Azure SignalR vs Web PubSub for a real-time live score website – which one fits better?

For your live scores, Web PubSub is a good fit if you want straightforward WebSocket publishing from a non-ASP.NET backend; choose SignalR when its client libraries, hub model, RPC, or transport fallbacks are useful. Neither is automatically cheaper during spikes: compare concurrent connections, allocated unit-hours, outbound message volume, and region-specific pricing. Broadcasting one update to thousands of viewers multiplies outbound traffic. Web PubSub autoscale requires Premium and usually takes minutes, so schedule capacity before major matches and keep headroom. Use one backend polling worker, subject to the score provider’s rate limits, rather than letting every visitor call the external API. Cache the latest match state, publish only changes to match-specific groups, and serve a snapshot when clients connect or reconnect. If the provider offers webhooks or streaming, prefer that input. Test a match-day load profile and cost estimate before choosing the production tier.