Implementing multi user chat in iPad App

Question

I have an iPad app. I'm planning to add a group chat feature to it. This means 1)users can create or join a group 2)Can text or send audio clips to other users logged into the app.

I'm looking for pointers on how to go about implementing this. I read numerous articles. I have narrowed down to
1) XMPP (Jabber) and 2) WebSocket based solutions.

I have experience in iOS , but am new to other technologies. What would be a good approach ? Are there any free libraries or SDK's available which would help me as i do not want to go about building everything from scratch and have limited time.

Thanks in advance

Answer 1

I would not implement all of that on my own nor host the service myself.

You should think about using an existing system for this.

(I am not in any way affiliated with the next suggestions)

I have used:

firebase.com

and

parse.com

Both should work for your usecase, but firebase is actually made for this!

Answer 2

In both the cases, you will need Backend server. In case of third party services almost all are paid one but they provide some Free usage like

https://quickblox.com/

https://www.pubnub.com/ - http://www.pubnub.com/solutions/chat/

https://tokbox.com/platform