Bird vs Ably for realtime messaging

Compare live delivery, channel access and recovery separately. If your application depends on stored history, evaluate that requirement explicitly before switching.

Start now ↗Talk to sales ↗

Where Ably fits

Ably channels support messaging and presence, with additional channel behavior such as history and rewind. Those capabilities need their own mapping in an application migration.

Read Ably documentation ↗

Where Bird fits

Bird Realtime connects server events to subscribed clients with private-channel authorization and presence. Its live application pattern reloads the database record after reconnection instead of assuming every missed event will be replayed.

Explore Bird Realtime ↗

Compare the integration you will operate

Capability	Bird	Ably
Live updates	Publish events and subscribe through Bird clients.	Map the current Ably channel and subscription model.
Access	Use server-authorized private or presence channels.	Map the channel access rules currently enforced for Ably clients.
History and recovery	Use application storage for durable history and refresh state after reconnecting.	Inventory dependencies on history, rewind and channel recovery behavior.

Run the same customer journey

List every user experience that consumes history or assumes continuity. Test it during a disconnected period before comparing the effort of the live publish-and-subscribe path.

Start the working example ↗

Make the switch deliberately

Move a self-contained realtime feature first. Keep durable history available, translate access rules and test reconnect behavior before expanding to other features.

Migrate from Ably ↗

Publish an event to your application.

Keep the server publishing credential separate from browser authorization. Test private-channel access and the connected client as well as the accepted publish request.

Run the complete quickstart ↗

npm install @messagebird/sdk

const result = await bird.realtime.publish("rap_01krdgeqcxet5s7t44vh8rt9mg", {
  event: "order.updated",
  channels: ["orders", "presence-lobby"],
  data: { order_id: "ord_123", status: "shipped" },
});
console.log(result.data?.length); // one entry per channel

Questions before switching

Will reconnecting recover every missed event?

Do not assume that it will. Keep durable application data in your own store and refresh it after reconnection. Map any dependency on history or replay separately during migration.

What should I test before moving a feature?

Test publication, subscription, authorization, denied access and a disconnected period. Verify the final application state, not only whether a WebSocket connection opened.

Choose your next step

Migration guideMap the current integration, test the receiving path and plan the traffic transition.Realtime resourcesFind quickstarts, implementation guides and troubleshooting.Compare other optionsReview the alternatives against the customer workflow you need.Review Bird pricingCheck the published plan or rates for the workload you are comparing.

Test it with your own workflow.

Start with the guide, or bring your integration and migration requirements to our team.