Keep players talking without leaving the game. Learn what in-game chat is, must-have text and voice features, moderation basics, and how you can implement it for better retention.

Learn what in-game chat is, which text and voice features players expect, and how to build it into your game with SDKs or WebView to keep communication in-house.

In-Game Chat: Key Features, Text vs Voice & How to Build It

<p>Ask any multiplayer team why they “fell off” a game and you’ll hear a fairly familiar theme: it became harder to play together, often because someone had to jump to Discord mid-session.</p><p>A group of friends just wanted to get on the game after work, but now they’re explaining to each other how to make an account on a third-party app and fiddle around with it mid-game. An in-game chat keeps communication attached to the match and party, inside your product.</p><p>This article should give you a feature checklist and a build/SDK/WebView decision guide. Let's get going.</p><h2>What Is In-Game Chat?</h2><p>In-game chat is the communication layer built inside the game client (and backed by servers) so players can actually talk while they’re in the lobby, matchmaking, spectating, or just actively playing.</p><p>Now, this can be in text or voice (even both!), but the defining trait here is context: the game knows who’s speaking and what session they’re in.</p><p>That’s different from “chatting about the game” in third-party chat apps like Discord, especially when the players will be bouncing between two chat apps for different friend groups. Those tools can be great for the community, but they’re usually pretty disconnected from in-session events unless you build deep integrations.</p><p>For example, in a friend group, two players might be on PC, and the other is on console. The PC players can log into Discord, but the guy on console can’t (directly from their console). They’d then have to use another device like a phone or laptop, but now they won’t be able to hear the game audio and their friends at the same time.</p><h2>In-Game Chat Types</h2><p>We can see a few patterns show up over and over in successful titles</p><p><strong>Team Chat: </strong>More of a match-scoped channel to help the players stay coordinated—it’s typically just a small overlay.</p><p><strong>Party Chat:</strong> A persistent channel for a pre-made group for them to chat in, whether about the game or more candidly.</p><p><strong>Clan/Guild Chat: </strong>These are long-lived channels where the players all have roles. A lot more holistic than just a lobby chat.</p><p><strong>Lobby/Matchmaking Chat: </strong>Temporary chat that they use while they’re in a queue.</p><p><strong>Private Messages:</strong> 1:1 messages that persist between sessions.</p><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://watchers.io/post/Talking-Teaming-and-Thriving-How-In-Game-Chats-Affect-Players-Experience"><strong>Read about the best in-game chat examples</strong></a></p><h2>Why You Need to Keep Communication In-House</h2><p>The business case for you to focus on here isn’t “players like chat.” It’s that communication is literally a multiplier for time spent together, and multiplayer games are increasingly social at scale. For example:</p><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.theesa.com/resources/essential-facts-about-the-us-video-game-industry/2024-data/">The Entertainment Software Association reports </a>190.6 million Americans play games; 61% play weekly, 74% play with others, and 88% have played online.</p><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://newzoo.com/resources/trend-reports/newzoo-global-games-market-report-2025">Newzoo estimates</a> 3.6 billion players and $188.8 billion in 2025 game revenues worldwide.&nbsp;</p><figure class="image"><img style="aspect-ratio:1500/854;" src="https://cdn.eu.watchers.io/c7fc7f09-f02d-4176-8d69-3c0bf415a46a.jpeg" alt="in-game chat example in LoL" width="1500" height="854"></figure><h3>The Downside of Relying on External Chat</h3><p>Even though Discord is widely used (reporting puts its monthly active user count at around <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.businessofapps.com/data/discord-statistics/#:~:text=Discord%20had%20200%20million%20active%20monthly%20users%20in%202023%20and%20560%20million%20registered%20accounts">200 million</a>), it still presents a separate identity and settings surface. On new-gen consoles, it’s more convenient than it used to be, but it’s still a workflow (for example, how PS5 users start Discord voice chats from the control center).</p><p>But when players communicate off-platform:</p><ul><li>Your Retention Takes a Hit: Session flow breaks when people leave to manage comms, invites, or roles. It’s a hassle for players to fiddle with audio levels so they can hear the game and their friends at clear levels.</li><li>You Lose First-Party Data: You can’t tie conversation to in-game context for personalisation or offers without building a complicated bridge.</li></ul><p>If your co-op loop depends on coordination, and the fastest way to coordinate is outside your game, your core loop is renting critical UX from someone else. And that’s a key problem.</p><h2>In-Game Chat Features: Text, Voice, and Moderation</h2><p>Any good modern stack is doing three things at once: communication, social state, and safety. Here’s what matters most.</p><h3>Real-Time In-Game Text Chat &amp; Multimedia</h3><p>Text is the default for many players: it works in noisy environments, and it’s accessible (not everyone has a mic or feels comfortable speaking). At minimum, ship:</p><p>Channels (team/party/guild) and private messages<br>Reactions/GIFs and lightweight media<br>Sensible limits and safe rendering</p><p>Now, the hard part here is not UI—it’s latency and delivery. For in-game text chat, even small delays add up fast when players are coordinating in seconds. They don’t care how it works, just that it does work. Their messages need to arrive fast and reliably across shaky networks.</p><p>A tip here would be to treat text channels like “lightweight chat rooms” with explicit lifetimes (match-scoped vs persistent). You’d even do the same for social hubs by separating “global” chat rooms from high-signal team channels.</p><h3>Text vs Voice: When Each Works Best</h3><p>Ideally, you’re looking to match communication to player context, so it’s not about choosing between text and voice and doing away with the other.</p><p>Text chat is ideal when players can’t use a mic (shared spaces, noisy environments, etc.), and it’s a lot easier to moderate and archive. It’s also a lot better in terms of coordination - a quick “gg” or “defuse A” that stays around after a match.</p><p>Voice chat, on the other hand, shines more in fast-paced moments where typing is too slow (tactical shooters or battle royals, for example), and it’s better for social bonding because of the whole tone and timing that comes with the emotion involved.</p><p>So, the best approach is to offer both, then let the players control the experience with per-mode settings like push-to-talk or party-only voice.</p><h3>In-Game Voice Chat &amp; Video Chat Integration</h3><p>Voice is why co-op feels like hanging out instead of sending pings. For quality, delay targets matter. For example, ITU-T’s G.114 guidance is to keep the “mouth-to-ear” delay below about 150 ms, because that’s what makes interactivity essentially transparent for most applications.</p><p>In a game, that would translate to a rule like: if their voice lags behind what’s happening on screen, players will stop trusting it. So, if you’re adding in-game voice chat on mobile, plan for some aggressive jitter buffering and fast reconnects when networks switch.</p><figure class="image"><img style="aspect-ratio:1500/795;" src="https://cdn.eu.watchers.io/c145be65-d3ba-4c17-9e36-55beba1b56c4.jpeg" alt="in-game chat implementation - example of Minecraft" width="1500" height="795"></figure><p>Where does video chat belong? It’s not for every title, but video chat can work for:</p><p>Gaming watch parties / co-viewing inside a game hub<br>Creator-led lobbies and spectator experiences</p><h3>In-Game Chat Moderation</h3><p>You can’t bolt safety on later. Even the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.adl.org/resources/report/hate-no-game-hate-and-harassment-online-games-2023">Anti-Defamation League (ADL)</a> talks about how voice is a major venue for hate and harassment, and its surveys show that harassment is common. That’s especially because it’s seen as anonymous on the offender’s end. If you played games like Call of Duty: MW2 back in the day, you know that first-hand.</p><p>So, your most effective approach is a layered one, and a good chat moderation program documents what you enforce and why.</p><p><strong>Player Controls (Must-Have)</strong></p><ol><li>Mute, block, report</li><li>Per-channel settings (team vs party vs guild)</li><li>“Safe defaults” for new players and minors</li></ol><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://watchers.io/post/online-community-moderation"><strong>Read more about community moderation tools</strong></a></p><p><strong>Automation</strong> &nbsp;</p><ol><li>Profanity + spam filters for text</li><li>Rate limits and anomaly detection (flooding, copy-paste spam)</li><li>Voice analysis when appropriate (with clear disclosure and opt-outs)</li></ol><p>As we mentioned, Call of Duty used to (and still sometimes does) have a real problem with this, so Activision rolled out <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.callofduty.com/uk/en/blog/2023/08/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-warzone-anti-toxicity-progress-report">AI-supported voice moderation</a> in Call of Duty, publishing progress updates and explaining how players can disable voice in settings. &nbsp;</p><p><strong>Human Tools &nbsp;</strong></p><ol><li>Review queues, audit logs, and consistent enforcement rules</li><li>Appeals and escalation paths for your more edge cases</li></ol><p>Compliance matters too! <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/rules/childrens-online-privacy-protection-rule-coppa">The Federal Trade Commission (FTC)’s COPPA rule covers</a> online services directed to children under 13 (or with actual knowledge they collect personal info from a child under 13).</p><p>It’s also worth noting that platforms with massive youth audiences publish their safety approaches. Roblox, for example, shares transparency resources and safety system updates, including voice safety work. &nbsp;</p><h3>Presence, Status, and Social Layer</h3><p>Messaging alone doesn’t create community. The “social layer” is what turns a channel into a place players return to, so you’ll want to prioritise:</p><p>Presence (online/offline, in match/in lobby)<br>Friends list, invites, and parties<br>Roles and lightweight activity (LFG, joinable states)</p><h3>Performance and Reliability</h3><p>Players only care that the chat works. It makes your job a bit easier, since you know what your requirements are:</p><p>No lost messages (with retries and sensible ordering)<br>Minimal latency under normal load<br>Spike tolerance for launches and events<br>Consistent behaviour across platforms</p><h2>How to Implement In-Game Chat: Build vs SDK vs WebView</h2><figure class="image"><img style="aspect-ratio:1500/579;" src="https://cdn.eu.watchers.io/ad6331b7-bf41-424c-9529-46c25bad5629.jpeg" width="1500" height="579"></figure><p>1. The Traditional Route: Building from Scratch<br>Pros: Full control of UX, data, and customisation.</p><p>Cons: You own everything that makes chat hard, including things like scaling, security, and abuse response. If you’re going to go down this route, you’ll want to budget for ongoing operations and a dedicated safety roadmap, not just “version 1.2.</p><p>2. Using Chat SDKs</p><p>This is the common “ship fast” path: integrate a service so you can focus your engineering effort on game-specific UX (controller input, overlay behaviour, identity). &nbsp;However, it can be an illusion of the speed: SDK required constant releases synchronisation for all platforms.</p><p>3. WebView/API/iFrame</p><p>The quickest option: chat integration requires time for UX architecting. Still, social tools released do not depend on main product releases, and users on all devices get updates simultaneously.</p><p>The basic idea here is that you can embed a full chat UI inside the client and drive it with tokens from your backend. The risk is edge cases (keyboard, controller focus, safe areas, reconnect logic).</p><h3>Performance &amp; Overlay UX</h3><p>A chat UI should never feel like it’s fighting the game, so you ideally want:</p><ul><li>One-button toggle and quick reply or shortcuts for commands</li><li>Clear “reconnecting” states instead of silent failures that annoy your users</li><li>Audio controls that are reachable in two steps</li><li>Minimal HUD footprint</li><li>Cross-Platform Support</li><li>Cross-platform groups are pretty common nowadays: touch, keyboard, and controller. Fortunately, WebView-style UI can unify the presentation across mobile and web clients, so you’re actually maximising the number of people playing.</li></ul><h2>Beyond Messaging: Turning Chat into a Community</h2><p>Once you’ve got the bulk of the work out of the way and you’ve made the chat layer stable, you can now think about building up into community features: events, discussions, clip sharing, and creator-led spaces. Gaming communities are the most sticky, and tie your users to the games even after finishing. Communities allow you to attract new users due to word of mouth and retain users not just when they play, but when they communicate and observe their mates' gaming experience. Thus, at the end, social tools allow you to have your own Twitch inside your game, with all of this engagement.</p><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://watchers.io/post/in-app-community-guide">Read our guide on how to build in-app and in-game community</a></p><h2>Key Takeaways on In-Game Chat</h2><p>Before we wrap up, take a look at some of the key points we talked about:</p><ol><li>Keeping communication inside your product reduces friction and supports retention.</li><li>Must-haves: reliable text, voice where it fits, and layered safety (player controls + automation + human review).</li><li>Presence is your bridge between messaging and community.</li><li>Choose architecture based on constraints: build, SDK/API, or embedded UI, and plan for long-term operations either way.</li></ol><h2>Build Your In-Game Community with Watchers</h2><p>Please get in touch with us if you'd like to integrate in-app community chats with the high-level moderation system into your website, app, or game. We'll be happy to help you find the best solution.</p><h2>FAQs About In-Game Chat</h2><h3>What does in-game chat mean?</h3><p>In-game chat is communication that’s been built into the game so players can message or talk without leaving the client.</p><h3>What is the in-game chat feature?</h3><p>The in-game chat feature refers to a set of tools - channels, private messaging, voice, presence, and safety controls - that support real-time game communication for all players.</p><h3>How to build in-game chat?</h3><p>Build in-game chat by defining your channel model (team/party/guild), integrating identity/auth, and then designing moderation workflows. Lastly, pick an implementation path (build, SDK/API, or embedded UI).</p><h3>What is the best voice quality for in-game chat?</h3><p>Prioritise low delay and stability for high in-game chat voice quality. You’re ideally keeping mouth-to-ear latency under ~150 ms for natural conversation.</p><h2>References</h2><ul><li>Essential Facts 2024 | <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.theesa.com/resources/essential-facts-about-the-us-video-game-industry/2024-data/">ESA</a></li><li>Global Games Market Report 2025 | <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://newzoo.com/resources/trend-reports/newzoo-global-games-market-report-2025">Newzoo</a></li><li>Business of Apps - Discord monthly users | <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.businessofapps.com/data/discord-statistics/#:~:text=Discord%20had%20200%20million%20active%20monthly%20users%20in%202023%20and%20560%20million%20registered%20accounts">Business of Apps</a></li><li>ADL - research on harassment in online games. | <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.adl.org/resources/report/hate-no-game-hate-and-harassment-online-games-2023">ADL</a></li><li>ITU-T - Recommendation G.114 (voice delay guidance) | <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.itu.int/rec/dologin_pub.asp?lang=e&amp;id=T-REC-G.114-200305-I!!PDF-E&amp;type=items">ITU</a></li><li>FTC COPPA Review Guidelines | <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/rules/childrens-online-privacy-protection-rule-coppa">Federal Trade Commission</a></li><li>Call of Duty - voice moderation rollout (progress report + FAQ + coverage) | <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.callofduty.com/uk/en/blog/2023/08/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-warzone-anti-toxicity-progress-report">callofduty.com</a></li><li>Roblox - transparency and safety updates | <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://about.roblox.com/transparency">Roblox</a></li><li>Talking, Teaming, and Thriving: How In-Game Chats Affect Players’ Experience | <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://watchers.io/post/Talking-Teaming-and-Thriving-How-In-Game-Chats-Affect-Players-Experience">Watchers blog</a></li></ul>

Looking for Sendbird alternatives to build thriving communities in your app or website? Read our guide to find the most suitable option for your goals, budget, and timing.

Looking for Sendbird alternatives in 2026? Compare 7 platforms by features, pricing and real-world use cases to choose the right solution for your product.

7 Best Alternatives to Sendbird in 2026

<p>If you’re searching for Sendbird alternatives in 2026, you’re probably in one of two situations:</p><p>- your product already runs on a chat or community stack and the Sendbird pricing / limits no longer work for you</p><p>- you’re starting from scratch, comparing SDK and API-based options that will power in-app chat, communities, and live experiences for years ahead.</p><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://watchers.io/engagement-and-marketing-widgets">In-app community tools</a> can help you grow engagement, retention, and revenue, especially if your product is built around content, events, or multiplayer experiences. Sendbird is a well-known communication platform with strong capabilities and a growing AI product line. At the same time, many teams are now evaluating alternatives that are either more community-focused, more transparent in pricing, or easier to integrate with small engineering teams.</p><p>This guide walks through what Sendbird is today, why teams look for alternatives, and seven options worth considering in 2026, including Watchers, which focuses specifically on live communities around content and events.</p><h2>What is Sendbird©?</h2><p>Founded in 2013, Sendbird is an API communication platform that integrates with various platforms. It offers chats, calls, and business messaging, with features like an AI concierge and an AI voice agent. Sendbird serves industries such as digital health, e-commerce, and entertainment, with clients including Hyundai, Noom, and Redfin.</p><p>Sendbird provides APIs and SDKs for mobile and web, uses WebSocket connections, and offers UI kits and backend integrations.</p><p>Sendbird serves clients from various industries but is best suited for enterprises or high-growth startups with large product or engineering teams. While seamless and highly customisable, it requires skilled developers. The company has refocused on AI agents and support, making it less suitable for community-building tools.</p><h2>Best Sendbird Alternatives in 2026</h2><h3><span style="font-size:140%;">Watchers</span></h3><p>Watchers is a SaaS solution offering social tools based <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://watchers.io/community-chats">on live chat.</a> It integrates with iFrame or webview for a simple and fast setup, while allowing customisation. Watchers chats include widgets for engagement, both community-driven and platform-driven. To handle high loads and keep low latency, they have clusters on all continents that support thousands of users at once. For AI moderation, they use their own model and several ML models based on Google Gemini, which supports various languages.</p><p><strong>Key Features</strong></p><figure class="image"><img style="aspect-ratio:1500/922;" src="https://cdn.eu.watchers.io/f44d05ac-d21d-4189-93b2-2a84d8dc4c7f.jpeg" alt="Watchers" width="1500" height="922"></figure><ul><li>Community live chat</li><li>AI assistants</li><li>AI moderation, filters, user tools, manual tools</li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://watchers.io/live-streaming">In-app audio and video live streaming</a></li><li>Semantic and sentimental analysis for deep insights</li><li>Social widgets that grow revenue</li><li>In-chat marketing widgets</li><li>Developed achievement system</li><li>Scope of APIs for seamless connection</li></ul><p><strong>Pros</strong></p><ul><li>Fast integration</li><li>Seamless experience for users</li><li>A lot of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://watchers.io/engagement-and-marketing-widgets">engagement</a> facilities</li><li>Convenient system for in-app live streaming</li><li>Excellent and fast support</li></ul><p><strong>Cons</strong></p><ul><li>Iframe and webview solution supports customisation but with limitations: clients can choose colours, icons, and many other things, but some structural peculiarities stay as it is</li><li>In-chat video live streaming can be costly</li></ul><h3><span style="font-size:140%;">GetStream©</span></h3><p>GetStream is a scalable, efficient communication platform based on API and SDK, designed for developers to build real-time in-app chat, video calling, and activity feeds. It offers tools like AI moderation, typing indicators, and in-chat file uploads, with pre-built UI components for fast integration.</p><figure class="image"><img style="aspect-ratio:1500/921;" src="https://cdn.eu.watchers.io/a3b8926f-a6c9-4351-abc6-69076a47f392.jpeg" alt="GetStream" width="1500" height="921"></figure><p><strong>Key Features</strong></p><ul><li>Chat SDK</li><li>Activity Feed</li><li>AI moderation</li><li>Video and audio calls</li><li>Video and audio live streaming</li><li>UI Kits</li><li>Video and voice agents</li><li>Simple usage after implementation</li></ul><p><strong>Pros</strong></p><ul><li>Sophisticated solutions that provides overall experience</li><li>Various features that can enhance the experience</li><li>Suitable for many industries</li><li>Stable and scalable</li></ul><p><strong>Cons</strong></p><ul><li>Costly: considering reviews on G2, various clients notice that the price at the end is much higher than expected, and continues to grow. Also, customers have to pay not just for monthly usage but for peaks<br>Pretty complicated to request new features or changes due to the SDK architecture&nbsp;</li><li>Some users complain about audio and video quality</li><li>Absence of proactive guidance on how to use all of Stream's features; absence of a changelog</li></ul><h3><span style="font-size:140%;">CometChat©</span></h3><p>CometChat is a cloud-based platform that helps businesses integrate real-time text, voice, and video chat with websites and mobile apps. They provide customisable UI Kits, SDKs, and APIs for development. CometChat typically serves health apps, ed tech, and marketplaces.</p><figure class="image"><img style="aspect-ratio:1500/921;" src="https://cdn.eu.watchers.io/0381e850-3112-4322-819a-8db289f9783b.jpeg" alt="Cometchat" width="1500" height="921"></figure><p><strong>Key features</strong></p><ul><li>Text messaging, voice, and video calling/conferencing.</li><li>No-code widgets for quick setup, UI Kits for front-end customisation, and flexible APIs for deep integration.</li><li>AI User Copilot for a summary of conversations, which analyses the latest 1000 messages.</li><li>Analytics provides insights into user behaviour, engagement patterns, retention, churn, and cohort analysis.</li></ul><p><strong>Pros</strong></p><ul><li>API support and webhooks</li><li>Responsive account managers</li><li>Regular new products</li><li>Easy integration</li></ul><p><strong>Cons</strong></p><ul><li>SDKs appear to have limitations, especially for customisation</li><li>Not too clear documentation, some integration methods are hard to find</li><li>High pricing, based on cost per visit instead of per user</li></ul><h3><span style="font-size:140%;">PubNub©</span></h3><p>Pubnub is a real-time communication platform-as-a-service (PaaS) that offers APIs and SDKs to build instant applications. It supports real-time chat, IoT device signalling, GPS tracking, and live dashboards for many companies. Pubnub has one of the longest histories in this domain, having been founded in 2010. Last year, PubNub collaborated with DAZN to broadcast and provide interaction for fans during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™.</p><figure class="image"><img style="aspect-ratio:1500/920;" src="https://cdn.eu.watchers.io/927d9069-d951-40ac-9809-ebea98a61a70.jpeg" alt="PubNub" width="1500" height="920"></figure><p><strong>Key features</strong></p><ul><li>Pub/Sub Messaging</li><li>Real-time messages</li><li>File exchange, and storage</li><li>True adaptive intelligence analytics platform to receive trends</li><li>BizOps Workspace dashboard</li></ul><p><strong>Pros</strong></p><ul><li>High reliability</li><li>Variety of functions</li><li>No latency</li><li>Relevant for various industry</li><li>Suitable for huge events</li></ul><p><strong>Cons</strong></p><ul><li>Unpredictably costly</li><li>Difficulties in the documentation navigation</li></ul><h3><span style="font-size:140%;">Twilio©</span></h3><p>Customer Engagement Platform (CEP) was founded in the US in 2008 and offers a scalable platform to build communication channels, access contextual data, and use integrated AI-driven workflows. Unlike other companies presented here, Twilio focuses n customers rather than users, and on communication between a customer and a platform, such as SMS, phone calls, and emails. They also provide video API, conversation API, and engagement tools.</p><figure class="image"><img style="aspect-ratio:1500/921;" src="https://cdn.eu.watchers.io/5cde11c5-1e48-4e81-a894-e6bb90340b94.jpeg" alt="Twilio" width="1500" height="921"></figure><p><strong>Key features</strong></p><ul><li>Phone calls and video calls</li><li>Instant messaging, live chat</li><li>WhatsApp Messaging</li><li>WhatsApp Marketing</li><li>Screensharing</li></ul><p>Pros</p><ul><li>Reliability</li><li>Scalable CPaaS with excellent APIs</li><li>Detailed documentation</li><li>Customisable workflows</li></ul><p><strong>Cons</strong></p><ul><li>Complex initial configuration</li><li>Some of additional features require deep involvement of the client which can be irrelevant for small teams</li><li>Weak support on most of the plans</li><li>Pricing with hidden fees</li></ul><h3><span style="font-size:140%;">Ably©</span></h3><p>Ably is a WebSocket platform that delivers a real-time layer for AI agents, real-time chat, notifications, live dashboards, and collaboration between users. They are known for great scalability and global availability. It is built primarily on Amazon's cloud infrastructure. Their core product is Ably Pub/Sub, Chat SDK, and Spaces SDK for building multiplayer collaborative components in apps. Users of Ably’s clients can collaborate synchronously.</p><figure class="image"><img style="aspect-ratio:1500/922;" src="https://cdn.eu.watchers.io/188b93f7-b489-4c79-90b4-197ea66e5c10.jpeg" alt="Ably" width="1500" height="922"></figure><p><strong>Key features</strong></p><ul><li>API chat features</li><li>AI agents</li><li>Notifications</li><li>Live dashboards</li><li>Campaign performance</li><li>Audience insights</li><li>History API</li><li>Push notifications</li></ul><p><strong>Pros</strong></p><ul><li>Low latency</li><li>Developer-friendly APIs and SDKs</li><li>Responsive customer service team</li><li>Precise SDK documentation</li><li>Excellent onboarding</li><li>Scalability</li></ul><p><strong>Cons</strong></p><ul><li>Complex initial configuration</li><li>Some of additional features require deep involvement of the client which can be irrelevant for small teams</li><li>Weak support on most of the plans</li><li>Pricing with hidden fees</li><li>Lack of enterprise dashboard to monitor</li></ul><h3><span style="font-size:140%;">Social.Plus©</span></h3><p>Social.Plus was known as Amity, before this, as Eko. Initially, the company was founded in Thailand in 2012, but a year ago, they rebranded. In general, Social.Plus is a suite of pre-built white-label modules, SDKs and API that bring engagement features to clients’ apps or websites. They provide features like activity feeds, groups, profiles, live chat, and streaming. To improve community experience, they focus on AI-driven insights and moderation capabilities, also providing monetisation for their clients.</p><figure class="image"><img style="aspect-ratio:1500/920;" src="https://cdn.eu.watchers.io/aa6eb601-ca5c-414e-81a6-df2781205cfd.jpeg" alt="Social.plus" width="1500" height="920"></figure><p><strong>Key features</strong></p><ul><li>Communication Platform as a Service (CPaaS)</li><li>Customer-to-Customer (C2C) Community Marketing</li><li>Live chat</li><li>Online community management</li></ul><p><strong>Pros</strong></p><ul><li>Quick set-up</li><li>Easy customisation</li><li>Large number of features</li></ul><p><strong>Cons</strong></p><ul><li>Incomplete and outdated documentation</li><li>Weak admin dashboards</li><li>Can be difficult to manage large communities</li></ul><h2>How to choose the best Sendbird alternative</h2><p>The table below compares each company’s main product focus, the industries they serve, and how long setup takes.</p><figure class="image"><img style="aspect-ratio:1500/1438;" src="https://cdn.eu.watchers.io/8526ec1b-d3af-4a62-9ffc-8f73c460b9aa.jpeg" alt="comparison of Sendbird alternatives" width="1500" height="1438"></figure><h2>Build Your In-App Community with Watchers</h2><p>If you have an app or website and want a community platform to bring people together around your service, product, or content, try Watchers. We integrate easily with a webview or iframe architecture, so you do not need to synchronise release cycles to access our new features. Book a demo call to start the integration process, or <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://chatadmin.watchers.io/register">register directly</a> to explore our solution on your own.</p><h2>FAQs About Sendbird Alternatives</h2><h3>Who are the main Sendbird Competitors?</h3><p>For SDKs, the main Sendbird competitors are GetStream and Social.plus. For live chat functionality, Watchers is a strong competitor, offering a different architecture and a white-label solution with many in-chat features.</p><h3>Why do teams look for Sendbird Alternatives?</h3><p>Teams look for alternatives because of high pricing, an outdated approach to live chat and moderation, and the company's shift from community-building tools to AI support and agents.</p><h3>How to choose the right Alternative for your product?</h3><p>You need to understand your main goals and expectations, considering usage. Your goals help you choose a shortlist of solutions, and usage helps estimate the price. If your main goal is support chat, CometChat or Pubnub may be the best fit. If you want to build a community on your sports platform or VOD, Watchers or Getstream are top choices. Then, compare their pricing to decide which fits you best.</p>

Discover how you can boost performance marketing by using the power of community, with almost any audience (including the silent ones) in your own app. 

Learn what community-led growth is, why it matters now, and how in-app communities help brands boost retention, engagement and organic growth across digital products.

Bring sports fans together in engaging communities

Make your sports platform more engaging

Add event chats to grow fan engagement

Monetise community with personalised marketing offers

Boost fan base with in-app live streaming

Run fitness challenges

Celebrate users’ activity with achievements

Invite influencers, athletes, coaches for in-app events

Boost audience with leaderboards

Key outcomes for your business

Higher user engagement during live events and beyond

Stronger retention through social interaction and gamification

New monetisation opportunities via community-driven features

Increased session time
and repeat visits

Loyal fan communities that grow organically

Watchers solution is suitable for any sports platform

Sports media and publishers

Fitness & wellness apps

Clubs, leagues, and federations

Sports streaming and TV

Sportsbooks

How sports platforms use Watchers’ social solution

FC App: Community chats to engage the club’s fans

Second-screen publics chats to gather and digitise Olympics’ viewers

Sports Broadcaster, up to 95k daily in chats, time spent growth x4

What is new in the industry?