Photon Fusion vs Photon Realtime
Photon Fusion
photonengine.com
Photon Realtime
photonengine.comSide by side
| Figure | Photon Fusion | Photon Realtime |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $0.50/mo | $0.29/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 8 | 8 |
| Spec score · Game Networking Middleware | 8.2 (#9) | 8.9 (#2) |
| Headquarters | Hamburg, Germany | Hamburg, Germany |
| Product | Photon Fusion is a state-transfer netcode SDK for multiplayer games made for Unity, Unreal, and Godot. | Photon Realtime is a cloud-hosted networking service for building cross-platform real-time multiplayer games. |
| Security certification | Photon Engine says it is certified to ISO 27001:2022 and aligned with data protection regulations including GDPR and CCPA. | Photon says its ISO 27001:2022 audit in 2025 found no major or minor deviations. |
| Support | All plans include online documentation, free samples, tutorials, video streams, and assistance with account, billing, and service-status issues. | Photon offers public Discord, email contact and an authenticated support form. |
Plans
Photon Fusion
- Development Only 20 CCUFree
- Free 100 CCUFree
- Premium Cloud$0.50 a month
- 100 CCU$95, paid once
- 500 CCU$125 a month
- 1000 CCU$250 a month
- 2000 CCU$500 a month
- Enterprise CloudPriced on request
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
Photon Fusion
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.
Photon Realtime
Photon Realtime has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.