combination of SDKs with APIs.

Benefits

Easy to integrate chat. The ability to drag and drop pre-written code (or adjust the templated code) means it only takes a few minutes to get chat up and running.
Moderate messages automatically. Built-in AI moderation makes it easier to maintain a positive chat environment.

Top Features

Messaging indicators signal to users when their messages are read or when another user is responding.
Search, along with tagging, helps find important information within chats.
User profiles let users personalize their experience by adding a profile photo and blocking users they don't get along with.

Limitations

Compatibility. CometChat only offers six SDKs, which means it may not be compatible with all applications and websites.
Customization. CometChat limits the edits developers can make to the API and SDK code on their own, which means most customizations rely on extensions and third-party integrations.
Pricing. Advanced features like in-chat polling, message translation, and virus scanning are limited to the Pro Plan.

6. TalkJS

TalkJS is a dedicated chat API service provider that allows developers to integrate chat into any kind of app and employ it for a wide variety of use cases. This includes everything from basic one-on-one chats to real-time text messaging between businesses and customers. And as a company founded and run largely by developers, TalkJS regularly updates its services to remain competitive.

Benefits

Avoid creating a user interface. TalkJS's pre-built UI is ready to use, which makes it easy to get a user-friendly chat experience up and running, even without front-end development experience.
Moderate messages automatically. Built-in AI moderation makes it easier to protect users by preventing them from sharing personal information. It also maintains a safe environment by allowing moderators to create lists of banned words and delete messages.

Top Features

Notifications can be sent to users through email, SMS, or their web browser.
Chat themes allow the chat owner to customize the user interface, including changing text fonts, colors, message styles, and more.

Limitations

Accessibility. An individual subscription can only be accessed from one touchpoint, which means large teams may need to pay for additional subscriptions.
Customization. Because TalkJS only offers an API (and no SDK), the only customization options are the built-in themes provided by TalkJS.
Pricing. Each price plan places a limit on the number of users, and the most affordable plans offer limited access to advanced features.

7. Quickblox

Quickblox supports developers that are building real-time chat. It also offers resources to build video calling and web conferencing features, which developers can use to support chat and create a more engaging and interactive experience for end users. Because Quickblox's primary goal is to help developers build apps that establish remote connections, some of its most common use cases include telehealth, eLearning, and remote work.

Benefits

Integrate chat for free. The free subscription plan provides access to basic chat features for up to 500 registered users. You can test out new functionality with low commitment and still retain the option to scale with ease later on.
Customize the chat experience with ease. Quickblox supports developers with advanced chat customization through its Professional Services team. This team provides consultations, brainstorming, design, and even development and delivery services to make customized chat dreams become a reality.
Guarantee you'll get assistance when you need it. All paid subscriptions include access to ticketed support. For most plans, this includes guaranteed same-day response times, but for more advanced subscription options, it also includes access to a dedicated account manager and support via live chat or phone.

Top Features

User status indicators make it easy to see when users are on or offline.
Message indicators show when messages are sent, delivered, and read.
Multimedia messaging allows users to enhance communication with images and links.
Moderation allows administrators to manually ban users and hide inappropriate messages.

Limitations

Functionality. The free plan only offers access to basic chat features like typing indicators and chat histories. Access to more advanced features like offline messaging requires a paid subscription plan.
Pricing. Each price plan comes with limitations on the number of users, data storage capacity, and the file sizes users are allowed to send.
Security. End-to-end encryption is only available for enterprise customers — other plan subscribers will be at higher risk of a security breach.

Choose a Chat Service That's Easy To Implement and Customize

The best way to set yourself up for success is by choosing a chat as a service platform that you can realistically implement with your development background and offers customization to ensure you deliver the best possible user experience.

Once you've narrowed down your list of potential chat API solutions, take a look at these seven tips to help you compare and make a final decision about who to partner with. Or see how the most popular chat providers stack up in terms of pricing plans and full feature sets.

A Breakdown of Chat API Pricing

Emily Nekvasil — Tue, 11 Apr 2023 17:49:08 +0000

Sendbird pricing compared to Stream, Agora, Twilio and more. It pays to know the true cost of your chat before you invest in a solution for your app.

There are a lot of options available when it comes to finding the right chat solution for your app. You'll likely evaluate the features, compliance standards, performance, and support plans of each provider, maybe adapting your use case to embrace the unique functionalities of your front runner. But while your use case may be flexible, it's likely that your budget is not.

To expedite your search, take an objective look at the pricing structures of the six top chat API vendors to determine which plan falls within your budget:

Sendbird
Stream
Agora
Twilio
PubNub
CometChat

Sendbird Pricing

Sendbird provides chat APIs, SDKs, and UI kits customers can integrate with their apps to create a feature-rich messaging experience faster than building one from scratch. When researching chat providers, customers realize the two most feature-rich API vendors are Sendbird and Stream. Check out the Sendbird reviews and alternatives list on Product Hunt to see how Stream stacks up against them and other Sendbird Chat competitors.

Sendbird Pricing Overview

Sendbird offers four pricing plans: Developer, Starter, Pro, and Enterprise. Each tier and its price is driven by your app's predicted number of monthly active users (MAU) and peak concurrent connections. It's important to note that Sendbird's Developer plan only supports up to 100 MAU, whereas Stream's free Maker Account supports up to 2K MAU for your app to test its chat functionality on.

Here is a direct comparison of Stream and Sendbird's MAU-based pricing plans:

MAU Count	Stream	Sendbird Starter	Sendbird Pro
10K	$499	$499	$749
25K	$1,299	$1,199	$1,799
50K	$2,299	Talk to Sales	Talk to Sales

Sendbird's customer support options include Base, L1, L2 and L3.

L1 is 4% of monthly cost or a minimum of $1K (you'd have to spend $25k a month to hit $1k at 4%).
L2 is 6% of monthly cost or a minimum of $2K.
L3 is 8% of monthly cost or min $5K.

Base is similar to Stream's Basic Support, but Sendbird restricts support access to US business hours. Stream doesn't---we have support personnel in North America, Europe, and Asia, giving us 24/7 coverage. Sendbird's L3 is the first 24/7 option, promising Slack support for an "extra payment".

Stream's Developer support comes standard with any plan and an average support response time of 30 minutes, 24/5. Stream's Business support ($2k/mo) includes everything from the Developer plan and a shared Slack channel with one of our developers, a guaranteed four hour response time for critical issues and 72 hours for non-critical issues, and a 99.95% SLA uptime with 25x acceleration. Stream's Enterprise support ($4k/mo) offers 24/7 phone support, a 99.99% SLA uptime with 100x acceleration, a two hour response time for critical issues and a 48 hour time for non-critical, and complimentary integration review from our team.

Stream Pricing

Stream powers activity feeds and chat for enterprise organizations and billions of global end users. Notable customers that rely on our Edge infrastructure and 99.999% SLA uptime include UnderAmour, Adobe, TaskRabbit, MasterClass, PGA of America, Like-to-Know, Sotheby's, and Cambridge University. Steam's ready-made components ensure a fast time to market for your app, a feature-rich UX, and that your engineers can allocate valuable resources that would otherwise be used to build a home-grown solution to other areas of your project.

Stream provides a scalable chat API, custom UI kits, and extensive tutorials and documentation for its React, React Native, iOS, Android, Flutter, Compose, Unity, and Unreal SDKs. Stream distinguishes itself from the competition with an easy to integrate solution---it typically takes our customers a few days to a week to implement Stream, while other chat APIs can take months.

Learn what real Stream users have to say about their experience, check out our G2 profile.

Stream Pricing Overview

Stream's pricing is broken into tiers called Startup, Standard, Premium, and custom Enterprise plans. As mentioned above, Stream's pricing is also driven by MAUs but offers a higher percentage of peak concurrent connections. While Sendbird's website fails to mention overage costs, Stream transparently outlines its overages for each plan, starting at $0.08/user for the Startup plan and decreasing $0.02 for each larger plan.

All pricing tiers feature highly performant, secure, and compliant chat solutions with an unlimited message storage capacity, an image and file CDN, and multiple customer support channels to leverage, should you have any questions.

Agora Pricing

Agora's chat platform features flexible customization, ease of implementation, and reliable network quality to give your users an amazing messaging and chat experience. It supports over eight SDKs and enables developers to add customized messaging experiences to real-time video and voice apps.

Agora Pricing Overview

Agora's chat pricing includes a free plan for up to 500 MAU, a Starter plan for up to 50K MAU, a Pro plan for up to 100K MAU, and an Enterprise plan apps can receive custom pricing for. The Starter plan begins at $349/mo with an additional cost of $0.05/MAU if you exceed 5K of the max MAU count. The Pro plan starts at $699/mo with an additional cost of $0.05/MAU if you exceed 10K of the max MAU count.

Translation and content moderation services are not included with the free or Starter plans. Translation is $0.02/1,000 characters and content moderation is $1.50/1,000 transactions for both Pro and Enterprise plans. Support is another feature Agora does not include with its chat pricing plans. It offers Starter ($0/mo), Standard ($1,200/mo), Premium ($2,900), and Enterprise ($4,900) support plans. It's important to note that only the Premium and Enterprise plans offer HIPAA support and guarantee response times of three hours and under.

Twilio Pricing

Twilio replaced its Programmable Chat product with a Conversations API that enables businesses to interact with customers through voice, SMS, video, chat, and email. Twilio's Conversations API allows engineers to bring the feature-richness of an in-app chat experience to their business's omnichannel communication and user engagement strategy.

Twilio Pricing Overview

Twilio's Conversations API pricing is slightly unique compared to the other chat providers listed here. Since its capabilities extend beyond in-app chat to platforms like Facebook Messenger, SMS, MMS, Whatsapp, and Google's Business Messages it bases monthly pricing off of usage and media storage.

If your app has under 200 MAUs, you can use the API for free. Once you scale upwards from 200-5K MAUs, the API costs $0.05/active user, 5,001-10K MAUs costs $0.0475/active user, and 10,001-20K costs $0.045/active user. Apps with over 20K MAU can reach out to Twilio's sales team for custom pricing and volume discounts.

Media Storage on the Conversations API starts at $0.25 per GB per month. This feature allows app users to add photos, video, and other file types to their conversations. Since your app cannot control how many messages its users will send and receive that contain media, there is no accurate way to estimate your total monthly cost.

PubNub Pricing

PubNub offers lower level building blocks for creating real-time apps---it doesn't provide reusable visual components for the frontend. They only support low level SDKs for JS, Swift, Java and Unity which means you should prepare to spend a considerable amount of time building out your chat experience. Its feature set is also quite limited compared to Stream and Sendbird. However, PubNub has an excellent track record in terms of performance, scalability, and reliability. Customers such as HubSpot, Yelp, and eBay rely on their real-time API, which is more popular than its chat API.

PubNub Pricing Overview

PubNub offers a free plan for 200 MAUs and under, a Starter plan for $49/mo for up to 1,000 MAUs, and a custom priced Enterprise plan that offers volume based discounts, like Stream. If you exceed the Starter plan, overages are $0.05/user.

It is important to review the features available on the Free and Starter plans as some of the most critical ones are reserved for Enterprise, like HIPAA compliance, SSO, 99.999% SLA, advanced network tuning, and a custom domain origin. Be sure to note that all plans come with PubNub's standard support option, but they do offer Gold ($500/mo) and Platinum ($1,500) support plans that guarantee quicker response times, Slack and phone support, and weekend support options, too.

CometChat Pricing

CometChat supports 10 SDKs as well as pre-built chat plug-ins that help developers quickly integrate and ship in-app chat, video, voice messaging, and moderation tools for a variety of use cases and industries.

CometChat Pricing Overview

CometChat's pricing is broken into three tiers, Essentials, Pro, and Custom. For under 1K MAU, you can pay $109/mo for the Essentials plan or $529/mo for Pro, a pretty big delta in price until your app begins to scale. For apps with up to 50K MAU, the Essentials plan is priced at $1,579/mo compared to $1,999 for the Pro plan. All Custom pricing plan options must be discussed with a member of their sales team.

The Pro plan includes all of what CometChat calls its "Core Chat" features plus Advanced Chat features, voice and video call recording capabilities, live streaming, webhooks, SMS and email notifications, image moderation, greater customer and implementation support options, and more.

Cost Example: Sendbird's Pricing vs. Stream's

Sendbird's Starter plan for 25K MAU is priced at $1,199/mo.

However, in order to access critical features including message search, delivery receipts, announcements, data export, advanced analytics, private dedicated servers, auto message translation, a moderation dashboard, profanity filter, and HIPAA compliance you must upgrade to Sendbird's Pro plan for $1,799/mo.

Stream's Standard plan for 25K MAU includes all of the features Sendbird's Starter plan is missing and costs 38% less at only $1,299/mo.

With such massive cost savings and access to a more advanced chat functionality, your decision of Sendbird or Stream probably just got easier.

Which Solution is the Most Cost Effective?

MAU	Sendbird	Stream	Agora	Twilio	PubNub	CometChat
10K	$749	$499	$599	$475	Talk to Sales	$799
25K	$1,799	$1,299	$1,349	Talk to Sales	Talk to Sales	$1,249
50K	Talk to Sales	$2,299	$2,599	Talk to Sales	Talk to Sales	$1,999

While all of the solutions we covered are more cost effective than building chat in-house, Stream is the most affordable, supportive, and feature-rich option. The table above compares the monthly prices by MAU of Stream's plans against the competitor plans with the same features. It should be noted that Stream's 50K MAU plan includes customer support, something that Agora, Twilio, PubNub, and CometChat price separately.

If you're looking for a scalable, Enterprise-ready chat solution, Stream only becomes more economical in comparison to its alternatives as your MAUs and peak concurrent connections grow.

If you are currently using another provider's API and now want to switch from Twilio or even migrate from Sendbird to Stream, we've got you covered.

Don't take our word for it though!

Get in touch with someone from our sales team, start your free trial of Stream, or check out our demos.