What was it?
Free tier for Pusher Channels — 100 concurrent connections, 200k messages/day. The default WebSocket solution for side projects.
What happened?
Pusher significantly cut the Sandbox plan limits and removed key features. Limits dropped to 20 max connections, making it effectively unusable for demos.
Migration Guide
Ably (generous free tier), Soketi (self-hosted Pusher-compatible), or Supabase Realtime.
Timeline & context
Pusher Channels Sandbox Plan free tier killed in August 2023, 3 years ago. It sat in the backend category, where Soft.xyz tracks 7 discontinued products in total. If you are still running it in production, the migration path above is the shortest route off it.
FAQ
Why did Pusher Channels Sandbox Plan shut down?
Pusher significantly cut the Sandbox plan limits and removed key features. Limits dropped to 20 max connections, making it effectively unusable for demos.
What should I migrate Pusher Channels Sandbox Plan to?
No drop-in replacement is tracked yet — check the backend category for current options.
Is there a free alternative to Pusher Channels Sandbox Plan?
Not among the tracked alternatives.