The closest alternatives to Firebase Cloud Messaging on Lister are OneSignal, Braze and Airship, the companies that share the most rankings with it. Each is compared below on its stated best fit, starting price and Lister Score.
How to choose an alternative to Firebase Cloud Messaging
Start from what you need it for. Where each fits best, as Lister records it:
- OneSignal: Startups and growing teams prioritising user-friendly interface
- Braze: Mobile-first retention strategies
- Airship: Large organisations needing enterprise mobile engagement
- AWS SNS: AWS-centric organisations building on serverless architecture
- Amplitude: Product led growth companies
- Twilio: Developers and enterprises needing flexible, scalable messaging infrastructure
- Pusher: Applications requiring real-time, bidirectional messaging
- PushEngage: E-commerce and content publishers focused on web audiences
- Segment: Developers and growing tech companies
- Twilio SendGrid: Teams already using Twilio for communications infrastructure
Closest to Firebase Cloud Messaging by the rankings they share: OneSignal (2 rankings), Braze (2 rankings) and Airship (2 rankings).
Free to start, by their stated pricing: OneSignal, Amplitude, Twilio, Pusher, PushEngage and Twilio SendGrid.
Stated starting prices: AWS SNS (0.50 USD per million notifications) and Segment ($120 per month).
Custom or quote-based pricing: Braze and Airship.
Each Lister Score is the alternative's score on the ranking named in its row, so compare scores within one ranking rather than across rankings. How the score is made.
Each alternative in brief
01
Customer engagement platform for all channels
#2 in Top 10 Push Notification Platforms: OneSignal provides an intuitive dashboard for sending push notifications, in-app messages, email, and SMS across mobile and web. Known for ease of use and generous free tier supporting up to 30,000 monthly active users.
PROS- Extremely intuitive UI requiring no technical expertise
- Generous free tier and straightforward per-user pricing at scale
CONS- Advanced analytics and segmentation require higher-tier plans
- Less deep integration with backend infrastructure than pure APIs
92.7
02
#3 in Top 10 Push Notification Platforms: Braze is an enterprise-grade customer engagement platform offering advanced segmentation, journey orchestration, and cross-channel messaging including push, email, SMS, and in-app. Used by major brands for complex, behaviour-driven campaigns.
PROS- Real-time data streaming for instant campaign triggers
- Powerful mobile push and in-app messaging tools
CONS- High cost barrier for early-stage companies
- Complex interface requires trained specialists
90.3
03
Customer engagement platform with advanced personalization
#5 in Top 10 Push Notification Platforms: Airship (formerly Urban Airship) specialises in mobile-first push notifications, in-app messaging, and SMS with advanced personalization and real-time engagement. Trusted by major brands globally.
PROS- Sophisticated real-time personalisation and targeting
- Proven reliability with Fortune 500 brands
CONS- Requires direct sales engagement, no transparent pricing
- Higher barrier to entry for small-to-medium businesses
85.7
04
Amazon's managed push notification service
#5 in Top 10 Push Notification Services: Amazon's Simple Notification Service provides a scalable, managed push notification platform integrated into the AWS ecosystem. It supports mobile push, SMS, email and HTTP endpoints with automatic scaling.
PROS- Seamless AWS integration and pay-as-you-go cost model
- Auto-scaling with no infrastructure management required
CONS- Minimal built-in campaign or personalisation tools
- Requires AWS expertise and separate tools for advanced segmentation
85.7
05
Understand user behaviour to grow your product
#4 in Top 10 Push Notification Platforms: Amplitude is a leading product analytics platform with built-in push notification and messaging capabilities. Particularly strong for data-driven engagement based on detailed user behaviour analysis and cohort targeting.
PROS- Excellent automated behavioral insights
- Scalable infrastructure for growing teams
CONS- Complex interface for beginners
- Implementation takes significant time
88.0
06
API-first communications platform trusted by enterprises worldwide
#4 in Top 10 Push Notification Services: Twilio provides a developer-centric platform for push notifications, SMS, voice and email. It offers extensive APIs and SDKs with excellent documentation, making it ideal for custom integrations and programmatic control.
PROS- Highly flexible API architecture allows custom integrations and automation
- Exceptional global reach with local carrier relationships in 190+ countries
CONS- Requires developer expertise for most implementations
- Pay-as-you-go pricing can become expensive at high volumes without commitment
88.0
07
Real-time messaging infrastructure
#6 in Top 10 Push Notification Services: Pusher specialises in real-time messaging and push notifications with WebSocket and REST APIs. It enables instant message delivery and two-way communication channels, ideal for real-time applications.
PROS- Exceptional real-time delivery speeds
- Simple, well-documented REST and WebSocket APIs
CONS- Smaller feature set than all-in-one platforms
- Less suitable for complex segmentation needs
83.3
08
Web push notification platform for publishers and e-commerce
#7 in Top 10 Push Notification Platforms: PushEngage specialises in web push notifications for websites and e-commerce businesses. Offers intuitive automation, segmentation, and A/B testing without requiring code changes.
PROS- Easy installation without coding; works immediately
- Strong automation rules and segmentation for e-commerce conversions
CONS- Limited to web push; no native mobile app support
- Advanced features concentrated in premium tiers
81.0
09
The customer data platform for developers
#8 in Top 10 Push Notification Services: Segment collects and unifies customer data from multiple sources. It excels at data collection and audience building rather than being a standalone notification service.
PROS- Extensive library of pre-built integrations
- Robust developer tools and API support
CONS- Can become expensive as event volume grows
78.7
10
Twilio's email, SMS, and push notification platform
#8 in Top 10 Push Notification Platforms: Twilio SendGrid (formerly part of SendGrid) provides email, SMS, and push notification capabilities via unified API. Strong for teams that need multi-channel messaging integrated with Twilio's communication platform.
PROS- Multi-channel messaging from single platform
- Strong API documentation and developer experience
CONS- Push features less mature compared to dedicated push platforms
- Steeper pricing curve for mid-market usage
78.7