How much does Apple Push Notification service cost?

APNs has no usage-based pricing; message delivery is free at any volume. The practical entry cost is the 99 USD/year Apple Developer Program, plus whatever you spend running the backend that talks to APNs. There is no paid APNs tier to upgrade to.

Does MagicBell have a free plan?

Yes. MagicBell's free Builder plan includes 1,000 deliveries per month and 1 project, with no credit card required. It also allows unlimited team members and users, making it suitable for small projects or evaluation.

Can I use Apple Push Notification and MagicBell together?

Yes. Many teams route different message types through different providers or fail over between them. Courier lets you send through both behind a single API and switch providers without changing your code.

Apple Push Notification vs MagicBell

Two push notification providers, compared on price, features and ratings, so you can pick fast.

Apple Push Notification wins price and cost at scaleMagicBell wins developer experience and platform coverage

Updated October 2026

At a glanceApple Push NotificationMagicBell

Entry priceFree$99

Free tierYesYes

G2 rating4.33.0

Trustpilot1.63.0

THE VERDICT

Apple Push Notification wins on price and cost at scale. MagicBell wins on developer experience and platform coverage.

Apple Push Notification starts at Free versus MagicBell's $99. Apple Push Notification rates higher with developers (4.3 vs 3.0 on G2). Pick based on volume and team, and the scorecard below breaks down where each one leads.

Which should you choose?

Pick Apple Push Notification

✓If you're building an Apple-specific product, APN is a sure thing for a proper notification system.

Set up Apple Push Notification with Courier →

Pick MagicBell

✓Looking for a service that lets you send notifications in real-time? Use MagicBell

Set up MagicBell with Courier →

Feature by feature

Winner cells are tinted, green where Apple Push Notification leads, violet where MagicBell does.

capability

Apple Push Notification

MagicBell

Pricing

Starting paid plan

$0/mo

$249/mo

Free tier

Free

Builder: free, 1,000 deliveries/mo, 1 project

Pricing model

Free

Tiered by delivery volume (per-delivery overage)

Platforms

iOS

Yes

Android

Yes

Web push

Yes

Desktop

Yes

Capabilities

Segmentation

Yes

In-app messaging

Yes

Journeys / automation

Yes

A/B testing

Geofencing

Rich media

Yes

Developer experience

Official SDKs

Swift/Obj-C (client); token-based HTTP/2 provider API (any server language)

Client: React, Preact, Svelte, JS/web components. Server: Go + REST API (OpenAPI)

REST API

Yes

Event webhooks

Yes

Compliance

HIPAA

GDPR

Yes

Support

Support channels

Developer docs, forums, Feedback Assistant, DTS

Email/docs, GitHub Discussions; Enterprise priority

24/7 support

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FAQ

Common questions

Apple Push Notification starts at Free versus MagicBell's $99. Compare your expected monthly volume against the per-message rates above.

Keep comparing

Related comparisons

Airship vs Apple Push NotificationPush→AWS SNS vs Apple Push NotificationPush→Apple Push Notification vs BeamerPush→Apple Push Notification vs ExpoPush→Apple Push Notification vs Firebase FCMPush→Apple Push Notification vs OneSignal PushPush→

Why not both?

Use both behind one API.

Route Apple Push Notification, MagicBell, or both, and switch providers without changing your code. Courier sits in front of every channel.

Start building free Read the docs

Pricing, plans and feature availability as of October 2026 and may change. Ratings are aggregated from public review platforms.