Comparison

Azure PlayFab vs Photon Engine

	Azure PlayFab	Photon Engine
What it says it does	Azure PlayFabPlayFab is the complete backend platform for live games. Build cross-platform multiplayer, LiveOps, economy, and player identity services. Free to start.	Photon EngineBuild and scale real-time multiplayer games with Photon Fusion, Quantum, Realtime, Voice and Chat. Trusted by thousands of studios. Start free.
Pricing	Azure PlayFabDevelopment Mode free (up to 10 titles, up to 1,000 lifetime players per title); Pay-as-you-go $0/mo plus metered usage; Standard $99/mo with included meters; Premium $1,999/mo; Foundation Mode included free for titles shipping on Xbox (official)	Photon EngineFusion: free 20 CCU for development; free 100 CCU for one launched app; 100 CCU $95 one-time for 12 months; 500 CCU $125/mo; 1,000 CCU $250/mo; 2,000 CCU $500/mo; Premium $0.50 per CCU ($1,000/mo minimum); extra traffic $0.05-$0.10/GB (official)
Website	Azure PlayFabhttps://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/games/products/playfab/	Photon Enginehttps://www.photonengine.com/

Which tool for which job

Azure PlayFab wins when you want hosted player accounts, economy and LiveOps with a free start, especially if you ship on Xbox.

Photon Engine wins when you want managed multiplayer networking with a free tier to prototype and launch small.