9 best Expo alternatives & competitors
The top Expo alternatives for push notification, compared on price, free tier, ratings and what each is best for, with Expo pinned so you can measure each option against it.
Updated September 2026
About Expo
Expo
PushExpo is a free push relay for React Native apps, unifying Apple APNs and Google FCM behind one token and one API. The catch is a bare relay with no segmentation, scheduling, analytics, or A/B testing.
Expo and React Native apps wanting free, unified iOS and Android push delivery via one API
- Starting price
- Free
- Free tier
- Yes
- Rating
- N/A
- HIPAA
- No
Company profile
- Founded
- 2015
- Headquarters
- Palo Alto, USA
- Funding
- $69.4M raised
- Team size
- ~170
- Ownership
- Independent
- Reviews
- Not rated
Compliance
Official SDKs
Side by side
Expo vs the alternatives
Sorted by rating · figures as of September 2026
Expo
You're viewing
Starting price
Free
Free tier
Yes
Rating
N/A
Starting price
$19/mo
Free tier
Yes
Rating
4.7
Starting price
$29/mo
Free tier
Yes
Rating
4.3
Starting price
Free
Free tier
Yes
Rating
N/A
Starting price
Free
Free tier
Yes
Rating
N/A
Starting price
$4.99/mo
Free tier
Yes
Rating
N/A
At a glance
What each Expo alternative is best for
- MagicBell
5.0 / 5
- MagicBell provides a drop-in in-app notification inbox and a multichannel delivery API. The catch is a very small company, narrow focus, and per-channel pricing that climbs at scale.
- OneSignal Push
4.7 / 5
- OneSignal is a multichannel platform best known for mobile push, with one of the market's most generous free tiers. The catch is per-MAU pricing that climbs at scale.
- Pushwoosh
4.4 / 5
- Pushwoosh is a cross-platform push platform with broad SDK coverage, including Unity. The catch is a 2022 Reuters report on its Russia-based development that drew US-agency and FTC scrutiny.
- Pusher Beams
4.3 / 5
- Pusher Beams is a simple cross-platform push notification API for iOS, Android, and web, with native SDKs and flat, self-serve pricing. The catch is it does push only, with no in-app messaging, journeys, or rules-based segmentation, and it is now a small team inside Bird.
- AWS SNS
4.2 / 5
- Amazon SNS fans out mobile push across the AWS ecosystem at very low per-notification cost. The catch is raw infrastructure with no segmentation, templating, or analytics.
- Airship
4.0 / 5
- Airship is an enterprise engagement platform for mobile and web push with deep cross-channel orchestration. The catch is opaque, five-figure enterprise pricing and a steep learning curve.
- Apple Push Notification
Not rated
- APNs is Apple's free, unlimited native push transport for all Apple devices. The catch is transport only, Apple only, with no segmentation or analytics and a server you build.
- Firebase FCM
Not rated
- Firebase Cloud Messaging offers free, unlimited push across Android, iOS, and web, and is Android's native transport. The catch is a low-level transport with no orchestration or segmentation.
FAQ
Common questions
The strongest Expo alternatives depend on what you need. MagicBell rates highest among the options here; the comparison table covers price, free tier, and rating, and the "what each alternative is best for" section matches each option to a use case.
Yes. Several alternatives offer an ongoing free tier, including MagicBell. Check the "Free tier" column above; free allowances and limits vary by provider, and some offers are trials rather than perpetual free tiers.
Yes. Expo Application Services (EAS) has obtained SOC 2 Type 2 attestation for the Security trust services criterion. Enterprise customers can request the report through Expo's Trust Center. Expo also states it is GDPR, CCPA, and Data Privacy Framework compliant, with data encrypted in transit (TLS) and at rest (AES-256 or greater).
Expo's documentation states that apps built with Expo can be made HIPAA compliant, since Expo itself does not collect protected health information and poses no compliance barrier. Expo does not publicly advertise offering a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) for its push service, so HIPAA readiness ultimately depends on how each developer handles user data. Teams with HIPAA requirements should confirm specifics directly with Expo.
Expo does not publicly document an EU data residency option for its push or build services. It states that it is GDPR compliant, encrypts data in transit and at rest, and hosts its infrastructure on Google Cloud Platform. Teams with strict EU residency requirements should confirm specifics with Expo directly.
Yes. Expo maintains an official Node.js server SDK (expo-server-sdk-node) that handles batching, gzip, and throttling. A community maintained Python SDK (expo-server-sdk-python) is also available. Any language can send notifications directly via the Expo Push API over an HTTPS POST request.
Often, yes. Courier sits in front of these providers behind one API, so you can route through Expo or an alternative, or fail over between them, without rewriting your integration each time.
Keep exploring
More push notification alternatives guides
One API, every provider
Switch or combine providers without rewrites.
Courier sits in front of Expo and every alternative above: route, fail over, and swap providers behind a single API.
Company facts, pricing and compliance were verified against each provider's public pricing and security or trust pages, plus G2 and Trustpilot, as of September 2026, and compiled by the Courier team. Details change often, so confirm with the provider before you buy.