Apple Push Notification vs Pusher Beams

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

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

Updated July 2026

At a glanceApple Push NotificationPusher Beams
Entry priceFreeFree
Free tierYesYes
G2 rating4.34.3
Trustpilot1.61.8

THE VERDICT

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

Apple Push Notification starts at Free versus Pusher Beams's Free. 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 Pusher Beams

✓You need a straightforward push notification API for iOS, Android, and web without a full engagement suite
✓Your team wants native SDKs plus server libraries across common backend languages
✓You want simple, flat, self-serve pricing tied to subscriber count
✓You do not need built-in in-app messaging, journeys, or audience segmentation

Feature by feature

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

capability
Apple Push Notification
Pusher Beams
Starting paid plan
$0/mo
$29/mo
Free tier
Free
Free Sandbox plan for up to 1,000 subscribers
Pricing model
Free
Flat monthly tiers by subscriber count ($29/10k, $99/50k, $199/115k, $399/250k), custom above that
iOS
Yes
Yes
Android
No
Yes
Web push
Yes
Yes
Desktop
Yes
Yes
Segmentation
No
Yes
In-app messaging
No
No
Journeys / automation
No
No
A/B testing
No
No
Geofencing
No
No
Rich media
Yes
Yes
Official SDKs
Swift/Obj-C (client); token-based HTTP/2 provider API (any server language)
iOS (Swift/macOS), Android (Kotlin/Java), Web (JavaScript), Flutter; server: Go, PHP, Node.js, Python, Ruby, Java/Kotlin, Swift
REST API
Yes
Yes
Event webhooks
No
Yes
SOC 2
—
No
HIPAA
No
Unknown
GDPR
Yes
Yes
Support channels
Developer docs, forums, Feedback Assistant, DTS
Email/ticket support; docs and tutorials; standard tiers get best-effort response, Business/Premium tiers target 24-hour response
24/7 support
No
No

FAQ

Common questions

Apple Push Notification starts at Free versus Pusher Beams's Free. 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 MagicBellPush→

Why not both?

Use both behind one API.

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

Start building freeRead the docs

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

Multichannel Notifications Platform for SaaS