12 Best Push Notification Services in 2026

Most "best push notification service" lists put three different products on one grid: the pipe that delivers to Apple and Google devices, the API your engineers call to send notifications, and the marketing console that decides who gets which message and when. A single ranking of those three produces a winner that is wrong for two of the three buyers.

This list covers 12 services as they stood in October 2026, with the prices, plans, SDKs and features each vendor publishes. Where a vendor only quotes a price, the table says so. Disclosure: I build Sequenzy, which is one of the 12. I say where it loses, too.

Three jobs under one name

Delivery. Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) and Apple Push Notification service (APNs) move a message to a device. Expo Push does the same for Expo apps by sitting on top of FCM and APNs. Delivery costs little or nothing, but it stops there. You own the audience, the schedule, the analytics and every journey.

Notification infrastructure. Knock and Novu are APIs your developers call. They take one event and route it to push, email, SMS or in-app channels, while managing provider credentials and delivery records. They are built for product teams, not for a marketer who wants a campaign calendar.

Marketing and lifecycle push. OneSignal, Pushwoosh, Airship, CleverTap, MoEngage, Braze, Customer.io and Sequenzy give marketers segments, campaigns, journeys, A/B tests and reporting. They run on top of FCM and APNs and charge for the layer above delivery.

Quick comparison

Platforms list the channels each vendor documents.

How to choose

• You have a backend team and need delivery only: start with FCM. If the app runs on Expo, use Expo Push so you send to one API for iOS and Android.
• Engineers want one notification API across channels: shortlist Knock or Novu, and confirm the browser push path before you commit, because neither lists web push as a first-class channel in the same way the marketing tools do.
• A marketer must send a campaign this month on a small budget: start with OneSignal or Pushwoosh.
• You need enterprise journeys, a named account team and iOS Live Activities at scale: get quotes from Braze, MoEngage or Airship. Budget from the quote, not the homepage.
• Email already lives in Customer.io or Sequenzy: add push to the same profiles and sequences rather than buying a second contact database.
• You only run a website with no app: this page is the wrong one. Start with the web push guide linked below.

Delivery infrastructure

1. Firebase Cloud Messaging

Best for: Teams with a backend that want to send directly to Android, iOS and web without paying a vendor per message.

Pricing: Free. Google's pricing page lists Cloud Messaging as "No-cost," and the page shows no quota or per-message charge for it. Firebase pricing

Platforms and SDKs: The FCM overview lists six client platforms: iOS, Android, web (JavaScript), Flutter, Unity and C++. It is a send API with client SDKs, not a marketing product.

Segmentation and automation: You target device tokens and topics. Audiences, scheduling, journeys and reporting are yours to build or to buy from a tool that sits on top.

Rich push and Live Activities: The FCM overview does not describe Live Activities. Live Activities are an Apple feature that runs on APNs, so check the APNs side before you promise lock-screen updates from a server path that uses FCM.

Where it falls short: Marketers get no console for segments, journeys or A/B tests. Everything above delivery is code you maintain.

Verdict: The cheapest delivery pipe in this list. Pair it with a service below once a non-engineer needs to send.

2. Expo Push Notifications

Best for: Expo and React Native apps that want one server API for iOS and Android without managing the transports directly.

Pricing: No cost to send. Expo's FAQ says "There is no cost associated with sending notifications through Expo push notification service," with a limit of 600 notifications per second per project. Expo recommends throttling and retry logic on your server to stay under it. Expo push FAQ

Platforms and SDKs: iOS through APNs and Android through FCM. No web push.

Segmentation and automation: None. Expo is a send relay. Your server decides who gets what, and when.

Rich push and Live Activities: Neither. Expo delivers the notification your app formats.

Where it falls short: Nothing for marketers, no campaign analytics and no journeys. You own the retry and throttling logic for the per-second cap.

Verdict: The right delivery layer for an Expo app. For framework-specific advice, see the React Native push guide.

Developer notification infrastructure

3. Knock

Best for: Product engineering teams that want one API for push, email, SMS, in-app, chat and webhooks, with routing logic owned by engineers.

Pricing: The Developer plan is $0 a month for up to 10,000 messages and 500 guide users. Starter is $250 a month for 50,000 messages and 2,500 guide users, with $0.005 per extra message. Enterprise is custom. Knock bills messages, meaning one message per recipient per channel, not workflow runs. A workflow that sends an in-app message and an email counts as two. Knock pricing

Platforms and SDKs: Push goes to APNs, FCM (Android), Expo, OneSignal and Amazon SNS. Web push through VAPID is not in its provider list, so browser push needs another route.

Segmentation and automation: Workflows that fan one event out to several channels, with preferences and feeds. If your notifications come from AI agents, read the notification APIs for AI agents roundup alongside this one.

Rich push and Live Activities: No Live Activities. Payload overrides let you set provider-specific fields such as badge counts and custom sounds.

Where it falls short: Built for engineers first. If the person sending messages is a marketer, check the dashboard in a trial before you commit. Browser push needs confirming.

Verdict: A solid notification API when engineers own the logic. Compare it with the Knock alternatives page or the Knock comparison before you sign.

4. Novu

Best for: Engineering teams that want an open-source notification framework with a hosted option, and that are comfortable with workflow runs as the billing unit.

Pricing: The Free plan is $0 a month with 10,000 workflow runs, up to 20 workflows and up to 3 team members. Pro starts at $30 a month for 30,000 runs, with $1.20 per 1,000 runs above that. Team starts at $250 a month for 250,000 runs. The comparison table lists subscribers as unlimited. Self-hosting appears under the Enterprise plan. Novu pricing

Platforms and SDKs: Push providers include APNs, FCM, Expo, OneSignal, Pusher Beams and Pushpad. Browser push runs through FCM, OneSignal or Pushpad rather than a native Novu web push channel.

Segmentation and automation: Workflows, subscribers and per-integration device tokens. You can run several integrations for one provider, such as one FCM integration for Android and another for web.

Rich push and Live Activities: No Live Activities. Provider overrides for APNs, Android, web push and FCM options let you set provider-specific payload fields.

Where it falls short: Engineering-first, with no Live Activities. Browser push depends on another provider.

Verdict: A good fit for an engineering team that wants open-source roots. For iOS Live Activities, choose a marketing tool below. See the Novu alternatives page for the wider field.

Marketing and lifecycle push

5. OneSignal

Best for: Apps and websites that want a self-serve push console, in-app messages and Live Activities without an enterprise contract.

Pricing: The Free plan covers mobile push for up to 1,000 monthly active users, with web push capped at 10,000 subscribers per send, 3 active journeys and 6 segments. Growth starts at $19 a month, with mobile push at $0.012 per MAU and web push at $0.004 per subscriber. Email is 20,000 sends free on Growth, then $1.50 per 1,000. Professional and Enterprise are custom annual contracts. OneSignal pricing

Platforms and SDKs: Native iOS and Android SDKs, wrapper SDKs for React Native, Flutter and Unity, and web push. The pricing page also lists email, SMS and RCS, and unlimited in-app messaging.

Segmentation and automation: Segments and journeys are capped by tier: 6 segments and 3 active journeys on Free, 10 segments and 5 journeys on Growth, 20 of each on Professional.

Rich push and Live Activities: OneSignal documents images and up to three action buttons. On iOS, images need a Notification Service Extension. Live Activities are included with mobile push, with unlimited sessions on the pricing page, and the setup docs cover remote start on iOS 17.2 and later with iOS SDK 5.2.0 or newer. Live Activities setup

Where it falls short: Reporting history is 30 days on Free and 90 days on Growth, which is short for seasonal planning. Tier caps on segments and journeys push serious programs toward the annual plans.

Verdict: The easiest honest start for app and web push. If you have outgrown the caps, read the OneSignal alternatives page and the OneSignal comparison before you renew. If you want push and email from one vendor, see the email and push platforms roundup.

6. Pushwoosh

Best for: Teams that want push, in-app and email from one vendor, priced per monthly active user, with a free starting tier.

Pricing: Free for up to 1,000 MAU, with push and in-app notifications unlimited on every plan. The Omnichannel plan is $13 per 1,000 MAU. A push-only plan is $7 per 1,000 MAU, which the pricing page marks as a limited offer, so confirm the rate at signing. Email is billed separately: each MAU includes 20 sends a month, and extra sends cost $1.50 per 1,000. Custom plans start when the estimated cost passes $3,000 a month. Pushwoosh pricing

Platforms and SDKs: iOS and Android, web push, and SDKs for React Native, Flutter, Cordova, Capacitor, Unity, MAUI and Expo. The overview lists visionOS and desktop browsers too.

Segmentation and automation: Smart segmentation, a Journey Builder and A/B testing that scales the winning variant automatically.

Rich push and Live Activities: Rich media notifications with images, videos and interactive buttons are listed as a key feature. Live Activities are documented for native iOS (the Live Activities module changed in iOS SDK 6.8.0) and for Flutter. iOS Live Activities

Where it falls short: MAU pricing grows with your active base, and the cheapest push rate is a time-limited offer. Verdict: A strong mid-market option when the MAU unit fits your app and you want email in the same contract.

7. Airship

Best for: Mobile-first enterprises that want one experience platform across app, web and messages, and that are ready for a sales-led contract.

Pricing: Airship publishes no prices. The Experience Platform is sold through a quote. Airship Essentials offers self-serve signup, but its page shows no price, no billing unit and no free tier. Airship pricing

Platforms and SDKs: Apple (iOS, tvOS and visionOS), Android (including Android TV and FireOS), React Native, Flutter, Cordova, Capacitor, Unity, web and .NET MAUI. Web push and the web SDK are documented. Airship SDK integration

Segmentation and automation: The platform lists journey orchestration, personalization, testing, customer data management and reporting as product areas.

Rich push and Live Activities: Live Activities are documented for the Apple SDK and for the Capacitor, Flutter, React Native and Unity SDKs. Cordova has no Live Activities entry. iOS rich media needs a Notification Service Extension, and interactive notifications provide the action buttons.

Where it falls short: You cannot estimate the cost from the public pages, so a small team cannot budget it without a quote. Verdict: Shortlist it if you already run a sales process and want one platform for app, web and messages. Get a written quote that names the MAU count and channels.

8. CleverTap

Best for: Consumer apps and marketplaces that want push, in-app and web messaging in one platform, with a trial before a sales call.

Pricing: No free plan. Core has a 30-day free trial and shows a price of $85 a month before taxes and add-ons. The page does not confirm which MAU tier that price covers. Pro and Ultimate are demo-only. Billing is by monthly active users or data points, depending on the commercial model. CleverTap pricing

Platforms and SDKs: Android, iOS, React Native (with an Expo plugin), Flutter, Cordova, Unity, and a JavaScript web SDK with web push. CleverTap SDKs

Segmentation and automation: Add-ons are priced separately, and AI capacity is sold as CleverAI tokens. Ask which segment and journey features your tier includes before you sign.

Rich push and Live Activities: Rich push is documented on both platforms, with images, carousels and up to three buttons on Android, and a content slider on iOS. CleverTap rich push CleverTap's iOS SDK 7.9.0 adds Live Activities for iOS 17.2 and later, in Swift only. SDK 7.9.0 release

Where it falls short: Above Core, the price is a demo. Add-ons and token pools make the final bill hard to predict.

Verdict: A good consumer-app choice with a clear trial. See the CleverTap comparison before you commit.

9. MoEngage

Best for: Mobile teams with a budget for a sales-led contract, especially those who want iOS Live Activities, including broadcast updates to many users at once.

Pricing: No published prices. Every plan routes to "Let's Talk." The page lists no free plan and no trial. Billing is by monthly tracked users (MTUs), and several features are sold as add-ons with no price shown, including Funnels, Retention and Warehouse Segments. MoEngage pricing

Platforms and SDKs: Push for Android, iOS and web, with SDKs for React Native, Flutter, Cordova, Capacitor and Expo. The Push API sends to Android, iOS and web from your server. MoEngage Push API

Segmentation and automation: Campaigns and journeys sit in the same console as push, with several capabilities billed as add-ons, so price the features you need by name.

Rich push and Live Activities: Push templates include images, carousels and timers. Notifications can carry up to three calls to action on iOS and Android: the default tap plus two action buttons. iOS rich push needs a Notification Service Extension. Live Activities run on iOS only, in transactional and broadcast forms. MoEngage's docs say they need iOS 18 or later. Transactional Live Activity Push templates

Where it falls short: No public prices and add-on pricing make early budgeting hard. Live Activities do not reach Android or web.

Verdict: Shortlist it for enterprise mobile programs where iOS Live Activities and sales support both matter. See the MoEngage comparison.

10. Braze

Best for: Large brands running several channels with a dedicated lifecycle team that will sign an enterprise contract for depth.

Pricing: Braze does not offer a free plan. It offers a free trial and startup programs. Pricing is sales-led and scales with monthly active users and profiles, plus a shared pool of Action Credits for channels such as SMS and WhatsApp. Braze pricing

Platforms and SDKs: Web, Android, Swift for iOS and other Apple platforms, React Native (with an Expo plugin), Flutter, Cordova, Unity and .NET MAUI. Braze SDK integration

Segmentation and automation: The pricing page sells four Platform Editions (Go, Select, Pro and Enterprise). Ask which journey and segmentation tools each edition includes, in writing.

Rich push and Live Activities: Rich push is documented for iOS and Android, and action buttons for web, Android and iOS. Braze push types Live Activities are documented for the Swift SDK, including push-to-start, which lets a server start an activity on iOS 17.2 and later. Live Activities for Swift

Where it falls short: No free plan, and the price is quoted per contract. Small teams will find the floor high.

Verdict: An enterprise choice with strong native coverage. For the category view, see the customer engagement platforms roundup, and compare with the Braze alternatives and the Braze comparison.

11. Customer.io

Best for: Product and growth teams that already send email from Customer.io and want push and in-app messages on the same person profile.

Pricing: No free plan on the pricing page. Essentials starts at $100 a month billed monthly, priced by profiles, with 5,000 profiles included and extra profiles at $0.009 each. Premium starts at $1,000 a month billed yearly. A trial is available, and the Startup Program gives early-stage companies that raised under $10 million a full year free. Customer.io pricing

Platforms and SDKs: Mobile SDKs for iOS, Android, React Native, Flutter and Expo. The Expo SDK needs FCM or APNs tokens, because Expo's own push tokens cannot be used with Customer.io. Web is a JavaScript snippet for tracking and in-app messages. Web push is sent through a third-party provider using webhooks. Customer.io SDKs Web push with webhooks

Segmentation and automation: Push and in-app messages run from the same profiles and journeys as email. That shared profile is the main reason to pick it.

Rich push and Live Activities: Rich push with links and images is documented on Android and React Native. Live notifications cover iOS Live Activities and Android Live Updates, started, updated and ended from your server through the API. Customer.io's docs say the feature is available on Premium and Enterprise plans. Live notifications

Where it falls short: No free plan, web push depends on another vendor, and Live notifications need a higher tier.

Verdict: Best when email is already on Customer.io. Read the Customer.io alternatives and Customer.io comparison pages before a renewal.

12. Sequenzy

Best for: SaaS teams, apps and online stores that want push, in-app messages, email and SMS in one sequence builder at a low cost, with push unlimited on every plan.

Pricing: Free plan with 2,500 emails a month. Push and in-app messages are unlimited on every plan, including Free, and do not use email credits. Paid plans start at $19 a month for 15,000 emails, then $29 for 60,000, $49 for 120,000, $99 for 300,000 and $199 for 600,000. Larger volumes are custom. Contacts are unlimited. Sequenzy pricing

Platforms and SDKs: iOS push over APNs, Android push over FCM, web push, plus in-app messages and content cards in your app. The mobile SDKs are iOS through Swift Package Manager, Android as com.sequenzy:sequenzy-android, React Native as @sequenzy/react-native (plain TypeScript, which runs in Expo Go) and Flutter as sequenzy_flutter.

Segmentation and automation: Segments can filter on push devices and push activity. Push and in-app steps sit in the same sequence builder as email. Push steps report sent, displayed and clicked, and in-app steps report displayed, clicked and dismissed.

Rich push and Live Activities: Push supports images, deep links and platform targeting. Web push uses a tracking snippet, a service worker and a no-code subscribe button that uses your logo. Live Activities on iOS can be started, updated and ended from your backend through the API, CLI or MCP server, and the iOS SDK reports push-to-start and update tokens. Android has no Live Activities equivalent in Sequenzy. Push notifications docs and Live Activities docs

Where it falls short: No WhatsApp, no product tours and no two-way SMS inbox. The ecosystem is smaller than Braze or Iterable, and there is no enterprise experimentation suite. Live Activities are iOS only.

Verdict: Right for a small team that wants push as one more step in the sequences it already sends by email. Wrong if you need an enterprise experimentation suite or live notifications on Android. If SMS belongs in the same sequences, see the SMS feature page.

Websites and framework picks

Two groups need a different lens.

• Websites without an app. Browser support, Safari on the Home Screen and opt-in prompts matter more than mobile SDKs. OneSignal and Sequenzy both send web push from the same account as app push.
• Framework-specific builds. React Native and Expo teams should read the React Native push guide. Flutter teams should read the Flutter push guide. SDK quality, config plugins and token handling differ enough to need their own comparison.

If you also need an in-app layer, the in-app messaging tools roundup covers product tours and in-app feeds. If your main concern is iOS Live Activities, the iOS Live Activities tools roundup goes deeper on remote start and updates.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best push notification service?

There is no single winner, because the category has three jobs. For delivery with an engineer on staff, use Firebase Cloud Messaging, or Expo Push if you are on Expo. Both are free and send only. For marketing push across web and mobile with a free start, OneSignal is the easiest self-serve pick. For enterprise journeys, sales support and iOS Live Activities at scale, shortlist Braze, MoEngage or Airship and get quotes. If email and push should share one sequence builder at a low cost, Sequenzy fits. I build it, so weigh that.

Is there a free push notification service?

Yes, several. Firebase Cloud Messaging and Expo Push cost nothing to send, but they are delivery only. OneSignal has a free plan for up to 1,000 monthly active users on mobile. Pushwoosh is free up to 1,000 MAU. Knock and Novu have free developer tiers with message or workflow run caps. Sequenzy's free plan includes unlimited push and in-app messages next to 2,500 emails a month. Braze, CleverTap and Customer.io list no free plan, only trials or startup programs. MoEngage and Airship do not publish a free tier.

What is the difference between FCM/APNs and a push notification service?

APNs is Apple's delivery service and FCM is Google's, and FCM also delivers to web browsers. Both move a message to a device token and do nothing else. A push notification service sits on top. It stores tokens per user, lets marketers pick audiences, schedules and tests campaigns, tracks opens and clicks, and often adds journeys, rich media and Live Activities. Most of these services send through FCM and APNs underneath, so you pay for the layer above delivery.

How is push notification software priced?

Three ways. Per monthly active user (OneSignal and Pushwoosh on mobile, CleverTap, Braze, MoEngage), per web push subscriber (OneSignal at $0.004 each), or per message or workflow run (Knock and Novu). Sequenzy bills by email sent and keeps push unlimited. Price against your real audience. A big app with few active users can be cheap on MAU, while a large list of inactive web subscribers gets expensive on a per-subscriber rate.

Which push services support iOS Live Activities?

OneSignal, Pushwoosh (native iOS and Flutter), Airship, Braze, CleverTap, MoEngage, Customer.io and Sequenzy all document iOS Live Activities, with different levels of depth and plan requirements. Firebase Cloud Messaging, Expo Push, Knock and Novu do not support them. The iOS Live Activities tools roundup covers remote start and update details.

Do I need a separate push tool if I already use an email platform?

Not always. Customer.io and Sequenzy keep push, email and in-app messages on one profile, and OneSignal and Pushwoosh sell email alongside push. Keep a separate push service when engineers only need a delivery API, or when an enterprise platform already owns the customer profile. If you split the tools, keep opt-out and suppression rules in one place so a user who left push is not chased by an email that assumes they have it.

Related reading

• Best customer engagement platforms
• Best email and push notification platforms
• Best push notification services for React Native
• Best push notification services for Flutter
• Best iOS Live Activities tools