Many sites need communication features like calls and messaging these days without having to build them from scratch. To cater to these needs, Agora has been a popular choice due to its extensive collection of APIs. Yet, some developers and businesses are looking for other options due to factors like cost or better support.
This search for an Agora alternative led to exploring other platforms that better fit certain needs. Therefore, we will discuss its top alternatives, including their specific features. But do they follow your budget? Read till the end to find their pricing plans and everything else you need to know.
Part 1. Top 10 Agora Alternatives in 2025
You can find many platforms that provide them with APIs and SDKs to create your communication apps. However, to learn about some alternatives to Agora platforms, go through the following sections:
1. ZEGOCLOUD
Probably even better than Agora, ZEGOCLOUD provides multiple API solutions that facilitate users in creating their apps. You know what the best part is? It doesn't require special coding knowledge, and you can easily integrate its communication APIs into your newly built platform. Furthermore, you can get its video call SDK that enables HD calls with features like group calls and screen sharing.
Apart from that, its in-app chat API lets you add chatting features like public channels and rich media attachments. What’s more? It has as low as 79ms latency, which is significantly lower than what you get with Agora. This Agora competitor lets you build interactive live-streaming platforms through dedicated SDKs with features like streamer battles and virtual gifting. You also get recording and face beautification features.
Key Features
Provides voice call API with noise reduction feature.
Record video streams with Cloud Recording API.
Create engaging apps with 20+ pre-built UIKits.
Guarantees 99.99% uptime while handling millions of streams.
Compliant with GDRP rules to ensure privacy.
Improve video production using its Digital Human platform.
Add digital whiteboards to newly built platforms.
Multiple face effects for your live streams.
Pricing Plans
Voice Call API: $0.99/1,000 participant minutes
Video Call API: $3.99/1,000 participant minutes
In-App Chat API: $99/10000 MAU
Live Streaming API: $0.39/1,000 minutes
AI Effects API: $584/2 platforms/month
Super Board: $1.99/1,000 participant minutes
Cloud Recording API: $0.59/1,000 recording minutes
Analytics Dashboard: $299/month
2. VideoSDK
This alternative to Agora is a secure option with APIs to integrate communication features into web and mobile applications. What makes it unique? With latency as low as 66ms at FHD video quality, Video SDK ensures broad compatibility. Its scalable infrastructure accommodates applications of various sizes and provides improved analytics with increasing traffic. In addition to features like screen sharing and recording, you get transcription and captioning options.
Key Features
End-to-end encryption ensures safe communications.
Allows calls outside your network to any number.
Geofencing to limit interaction to specific locations.
Adaptive bitrate to adjust the call quality.
Pricing Plans
Audio Calls: $0.0006/participant-minute
Video Calls: $0.003/participant-minute
Live Streaming: $0.0015/viewer-minute
3. Twilio
Twilio is another cloud communications platform that offers a comprehensive set of APIs for building communication solutions. It combines AI with its global infrastructure to ensure scalable communication services. Besides, APIs support adding email delivery features to your apps. What makes this Agora alternative useful? The strict authentication protocols that protect your email communications. Additionally, it provides customer care and commerce solutions with the Conversations API.
Key Features
Supports various programming languages.
Email analytics help monitor and optimize performance.
Use the Verify API to send one-time passwords.
Add features like Interactive Voice Response.
Pricing Plans
Video API: Starts at $0.004/min
Voice APIs: Starts at $0.0085/min
SMS: Starts at $0.0079
WhatsApp Business API: Starts at $0.005
SendGrid Email API: Start at $19.95/month
SendGrid Marketing Campaigns: Start at $15/month
Lookup: Starts at $0.01/ Inbound caller ID request
4. EnableX
It is a comprehensive business solution with support for customizable video layouts. This Agora competitor has AI-powered bots to personalize every response and enhance interactions. EnableX supports large-scale webinars and conferences to accommodate numerous participants. You also get access to its Voice Call API, which comes with a huge collection of virtual numbers. Users can use its WhatsApp Business API to build a direct communication channel to promote products.
Key Features
ECS Messaging API lets you send branded business messages.
Create engaging two-way conversations with rich media.
Provides AES256 encryption for added security.
WhatsApp API has order tracking and payment reminder features.
Pricing Plans
Video Pricing: Starts at $0.004/minute/participant
Voice Pricing: Starts at $0.007/minute
SMS Pricing: Starts at $0.03432/message
Whatsapp Business Pricing: Starts at $0.0158/conversation
RCS Business Pricing: Starts at ₹0.15/message
5. Stream
As another dependable alternative to Agora, Stream allows one-on-one group calls and broadcasts to over 100,000 participants. Its adaptive resolution feature optimizes video quality based on network conditions and ensures a smooth user experience. Additionally, Streams’ APIs offer noise reduction to enhance audio clarity and support call recording with multiple resolution options. Developers can utilize transcriptions in multiple languages, and the platform integrates with chat messaging for comprehensive communication.
Key Features
Supports webhooks and SQS integration.
Provides pre-built UI components for video calls.
Has an API response time of 9ms.
Allows translation of messages into multiple languages.
Pricing Plans
Chat Pricing: $399.00/month
Video & Audio Pricing: $0.30/month
Activity Feeds Pricing: $59.00/month
Moderation API Pricing: $5k/year
6. Vonage
Vonage's Video API empowers developers to embed HD interactive messaging and screen-sharing features into web and mobile applications. This Agora alternative offers advanced encryption for secure communications and provides comprehensive analytics for performance monitoring. Features like an audio connector and media processor allow users to extract voice and add filters to videos. The platform lets you add AI to your video and other communication channels.
Key Features
Supports advanced composition for streaming and recording.
Broadcast your videos in WebRTC, HLS/LL-HLS, and RTMP.
Stream videos directly to Facebook and YouTube.
Detailed video engagement and QoS data for insights.
Pricing plans
SMS API: Starts at €0.00735/ message
Messages API: Starts at €0.00110/ delivered message
Voice API: Starts at €0.01314/minute
Verify API: Starts at € 0.0520/successful verification
Video API: Starts at €0.00382/minute
In-App Messaging API: Starts at € 0.00072/message sent
Dispatch API: Starts at €0.0021/POST API Call
Number Insight API: Starts at €0.0052/phone number
Conversation API: Starts at €0.00072/Custom Event Post
Reports API: Starts at €0.00044/CDR
7. Mux
Mux is a strong Agora competitor as it offers a developer-centric video API that simplifies the integration of video streaming into applications. It supports on-demand and live streaming to ensure compatibility across various devices and network conditions. Is it a differentiating factor? Mux automatically scales to accommodate spikes in usage and solve server capacity issues. Designed for rapid deployment, Mux enables developers to implement streaming functionalities within a single development sprint.
Key Features
Accepts video codecs like H.264, H.265, VP9, and Apple ProRes.
Median time of under 2 seconds to prepare videos for playback.
Automatic video storage for even 4K streams.
DRM to protect copyrighted content from being stolen.
Pricing Plans
- Starts at $10/month
8. LiveKit
LiveKit is an open-source platform that is built on WebRTC and offers scalable infrastructure suitable for video conferencing and live streaming. As an alternative to Agora, its adaptive streaming capabilities adjust bitrates and resolutions based on network conditions for optimal performance. Developers can manage rooms, participants, and media tracks through comprehensive server APIs. For team projects, you can set up roles and access its moderation tools for efficient management.
Key Features
Opus RED and DTX transmit only audible microphone data.
Allows importing external streams from various formats.
Record individual streams to any cloud storage bucket.
Put bandwidth management on autopilot during Simulcast and Dynacast.
Pricing Plans
Ship: $50/month
Scale: $500/month
Enterprise: Custom
9. Ant Media
This Agora alternative supports ultra-low latency streaming, which is as low as 0.5 seconds. Being an open-source resource, it supports multiple streaming protocols, including WebRTC, RTMP, RTSP, and HLS, to ensure broad compatibility. Developers can utilize its comprehensive RESTful APIs to manage streams and configurations programmatically. Its token-based authentication and IP whitelisting also protect users' content. Additionally, it includes ABR technology to automatically adjust the quality of your streams.
Key Features
Stream content simultaneously to multiple social media platforms.
Supports immersive 360-degree video streaming for viewer engagement.
Enables clustering for load balancing and high availability.
Integrates with ONVIF-compliant IP cameras for live surveillance.
Pricing Plans
Monthly License (Self-Hosted): $109/month
Annual License (Self-Hosted): $89/month
Perpetual License (Self-Hosted): $2799/instance
10. Sinch
Developers can also use Sinch as an alternative to Agora since its APIs support various functionalities, including app-to-app and conference calling. Sinch lets users manage calls using RESTful APIs, which allows actions like initiating calls and connecting multiple participants. It offers SDKs that are compatible with iOS, Android, and JavaScript for easy integration across platforms. The platform ensures reliable communication services by allowing a single API for 13 messaging channels.
Key Features
Allows adding custom video filters and masks during video calls.
Sinch optimizes resource allocation dynamically to ensure efficient usage.
Carrier-grade SMS APIs add powerful communication channels to your application.
Uses OTPs and Flash Call features to confirm user identity.
Pricing Plans
Dial Calls: $0.01/minute
Receive Calls: $0.004/minute
Numbers: $0.8/month
In-App Calls: $0.003/minute
SIP Calls: $0.0025/minute
Conclusion
To sum up, while it is a great platform, multiple other Agora alternative solutions offer features like calls and messaging at an affordable price. From our given list, the top contenders include VideoSDK and ZEGOCLOUD.
Each provides unique features such as low latency, scalability, and comprehensive APIs to cater to diverse development needs. Since pricing varies across these platforms, businesses can select solutions that align with their budgets and technical requirements.
Top comments (0)