Overview

BACKND brings player accounts and game operations together with services for multiplayer play. Base covers common backend needs, while separate products handle chat, matchmaking, persistent worlds and database workloads. That breadth can reduce the number of backend components a game team must assemble, but it also means the free allowances are not interchangeable: Database has its own bandwidth and storage caps.

AFI, Inc. is based in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea. BACKND says it encrypts data, monitors for customer-information leakage risks and holds TTA V&V quality certification. It is an AWS Official Partner and is available through AWS Marketplace.

Key features

Accounts, data and game operations

Base combines authentication, cloud data storage, social functions, rankings, notices, events, coupons, push notifications and receipt verification, with an admin console for backend management. Players can sign in with custom ID and password, guest login, or Google, Apple and Facebook accounts. This is a useful spread for games that need both account options and routine live operations without piecing those functions together separately.

Database supports user and shared game data, access permissions, SQL-like queries, indexes, backups and downloads. Its FREE allowance is 300 MB read bandwidth, 100 MB write bandwidth and 200 MB storage; exceeding those limits can restrict game usage. That makes the free tier a constrained starting point for data-heavy games, not a safe assumption for an expanding live service.

Multiplayer, chat and persistent worlds

Match supports 1:1, individual and team matchmaking, with result processing, reconnection and in-game chat. BACKND Chat adds real-time channels, auto-scaling, moderation tools, profanity filtering, reports, sanctions and translation. Channels can grow to 5,000 users, and concurrent users can scale to 100,000. Those capabilities suit games with active social play, though the separate chat plans vary in traffic, channel capacity and management features.

Worlds provides persistent servers and real-time state synchronization for MMO and other multiplayer games. Unity is officially supported; games using other engines can integrate by calling server APIs directly. Server-side functions can be written in C# with Unity-style syntax, using Visual Studio or Visual Studio Code extensions and a CLI. This favors teams already comfortable with Unity-oriented development; direct API integration gives other engines a route in, but not the same official engine support.

Integrations and operations

BACKND documentation covers Unity SDKs, an Unreal SDK, Platform API and .NET SDK across its products. The Chat SDK supports Android, iOS, Windows, Mac (Editor) and Linux, with Unity, Unreal and Platform API documentation. Webshop supports Newplay and Xsolla, and the feature handles authentication, item delivery, refunds and delivery history with no extra integration or operation cost. Unsupported webshop integrations can be submitted for review.

Refund Management supports Google Play, the App Store and ONE Store, including real-time refund webhooks and automatic user blocking; it requires Base SDK integration and store webhook registration. BACKND also advertises 24/7 expert support, while its stated contact hours are KST 10:00–18:00. Users can test all features for free, but no trial duration is stated.

Pricing

BACKND uses a freemium model, but the plans cover different products and should not be read as one uniform ladder. Chat’s Free plan costs 0.00 USD per free and includes up to 50 CCU, 1 GB/month traffic, core chat features and translation. BASIC 100 costs 9.00 USD per month for up to 100 users per channel, essential chat features and 5 GB/month traffic. PRO 100 costs 19.00 USD per month for the same channel capacity, core chat features and Pro management features. PRO Translate 100 costs 28.00 USD per month for up to 100 users per channel, Pro features and translation. The paid tiers trade a free starting point for higher traffic or management capability, but remain capped at 100 users per channel.

Database has a FREE Plan at 0.00 USD per free, with unlimited users, up to 100K free transaction calls per feature/month and up to 25 projects, subject to the separate Database FREE bandwidth and storage limits. BASIC has no monthly base fee: it includes FREE benefits, charges for usage beyond free limits and includes paid technical support. PRO costs 29.00 USD per month and includes 15 GB read bandwidth, 10 GB write bandwidth, 2 GB storage, 10 indexes and 100 tables. SCALE costs 829.00 USD per month for 300 GB read, 150 GB write, 20 GB storage, 10 indexes and 300 tables. PRO is a defined step up from the free caps; SCALE is a much larger commitment for workloads needing substantially more bandwidth, storage and tables. Enterprise uses custom pricing and offers a stable service environment with a dedicated-server option.

Check the relevant product allowance before choosing a free plan: database overages can restrict game use, while chat plans set their own concurrency, traffic and channel limits.

Platforms

BACKND lists Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, web, Windows and API platforms. Unity and Unreal Engine are named as supported game engines, though Worlds officially supports Unity and offers other engines API-based integration instead.

Who it's for

BACKND is a strong fit for game teams seeking a broad set of backend and multiplayer services, particularly Unity developers who need persistent worlds alongside accounts, chat or matchmaking. It is less compelling for projects that need predictable, unrestricted database capacity on a free plan, or that require official Worlds engine support beyond Unity.

Pros and cons

Pros: Base combines account choices, storage and live-operations functions, reducing the need to source each common game backend feature separately.
Pros: Match, Chat and Worlds cover matchmaking, moderation-rich chat and persistent state, with stated scaling capacities for chat.
Pros: Webshop support has no extra integration or operation cost, and refund handling connects to three named mobile stores.
Cons: Database FREE bandwidth and storage are modest, and exceeding allowances can restrict game usage.
Cons: Chat’s paid entry tiers are capped at 100 users per channel, so larger channels require a different plan or approach.
Cons: Worlds officially supports Unity; other engines must integrate through server APIs.

Alternatives

Consider Metaplay if local development without hard limits is the priority: its free plan includes the full SDK and a local server. brainCloud is another freemium game backend option, with a free development plan. Choose GameAnalytics when analytics is the need: its free plan has no MAU limits and includes dashboards, events, funnels, cohorts, retention and real-time reporting. Unity Version Control is the more relevant choice for source-control needs, with unlimited cloud seats on its free tier. Tenjin suits teams focused on attribution, with 2,000 free conversions per month and a charge for additional conversions. AccelByte Gaming Services offers a public-cloud foundations tier that is free while building, with usage fees as players arrive. Balancy is an alternative for teams seeking CMS and cloud-storage capabilities on a free plan. Hyperstone offers a free tier with unlimited seats and all platform features included.

Verdict

Choose BACKND if you want one game-focused service spanning backend basics, matchmaking, chat and persistent worlds, especially for a Unity project. Its breadth and operational integrations are the strongest reasons to shortlist it. Look elsewhere if your game needs generous free database capacity or official persistent-world support for an engine other than Unity.

	BACKND	CleverTap
Free plan	Yes	No
Free trial	Yes	Yes
Paid from	$9/mo	$85/mo
Open source	No	No
Platforms	Android, api, iOS, Linux, macOS, Web, Windows	Android, api, iOS, Web
Free plan	Yes	No
Game engines	Unity; Unreal Engine	—
Remote configuration	Yes	—
Live event tools	Yes	—
In-game messaging	Yes	—

BACKND vs CleverTap

BACKND

CleverTap