Pricing overview
Stream's pricing model is primarily based on monthly active users (MAU) for its Chat and Activity Feed APIs, with a separate approach for its Video API. The MAU metric counts unique users who interact with the API within a calendar month, which can include sending messages, reading feeds, or initiating video calls. This model is common among communication APIs, as outlined in guides for Twilio Chat pricing, which also uses MAU.
For Chat and Activity Feeds, Stream provides a free development tier suitable for small projects, transitioning to scaled paid plans as MAU increases. The Video API, due to its varied resource consumption (e.g., bandwidth, concurrent participants, recording), is typically priced via custom quotes tailored to specific usage patterns. This tiered and custom approach aims to align costs with application scale and feature requirements, from small startups to enterprise-level platforms Stream's official pricing page.
Plans and tiers
Stream offers distinct pricing tiers for its Chat and Activity Feed products, while the Video API requires direct consultation for pricing. Each product's tiers are designed to accommodate different levels of usage and feature requirements, primarily scaling with Monthly Active Users (MAU).
Chat API Plans
Stream's Chat API plans are structured to support various application sizes, from small communities to large-scale platforms. The primary differentiator between tiers is the MAU limit and the availability of advanced features like enhanced moderation tools, increased message retention, and dedicated support.
| Plan Name | Pricing | Key Limits / Features | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/month | Up to 500 MAU, 1 million messages/month, 30-day message retention, basic support. | Development, testing, small personal projects. |
| Maker | Starts at $499/month | Up to 2,500 MAU, 5 million messages/month, 1-year message retention, standard support. | Growing startups, applications with moderate user engagement. |
| Growth | Custom quote | Higher MAU (e.g., 10,000+), increased messages, extended message retention, advanced moderation, dedicated account manager. | Mid-sized to large applications needing scalable chat features. |
| Enterprise | Custom quote | Highest MAU, unlimited messages, custom retention, advanced security, on-premise options, specialized support. | Large enterprises, applications with stringent compliance and performance needs. |
Activity Feed API Plans
The Activity Feed API plans are designed for applications requiring social feeds, news feeds, or notification streams. Pricing scales with MAU, similar to the Chat API, but with different MAU thresholds reflecting typical usage patterns for feed-based interactions.
| Plan Name | Pricing | Key Limits / Features | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/month | Up to 10,000 MAU, 1 million feed updates/month, 30-day data retention, basic support. | Development, small social features, personal blogs. |
| Maker | Starts at $49/month | Up to 100,000 MAU, 5 million feed updates/month, 1-year data retention, standard support. | Startups and applications with moderate social engagement. |
| Growth | Custom quote | Higher MAU (e.g., 500,000+), increased feed updates, extended data retention, advanced analytics. | Mid-sized applications with active social features. |
| Enterprise | Custom quote | Highest MAU, unlimited feed updates, custom retention, advanced security, specialized support. | Large-scale social networks, content platforms with extensive feed requirements. |
Video API Pricing
Stream's Video API, encompassing live streaming and video conferencing, operates on a custom pricing model. This is due to the highly variable nature of video consumption, which can involve factors such as:
- Concurrent participants: The number of users in a single call or stream.
- Total participant minutes: The cumulative time users spend in video sessions.
- Bandwidth usage: Data transfer for video and audio streams.
- Recording and storage: Costs associated with capturing and storing video sessions.
- Transcoding: Processing video for different devices and network conditions.
- Advanced features: Such as AI-powered moderation, custom layouts, or broadcast capabilities.
Organizations interested in the Video API are advised to contact Stream directly for a tailored quote based on their specific use case and anticipated usage Stream Video API pricing details.
Free tier and limits
Stream offers a free tier for both its Chat API and Activity Feed API, designed to support developers during the initial stages of development, testing, and for small-scale projects. These free tiers provide access to core functionalities without incurring immediate costs, allowing users to build and iterate before scaling up.
- Chat API Free Tier: Supports up to 500 Monthly Active Users (MAU) and includes up to 1 million messages per month. Message retention is limited to 30 days. This tier is suitable for proof-of-concept applications or small community chats.
- Activity Feed API Free Tier: Provides support for up to 10,000 MAU and includes up to 1 million feed updates per month. Data retention for feeds is also 30 days. This tier is ideal for early-stage social features or personal notification systems.
The free tiers are subject to standard rate limits and basic support. When an application exceeds these MAU or usage limits, it typically needs to upgrade to a paid plan to continue service without interruption. Specific details on the free tier can be found on Stream's Chat pricing section and Feeds pricing section.
Real-world cost examples
Understanding Stream's pricing involves considering the specific product used (Chat, Feeds, or Video) and the anticipated Monthly Active Users (MAU) or other usage metrics.
Example 1: Small Community Chat Application
- Scenario: An application with a growing user base, expecting around 2,000 MAU for its in-app chat functionality. Users send an average of 5 messages each per day.
- Product: Chat API
- Pricing Tier: Maker Plan
- Estimated Cost: Starting at $499/month. This tier supports up to 2,500 MAU and 5 million messages per month. With 2,000 MAU sending 5 messages/day (30 days/month), total messages would be 2,000 * 5 * 30 = 300,000 messages/month, well within the Maker plan's limits.
- Considerations: If the MAU grows beyond 2,500 or message retention needs to exceed one year, an upgrade to the Growth or Enterprise plan would be necessary, involving a custom quote.
Example 2: Mid-sized Social Feed Application
- Scenario: A social application with 75,000 MAU, where users frequently interact with an activity feed, generating an average of 10 feed updates (e.g., likes, comments, new posts) per user per month.
- Product: Activity Feed API
- Pricing Tier: Maker Plan
- Estimated Cost: Starting at $49/month. This tier supports up to 100,000 MAU and 5 million feed updates per month. With 75,000 MAU generating 10 updates/month, total updates would be 75,000 * 10 = 750,000 updates/month, comfortably within the Maker plan's limits.
- Considerations: If the MAU or feed update volume significantly increases, moving to a Growth or Enterprise plan with a custom quote would be required.
Example 3: Live Streaming Platform
- Scenario: A platform hosting live events with 1,000 concurrent viewers for 5 hours daily, with recording enabled for all streams, and an average of 5,000 total participant minutes per day.
- Product: Video API
- Pricing Tier: Custom Quote
- Estimated Cost: Requires direct contact with Stream. The cost would be influenced by concurrent users, total participant minutes, recording storage, bandwidth usage, and any specific features like advanced moderation or global CDN distribution.
- Considerations: Video API costs are highly variable. Factors like video quality (SD vs. HD), regional distribution, and the need for specific compliance features can significantly impact the final price.
How the pricing compares
Stream's pricing model, based on Monthly Active Users (MAU) for chat and feeds and custom quotes for video, aligns with common industry practices for communication APIs. Comparing it to alternatives often involves looking at the MAU thresholds, included features, and the cost per MAU at various scales.
- Twilio: Twilio offers a broad suite of communication APIs, including Programmable Chat and Video. Twilio's Programmable Chat pricing is also MAU-based, with a free tier for up to 50 MAU, and then tiered pricing starting at $0.05 per MAU per month for up to 1,000 MAU Twilio Chat pricing overview. Stream's entry-level paid Chat plan ($499 for 2,500 MAU) translates to approximately $0.20 per MAU, which is higher than Twilio's per-MAU rate at smaller scales, but Stream often includes more out-of-the-box features and higher message volumes within its base plans. Twilio's Video API pricing is often consumption-based (e.g., participant minutes, bandwidth), similar to how Stream's custom video quotes would be structured.
- Sendbird: Sendbird, another prominent chat API provider, also uses an MAU-based pricing model. Sendbird offers a free trial for up to 100 MAU. Its paid plans typically start at a higher price point than Stream's free tier, often bundling more advanced features for enterprise use cases. Direct comparisons require detailed feature matching, as Sendbird's plans may include different message retention periods, moderation tools, or concurrent connection limits.
- Agora: Agora specializes in real-time engagement APIs, particularly for video, voice, and live streaming. Agora's pricing is primarily consumption-based, charging per minute for voice, video, and recording, as detailed in their Agora pricing documentation. This contrasts with Stream's custom quote approach for video, but both effectively measure resource usage. For applications heavily reliant on video minutes, Agora's transparent per-minute pricing can be easier to estimate for specific usage patterns compared to a custom quote. However, Stream's integrated chat and feed solutions might offer a more unified pricing model for applications requiring multiple communication features.
In summary, while all these providers utilize similar underlying metrics (MAU, participant minutes, bandwidth), their specific pricing tiers, included features, and entry points vary. Stream often positions itself with generous MAU allowances within its paid tiers for chat and feeds, while its video offering is tailored to specific enterprise needs through custom pricing.