Comparison

ws vs sockjs

WebSockets and realtimePackage data 25 Sept 2026

The two packages

wsv8.21.3, 7 Aug 2026

Simple to use, blazing fast and thoroughly tested websocket client and server for Node.js

$ npm install ws

sockjsv0.3.24, 3 Dec 2021

SockJS-node is a server counterpart of SockJS-client a JavaScript library that provides a WebSocket-like object in the browser. SockJS gives you a coherent, cross-browser, Javascript API which creates a low latency, full duplex, cross-domain communication

$ npm install sockjs

At a glance

Metric	ws	sockjs	Difference
Weekly downloads	201,592,878	13,850,657	ws 14.6x higher
12-month download growth	+104%	+6%	ws +98 pts
Gzip size	-	-	-
Minified size	-	-	-
Dependencies	0	3	sockjs 3 more
Unpacked size	147 kB	81 kB	sockjs 1.8x smaller
Latest release	8.21.3, 7 Aug 2026	0.3.24, 3 Dec 2021	ws 4.7 years more recent
Releases, last 12 months	16	0	ws 16 more
First published	4 Dec 2011	11 Aug 2011	sockjs 4 months earlier
GitHub stars	22,806	2,099	ws 10.9x higher
Open issues	5	16	sockjs 11 more
Open pull requests	0	2	sockjs 2 more
Contributors	213	-	-
Commits, last 52 weeks	38	10	ws 3.8x higher
TypeScript types	None	None	Same
Module format	ESM + CommonJS	CommonJS	Differs
Runtimes	-	-	-
License	MIT	MIT	Same

Green marks the smaller size or the more recent release. Bold marks the higher count, with no judgement implied. Sizes are for the whole package per Bundlephobia. Growth compares the average of the last 4 weeks with the first 4 weeks of the 52-week series.

Downloads over 52 weeks

ws201.6m latest weeksockjs13.9m latest week

Week of 23 Sept 2025Week of 15 Sept 2026

Weekly npm downloads, 52 weeks. Y axis starts at zero. Values are not smoothed.

Release history

ws

Major versions

0.2.64 Dec 2011
1.0.030 Dec 2015
2.0.030 Jan 2017
3.0.017 May 2017
4.0.05 Jan 2018
5.0.06 Mar 2018
6.0.021 Jul 2018
7.0.030 Apr 2019
8.0.028 Jul 2021

Last 5 releases

8.21.37 Aug 2026
8.21.23 Aug 2026
7.5.1317 Jul 2026
6.2.617 Jul 2026
5.2.717 Jul 2026

181 releases in total, 16 in the last 12 months

sockjs

Major versions

0.0.117 Aug 2011

Last 5 releases

0.3.243 Dec 2021
0.3.233 Dec 2021
0.3.223 Dec 2021
0.3.2131 Jul 2020
0.3.209 Mar 2020

34 releases in total, 0 in the last 12 months

Need no runtime dependenciesws (ws has 0, sockjs has 3)
Need both ESM and CommonJS entry pointsws (ws: ESM + CommonJS; sockjs: CommonJS)
Need to load it with require()Both
Need TypeScript types in the package itselfNeither (ws: None; sockjs: None)
Node.js version requirementws: >=10.0.0; sockjs: none declared (engines field in package.json)
Need the more recent releasews (8.21.3 on 7 Aug 2026 vs 0.3.24 on 3 Dec 2021)
Higher weekly npm downloadsws (201.6m vs 13.9m)