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OneSignal vs Novu(2026)

OneSignal is better for teams that need generous free tier (unlimited push). Novu is the stronger choice if open source. OneSignal is freemium (from $9/month) and Novu is open-source (from $250/month (cloud)).

Full feature breakdown, pricing details, and pros & cons below.

By Bikram Nath

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OneSignal logo

OneSignal

freemium

OneSignal is a multi-channel messaging platform for push notifications, in-app messages, email, and SMS.

Starting at $9/month

Visit OneSignal
Novu logo

Novu

open-source

Novu is an open source notification infrastructure for managing in-app, email, SMS, push, and chat notifications via a single API.

Starting at $250/month (cloud)

Visit Novu

How Do OneSignal and Novu Compare on Features?

FeatureOneSignalNovu
Pricing modelfreemiumopen-source
Starting price$9/month$250/month (cloud)
Push notifications✓—
In-app messages✓—
Email✓—
SMS✓—
A/B testing✓—
Audience segmentation✓—
Multi-channel notifications—✓
In-app notification center—✓
Workflow builder—✓
Digest & batching—✓
Subscriber management—✓
Provider-agnostic—✓

OneSignal Pros and Cons vs Novu

O

OneSignal

+Generous free tier (unlimited push)
+Easy mobile SDK integration
+Good segmentation
+Wide platform support
−Not developer-API-first
−Privacy concerns raised by some
−Limited workflow complexity vs Knock
N

Novu

+Open source
+Multi-channel (email, SMS, push, in-app)
+Self-hostable
+Good workflow builder
−Complex for simple use cases
−Cloud pricing is high
−Still maturing

Should You Use OneSignal or Novu?

For most teams, Novu is the better default: it offers open source and is open-source (from $250/month (cloud)). Choose OneSignal instead if generous free tier (unlimited push) matters more than complex for simple use cases. There is no universal winner — the right pick depends on your budget, team size, and whether you value generous free tier (unlimited push) or open source more.

Choose OneSignal if…

  • •Generous free tier (unlimited push)
  • •Easy mobile SDK integration
  • •Good segmentation

Choose Novu if…

  • •Open source
  • •Multi-channel (email, SMS, push, in-app)
  • •Self-hostable

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