Google Gemini API vs OneSignal
Gemini 2.5 Pro, Flash, Flash-Lite — multimodal + 2M context
vs. Mobile + web push, email, SMS, and in-app messaging at consumer scale
Pricing tiers
Google Gemini API
Free Tier (AI Studio)
Generous free tier with rate limits. Good for dev + prototyping. Data may be used to improve Google products.
Free
Paid API (Gemini API)
Pay-as-you-go per-token. Data NOT used for training.
$0 base (usage-based)
Vertex AI (GCP)
Enterprise deployment via Google Cloud. Same pricing structure + GCP features (IAM, VPC-SC, CMEK).
$0 base (usage-based)
Gemini Enterprise
Custom. Gemini 2.5 Deep Think model access + Google Workspace + Agentspace.
Custom
OneSignal
Free
Unlimited mobile push, 10K web push subs, 10K email/mo, 1 journey. GDPR compliant.
Free
Growth
$19/mo + usage. 20K email/mo included, then $1.50/1K. 3 journeys. Advanced in-app.
$19/mo
Professional
Custom. Unlimited volume, 20 journeys, CSV export, prioritized support.
Custom
Enterprise
Custom. Dedicated CSM, SLA, frequency capping, advanced permissions, HIPAA options.
Custom
Free-tier quotas head-to-head
Comparing free-tier on Google Gemini API vs free on OneSignal.
| Metric | Google Gemini API | OneSignal |
|---|---|---|
| active journeys | — | 1 journeys |
| email monthly | — | 10000 emails/mo |
| mobile push | — | Unlimited subscribers |
| web push subscribers | — | 10000 subscribers |
Features
Google Gemini API · 11 features
- Batch API — 50% discount for async processing.
- Code Execution — Python code interpreter tool (sandboxed).
- Context Caching — Cache system instructions + tools for up to 90% savings.
- File API — Upload large files (up to 2 GB) for multimodal prompts.
- Function Calling — JSON schema-based tool calling. Parallel supported.
- generateContent API — Core generation endpoint.
- Grounding with Search — Augment answers with Google Search results. Fact-checked citations returned.
- Model Tuning — Supervised fine-tuning via AI Studio.
- Multimodal Live API — Bidirectional streaming voice + video (WebSocket).
- Safety Settings — Configurable thresholds for harm categories.
- streamGenerateContent — Streaming variant with SSE.
OneSignal · 12 features
- A/B Testing — Split testing across push, email, in-app.
- Analytics + Cohorts — Delivery, open, click, conversion metrics + retention cohorts.
- Email — Transactional + marketing email with templates.
- Frequency Capping — Limit message frequency per user.
- In-App Messaging — In-app banners, modals, surveys, carousels triggered by events.
- Intelligent Delivery — Optimize send time per user with ML.
- Journeys — Multi-step automations with branching, delays, actions.
- Live Activities — iOS Dynamic Island + Live Activities.
- Mobile Push — iOS (APNs), Android (FCM/HMS) push notifications.
- Segments — Dynamic audience targeting by tags, location, behavior.
- SMS — Two-way SMS in 200+ countries.
- Web Push — Browser push via service workers (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari, Opera).
Developer interfaces
| Kind | Google Gemini API | OneSignal |
|---|---|---|
| SDK | @google/genai, google-genai-go, google-genai (Python) | OneSignal Android SDK, onesignal_flutter, OneSignal iOS SDK, @onesignal/node-onesignal, OneSignal Unity SDK, OneSignal Web SDK, react-native-onesignal |
| REST | Gemini REST API, Vertex AI Endpoint | OneSignal REST API |
| MCP | Gemini MCP | — |
| OTHER | — | Outbound Webhooks |
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