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OneSignal vs Novu
Trust Score comparison · March 2026
Signal Comparison
95k/wkWeekly npm downloads280k/wk
80GitHub commits (90d)340
2.5kGitHub stars36k
9kStack Overflow questions1.2k
ActiveCommunity healthVery Active
OneSignalNovu
Key Differences
| Factor | OneSignal | Novu |
|---|---|---|
| License | Proprietary | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript / Python | TypeScript |
| Hosted | Self-hosted | Self-hosted |
| Free tier | — | ✓ Yes |
| Open Source | — | ✓ Yes |
| TypeScript | — | ✓ |
Pick OneSignal if…
- Web or mobile push notifications without building infrastructure
- Multi-channel messaging (push + email + in-app) from one SDK
- Early-stage product that needs free unlimited web push
Pick Novu if…
- Multi-channel notifications (email + in-app + push + SMS) from one API
- You want user notification preferences and digests built-in
- Self-hosting is a requirement — Novu is fully open-source
Side-by-side Quick Start
OneSignal
import * as OneSignal from '@onesignal/node-onesignal';
const config = OneSignal.createConfiguration({
restApiKey: process.env.ONESIGNAL_API_KEY!,
});
const client = new OneSignal.DefaultApi(config);
// Send a push notification to all subscribers
const notification = new OneSignal.Notification();
notification.app_id = process.env.ONESIGNAL_APP_ID!;
notification.contents = { en: 'Your order has shipped!' };
notification.headings = { en: 'Order Update' };
notification.included_segments = ['All'];
const response = await client.createNotification(notification);
console.log('Notification ID:', response.id);Novu
import { Novu } from '@novu/node';
const novu = new Novu(process.env.NOVU_API_KEY!);
// Trigger a notification workflow
await novu.trigger('welcome-email', {
to: {
subscriberId: 'user-123',
email: 'alice@example.com',
firstName: 'Alice',
},
payload: {
username: 'Alice',
ctaUrl: 'https://myapp.com/dashboard',
},
});Community Verdict
Based on upvoted notes🏆
Novu wins this comparison
Trust Score 79 vs 31 · 48-point difference
Novu leads on Trust Score with stronger signal data across downloads and community health. That said, the other tool is worth considering if your use case matches its specific strengths above.