FishNet vs Photon Fusion

FishNet is a networking solution for Unity games using a client-server model and a server-authoritative design. It supports dedicated servers, while developers can also run a server and client together for development and testing. Users may choose a host, including self-hosting or player-hosted servers, and the free plan has no CCU caps or paywalls. Its high-level API synchronizes state, logic, and objects; events and inheritance provide lower-level functionality. Built-in client-side prediction includes desynchronization smoothing and Rigidbody prediction, and Addressables support covers network scenes and prefabs. Other listed tools include buffered remote calls, area-of-interest controls, configurable SyncTypes, tick-based timing, and broadcasts. Customizable authenticators can require client authentication before server communication. Communication is unencrypted by default; FishyUnityTransport can enable DTLS for UDP or TLS for WebSocket. FishNet costs nothing. FishNet Pro costs $50, paid once and adds lag compensation and automatic removal of sensitive server logic from client builds. The documentation says prediction collider components currently support primitive shapes such as boxes, spheres, and circles.

Photon Fusion is a state-transfer netcode SDK for multiplayer games made with Unity, Unreal, and Godot. Its tick-based simulation supports client-side prediction and snapshot interpolation, while lag compensation addresses the delay between a client firing and the server registering a possible hit. Developers can choose full-consistency replication or eventual-consistency replication, which uses less bandwidth per object. Available network topologies include dedicated server, client host, and shared authority. Engine availability has qualifications: the product page lists all three engines, while documentation marks Unreal as early access and says Godot early access is available by contacting Photon. Dedicated-server use is described as a headless Unity build and requires third-party server orchestration at additional cost. Free plans include a 100-CCU option and a development-only option for 20 concurrent users. A one-time 100-CCU plan costs 95.00 USD for 12 months; monthly plans include 125.00 USD for 500 CCU. Premium Cloud is billed at 0.50 USD per CCU per month, with a 1,000 USD monthly minimum. All plans include online documentation, samples, tutorials, video streams, and help with account, billing, and service-status issues.