Real-time updates are no longer a luxury in modern applications — they are an expectation. Whether it’s collaborative editing, chat, dashboards, or notifications, end users assume their screens will refresh instantly when something happens. For Architects working in the Laravel ecosystem, the big question is: what is the right WebSocket backend to power this experience?
Laravel now provides its own solution, Reverb, but there are also mature alternatives like Centrifugo, Socket.IO, and managed platforms such as Pusher and Ably. Each comes with trade-offs in integration complexity, performance, and cost. This article explores those trade-offs, helping you decide which fits your product best.
A Laravel application emits broadcast events whenever something noteworthy happens, for example when an order is shipped. These events travel through Laravel’s broadcast driver, which is essentially a bridge between the application and the WebSocket infrastructure. Depending on configuration, the driver could point to Reverb, Pusher, Redis, or another backend.
On the receiving side is the WebSocket server. This is where persistent connections from browsers or mobile devices are maintained. The WebSocket server knows which users are connected, what channels they are subscribed to, and is responsible for pushing messages to them in real time. If you scale horizontally, multiple servers will need to stay in sync — which is where Redis Pub/Sub usually enters the picture, acting as a simple event bus. Finally, the frontend clients connect via WebSockets, typically through Laravel Echo for Reverb and Pusher, or alternative libraries like centrifuge-js for Centrifugo.
[Frontend Clients]
│ (Laravel Echo / centrifuge-js / raw WebSocket)
▼
[ WebSocket Server Layer ] <───> [ Redis Pub/Sub ] (optional for scale)
▲
│ (via Broadcast Driver)
▼
[ Laravel Application ]
Frontend Clients subscribe to channels and receive real-time updates.
WebSocket Server Layer can be Reverb, Centrifugo, , or SaaS (Pusher/Ably).
Redis Pub/Sub synchronizes multiple WebSocket servers in a cluster.
Laravel Application fires events into the broadcast driver, which delivers them to the WebSocket layer.
Reverb is Laravel’s own WebSocket server. It was designed as a drop-in replacement for Pusher and integrates seamlessly with Laravel’s broadcasting system. From a developer’s perspective, enabling Reverb is as simple as setting BROADCAST_DRIVER=reverb and running a background process with php artisan reverb:start. The frontend continues to use Laravel Echo without modification.
The main trade-off with Reverb is efficiency. Because it is PHP-based, Reverb consumes more CPU and memory per connection compared to servers written in Go or Node.js. At moderate scale, this is rarely an issue. But as you push towards tens of thousands of concurrent connections, infrastructure costs begin to climb.
In practical terms, supporting 10,000 concurrent connections might require around 2 vCPUs and 4 GB of RAM. Scaling up to 25,000 could mean 4 vCPUs and 8 GB RAM, and 50,000 would push you into the 8 vCPU / 16 GB RAM territory. Costs on AWS for this setup typically land between $150/month at the low end and $500/month at higher concurrency, plus the cost of ElastiCache for Redis for synchronization.
Centrifugo takes a different approach. It is a standalone real-time messaging server written in Go, optimized from the ground up for handling massive numbers of concurrent WebSocket connections. Unlike Reverb, Centrifugo is not tied to Laravel or even PHP — it works equally well with Django, Rails, Node.js, or any other stack. Integration with Laravel requires either a custom broadcast driver or publishing events into Redis for Centrifugo to consume.
Although there is a small integration effort (typically a day or two of setup and testing), the payoff is significant. Centrifugo’s efficiency is exceptional: 10,000 connections can be served with roughly 1 vCPU and 1 GB RAM. Even at 50,000 concurrent connections, you can often manage with just 2–3 vCPUs and 4 GB RAM. This makes Centrifugo both cost-effective and resilient under heavy load.
The frontend story is slightly different: Laravel Echo is not supported directly. Instead, you would use the Centrifugo JavaScript client, which provides equivalent functionality for subscribing to channels and receiving messages.
Managed providers like Pusher and Ably offer convenience above all else. Integration is native to Laravel, scaling is automatic, and you don’t have to operate or monitor any infrastructure. For small applications or MVPs, this is a compelling option.
However, cost grows quickly as concurrency rises. At 10,000 concurrent connections, monthly bills start around $1,000. At 25,000 users, costs climb toward $2,500 or more, and at 50,000 they can exceed $5,000. For teams expecting significant growth, SaaS options become economically unsustainable compared to self-hosted solutions.
, based on Node.js, is another widely used real-time engine. It sits between Reverb and Centrifugo in terms of efficiency. Integrating with Laravel requires either thelaravel-echo-server package or a custom bridge, but the ecosystem is large and well-supported.
Backend | Integration Effort | 10k Conns | 25k Conns | 50k Conns | Notes |
Zero | ~$1k | ~$2.5k | ~$5k | Easy, but SaaS cost grows fast | |
Zero (native) | ~$150 | ~$250–300 | ~$450–500 | PHP overhead, Laravel-native | |
Low (1–2 days) | ~$100 | ~$150–200 | ~$250–300 | Most efficient, multi-stack | |
Low–Medium | ~$120 | ~$200–250 | ~$350–400 | Solid middle ground |
At around 10,000 concurrent connections, the cost of Pusher is already an order of magnitude higher than running Reverb or Centrifugo yourself. This is the typical break-even point where self-hosting pays for itself.
If your system is entirely Laravel-based and you don’t expect more than 20–25k concurrent connections, Reverb is the natural choice. It integrates seamlessly, reduces cognitive load, and leverages the familiar Laravel Echo client.
If you expect to grow larger, or want to keep the door open for multiple frameworks, Centrifugo is the clear winner. The initial integration work is small compared to the long-term savings and scalability benefits. Socket.IO is another contender if your team already uses Node.js and values its ecosystem.
Before making a final decision, it helps to consider:
What is the average session duration? This will determine concurrency more than raw HTTP request counts.
Do missed events matter? If yes, ephemeral Redis Pub/Sub may not be sufficient.
Is your system exclusively Laravel, or do you anticipate needing multi-language support?
How much operational burden are you willing to take on versus paying for SaaS?
How critical is latency under peak load?
Real-time delivery is no longer optional, and the Laravel ecosystem offers multiple paths to implement it. Reverb gives you simplicity and native integration. Centrifugo delivers scalability and efficiency at large scale. Socket.IO strikes a balance, and Pusher/Ably trade cost for convenience.
For Architects, the right choice depends on scale expectations, ecosystem alignment, and appetite for operating infrastructure. Make the decision early, and your real-time architecture will be an asset rather than a bottleneck as your application grows.