Compare realtime tools

Liveblocks is a realtime collaboration platform that allows you to build multiplayer applications where users and agents can work together. It provides a sync engine that powers shared documents, text editing, presence, and more. These guides compare it with the databases, sync engines, messaging services, and editor back ends you may already use, and say when to pick one, the other, or both.

Databases

Comparison	Read it when
Supabase	Postgres is your source of truth and you want a shared document, canvas, or board next to it.
Firebase	You use Firestore or Realtime Database and need collaborative editing, presence, or comments.
Convex	You run on Convex and are weighing its ProseMirror plugin against a full collaboration layer.

Sync engines

Comparison	Read it when
Electric Sync	You stream Postgres shapes to clients and are deciding where editable documents belong.
Rocicorp Zero	You want client-side queries over a synced cache and need to know where shared editing fits.
PowerSync	You need a local SQLite database that works offline and also have multiplayer documents.

Messaging infrastructure

Comparison	Read it when
Ably	You are evaluating Ably Pub/Sub, Spaces, or LiveObjects for collaboration features.
Pusher Channels	Your server owns the state and you are deciding whether hosted events are enough.
Socket.IO	You are considering building the sync layer yourself on WebSockets.

Collaborative editing

Comparison	Read it when
Yjs	You use Yjs and want to know how Liveblocks relates to it, as a provider and as an alternative.
Tiptap Cloud	You use Tiptap Editor and are choosing the service behind it.

Build vs. buy

Guide	Read it when
Build vs. buy	You are considering having an AI coding assistant generate a bespoke collaboration back end.