Verdaccio
Verdaccio v9 pre-release track actively versioning packages toward next major
Comparison · Infra & APIs
Ably vs Hanko
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Ably and Hanko — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Ably vs Hanko: at a glance
| Feature | Ably | Hanko |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | Infra & APIs | Infra & APIs |
| Velocity score | 6.3 | 0.0 |
| Sparks · 30d | 1 | 0 |
| Top themes | realtime, agentic, sdk, websocket | authentication, passkeys, identity, security |
| Last editorial update | 3d ago | 2h ago |
| Website | — | Visit → |
What is Ably?
Ably's AI Transport SDK graduates to Temporal orchestration and Vercel AI SDK v7 in the same release.
Ably is running two parallel development tracks: hardening LiveObjects (now stable in the Cocoa SDK with a path-based API) for collaborative and AI-state use cases, and expanding the AI Transport SDK to support durable agent orchestration via Temporal and compatibility with Vercel AI SDK v7. The JS SDK also resolved a long-standing WebSocket fallback gap for proxy-blocked networks.
What is Hanko?
Hanko ships Firebase migration support and tightens session management — targeting auth stack replacements.
Hanko is a passkey-first authentication platform available as open-source self-hosted or cloud-managed. Monthly releases show consistent refinement across the auth stack: stronger passcode options, inactivity-based session termination, session token transparency, device trust handling improvements, and expanded OAuth/OIDC integration. The June 2026 Firebase Scrypt hash import signals an active effort to reduce friction for teams migrating away from Firebase Auth.
Ably vs Hanko: editorial side-by-side
Ably
6.3INFRA · APIS
Ably's AI Transport SDK graduates to Temporal orchestration and Vercel AI SDK v7 in the same release.
◆ Current state
Ably is running two parallel development tracks: hardening LiveObjects (now stable in the Cocoa SDK with a path-based API) for collaborative and AI-state use cases, and expanding the AI Transport SDK to support durable agent orchestration via Temporal and compatibility with Vercel AI SDK v7. The JS SDK also resolved a long-standing WebSocket fallback gap for proxy-blocked networks.
◆ Where it's heading
The AI Transport SDK is emerging as Ably's primary growth vector — each release adds a new agent framework integration (Temporal, Vercel AI, OpenAI Responses API) or a new agent control mechanism (mid-run steering, human approvals). LiveObjects is stable now and will likely see slower iteration as it shifts to a reliability rather than feature phase.
◆ Prediction
The next AI Transport release will probably add support for another major agent framework (likely LangChain or CrewAI) as Ably builds toward covering every major orchestration layer for real-time agent streaming.
Hanko
0.0INFRA · APIS
Hanko ships Firebase migration support and tightens session management — targeting auth stack replacements.
◆ Current state
Hanko is a passkey-first authentication platform available as open-source self-hosted or cloud-managed. Monthly releases show consistent refinement across the auth stack: stronger passcode options, inactivity-based session termination, session token transparency, device trust handling improvements, and expanded OAuth/OIDC integration. The June 2026 Firebase Scrypt hash import signals an active effort to reduce friction for teams migrating away from Firebase Auth.
◆ Where it's heading
The consistent themes across these releases are session management hardening, migration tooling, and auth protocol breadth. Custom OAuth connections, user metadata via Admin API, Firebase import, and OIDC updates together sketch a product trying to compete with established auth platforms (Auth0, Clerk) on flexibility and self-hostability. The monthly cadence is execution-focused — incremental improvements rather than architectural shifts.
◆ Prediction
The next likely moves are broader migration support (other providers beyond Firebase, e.g. Supabase Auth or Cognito) and enterprise session controls such as SAML or organization-level device trust policies. Custom OAuth was the groundwork; SAML is the common next ask.
Alternatives to Ably and Hanko
Other Infra & APIs products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Ably or Hanko.
Skipper
Skipper v0.27 is in dependency maintenance and test infrastructure mode
Greenbone Vulnerability Manager
Greenbone GVM adds web application VT scanning and async report export scheduling
Inspektor Gadget
Inspektor Gadget v0.56 adds Kubernetes multi-tenancy and GPU telemetry groundwork
Kubernetes
Kubernetes v1.37 ships DRA GA, native scale-to-zero, and built-in X.509 cert issuance
ToolJet
ToolJet's LTS branch added personal access tokens, MCP authentication, and AI content generation in a single build.
Recent activity from Ably and Hanko
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 5d agoAblyCocoa SDK v1.4.0: LiveObjects stable, with breaking API changes
- 15d agoAblyAbly-js v2.28.0: end to end encryption for annotation data payloads
- 15d agoAblyAI Transport JS SDK v0.8.0: Temporal plugin and Vercel AI SDK v7 support ⚡
- 18d agoAblyCapability semantics changes for `xxx:*` wildcard resources
- 19d agoAblyCocoa/Swift SDK v1.3: Path-based API for nested LiveObjects
- 28d agoAblyJS SDK v2.27.0: WebSocket fallback for proxy-blocked networks
- 3mo agoHankoJune 2026 Updates
- 5mo agoHankoApril 2026 Updates
- 6mo agoHankoMarch 2026 Updates
- 7mo agoHankoJanuary 2026 Updates
- 9mo agoHankoDecember 2025 Updates
- 9mo agoHankoNovember 2025 Updates
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Ably and Hanko?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Ably is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 0.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is Ably better than Hanko?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Ably is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 0.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Infra & APIs products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to Ably?
Top Ably alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Ably alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/ably for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to Hanko?
Top Hanko alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Hanko alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/hanko for the full list with editorial commentary on each.