How we make this list: we compare pricing pages, product documentation and public user reviews. Ratings come from G2, Capterra or Trustpilot, with the date we checked them.
Key takeaways
- OneSignal leads on free-tier value and developer speed, with a Growth plan from $19 per month plus usage.
- Braze, Airship, and Iterable lead on enterprise cross-channel orchestration, at quote-based enterprise prices.
- Pushwoosh and Firebase Cloud Messaging are the budget picks: Pushwoosh is free to 1,000 monthly active users, and FCM is free with no paid tier.
- CleverTap and MoEngage lead on insight-led lifecycle and Android delivery for mobile-first companies.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|
 Braze | Enterprise cross-channel lifecycle | See website | Free trial |
 Airship | Enterprise mobile-first engagement | See website | No |
 Customer.io | Behavioral messaging by API | See website | Free trial |
 Pushwoosh | Pay-as-you-go mobile push | Free | Yes |
 Firebase Cloud Messaging | Free push delivery for developers | Free | Yes |
 CleverTap | Mobile retention analytics | $85 per month | No |
 MoEngage | AI-assisted lifecycle programs | See website | No |
 Iterable | Email-led cross-channel programs | See website | No |
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
The best OneSignal alternatives
#1Braze
Best for: Enterprise cross-channel lifecycle4.4/5 on
G2 (1,965 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit braze.com
Starting priceSee website
Free planFree trial
Braze is the enterprise lifecycle platform that large consumer brands build around. It orchestrates push, email, SMS, in-app, and WhatsApp from one canvas, with real-time personalization that reacts to user behavior in seconds. Teams with tens of millions of users and dedicated engineers get the most from it.
The cost is enterprise in every sense: quote-only contracts, implementation work, and a platform that expects staff to run it. Small teams will find it heavy and expensive. If your app is at serious scale and lifecycle is a core growth lever, Braze is the standard others are measured against.
What we like- Deep cross-channel orchestration across push, email, SMS, and in-app
- Real-time personalization
- Enterprise scale
Watch out for- Quote-only enterprise pricing
- Needs dedicated engineering
- Heavyweight for small teams
#2Airship
Best for: Enterprise mobile-first engagement4.0/5 on
G2 (83 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit airship.com
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Airship is a mobile engagement veteran with deep push, in-app messaging, and mobile wallet tools. Large mobile brands rely on it for dependable delivery at scale, and its wallet experiences for passes and offers go beyond what most push tools offer. Reliability at enterprise volume is its core pitch.
There is no public pricing, and enterprise positioning makes it heavyweight for smaller teams. Entry is often demo-led rather than self-serve. For enterprises with large mobile audiences that need dependable push plus wallet, Airship is a strong OneSignal alternative.
What we like- Mobile-first veteran with deep push and in-app tools
- Wallet experiences included
- Enterprise reliability
Watch out for- No public pricing at all
- Enterprise positioning makes it heavy for small teams
- Demo-only entry for many buyers
Starting priceSee website
Free planFree trial
Customer.io suits teams with developers who want precise control. Messages trigger off product events through a flexible API, so a user action can start an email, SMS, or push sequence with exact timing and branching. Product and growth teams that think in events rather than campaigns will feel at home.
That power needs engineering time. Non-technical marketers may find setup slower than OneSignal's dashboard-led flow, and larger volumes move to quote-based pricing. If behavioral precision matters more than push speed, Customer.io is the developer-friendly pick.
What we like- Precise event-triggered behavioral messaging
- Strong API flexibility
- Email, SMS, and push from one workflow
Watch out for- Needs developers to get full value
- Pricing is quote-based for larger volumes
- Less push-native than OneSignal
#4Pushwoosh
Best for: Pay-as-you-go mobile push4.4/5 on
G2 (51 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit pushwoosh.com
Starting priceFree
Free planYes
Pushwoosh is the budget-friendly OneSignal rival. It is free up to 1,000 monthly active users, then charges per 1,000 MAU, which keeps early costs low and scales with real usage. It covers mobile push, web push, email, and in-app messaging, so small teams get omnichannel lifecycle without enterprise contracts.
Per-MAU pricing adds up at large scale, and enterprise orchestration is thinner than Braze or Airship. For startups and mid-market apps that want OneSignal-style push without OneSignal's usage model, Pushwoosh is the most direct low-cost switch.
What we like- Free up to 1,000 monthly active users
- Pay-as-you-go beyond that
- Mobile push, web push, email, and in-app in one tool
Watch out for- Per-MAU costs rise with growth
- Enterprise features trail Braze and Airship
- Smaller brand than OneSignal
Starting priceFree
Free planYes
Firebase Cloud Messaging, or FCM, is the free transport layer for Android and web push. It costs nothing, has no paid tier for messaging, and delivers unlimited push, which is why many paid tools sit on top of it. Developers building their own messaging layer get reliable delivery without a vendor bill.
FCM is not a marketing platform. There is no dashboard, no segmentation, and no journey builder: you write the code that decides who gets what and when. If your team has developers and only needs delivery, FCM is unbeatable on price. If marketers need a dashboard, pair it with a tool like Customer.io or pick Pushwoosh instead.
What we like- Free with no paid tier for messaging
- Unlimited push
- The transport beneath many other tools
Watch out for- No marketing dashboard
- You write the code that sends
- No built-in segmentation or journeys
#6CleverTap
Best for: Mobile retention analytics4.6/5 on
G2 (681 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit clevertap.com
Starting price$85 per month
Free planNo
CleverTap combines mobile analytics with engagement, so retention teams can see behavior and act on it in one place. Android delivery is a particular strength, which matters for apps with large Android audiences in global markets. Recent guides put its Core plan from $85 per month, priced by monthly active users.
There is no free plan listed, and larger volumes move to quoted pricing. For mobile-first companies that want analytics-led retention rather than push alone, CleverTap is the insight pick in this guide.
What we like- Analytics and engagement in one tool
- Strong Android delivery
- Insight-led retention campaigns
Watch out for- Core plan from $85 per month by recent guides
- No free plan listed
- Quote-based at larger scale
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
MoEngage runs AI-assisted lifecycle programs across push, email, SMS, in-app, and WhatsApp, with insights that suggest next-best actions for each user. Mid-market consumer brands use it to run retention programs without building an in-house data team. WhatsApp as a primary channel suits global markets where it dominates.
Pricing is quote-based with trial only, so small teams cannot start free. Onboarding takes time to get full value from the AI features. For mid-market brands that want insights-led retention across many channels, MoEngage is a strong Braze alternative at a lower tier.
What we like- AI-assisted lifecycle across push, email, SMS, and WhatsApp
- Insight-led campaigns
- Strong mid-market fit
Watch out for- Quote-based pricing
- Trial only, no permanent free plan
- Needs onboarding for full value
#8Iterable
Best for: Email-led cross-channel programs4.4/5 on
G2 (839 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit iterable.com
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Iterable builds sophisticated cross-channel journeys with email at the center, adding push, SMS, in-app, and WhatsApp around it. Growth and enterprise teams use it for complex lifecycle programs with deep segmentation and experimentation. Pricing is per reachable user and quote-based.
Push-first mobile teams may find the email-led design less natural than OneSignal or Airship. Implementation also takes time at enterprise scale. For teams whose lifecycle starts with email and extends to push, Iterable is the most capable cross-channel platform here.
What we like- Sophisticated cross-channel journeys led by email
- Strong segmentation
- Enterprise scale
Watch out for- Quote-based pricing
- Email-led design suits some teams less for push-first apps
- Implementation takes time
How we chose
We compared messaging platforms that replace OneSignal's core job: sending push, email, SMS, and in-app messages with segmentation and automation. We checked channels, free tiers, pricing models, and scale fit from vendor pages and August 2026 platform comparisons, and we left out tools that only deliver transport without a dashboard, except FCM, which is included as the free baseline. Prices that vendors do not publish are listed as See website.
How to pick a OneSignal replacement
Start with who sends messages. Developers who only need delivery should use FCM for free. Small teams that want a dashboard should shortlist Pushwoosh and OneSignal itself. Mid-market teams that want lifecycle depth should shortlist Customer.io, CleverTap, and MoEngage. Enterprises should shortlist Braze, Airship, and Iterable.
Count the pricing unit, not just the price
Free tiers here are counted in different units: monthly active users, subscribers, sends, and deliveries. A free tier of 1,000 MAU is not the same as 10,000 sends, and a busy app burns through sends fast. Model your monthly volume in each vendor's unit before comparing prices, and check what happens past the free tier: per-MAU, per-subscriber, or quote-based.
Test deliverability on your real audience
Push delivery varies by platform, device, and region, especially on Android where manufacturer battery rules affect delivery. Run a trial on your real user base, not a test list, and measure delivery rate, open rate, and opt-out rate for the same campaign across tools. A cheaper tool that delivers to fewer devices is the expensive choice.
Watch permission and opt-in health
Push is a permission channel, so list health matters as much as tool choice. Ask for permission at a moment of value, such as after a first order or a completed task, rather than on first launch. Track opt-out rates by campaign type, and pause any sequence that drives opt-outs above your baseline. A smaller list of people who want your messages beats a large list that mutes you. Review permission prompts every quarter, since app updates and platform rules change how prompts behave for new installs and returning users alike in every market you serve.
Frequently asked questions
Is OneSignal itself still a good choice?
Yes. OneSignal leads on free-tier value and developer speed, with Growth from $19 per month plus usage and a free plan for small apps. The alternatives here win on enterprise orchestration, on budget at specific scales, or on analytics depth, not because OneSignal is weak. If you already run OneSignal well, switching needs a clear reason.
What is the cheapest OneSignal alternative?
Firebase Cloud Messaging is free with no paid tier, but you build the dashboard yourself. Pushwoosh is free to 1,000 monthly active users with a dashboard included. For a small app that needs a dashboard, Pushwoosh is the cheapest managed option; for a developer-led team, FCM is free.
Do these tools handle SMS and email too?
Braze, Airship, Customer.io, CleverTap, MoEngage, and Iterable all cover email and SMS alongside push, with WhatsApp on several. Pushwoosh covers email and in-app as well. FCM covers push only. If you want one vendor for every channel, shortlist the cross-channel platforms, not FCM.
How does pricing scale as my app grows?
Most tools price by monthly active users, subscribers, or reachable users, so costs rise with audience size. Enterprise tools move to quoted contracts at scale. Model costs at your current size and at three times that size, and check overage rates, since a cheap entry tier can become expensive quickly.
Can I migrate campaigns from OneSignal?
Yes, but plan it as a project. Export segments, templates, and API integrations, then rebuild journeys in the new tool and test them on a small audience first. SDK changes need an app release, so coordinate migration with your release schedule and keep OneSignal running until delivery rates on the new tool match.
Sources we checked (8)
- https://www.braze.com
- https://www.airship.com
- https://customer.io
- https://www.pushwoosh.com
- https://firebase.google.com
- https://clevertap.com
- https://www.moengage.com
- https://iterable.com
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Shihab Mia · Founder, Rankite
Shihab has 5+ years in B2B and SaaS SEO. He writes Rankite's software buying guides from pricing pages, documentation and public user reviews. More about Shihab.