Push notifications can be seen daily from social media platforms that send you notifications when someone like your picture or when events occurs even from the fitness app that reminds to open it again and workout, so why do business use it and what is it ? A push notification is a message that pops up on a mobile device. App publishers can send them at any time; users don’t have to be in the app or using their devices to receive them, so, we will answer the question of firebase vs onesignal.
In this blog we will take a look of what is push notifications and what is its used and a comparison between the best two providers in the field so you know what to choose when your business needs it, in addition, we will talk about push notifications in general and why its important then we will go through its providers.
Table of Contents
Push notifications
What are push notification?
A push notification is a message that pops up on a mobile device. App publishers can send them at any time; users don’t have to be in the app or using their devices to receive them. Push notifications look like SMS text messages and mobile alerts, but they only reach users who have installed your app and allowed the app/website to send notifications.
What is the use of push notifications?
Push notifications help services deliver timely and relevant information to users.
A recent study showed that mobile users receive an average of 63.5 notifications per day, with most notifications coming from messaging and email applications.
Push notifications at their core are simply a way of alerting users to information that they have opted-in to from apps and services. Notifications encompass nearly every possible use case and type of service, including other communications mediums like email, SMS, and VoIP.
Most used Types of push notifications
- Rich push notifications
Rich push notifications are different from standard push notifications because unlike the latter, they enable you to add up to 3 clickable links on your notification – the notification itself and 2 CTAs.
- Abandoned cart push notifications
At times, a customer adds something to their cart and leaves it there for varied reasons like unexpected shipping fees, long delivery time, or payment failures. Re target lost customers that failed to complete their purchases through cart abandonment notifications
- For-your-information (FYI) notifications
Want to let your users know about trending news on travel? Then send them this travels news alert!. you can send messages on the latest weather report, stock update, brand level changes, updates about their field of interest, and much more.
- Triggered push notifications
With triggered campaigns, you can use push notifications as a proactive medium to follow your buyer’s journey. It enables you to push a series of automated messages based on predefined rules and real-time data collected.
- Reminder notifications
Is a user profile incomplete on your job hunt portal? Did a user add products to your store’s cart and leave your site without making a purchase? Send them a reminder so that you as well as they do not miss out on exciting opportunities.
After this summary of what is push notifications and why its important for your business, lets start with the top two providers of push notification OneSignal vs Firebase, we will declare the pros and cons of each then we will create a comparison table between both to help you understand the pricing and what they offer.
Firebase
Firebase is a platform developed by Google for creating mobile and web applications. It was originally an independent company founded in 2011. In 2014, Google acquired the platform and it is now their flagship offering for app development. Wikipedia
What is firebase used for?
Google Firebase is a Google-backed application development software that enables developers to develop iOS, Android and Web apps. Firebase provides tools for tracking analytics, reporting and fixing app crashes, creating marketing and product experiment.
Below is a list of what Firebase can provide for your Application/ Website.
- Authentication – A Ticket to User Authorization:
- Database – Creation and Managing Databases
- Storage – Grocery Bucket That Store
- Hostings – A Fast with CDN Centric
- Function – Changing an App Behavior
- ML Kit – A Baby That Can Learn
- Predictions
- Cloud Messaging
- In-App Messaging
- Remote Config
- A/B Testing
- Dynamic Links
Firebase Push Notifications
Firebase Notifications is a free service that enables user notifications for Android and iOS devices. Through the Firebase console, you can send notifications quickly and easily across platforms with no server coding required. These notifications can be directed at your individual users; to topics that they subscribe to; or to segments defined by analytics audiences.
Notifications is built on Firebase Cloud Messaging, and provides an option that lets you create a notification platform with minimal coding effort. It supports a graphical console for sending messages, removing the need for you to create a server. With this console, you can re-engage and retain your user base, foster app growth, and support marketing campaigns. If you are currently using Google Cloud Messaging, we highly encourage you to migrate to Firebase Cloud Messaging to for your Android and iOS apps to take advantage of Firebase Notifications.
Benefits of firebase push notifications
- Firebase allows you to Send Notifications Across Platforms.
- Using it, you can fully integrate notification messages with analytics.
- You can use A/B Testing to Try Out Which Type of Notification Message Works well, then you can use accordingly for better productivity.
OneSignal
OneSignal is a service that enables push notifications, abstracting details such as the platform the device is running on. With the OneSignal plugin, OutSystems applications can send and receive push notifications.
Onesignal has become the most widely used push notification service for both web and mobile developers due to various reasons such as:
- Free: supports unlimited devices and notifications without any charges.
- Easy to use: setup push notification in OneSignal is simple and easy to follow.
- Multi-platform support, onesignal provides a single UI and API to deliver messages across various platforms like iOS, Android, Amazon Fire, Windows Phone, Chrome Apps.
- Onesignal provides Multi-SDK support for nearly every major cross-platform mobile development environment.
Benefits of OenSignal push notifications
OneSignal is a service that enables push notifications, abstracting details such as the platform the device is running on. With the OneSignal plugin, OutSystems applications can send and receive push notifications.
- 15-minute setup.
- Real-time reporting.
- Incredible scalability.
- A/B testing.
- Superior segmentation.
- Automated messaging.
- Intelligent Delivery.
- Analyze results anywhere.
Now, for the final comparison Firebase vs Onesignal
Summary
At the end, you have learnt what is a push notification and why you should use it and learnt the major differences between both of OneSignal vs Firebase push notifications, moreover, the decision is yours now to try and use one of them, however, if you don’t like to waste your time, contact us we can implement the notification system your business deserves and that fit.