Waddle vs Hyperbeam
Hyperbeam and Waddle are the same kind of thing: a real browser running in the cloud that a whole room can see and take turns controlling. The difference is who they are built for. Hyperbeam is also sold as an embeddable SDK for other companies to put a shared browser inside their own product; Waddle is built as a place for friends to hang out, with voice chat, reactions and games in the room.
| Hyperbeam | Waddle | |
|---|---|---|
| Shared cloud browser | Yes | Yes |
| Join from a link, no install | Yes | Yes |
| Pass control around the room | Yes | Yes |
| Embeddable in your own product | Yes, that is a core offering | No |
| Built-in games in the room | No | Yes |
| Voice chat, text chat, reactions | Chat | All three |
| Daily puzzles for the group | No | Yes |
Where Hyperbeam is the better pick
Where Hyperbeam wins, clearly: if you are a developer who wants a shared browser inside your own app, that is what they sell and we do not sell it at all. They have been at this longer and their embedding story is the reason to pick them.
Same idea, different customer
It is worth being straightforward here, because pretending a good competitor is bad helps nobody. Hyperbeam runs a multiplayer browser in a room and lets people pass control around, and it works. If you have used it, Waddle will feel familiar.
The split is who the product is aimed at. Hyperbeam's most distinctive offering is an SDK: other companies embed a shared browser inside their own products with it. Waddle is not a component, it is the place you and your friends go on a Friday night.
What that changes in practice
Because we are building for an evening with friends rather than an embed, the room has the parts of an evening that are not the video: voice chat next to the screen, reactions, and games for the stretches where nobody is watching anything.
It also shapes smaller things. Guests join without an account, because asking friends to sign up before they can say hello loses half of them. Rooms can be public or private with a join code. There are daily puzzles the group can do together, which is a thing you want in a hangout and a strange thing to want in an SDK.
Which one should you pick?
Not a hard call in either direction.
- Building a shared browser into your own product: Hyperbeam. That is what their SDK is for.
- Getting friends together to watch, browse and play: Waddle, which is what it is built around.
- Just want to try a shared browser right now with no decision: both open from a link. Ours is free to start.
Common questions
Is Waddle a Hyperbeam alternative?
Yes, for the social use case. Both run a real browser in the cloud that a room can share and take turns controlling. Waddle adds voice chat, reactions and games in the room; Hyperbeam additionally sells an SDK for embedding a shared browser in other products.
Which is better for developers?
Hyperbeam. Embedding a shared browser in your own product is a core part of what they offer, and it is not something Waddle does.
Which is better for a group of friends?
We would say Waddle, because the room is built as a hangout rather than as a component: voice chat, reactions and games sit alongside the shared browser.
Do I need to install anything for either?
No. Both run in the browser and open from a link.