Life & fun · alternatives · 2026

Fanout is a reverse proxy that delivers real-time data to connected devices using WebSockets and pub/sub messaging at the edge. Built on Fastly's infrastructure, it handles connection management, protocol translation… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Fanout – Reverse proxy to push real-time data to connected devices launched in 2017; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1. 1
   Fanout▲98

   Your API stack. Now with realtime push.

   2015 · fastly.com · its alternatives →

2. 2
   Pushpin, a reverse proxy for real-time web services▲49

   A proxy server for adding push to your API, used at the core of Fastly's Fanout service - fastly/pushpin

   2016 · github.com · its alternatives →

3. 3
   Fanout▲13

   Realtime APIs made simple

   2017 · fastly.com · its alternatives →

4. 4
   Pushpin – A new way to build realtime HTTP and WebSocket services▲114

   Reverse proxy for realtime APIs.

   2015 · pushpin.org · its alternatives →

5. 5SR
   Serverless realtime chat with Fanout and Fly▲13

   2018 · flychat.fanoutapp.com · its alternatives →

6. 6
   Manage web sockets from AWS Lambda using Fanout▲56

   FaaS GRIP library for Python. Contribute to fanout/python-faas-grip development by creating an account on GitHub.

   2017 · github.com · its alternatives →

7. 7
   Deepstream.io – open-source real-time server with pub/sub and data sync▲301

   A realtime server for the modern web

   2016 · deepstream.io · its alternatives →

8. 8DA
   DriftDB – an open source WebSocket backend for real-time apps▲367

   Hey HN! I’ve written a bunch of WebSocket servers over the years to do simple things like state synchronization, WebRTC signaling, and notifying a client when a backend job was run. I realized that if I had a simple way to create a private, temporary, mini-redis that the client could talk to directly, it would save a lot of time. So we created DriftDB. In addition to the open source server that you can run yourself, we also provide https://jamsocket.live where you can use an instance we host on Cloudflare’s edge (~13ms round trip latency from my home in NY). You may have seen my…

   2023 · driftdb.com · its alternatives →

9. 9
   Proxy 1.0▲718

   Your AI Assistant that actually gets things done

   2025 · convergence.ai · its alternatives →

10. 10
    Pxy – A Go server that proxies websocket livestreams to RTMP servers▲133

    🎥 Proxy livestreams from websockets to external RTMP endpoints. - chuabingquan/pxy

    2020 · github.com · its alternatives →

11. 11
    Proxy4u▲93

    Fast residential proxies for smooth web scraping - Proxy4u

    2024 · proxy4u.com · its alternatives →

12. 12
    Twist 2.0▲291

    For teams burnt out by real-time chat, work async, not ASAP

    2021 · twist.com · its alternatives →

13. 13
    Weron – A Peer-to-Peer VPN Based on WebRTC Written in Go▲204

    Hey HN! I just released weron, a P2P VPN that uses WebRTC for transport which I've been working on for the last couple of months. It can create both layer 2/Ethernet and layer 3/IP overlay networks, and the underlying transport layer can be easily embedded to write your own P2P apps with Go. Compared to for example Tailscale, WireGuard and ZeroTier, its much harder to block on a network level and also significantly easier to set up, while not sacrifing much performance. I'd love to get your feedback :)

    2022 · github.com · its alternatives →

14. 14
    Pushpin – a proxy server for adding push to your API▲7

    A proxy server for adding push to your API, used at the core of Fastly's Fanout service - fastly/pushpin

    2021 · github.com · its alternatives →

15. 15CA
    Crapify, a proxy for simulating slow, spotty HTTP connections▲96

    2015 · npmjs.com · its alternatives →

16. 16
    SMTP Tunnel – A SOCKS5 proxy disguised as email traffic to bypass DPI▲140

    A fast SOCKS5 proxy that tunnels your traffic through what looks like normal SMTP email, bypassing Deep Packet Inspection firewalls. How it works: - Client runs a local SOCKS5 proxy (127.0.0.1:1080) - Traffic is sent to server disguised as SMTP (EHLO, STARTTLS, AUTH) - DPI sees legitimate email session, not a VPN/proxy Features: - One-liner install on any Linux VPS - Multi-user with per-user secrets and IP whitelists - Auto-generated client packages (just double-click to run) - Auto-reconnect on connection loss - Works with any app that supports SOCKS5 Tech: Python/asyncio, TLS…

    Jan 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

17. 17
    btunnel▲117

    No more localhost, welcome to the internet

    2023 · its alternatives →

18. 18
    WebSocket demo using Fastly Compute-at-Edge▲9

    Fanout Fastly Compute JavaScript demo. Contribute to fastly/fanout-compute-js-demo development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2022 · github.com · its alternatives →

19. 19
    WebSocket-first development▲120

    An demo app for lattice-core. Contribute to jasonl99/card_game development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2017 · github.com · its alternatives →

20. 20
    Pion/handoff – Move WebRTC out of browser and into Go▲101

    Start WebRTC in the browser—run it somewhere else. Contribute to pion/handoff development by creating an account on GitHub.

    Apr 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

21. 21
    Fanoob▲68

    The virtual sports bar that fits right in your pocket

    2018 · fanoob.com · its alternatives →

22. 22
    Switchboard – A mDNS based reverse proxy for personal infrastructure▲92

    Simple mDNS based reverse proxy for personal infrastructure. - whytheplatypus/switchboard

    2020 · github.com · its alternatives →

23. 23GS
    GoPee – Simple, Self-Hosted Web Proxy in Go▲70

    2015 · gopee.herokuapp.com · its alternatives →

24. 24
    FanCave▲80

    Live sports chat

    2023 · its alternatives →

Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →