Most apps and online services use push notifications to send relevant data to the user’s device and drive re-engagement and retention. Even though only ~40-60% of mobile app users opt-in for notifications these days, they’re still worth implementing.

Developers like to build stuff on their own. In reality, it’s a lot easier to use an existing system for communication with Firebase Cloud Messaging (GCM/FCM) and Apple Push Notifications Service (APNS). Especially, when your app grows and you have to send thousands, if not millions of notifications. It gets a lot trickier when you want to send pushes to custom segments, personalize the name, localize messages, schedule notifications for delivery over multiple time zones, build automation (drip campaigns) etc.

OneSignal

OneSignal sends high volumes of notifications on the mobile, web and via email. They set a baseline for what developers expect from a push notification platform. With their SDK you can send push notifications to multiple platforms, personalize messages, schedule delivery, localize, A/B test, etc. Basically, do anything a good push notification platform should do these days. And they also cover some corner cases like VoIP notifications and location-triggered notifications.

GetSocial

GetSocial focuses on the entire user journey through its vast number of social features to acquire, engage, retain and re-engage users. We look for ways to make each part of the marketing funnel more personal. Push notifications are a vital part of social interaction. Therefore we support everything a good push notification platform should i.e. multiple platforms, personalized messages, scheduled delivery, localization, support for the latest platform features like images, videos and custom actions, etc. Moreover, developers can capture custom events and design smart automatic flows of push notifications, like “User X reached Level 10 – ask him to invite 5 friends and get a reward.”

However, we believe that push notifications are just a part of the entire suite of social features your app may need. If you want to integrate multiple social features for user acquisition, retention, engagement, and referrals – GetSocial is the way to go. We provide a single SDK for rewarded installs, friends graph, in-app communities, activity feeds, push notifications, automatic re-engagement flows. All in one mobile cross-platform SDK.

Feature Comparison

  GetSocial OneSignal
Engagement: Push notifications y y
Multiplatform support y y
Push notification Templates y y
Push notification localization y y
Delivery scheduling y y
Emojis and rich media support y y
A/B Testing n y
Notification center (i.e. see notifications history) y y
User-user messages y y
Custom data in push (add key-value data) y y
Action buttons inside Notifications y y
Location-Triggered Notifications n y
Background Notifications n y
Web push n y
Email Messaging n y
VoIP Notifications n y
Acquisition: App Invites y n
Install Attribution and Referral tracking y n
Web to App Conversion y n
Deep Linking y n
Marketing Links y n
Retention: Activity feeds y n
Retention: Social Graph y n
Engagement: Gameplay recording y n
Analytics y y
Segmentation and Targeting y y
Custom Event Tracking y n
Rich attribution analytics y n
Third-party integrations y y
Data shared with third parties n y

Conclusion

Although OneSignal and GetSocial both offer push notifications functionality, the services they offer differ.

OneSignal’s core competency is in handling push notifications over as many channels as possible on all platforms you can imagine. If you have customers on the mobile, web, and communicate via email as well, check out OneSignal.

If you’re looking for a universal social service for your mobile app, which includes tools for organic user acquisition, building in-app communities, re-engagement via push notifications, and rewarded referrals – try GetSocial and send us your feedback. Sign up for GetSocial today and we’ll show you how to build a social layer in your app in no time.