A simpler alternative to Sendbird

At a glance

Sendbird's figures are from its public chat pricing page and may change, so check the current terms before deciding. Sendbird pricing · RTCExpress pricing

When RTCExpress is the better fit

• You want a predictable bill. A flat monthly plan is easier to budget than participant-minute math, especially for group calls, where every participant's minutes count.
• You're a developer or small team. Your email reaches the engineer who built and runs the platform, not a ticket queue.
• You already have a UI. The SDK handles signaling, media, reconnects, and TURN relays. Your app keeps its own design and user accounts.
• You want to start free. Chat and 1:1 voice calls are on the Free plan; group voice starts on Starter and video on Pro.

When Sendbird is the better fit

Choose Sendbird if you need mature chat features such as moderation, translation, and very large group channels, prebuilt chat UI kits, enterprise scale, compliance documentation, and SLAs. RTCExpress is a newer, independently operated platform and doesn't claim to match that scale.

What switching looks like

Most real-time SDKs follow the same pattern, so moving to RTCExpress is mostly a matter of mapping concepts:

// Your backend: request a short-lived token (App Secret stays on the server)
POST /v1/token  { appId, appSecret, userId, roomId }

// Your app: connect, join a room, and call
const rtc = new RTCExpress();
await rtc.init({ serverUrl, appId, userId, token });
rtc.joinRoom("room-42");
await rtc.callUser("bob", { callType: "video" });

Sendbird channels or rooms map to RTCExpress rooms, and your existing token server only needs a new endpoint. Read the quickstart and API reference, or follow the voice calling tutorial to get a working call first.

Try it before you decide

Open the live demo on two devices, or create a free account and test chat in your own app. Questions about migrating? Talk to us.