Is Ably or CometChat cheaper?

Ably has the lower entry price — Ably starts at $0/mo and CometChat at $0/mo.

Does Ably or CometChat support HIPAA?

HIPAA support — Ably: Yes; CometChat: Yes. Confirm current scope with the vendor.

Ably vs CometChat

A sourced, side-by-side comparison for chat api. Ably has the lower entry price. Every figure links to the vendor's own page and the date we captured it.

Ably has the lower entry price — Ably starts at $0/mo, CometChat at $0/mo. Free tier: Ably Yes, CometChat Yes. HIPAA: Ably Yes, CometChat Yes.

As of 2026-06-15 · figures link to their source below

Side by side

Ably

$0/mo entry

Entry price$0/mo (Free)

Free tierYes

HIPAA (BAA)Yes

SOC 2Yes

GDPRYes

Best forreal-time data pipelines

CometChat

$0/mo entry

Entry price$0/mo (Build)

Free tierYes

HIPAA (BAA)Yes

SOC 2Yes

GDPRYes

Best formarketplace chat

Sources — Ably: ably.com (verified 2026-06-15) · CometChat: cometchat.com (verified 2026-06-15)

Key features

Ably: Connection + channel-minute consumption billing model; HIPAA BAA on Enterprise; SOC2 Type 2 certified; Data residency options (EU, US, Australia)

CometChat: AI smart replies and summaries on Advanced+; HIPAA + BAA on Advanced+; SOC2 Type 2, ISO27001, GDPR certified; OpenAI-powered moderation on Enterprise

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