Why caution:effective 2026-11-05 — On November 5, 2026, Ably moved to pricing on monthly active users (MAUs). The Free package now has a cap of 500 MAUs a month, which the free plan did not have before. It still allows 6M messages a month and 500 messages a second, and its concurrent connections rose from 200 to 500. Paid plans are now Pro and Business, from $29 and $349 a month for 1,000 MAUs billed annually. Accounts already on Ably's resource-based pricing keep their terms. Source ↗Full history ↓
A verdict here is not a fixed property of the vendor. A one-off pricing event demotes a vendor while its recorded date falls in the last 180 days and then lapses on its own, with nothing about the vendor having changed; a standing condition — a free tier withdrawn and not restored, a product retired — does not lapse with time. This one rests on a record effective 2026-11-05, so it lapses on 2027-05-05 unless we record something new first.
Limits, pricing history. Verified September 2026. Last updated 2026-11-08.
Ably's free tier offers Up to 500 monthly active users (MAUs) for $0 on the Free package, with every Ably product (Pub/Sub, Chat, Spaces…). We rate it caution — one recorded pricing model change, on 2026-11-05.
The day we last read the vendor's page. The terms we publish were last confirmed on 2026-09-24.
Free Tier Details
Up to 500 monthly active users (MAUs) for $0 on the Free package, with every Ably product (Pub/Sub, Chat, Spaces, LiveObjects, LiveSync and AI Transport), community and email support and no commitment. Ably has priced on MAUs since November 5, 2026. Accounts already on its resource-based pricing keep their terms. Pro costs $29 a month and Business $349 a month for 1,000 MAUs, billed annually, and on both each MAU over the allowance costs $0.05.
We read that on 2026-11-08 from https://ably.com/pricing, and our check recorded: the page names Ably as "ably" and states "$0".
From ably.com/pricing, read 2026-11-08:
Free for everyone Start for free Community & email support (best effort) Up to 500 MAUs No commitment
Besides 500 MAUs a month, Ably's docs give the Free package 6,000,000 messages a month, 500 concurrent connections and 500 concurrent channels. No credit card is needed, and the package has no time limit. (From ably.com/docs/platform/pricing/free, read 2026-11-09.)
Ably does not cut off a Free package account that goes over a limit; it restricts the account until it recovers. Past 6,000,000 messages in a month, the account is limited to 1,600 messages an hour until the next month; connections and channels over 500 are rejected; past 500 MAUs, service may be degraded until the next month. (From ably.com/docs/platform/pricing/free, read 2026-11-09.)
Ably counts a monthly active user by the clientId a device connects with, once a month however often it returns; servers and agents are not counted. A device that connects without a clientId is rejected. (From ably.com/docs/platform/pricing, read 2026-11-09.)
On November 5, 2026, Ably moved to pricing on monthly active users (MAUs). The Free package now has a cap of 500 MAUs a month, which the free plan did not have before. It still allows 6M messages a month and 500 messages a second, and its concurrent connections rose from 200 to 500. Paid plans are now Pro and Business, from $29 and $349 a month for 1,000 MAUs billed annually. Accounts already on Ably's resource-based pricing keep their terms. Source ↗
Before: Free: "200 concurrent connections", "500 messages / second", "6M messages / month", community & email support, no commitment, and no cap on users. Standard: $29 / month + usage. Pro: $399 / month + usage (ably.com/pricing, archived 2026-11-02).
After: Free, $0 / month: "Up to 500 MAUs", community & email support (best effort), no commitment. Pro $29 and Business $349 a month for 1K MAUs, billed annually; "We charge $0.05 for each additional MAU" (ably.com/pricing, read 2026-11-09). Free package limits: 6,000,000 messages a month, 500 concurrent connections, 500 concurrent channels and 500 MAUs (ably.com/docs/platform/pricing/free, read 2026-11-09).
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Yes, Ably offers a free tier: Free. Up to 500 monthly active users (MAUs) for $0 on the Free package, with every Ably product (Pub/Sub, Chat, Spaces, LiveObjects, LiveSync and AI Transport), community and email support and no commitment...
What is Ably's free tier?
Ably's free tier is called "Free". Up to 500 monthly active users (MAUs) for $0 on the Free package, with every Ably product (Pub/Sub, Chat, Spaces, LiveObjects, LiveSync and AI Transport), community and email support and no commitment. Ably has priced on MAUs since November 5, 2026. Accounts already on its resource-based pricing keep their terms. Pro costs $29 a month and Business $349 a month for 1,000 MAUs, billed annually, and on both each MAU over the allowance costs $0.05. Besides 500 MAUs a month, Ably's docs give the Free package 6,000,000 messages a month, 500 concurrent connections and 500 concurrent channels. No credit card is needed, and the package has no time limit. (From https://ably.com/docs/platform/pricing/free, read 2026-11-09.) Ably does not cut off a Free package account that goes over a limit; it restricts the account until it recovers. Past 6,000,000 messages in a month, the account is limited to 1,600 messages an hour until the next month; connections and channels over 500 are rejected; past 500 MAUs, service may be degraded until the next month. (From https://ably.com/docs/platform/pricing/free, read 2026-11-09.) Ably counts a monthly active user by the clientId a device connects with, once a month however often it returns; servers and agents are not counted. A device that connects without a clientId is rejected. (From https://ably.com/docs/platform/pricing, read 2026-11-09.)
Is Ably's free tier reliable?
Ably's free tier requires caution because of one specific recorded change, on 2026-11-05: On November 5, 2026, Ably moved to pricing on monthly active users (MAUs). The Free package now has a cap of 500 MAUs a month, which the free plan did not have before. It still allows 6M messages a month and 500 messages a second, and its concurrent connections rose from 200 to 500. Paid plans are now Pro and Business, from $29 and $349 a month for 1,000 MAUs billed annually. Accounts already on Ably's resource-based pricing keep their terms. Source: https://ably.com/blog/mau-pricing
Is Ably's free tier good for production?
Ably's free tier is usable for prototyping and development, but we rate it caution because of one recorded pricing model change, on 2026-11-05. Consider alternatives with more stable pricing for critical services.
What changed in Ably's pricing?
Ably has had 1 recorded pricing change. Most recently: On November 5, 2026, Ably moved to pricing on monthly active users (MAUs). The Free package now has a cap of 500 MAUs a month, which the free plan did not have before. It still allows 6M messages a month and 500 messages a second, and its concurrent connections rose from 200 to 500. Paid plans are now Pro and Business, from $29 and $349 a month for 1,000 MAUs billed annually. Accounts already on Ably's resource-based pricing keep their terms. Source: https://ably.com/blog/mau-pricing (2026-11-05).
When will I outgrow Ably's free tier?
At 500 MAU, you'll need to upgrade. When you outgrow the free tier, evaluate paid plans against alternatives — sometimes a competitor's free tier covers what you need.
What category is Ably in?
Ably is categorized under Messaging on AgentDeals.