OneSignal vs Twilio
Mobile + web push, email, SMS, and in-app messaging at consumer scale
vs. Programmable SMS, voice, WhatsApp, email, video — global communication cloud
Pricing tiers
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
Twilio
Pay-as-you-go
No monthly fee. Per-unit pricing for SMS, Voice, etc. Free $15 trial credit on signup.
$0 base (usage-based)
Volume Discounts
Auto-negotiated lower per-message rates when monthly spend grows.
$0 base (usage-based)
Enterprise
Custom contracts, SLA, dedicated support, private hosting.
Custom
Free-tier quotas head-to-head
Comparing free on OneSignal vs payg on Twilio.
| Metric | OneSignal | Twilio |
|---|---|---|
| active journeys | 1 journeys | — |
| email monthly | 10000 emails/mo | — |
| mobile push | Unlimited subscribers | — |
| web push subscribers | 10000 subscribers | — |
Features
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).
Twilio · 16 features
- Conversations API — Unified 2-way messaging across SMS, WhatsApp, MMS, Chat.
- Functions — Serverless Node.js runtime inside Twilio.
- Lookup — Validate phone number, carrier type, SIM swap detection.
- Marketing Campaigns — Via SendGrid; email campaigns product.
- Programmable MMS — Multimedia messaging (US/CA).
- Programmable SMS — Global SMS send/receive with delivery tracking, A2P 10DLC, short codes.
- Programmable Video — WebRTC video rooms + recording + composition.
- Programmable Voice — Outbound/inbound calls, call queuing, IVR, recording, SIP trunking.
- RCS Messaging — Rich Communication Services with verified sender brands, media, buttons.
- Segment (CDP) — Customer Data Platform owned by Twilio.
- SendGrid (Email) — Twilio-owned email product. Separately priced.
- Studio (visual) — No-code flow builder for IVR, messaging workflows.
- Twilio Engage — Multi-channel marketing orchestration on Segment data.
- Twilio Flex — Programmable contact center (cloud CCaaS).
- Verify (2FA) — Multi-channel OTP: SMS, voice, email, WhatsApp, Push, TOTP.
- WhatsApp Business — Official WhatsApp Business API via Twilio as BSP.
Developer interfaces
| Kind | OneSignal | Twilio |
|---|---|---|
| CLI | — | Twilio CLI |
| SDK | OneSignal Android SDK, onesignal_flutter, OneSignal iOS SDK, @onesignal/node-onesignal, OneSignal Unity SDK, OneSignal Web SDK, react-native-onesignal | twilio-csharp, twilio-go, twilio-java, twilio (Node), twilio-php, twilio-python, twilio-ruby |
| REST | OneSignal REST API | Twilio REST API |
| MCP | — | Twilio MCP Server |
| OTHER | Outbound Webhooks | Status Callback Webhooks, Studio Flow (no-code), Twilio Functions (Node), TwiML (XML markup) |
Staxly is an independent catalog of developer platforms. Some links to OneSignal and Twilio may be affiliate links — Staxly may earn a commission if you sign up through them, at no extra cost to you. Pricing is verified against vendor pages at publication time — reconfirm before buying.
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