Firebase FCM vs Pusher Beams

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

Firebase FCM wins price and featuresPusher Beams wins developer experience

Updated July 2026

At a glanceFirebase FCMPusher Beams
Entry priceFreeFree
Free tierYesYes
G2 rating4.54.3
Trustpilot3.41.8

THE VERDICT

Firebase FCM wins on price and features. Pusher Beams wins on developer experience.

Firebase FCM starts at Free versus Pusher Beams's Free. Firebase FCM rates higher with developers (4.5 vs 4.3 on G2). Pick based on volume and team, and the scorecard below breaks down where each one leads.

Which should you choose?

Pick Firebase FCM

✓If you're a developer looking to send multiple messages reliably and save money, FCM is perfect for you.
Set up Firebase FCM 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 Firebase FCM leads, violet where Pusher Beams does.

capability
Firebase FCM
Pusher Beams
Starting paid plan
$0/mo
$29/mo
Free tier
Unlimited (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
Yes
Yes
Web push
Yes
Yes
Desktop
Yes
Yes
Segmentation
Yes
Yes
In-app messaging
Yes
No
Journeys / automation
No
No
A/B testing
Yes
No
Geofencing
No
No
Rich media
Yes
Yes
Official SDKs
iOS, Android, Web, Flutter, Unity, C++; Admin SDK: Node, Java, Python, Go, C#
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
Yes
No
HIPAA
No
Unknown
GDPR
Yes
Yes
Support channels
Docs & community (paid via GCP support)
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

Firebase FCM 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 Firebase FCMPush→Apple Push Notification vs Firebase FCMPush→AWS SNS vs Firebase FCMPush→Beamer vs Firebase FCMPush→Expo vs Firebase FCMPush→Firebase FCM vs MagicBellPush→

Why not both?

Use both behind one API.

Route Firebase FCM, 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. Firebase FCM is a Google product.

Multichannel Notifications Platform for SaaS