5Stack vs Photon Realtime
5Stack
5stack.gg
Photon Realtime
photonengine.comSide by side
| Figure | 5Stack | Photon Realtime |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $0.29/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 8 |
| Spec score · Game Matchmaking Software | 8.2 (#14) | 8.8 (#9) |
| Integrations | The listed integrations include Discord, Valve and FACEIT match imports, and external streaming sources Twitch, YouTube, and Kick. | The documented Realtime SDK variants are for Unity and .NET, and Photon’s SDK downloads also include JavaScript and native platform packages. |
| Matchmaking | Players can queue for 1v1, 2v2, or 5v5 and use regional matchmaking that checks latency and supports parties. | Realtime supports random and filtered matchmaking between players. |
| Support | The maker's documentation directs users to Discord for questions, help, and contact with people running 5Stack. | Photon offers public Discord, email contact and an authenticated support form. |
| What it does | 5Stack is a self-hosted Counter-Strike 2 competition platform covering server provisioning, matchmaking, tournaments, statistics, replays, broadcasts, and community moderation. | Photon Realtime is a low-level, cross-platform networking API for multiplayer applications with rooms, lobbies, matchmaking, region selection, message relay and cloud webhooks. |
Plans
Photon Realtime
- 20 CCU Development OnlyFree
- Development Only — 20 CCUFree
- Premium Cloud$0.29 a month
- 100 CCU$95, paid once
- 500 CCU$95 a month
- 1000 CCU$185 a month
- 2000 CCU$370 a month
- Enterprise CloudPriced on request
In their own words
5Stack
5Stack is a free, self-hosted Counter-Strike 2 competition platform for communities, Discord servers, leagues, tournament operators, server hosts, organizations, schools, and LANs. It combines server provisioning, matchmaking, tournaments, statistics, replays, broadcasts, and community moderation. Players can queue for 1v1, 2v2, or 5v5 matches, with party support and regional matching based on latency. Organizers can run Single Elimination, Double Elimination, Round Robin, and Swiss formats, including multi-stage brackets and seasonal leagues. Match analysis includes economy breakdowns, clutches, roles, heatmaps, and movement paths. Browser-based 2D and 3D replays, demo playback, and automatic highlights are available; some rendering requires a GPU node. Broadcast tools include Stream Deck control, scoreboard overlays, a public watch hub, and picture-in-picture. Integrations include Discord, Valve and FACEIT imports, Twitch, YouTube, and Kick. Hosting requires a Linux server and domain, and GPU features require an NVIDIA GPU on native Linux.
Photon Realtime
Photon Realtime has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.