Apple Push (APNS) vs OneSignal
Compare Apple Push (APNS) and OneSignal based on observed push API performance and features
Live performance comparison
Real-world performance data from notifications sent through Knock
| Provider | Notification volume | Growth | Status page updates (30d) | Status page updates (90d) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25M–100M | 3rd of 5 → | 0 | 0 |
| <1M | 5th of 5 → | 2 | 6 |
From July 25th to October 23rd, Knock routed 25M–100M notifications through Apple Push (APNS) and <1M through OneSignal. Apple Push (APNS) reported 0 status page updates over the last 90 days, while OneSignal reported 6.
Response time
Response time measures how long each provider takes to accept a push API request from Knock, including connection overhead and any automatic retries. Lower values mean faster notification hand-off.
| Provider | Median (p50) | p90 | p95 | p99 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 64ms | 107ms | 121ms | 145ms |
| 218ms | 304ms | 335ms | 467ms |
The chart above shows each provider's daily median response time (p50) from July 25th to October 23rd. The top-line number is an average of these daily values: Apple Push (APNS) averaged 64ms compared to 218ms for OneSignal. Apple Push (APNS)'s highest daily p50 was 68ms; OneSignal's was 269ms. Apple Push (APNS) is 154ms faster at the median, which can add up at high volumes.
The 90th percentile (p90) captures the slowest 10% of requests, revealing how each provider handles moderate stress. Averaged across all days, Apple Push (APNS) has a p90 of 107ms compared to 304ms for OneSignal. The highest daily p90 was 121ms for Apple Push (APNS) and 374ms for OneSignal. Apple Push (APNS) handles these slower requests 197ms faster, suggesting more consistent performance across the board.
The 99th percentile (p99) represents the long tail — the slowest 1% of requests. Averaged across all days, Apple Push (APNS) reached 145ms at p99 while OneSignal reached 467ms. The highest daily p99 was 5002ms for Apple Push (APNS) and 1059ms for OneSignal, indicating the worst-case response time during spikes or provider-side congestion. Apple Push (APNS) shows a tighter tail, which may matter for time-sensitive push notifications like real-time alerts where even rare delays can impact user experience.
Error rate
Error rate tracks the ratio of 5xx responses and timeouts to total push API requests. Knock automatically retries failed requests, so transient provider errors rarely affect end-user delivery.
| Provider | Avg. daily error rate | Highest daily rate | Peak error date | Zero-error days | Days above 0.01% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.00% | 0.00% | Jul 25 | 91 | 0 |
| 0.01% | 0.27% | Aug 14 | 85 | 6 |
Averaged across the date range, Apple Push (APNS) shows a 0.00% daily error rate compared to 0.01% for OneSignal. The highest single-day error rate was 0.00% for Apple Push (APNS) and 0.27% for OneSignal. Both providers show similar reliability levels, with error rates well within acceptable thresholds. Knock automatically retries failed requests to both providers, minimizing the impact of transient errors on end-user delivery.
About these metrics: Data represents notifications sent through Knock during the specified period. Response time measures time from Knock to provider acceptance. Error rate includes only provider 5xx responses and timeouts.
Recent Apple Push (APNS) incidents
Recent status page incidents for Apple Push (APNS)
No incidents reported in the last 90 days
Recent OneSignal incidents
Recent status page incidents for OneSignal
Started Oct 15, 2026 — Resolved Oct 15, 2026
Status: Resolved Between 14:31 UTC on Oct 14 and 14:51 UTC on Oct 15, 2026, a subset of apps (apps whose app ID starts with 0) may have intermittently seen incomplete or inconsistent results. The issue affected read requests only. No data was lost, and our primary systems never had incomplete data. It came from a read-only database used for a limited share of read traffic, which we removed from service at 14:51 UTC on Oct 15. Results have been consistent since then. We are adding automated ch
Started Sep 30, 2026 — Resolved Sep 30, 2026
Status: Resolved We experienced a database issue that affected our customers. It only impacted apps which IDs start with e. The team has resolved the incident, and traffic is back to normal. Affected components Dashboard / UI (Operational) APIs & SDK Endpoints (Operational)
Started Sep 22, 2026 — Resolved Sep 22, 2026
Status: Resolved The issue has been resolved. All impacted systems are now operating normally. Affected components APIs & SDK Endpoints (Operational)
Started Sep 18, 2026 — Resolved Sep 18, 2026
Status: Resolved /api/v1/notifications create endpoint is now stable for all customers. The team has scaled up resources to handle increased load on our notifications service. Affected components APIs & SDK Endpoints (Operational)
Started Aug 4, 2026 — Resolved Aug 4, 2026
Status: Resolved The issue has been resolved. All impacted systems are now operating normally. Affected components Push (Operational)
Pros and cons
Apple Push (APNS)
OneSignal
Pros
- Free with no per-notification cost at any volume
- Native platform integration ensures the most reliable delivery to Apple devices
- Supports rich notifications with media, interactive elements, and Live Activities
- Token-based auth simplifies certificate management at scale
Pros
- Generous free tier with unlimited mobile push makes it accessible for small teams and hobby projects
- Visual editor and prebuilt UI enable non-technical teammates to compose, target, and schedule campaigns
- Broad channel coverage including push, email, SMS, and in-app messages from a single platform
- Fast to get started with SDKs, guided setup, and strong documentation
Cons
- Limited to Apple platforms only (iOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS)
- No built-in analytics or delivery confirmation beyond basic device feedback
- Apple's status page has no public API or RSS feed for incident monitoring
Cons
- Workflow builder is tuned for marketing campaigns and lacks granular, event-driven control for transactional product messaging
- Subscription and tag-based preferences model is less flexible than a user-and-channel preference model for complex cross-channel logic
- Separated environments for development, staging, and production aren't first-class, which can complicate team workflows
- End-to-end observability and message-level debugging is more limited than dedicated notification infrastructure platforms
Frequently asked questions
APNS is Apple's native push notification service, providing free, reliable delivery to all Apple devices with support for rich media and Live Activities. OneSignal is a cross-platform push notification service with built-in segmentation, A/B testing, analytics, and intelligent delivery optimization. Apple Push (APNS) is best suited for ios and macos notifications, while OneSignal is geared toward cross-platform push with built-in analytics.
APNS is free to use with no per-notification cost. Apple does not charge for push notification delivery regardless of volume. The only requirement is an active Apple Developer Program membership ($99/year). OneSignal offers a free tier for up to 10,000 subscribers. Growth plans start at $9/month with additional subscribers and features. Professional plans start at $99/month with advanced analytics, in-app messaging, and journeys. Enterprise pricing is custom. The best value depends on your sending volume and target platforms.
Based on real-world data from Knock, Apple Push (APNS) has a median push API response time (p50) of 64ms compared to 218ms for OneSignal.
From July 25th to October 23rd, Apple Push (APNS) showed an error rate of 0.00% while OneSignal showed 0.01%. Both rates are within acceptable thresholds for production push notification delivery, and Knock automatically retries failed requests to minimize the impact of transient errors.
On the Knock platform, Apple Push (APNS) handled 25M–100M notifications from July 25th to October 23rd compared to <1M for OneSignal. Apple Push (APNS) volume has remained stable, while OneSignal volume has remained stable.
Yes. Knock enables you to integrate multiple push notification providers into a single notification workflow. You can use Apple Push (APNS) and OneSignal side by side, route traffic between them, or migrate from one to the other without changing your application code.
Apple Push (APNS) strengths include free with no per-notification cost at any volume and native platform integration ensures the most reliable delivery to apple devices. OneSignal strengths include generous free tier with unlimited mobile push makes it accessible for small teams and hobby projects and visual editor and prebuilt ui enable non-technical teammates to compose, target, and schedule campaigns. On the other hand, Apple Push (APNS) drawbacks include limited to apple platforms only (ios, macos, watchos, tvos), while OneSignal drawbacks include workflow builder is tuned for marketing campaigns and lacks granular, event-driven control for transactional product messaging.
Use either provider with Knock
Knock enables you to integrate Apple Push (APNS), OneSignal, or any combination of push notification providers into a single notification workflow. Manage templates, orchestrate cross-channel delivery, and switch providers without changing your code.