Table of Contents
In a world where attention span is dropping and people are more likely to forget quickly, that’s where push notifications have become way more effective to engage people easily.
Whether it is a flash alert, a personalised recommendation or any update that needs attention, push notifications really help to make it happen successfully.
That’s why having the right push notification services is really important to drive this successfully and ensure notifications are delivered successfully to the right people. With these tools you can automate and scale push notification campaigns.
Let’s understand deeply about it.
What Are Push Notification Services?
You can call push notification services ‘platforms’ or ‘tools’ that are designed to send timely and clickable messages directly to a user’s device and browser. These messages appear even when the user is not actively using the app and website.
You can use push notifications for mobile apps, web browsers and even desktops. They are designed to drive engagement and inform users about new updates. And, it’s very helpful to retain users and make the most of it.
What Push Notification Providers Do?
A push notification service is a platform that allows applications to send notifications directly to the user’s devices. Push notification campaigns are the most cost-effective way for any business, making it more reliable.
You don’t need to manual code for notifications; instead, these platforms will help you to
- Segment Audiences: Send targeted notifications based on user research, location, preferences or any past actions.
- Automate Campaigns: You can trigger messages based on real-time events like abandoned carts, location or past actions.
- Easily Track Performance: Get analytics of delivery rate, open rate, CTR
- Integrate With Apps And Websites: It also offers SDKs, APIs and plugins for seamless integration.
- Ensure Scalability And Reliability: With these platforms you can send many push notifications.
You will get tech infrastructure, targeting features and analytics to make better decisions.
17 Top Push Notification Services
Let’s discuss the 17 Push notification services that your business needs.
1. OneSignal
One of the popular push notification services that is known for its free tier, advanced segmentation options, A/B testing capabilities, automation workflows and intelligent send timing powered by machine learning.
You can send notifications on the web, app, and mobile as well.
Who Can Use It?
Suitable for startups, small businesses, and midsized teams who are looking for powerful tools without high upfront costs.
Pros:
- Users report going live in under 15 minutes thanks to solid documentation and SDK support.
- Can handle millions of users and vast notification volumes.
- Manage messaging across formats in one place, reducing overhead and complexity.
Cons:
- A few customers have flagged slow or inadequate customer support, which sometimes affects issue resolution.
2. Firebase Cloud Messaging
Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM), formerly Google Cloud Messaging (GCM), is Google’s free cross-platform messaging service for Android, iOS, web, and even Unity/C++ applications.
It’s part of the Firebase suite that includes Analytics, Crashlytics, A/B Testing, In-App Messaging, and more.
Who Can Use It?
- Tech team who are prioritising pure messaging implementation.
- App developers who are seeking a no-cost yet scalable push solution.
Pros:
- Provides cross-platform compatibility that supports android, iOS, Unity, C++, Flutter.
- Provides unlimited messaging across platforms under both Firebase spark, and Blaze plans.
Cons:
- Reports of token errors, scheduling delays, APAC/regional latency issues, and proxy/firewall limitations.
- It has no vendor channel support, and it is less reliable in some regions.
3. Braze
Braze is an enterprise-grade customer engagement platform that goes far beyond push notifications. It enables brands to deliver personalized, real-time, and cross-channel messaging across push, in-app messages, email, SMS, and more.
What makes Braze stand out is its data-driven personalisation and campaign orchestration, allowing marketers to craft highly tailored customer journeys. It’s widely used by major enterprises like HBO, Delivery Hero, and PayPal.
Who Can Use It?
- Large enterprises and high-growth brands needing personalised, cross-channel marketing automation.
- Companies with dedicated marketing teams and resources to maximise the platform’s advanced capabilities.
Pros:
- Provides a powerful personalisation feature with advanced targeting using customer data and behaviour.
- It provides omnichannel orchestration that goes beyond email, SMS, webhooks and more.
Cons:
- Pricing model is a bit on the higher side and not affordable for small businesses.
- Provides a limited free trial.
4. MoEngage
It is one of the leading insight led customer engagement platform that enables brands to send personalised push notifications, in-app messages and SMS.
MoEngage has the strength of AI powered automation, predictive analytics and customer journey orchestration. And top companies like Flipkart, Domino’s, and Trivago are using it.
Who Can Use It?
- It is useful for mid-sized to large companies across multiple industries.
- Brands that focus on retention, engagement and LTV can use it.
Pros:
- Strong AI-powered personalisation: Tailors content based on user behaviour & intent.
- Provides intuitive drag-and-drop workflows for multichannel campaigns.
- It works with CRM, analytics tools, and cloud data warehouses.
Cons:
- Steep learning curve for beginners.
- Smaller ecosystem as compared to giants like Braze and Salesforce.
5. Airship (Formerly Urban Airship)
Airship is a pioneer in mobile app messaging and push notifications, and it provides enterprise-grade capabilities. Also, today airship offers push notifications, in-app messaging, SMS, email and app experience orchestration.
And big brands like Vodafone, Adidas, BBC and Alaska airlines are using it.
Who Can Use It?
- It is helpful for enterprise-level companies that want robust systems.
- Businesses who require global reach, complex orchestration, and compliance.
Pros:
- One of the most reliable platforms for enterprise-level push.
- Strong analytics & data tools with predictive segmentation.
Cons:
- Not ideal for startups or small businesses due to pricing.
- Advanced features require technical expertise.
6. CleverTap
CleverTap made the AI driven customer engagement platform that goes beyond just push notifications. It combines push, in-app messaging, SMS, email, and WhatsApp along with high-level analytics.
You can personalise your messages using AI driven personalisation. It is becoming useful in multiple industries like consumer brands, fintech apps, e-Commerce platforms and more.
Who Can Use It?
- Companies who want to focus on long-term customer retention, churn reduction and lifecycle engagement.
- Mid-sized to enterprise businesses looking for deep analytics with marketing automation.
Pros:
- Strong personalisation & AI-driven recommendations.
- Excellent analytics and real-time cohorts.
- User journey builder makes automation simple.
Cons:
- Pricing can be steep for small startups.
- Platform has a learning curve due to feature depth.
7. PushBots
This is a simple yet powerful push notification platform that is helpful for sending web and app based notifications. If you’re searching for push notification services, you can count on PushBots. And you can use it easily without any technical expertise required.
It is best suited for teams who want an easy-to-use, cost-effective solution without the complexity of enterprise tools.
Who Can Use It?
- Very useful for startups and SMBs who need a simple push solution.
- Helpful for content-driven businesses to send instant updates.
Pros:
- Provides easy setup and lightweight integration.
- Affordable plans for small businesses.
Cons:
- Customer support isn’t that strong.
- Not as feature-rich as MoEngage, OneSignal, or Airship.
8. PushWoosh
Pushwoosh is a multi-channel customer engagement platform best known for its mobile-first push notification services. Founded in 2011, it helps businesses deliver personalised, data-driven notifications across iOS, Android, Web, Email, SMS, and In-App messaging.
It’s widely used by media, e-commerce, finance, and gaming apps that want advanced segmentation and automation.
PushWoosh is useful for omnichannel messaging that includes push, in-app, email, and SMS.
Who Can Use It?
- Startups and mobile app developers who want strong engagement tools.
- Gaming companies for player engagement, offers and retention campaigns.
Pros:
- It provides robust segmentation and personalisation.
- Provides flexible pricing compared to enterprise-heavy solutions.
Cons:
- Steeper learning curve for beginners due to advanced features.
- Pricing scales up quickly with large audiences.
9. PushAssist
PushAssist is a web push notification service that enables websites and blogs to send personalized, real-time updates directly to subscribers’ browsers. It works seamlessly on Chrome, Firefox, and Safari across both desktop and mobile devices. It provides targeted push notifications for better engagement.
It’s particularly popular among publishers, bloggers, e-commerce stores, and SaaS companies because it helps increase repeat traffic and drive higher engagement.
Who Can Use It?
- Really helpful for bloggers & content publishers because they can send instant updates and increase returning visitors.
- It is also helpful for SaaS companies.
Pros:
- It is really good for small and medium-sized businesses.
- Simple to set up and easy for beginners.
- Affordable pricing compared to big players.
Cons:
- It provides a limited free plan as compared to OneSignal.
- Analytics is less detailed.
10. Aimtell
Aimtell is a personalised broadcasting osuh notification platform that helps businesses deliver personalized, event driven messages to their website visitors. So, without doing generic broadcast Aimtell helps you in automated, behaviour based triggers such as abandonment cart, product views and re-engagement campaigns.
It has got popular among e-commerce stores and online retailers. You can send notifications based on user actions.
Who Can Use It?
- It is very helpful for e-commerce businesses and online retailers.
- Digital marketers can run automated drip campaigns.
Pros:
- Provides strong behavioural targeting for high personalisation.
- Great for e-commerce businesses.
- Provides strong automation features
Cons:
- Pricing is a bit on the higher side as compared to tools like PushAssist or PushWoosh.
- It requires some technical expertise.
11. Amazon SNS
Amazon SNS is a fully managed messaging service by AWS that helps you to send push notifications, SMS, and email notifications at a huge scale.
Unlike traditional push marketing platforms with pre-built dashboards, it provides a developer-first, infrastructure-level service that makes it useful for those that want scalability, flexibility and direct integration with the AWS ecosystem. You can also call it as AWS push notification service.
Who Can Use It?
- Enterprises and large tech businesses are helpful for those already using AWS services.
- Helpful for SaaS platforms and developers as well.
Pros:
- Due to AWS infrastructure, it becomes highly scalable and reliable.
- Highly cost-effective with a pay-as-you-go model.
- The AWS ecosystem makes it highly secure.
Cons:
- Developer expertise is required to make the built-in marketing UI.
- Not beginner friendly.
12. Pusher Beams
If you’re looking for push notification services having less infrastructure, then Pusher Beams can be an ultimate option for you. It is a hosted push notification service that is designed for developers who want to send reliable, scalable solutions.
It is a part of the Pusher product site, which is widely used for real-time communication. Beams are especially good at personalised, device-targeted notifications and ensure delivery when apps are idle.
Who Can Use It?
- It is useful for mobile-first startups and SaaS who need reliable push.
- Helpful for developers who want strong API driven control.
Pros:
- Provides high reliability with real-time guarantees.
- Provides a feature for personalised push notifications and targeting.
- Easily used by millions of users due to scalable architecture.
Cons:
- Pricing can rise quickly as the user base grows.
- Not so useful for non-technical users like the marketing team.
13. Iterable
This is a cross-channel marketing automation platform, and it helps brands deliver personalised push notifications, emails, SMS and in-app messages. Other tools help you with only Push notifications but Iterable helps you in orchestrating customer journeys at multiple touchpoints.
It is especially strong in data-driven personalisation, which makes it easy to engage users with tailored content. You can also A/B test campaigns.
Who Can Use It?
- It helps e-commerce businesses to send personalised product recommendations and cart discovery pushes.
- It helps SaaS companies with onboarding and feature adoption.
Pros:
- Provides smooth workflow automation and excellent personalisation.
- Enterprise-grade scalability.
- Strong analytics and testing tools.
Cons:
- Not ideal for small businesses or startups.
14. iZooto
If you’re looking for publisher-focused push notification services, then iZooto can be a great option for you. And it is designed to help media sites, bloggers and content-driven businesses that help in driving recurring traffic and ad revenue.
iZooto is built specifically for content distribution and audience engagement. You can target by behaviour, interests and location.
Who Can Use It?
- Helpful for news channels and digital media outlets.
- Bloggers and independent creators can use it as well.
Pros:
- It helps in boosting traffic retention and ad impressions.
- Provides a good automation feature.
Cons:
- Limited advanced analytics compared to enterprise tools.
- No Free Plan to test out.
15. SendPulse
SendPulse is an all-in-one multichannel marketing platform that includes push notifications, email marketing, SMS, chatbots (WhatsApp, Messenger, Telegram), and CRM tools. It’s designed for businesses that want a centralised marketing automation system without juggling multiple tools.
You can create a drag-and-drop automation builder for customer journeys.
Who Can Use It?
- Helpful for small and midsized businesses who need an all-in-one affordable solution.
- E-commerce stores can use it for cart recovery, promotions, and re-engagement.
Pros:
- The automation builder is simple yet powerful.
- Good balance of features vs. pricing.
Cons:
- UI can feel crowded due to many features.
- Steep learning curve for beginners.
16. WonderPush
If you’re looking for push notification services that follow guidelines like GDPR then WonderPush is the right choice for you. It is known for its simplicity, affordability and fast setup.
As compared to other competitors, it offers unlimited notifications with fair pricing based on active subscribers, which makes it attractive for small to midsized businesses.
Who Can Use It?
- Small to midsized businesses can use it efficiently.
- E-commerce businesses who want to send cart recovery, promotions and stock alerts.
- Bloggers and publishers who want to reengage readers with content updates.
Pros:
- It provides a strong personalisation and segmentation tool.
- Gives unlimited notifications regardless of any plan.
Cons:
- Best for SMBs and not that useful for large enterprises.
- Analytics not as deep as Iterable or Airship.
17. EngageLab
When it comes to balancing marketing needs and developer requirements, EngageLab always comes to the front in the list of push notification services. It helps you in providing personalised, cross-channel notifications by doing strong segmentation and automation tools.
Unlike other high-priced competitors, EngageLab provides you with quality features at a competitive price.
Who Can Use It?
- It is very useful for growing startups and SMBs who want features without a high cost.
- E-commerce and SaaS brands can use it to nurture customers, reduce churn and drive retention.
Pros:
- A highly affordable and powerful platform.
- Provides strong balance between marketing features and developer usability.
- Reliable segmentation and retention tools.
Cons:
- Have small brand recognition and are not as widely adopted as OneSignal.
Benefits Of Push Notifications Services
When it comes to push notification services, it provides a lot of benefits to businesses depending on the set of conditions.
Let’s understand some of the benefits:
- Real-Time Engagement: You can send notifications to your customers or users instantly to share any update.
- Higher Conversion Rates: Compared to emails, push notifications often see higher open rates and CTR because they are direct and hard to ignore.
- Personalisation At Scale: The providers allow you to tailor messages based on data, making them feel relevant and improving engagement.
- Cost-effective Marketing: Push notifications are cheaper than sending emails or SMS marketing.
- Cross-Platform Reach: You can connect with users across devices and platforms without building separate ones.
Conclusion
Hope this blog would have given you enough context on when to use Push notification services and which push notification service is suitable for what kind of businesses.
This will help you in making the right decision to choose the tool for your growth. With changing times these tools are also evolving and make the task of user retention easier.
FAQ
1. What are push notification services, and why do businesses use them?
Push notification services are platforms that allow businesses to send real-time alerts, updates, and personalized messages directly to users’ devices or browsers. They’re used to boost engagement, drive conversions, and retain users by delivering timely and relevant content.
2. How do I choose the best push notification platform for my business?
When choosing a service, consider ease of integration, pricing model, segmentation & personalization features, cross-platform support (web, mobile, in-app, email, SMS), and whether it fits your team’s needs (developer-heavy or marketer-friendly)
3. Are push notification services free to use?
Many tools like OneSignal, Firebase, and PushEngage offer free tiers with limited features. However, advanced capabilities such as segmentation, automation, A/B testing, and enterprise support typically require a paid plan.
4. Can push notifications work for both websites and mobile apps?
Yes. Most leading providers support web push (desktop & mobile browsers) as well as mobile app push. Some also extend to in-app messaging, email, and SMS, giving businesses an omnichannel communication strategy.
5. What industries benefit most from push notification services?
Push notifications work across industries, but they’re especially powerful for e-commerce (cart recovery, offers), SaaS (onboarding, retention), media & publishers (breaking news), gaming (user engagement, rewards), and finance (transaction alerts, reminders).