Render vs OneSignal
Unified cloud for apps, databases, and static sites
vs. Mobile + web push, email, SMS, and in-app messaging at consumer scale
Pricing tiers
Render
Postgres — Free
30-day limit. 256 MB RAM, 0.1 CPU, 1 GB storage. Rotates.
Free
Hobby (Free)
Free workspace. 1 project, 2 envs, 100 GB bandwidth. Includes free Web Services + static sites + dev DB.
Free
Key Value (Redis) — Free
25 MB. Ephemeral.
Free
Web Service — Free
Free (spins down with idle). 512 MB RAM, 0.1 CPU.
Free
Postgres — Basic
256 MB RAM, 0.1 CPU. Always-on.
$6/mo
Web Service — Starter
Always-on. 512 MB RAM, 0.5 CPU.
$7/mo
Key Value — Starter
256 MB RAM.
$10/mo
Professional
$19/user/month. Unlimited projects, 500 GB bandwidth, up to 10 team members.
$19/mo
Web Service — Standard
Always-on. 2 GB RAM, 1 CPU.
$25/mo
Organization
$29/user/month. Unlimited members, 1 TB bandwidth, compliance certs.
$29/mo
Postgres — Pro
4 GB RAM, 1 CPU.
$55/mo
Web Service — Pro
Always-on. 4 GB RAM, 2 CPU.
$85/mo
Web Service — Pro Plus
Always-on. 8 GB RAM, 4 CPU.
$175/mo
Enterprise
Custom. Centralized team management, dedicated support.
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 hobby on Render vs free on OneSignal.
| Metric | Render | OneSignal |
|---|---|---|
| active journeys | — | 1 journeys |
| email monthly | — | 10000 emails/mo |
| mobile push | — | Unlimited subscribers |
| web push subscribers | — | 10000 subscribers |
Features
Render · 13 features
- Autoscaling — Metric-based autoscale of instances.
- Background Workers — Process queue workers. No HTTP entrypoint.
- Blueprints (render.yaml) — Infrastructure-as-code config for all services.
- Cron Jobs — Scheduled Docker jobs.
- Custom Domains — Free SSL, automatic cert renewal.
- DDoS Protection — Built-in.
- Persistent Disks — Attach persistent SSD to services.
- Preview Environments — Per-PR preview envs with their own DB and services.
- Private Services — Internal services not exposed to the public internet.
- Render Key Value (Redis) — Managed Redis-compatible key-value store.
- Render Postgres — Managed PostgreSQL with automated backups.
- Static Sites — Git-backed static hosting with global CDN, free SSL.
- Web Services — Long-running HTTP services with auto-scale + health checks.
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 | Render | OneSignal |
|---|---|---|
| CLI | Render CLI | — |
| SDK | — | OneSignal Android SDK, onesignal_flutter, OneSignal iOS SDK, @onesignal/node-onesignal, OneSignal Unity SDK, OneSignal Web SDK, react-native-onesignal |
| REST | Render REST API | OneSignal REST API |
| MCP | Render MCP | — |
| OTHER | — | Outbound Webhooks |
Staxly is an independent catalog of developer platforms. Some links to Render and OneSignal 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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