Firebase Cloud Messaging vs OneSignal vs CleverTap for Indian teams: push notifications

Checked 11 November 2026. Every price below was read on the vendor’s own page that day and is quoted as printed. A vendor with no printed price says so; we did not fill the gap.

At a glance

Firebase Cloud Messaging

A team with its own developers that only needs to deliver push messages to apps and wants no bill for the delivery itself.

• What Firebase says: “There's no cost to using Cloud Messaging.” source, read 11 November 2026.
• Firebase pricing page: “Cloud Messaging (FCM) No-cost” source, read 11 November 2026.

Our page on Firebase Cloud Messaging →

OneSignal

A small team that wants a dashboard on top of delivery, starting free and paying per monthly active user on mobile push.

• Free plan: “Free $0/mo” source, read 11 November 2026.
• Growth plan: “Growth Starts at $19/mo For small teams optimizing growth” source, read 11 November 2026.
• Mobile push rate: “Mobile Push Notifications For organizations with up to 1,000 monthly active users $0.012 per monthly active user” source, read 11 November 2026.

Our page on OneSignal →

CleverTap

A product team that wants segments, journeys and messaging in one tool and will buy by monthly active users, with a rupee price on the page.

• Core plan, as the page prints it: “Core Growing teams ready to launch smarter engagement 50% off 6 months 75% off 12 months” source, read 11 November 2026.
• Rupee figure beside the user bands: “Up to 100,000 MAU 100,000+ MAU ₹8,000 ₹2,000 /month Start Free Trial” source, read 11 November 2026.
• Tax and trial: “Taxes apply, excludes add-ons. Billing will start post 30-day trial.” source, read 11 November 2026.

Our page on CleverTap →

Before you decide

• CleverTap: the text of the page lists the user bands (“Up to 5,000 MAU” to “100,000+ MAU”) and then two rupee figures, ₹8,000 and ₹2,000 a month, beside an offer of 50% off for 6 months and 75% off for 12 months. We could not tell from the text which band each figure belongs to, so read the page before you rely on either.
• OneSignal's mobile push line is per monthly active user and the page reads it for organisations with up to 1,000 monthly active users. Web push and email have their own lines we did not copy.

What AI assistants name

We asked three assistants the same 5 buyer questions about customer engagement and push (9–10 Nov 2026, no company named in the question), 15 answers in all. Named in how many: Firebase Cloud Messaging in 6, OneSignal in 5, CleverTap in 13. The names that came up most across all answers: MoEngage (13), CleverTap (13), WebEngage (11), Braze (6). How the Index is run.

Check what AI says about your product

Buyers now ask an assistant which a push and engagement tool to pick. If you sell one, see what it says about you: three buyer questions, about 15 seconds, no sign-up.

Run the free AI check for customer engagement and push →