With the surging popularity of e-commerce and other service apps like ridesharing, food delivery, grocery shopping, etc., the app chat function has become essential. It provides an easy way for users to connect with different service providers. In dedicated chat apps, the chat function can range from one-to-one chat to large app chat rooms.
By continuing to read this article, you can learn about the 10 best chat APIs and SDKs for Android and iOS platforms.
Table of Contents
Part 1: What are Chat APIs and SDKs?
The APIs are sets of code that are used to add specific functionalities to existing or under-development apps. APIs are used when the function you want to add is not a primary requirement for the app or is too expensive to be built from scratch. So, chat APIs are used to add chatting and messaging functionalities to the web or mobile apps.
When looking for how to create a chat app in Android and iOS without the resources to build the chat function from scratch, chat APIs or SDKs are your answer. A chat API or SDK allows you to easily build a chat application, while a chat API can integrate the chatting functionalities into an app.
Part 2: Must-have Chat API & SDK Features
When looking for a chat API or SDK, you need to look for an API or SDK that suits your needs. Although your needs may differ to some extent, some features are a must for a great chat API or SDK. Below are a few of these features summarized for you:
- The chat API or SDK should offer public channels with a large number of users to make it easier to send system notices.
- It should have a message broadcasting feature so that you send important messages or reminders to a large number of users without needing group chats.
- All the communication on the chatting platforms must be protected and preferably encrypted. It should also comply with HIPPA and GDPR standards.
- When replying to messages, users should be able to use functions like a quick response or smart replies.
Part 3: 10 Best Chat APIs to Build Chat App
If you want to build live chat for an Android or iOS app, a chat API or Chat SDK is the optimal solution. Below you can get a summarized overview of the 10 best chat APIs.
1. ZEGOCLOUD
ZEGOCLOUD provides the best and most powerful in-app chat API and SDK for Android and iOS. It allows you to easily build a fully customizable in-app messaging platform for your apps. The chatting module is filled with rich features to make the chatting experience engaging.
It allows users to enjoy features like rich media attachments, push notifications, message broadcasting, smart replies, etc.
Features
- You can set up a one-to-one chat with another user, which will be fully protected and private.
- Users can access their offline messages and can see the unread message counter.
- With ZEGOCLOUD, you can create public chat channels that can accommodate thousands of users.
- If you want to, you can create a private group chat and hold a real-time chat with other users.
Pricing Plan
| Basic | Pro | Enterprise | |
| Pricing | Free | $449 | Customized |
| Monthly Active Users | Up to 100 | Up to 10,000 | Customized |
| Maximum Number of Group Members | 200 members/group | 200 members/group | Customized |
| Number of Days of Historical Message Storage | 7 Days | 180 Days | Customized |
2. Quickblox
Quickblox’s chat API allows you to easily and quickly integrate chat functions into your iOS and Android applications. The chatting function provides real-time chat that is GPDR compliant and consists of rich chatting features. It is also completely secured, and chat history can be saved on the server.
This in-app chat API provides options like one-to-one chat, private and public group chat, extended messaging, etc.
Features
- It provides typing indicators and tracks user presence using their online/offline statuses.
- Users can also get the message read and message delivery receipts of their messages.
- You can share pictures, videos, audio, and documents with other users.
- The end-to-end encryption provides complete data security ensuring users’ privacy.
Pricing Plans
| Basic | Free |
| Starter | $99/month |
| Growth | $249/month |
| HIPAA Cloud | $399/month |
| Enterprise | From $599 (Contact Team) |
Website: https://quickblox.com/products/chat/
3. TalkJS
The chat API of TalkJS allows you to quickly build chat apps and add app chat functions in apps on Android and iOS. It comes with a pre-built UI that allows you quickly setup a chatting platform in your apps.
The API comes with a customizable design, built-in notifications, and multiple options for chat moderation and analytics.
Features
- The users can perform an in-conversation search when chatting to find chats or messages.
- It provides real-time translation for multiple languages when chatting.
- During chats, it provides online presence, typing, and reading indicators for participants.
- You can share and preview links during chats when using this API.
Pricing Plans
| Basic | $279/month |
| Growth | $569/month |
| Enterprise | Customized |
Website: https://talkjs.com/
4. Chat SDK
Chat SDK provides you with chat APIs and SDKs to quickly build Android and iOS chat applications. You will get the complete source code that you can customize according to your needs. When building a chatting application using this API, you’ll get full control over the app data from source code to chat data.
You can use it to add live chat for the Android app.
Features
- During chatting, users can send different types of messages like text, location, image, audio, etc.
- The API is fully scalable and can grow with Android or iOS apps.
- It allows users to create public and themed chat rooms for specific threads or topics.
- You can provide users with flexible login options like using Facebook, email, Twitter, etc.
Pricing Plan: Free
Website: https://chatsdk.co/
5. Agora
Using the app chat SDK or API offered by Agora, you can easily build a chat application on Android and iOS. It is an easy-to-deploy, easy-to-integrate, and highly scalable chat API. This API gives you all the essentials like offline messages, message recall, push notifications, chat history, etc.
It also maintains very low latency and can process millions of messages at any moment.
Features
- It supports emojis, GPS locations, structured messages, and other features for users.
- Users can create private one-to-one chats or group chats with many features.
- The chat data on the platform is encrypted to ensure users’ data privacy.
- A user can also use different options for message translation, like auto, on-demand, or push translation.
Pricing Plans
| Free | Free |
| Starter | $349 |
| Pro | $699 |
| Enterprise | Custom |
Website: https://www.agora.io/en/products/chat/
6. ChatCamp
The app chat SDK and API offered by ChatCamp can be used to build real-time chat applications for smartphones easily. It provides end-to-end support and detailed documentation to make things easier. The API comes with a powerful dashboard that can be used to manage channels, moderate users, configure notifications, and view chat history.
Its moderation feature allows you to give role-based access to users.
Features
- Using its chat moderation policies, you can delete messages, ban users and implement profanity control.
- Users can create small groups for up to 100 participants per group or join public channels.
- It allows you to set up automated bot messages that can be sent to users about important notices.
- The push notification and email notification features can be used to inform users about new messages.
Pricing Plans
| Hobby | Free |
| Growth | $199/month |
| Enterprise | Custom |
Website: https://chatcamp.io/
7. SendBird
SendBird offers a chat API that seamlessly integrates app chat functionalities into your mobile apps. It comes with Sendbird UIKit that allows you to customize the chatting platform in your app according to your needs.
The major functions available in this API include read receipts, channel lists, user invitations, push notifications, file sharing, admin messages, etc.
Features
- It provides different moderation features like image moderation, profanity filters, and domain filters.
- You can manage the user channels using different options like channel operators, freeze channels, delete channels, etc.
- It also provides advanced analytics regarding activities on the channel to improve the chatting platform.
- Users can see the unread message count, mention count, and channel mentions.
Pricing Plans
| Developer (Experiment with Chat) | Free |
| Starter 5K | $399/month |
| Pro 5K | $599/month |
| Enterprise | Custom |
Website: https://sendbird.com/products/chat-messaging
8. PubNub
Using PubNub’s in-app chat API, you can easily integrate chat functionalities into Android and iOS apps. It allows users to create one-to-one, group, and community chats with other users on the platform.
The chats on the platforms are secure, and it provides real-time location tracking. Users can enjoy features like message history, read receipts, emojis, push notifications, etc.
Features
- During chatting, it allows users to flag content, block users, mute users, mention users, etc.
- The profanity filters and spam prevention features allow you to make chatting platforms secure.
- Different types of like images, videos, and documents can be shared with other users.
- You have complete access to user metadata and channel metadata.
Pricing Plans
| Free | Free |
| Starter | Starts at $49/month plus MAU’s (Contact Sales) |
| Pro | Contact Sales |
Website: https://www.pubnub.com/use-case/in-app-chat/
9. Mesibo
The in-app messaging and chat API from Mesibo allows you to build applications with the in-app chat function easily. It provides completely secure in-app communication and offers complete source code to developers. You can also create and deploy chatbots when using this API.
The other significant features include location sharing, push notifications, typing indicators, etc.
Features
- Users can create one-to-one and group chats with other users in a secure environment.
- The group chat can be private or public, and you can define other members as admins.
- It allows you to share files like photos, videos, audio, documents, etc.
- You are also informed about the delivery status and read receipt of your messages.
Pricing Plans
| Items | On-premise Deployment | Cloud Deployment |
| Monthly Active Users | $0.01/MAU | $0.01/MAU |
| Concurrent Users | Unlimited | 10% of MAU |
| Real-time Bandwidth | Free | $0.9/GB |
| Real-time Database | Free | $2.5/GB |
| Video and Voice Calling | Free | Free |
| Video and Voice Conferencing | Free | $1/GB |
| TURN Server | $0.4/GB | $0.4/GB |
| Scripting and Chatbots | Free | $0.1 per sec of CPU duration |
| Message Retention | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| File Transfer Size | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Website: https://mesibo.com/
10. CONTUS MirrorFly
CONTUS MirrorFly provides you with chat APIs and instant messaging SDKs that can be used to create chat functionalities in Android and iOS. The integration of chat API is easy and comes with flexible deployment options and end-to-end support.
It maintains the chat data integrity by using AES-256 end-to-end encryption. Users can use options like comments, replies, flag content, screen sharing, etc.
Features
- It provides support for real-time language translation when chatting to expand the user base.
- You can set up smart replies to reply to messages with one tap.
- File transfer between users is completely secure when using this API.
- The users can create private and public channels for chatting.
Pricing Plans
| Freemium | Free |
| Essentials | $299 |
| Growth | $699 |
| Premium | $999 |
Website: https://www.mirrorfly.com/chat-api-solution.php
