Best Solution for Handling Large WebSocket Chat in Laravel API + Vue 3?

Hi everyone,

I'm working on a Laravel API + Vue 3 application and I built a real-time chat system from scratch using WebSockets. Currently, my setup relies on Pusher, but when a conversation has around 40 participants, WebSocket performance degrades significantly.

I’m considering upgrading from Laravel 9 to Laravel 11 and switching to Laravel Reverb to handle WebSockets natively. However, I’m wondering whether I should also integrate Redis for improved scalability.

My main concerns are:

1. Would Laravel Reverb alone be enough to handle 200+ users in a single chat room efficiently?
2. Would adding Redis improve performance and scalability, especially in a multi-server setup?
3. Is there a better approach to handling large-scale WebSocket-based chat in Laravel?
4. Are there any existing packages that you’d recommend instead of maintaining my custom-built chat system?
5. I’d love to hear your thoughts! If anyone has experience with high-concurrency WebSocket chat systems, what setup worked best for you?

Thanks in advance!