Expo vs OneSignal
Compare Expo 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 | 2nd of 5 → | 2 | 6 |
| <1M | 5th of 5 → | 5 | 16 |
From January 22nd to April 22nd, Knock routed 25M–100M notifications through Expo and <1M through OneSignal. Expo reported 6 status page updates over the last 90 days, while OneSignal reported 16.
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.
The chart above shows each provider's daily median response time (p50) from January 22nd to April 22nd. The top-line number is an average of these daily values: Expo averaged 42ms compared to 225ms for OneSignal. Expo's highest daily p50 was 46ms; OneSignal's was 240ms. Expo is 183ms 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, Expo has a p90 of 70ms compared to 334ms for OneSignal. The highest daily p90 was 92ms for Expo and 401ms for OneSignal. Expo handles these slower requests 264ms 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, Expo reached 383ms at p99 while OneSignal reached 545ms. The highest daily p99 was 2076ms for Expo and 15133ms for OneSignal, indicating the worst-case response time during spikes or provider-side congestion. Expo 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% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.20% | 10.72% | Apr 9 | 48 | 24 |
| 0.13% | 2.88% | Apr 13 | 81 | 7 |
Averaged across the date range, Expo shows a 0.20% daily error rate compared to 0.13% for OneSignal. The highest single-day error rate was 10.72% for Expo This peak coincided with a major incident reported on Expo's status page (Some push notifications are not being delivered). and 2.88% for OneSignal. OneSignal demonstrates a lower error rate, indicating slightly more consistent availability during this period. 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 Expo incidents
Recent status page incidents for Expo
Started Apr 13, 2026 — Resolved Apr 13, 2026
Push notification delivery has returned to normal.
Started Apr 9, 2026 — Resolved Apr 9, 2026
The Expo push notification service suffered from partial unavailability due to an outage of one of our cache servers. Specifically, we deployed a change that optimized our cache entries to be more compact to improve the performance and efficiency of our caches. However, the cache could not handle the load from evicting the old entries. Clearing the cache solved the problem.
Started Feb 24, 2026 — Resolved Feb 24, 2026
The issue with Android and iOS push notification delivery has been resolved. All queued notifications have been delivered.
Started Feb 18, 2026 — Resolved Feb 18, 2026
This incident has been resolved.
Started Feb 17, 2026 — Resolved Feb 21, 2026
Insights charts are receiving data once more as of February 20, 5:10pm PT.
Recent OneSignal incidents
Recent status page incidents for OneSignal
Started Apr 13, 2026 — Resolved Apr 13, 2026
Status: Resolved Incident is resolved. Affected components Dashboard / UI (Operational) Email (Operational) SMS (Operational) In-App Messages (Operational) Push (Operational)
Started Apr 9, 2026 — Resolved Apr 9, 2026
Status: Resolved The issue has been resolved. All impacted systems are now operating normally. Affected components Analytics & Reporting (Operational) Dashboard / UI (Operational)
Started Apr 9, 2026 — Resolved Apr 9, 2026
Status: Resolved The issue has been resolved. All impacted systems are now operating normally. Affected components Dashboard / UI (Operational) APIs & SDK Endpoints (Operational)
Started Apr 9, 2026 — Resolved Apr 9, 2026
Status: Resolved The issue has been resolved. All impacted systems are now operating normally. Affected components Dashboard / UI (Operational) APIs & SDK Endpoints (Operational)
Started Apr 1, 2026 — Resolved Apr 1, 2026
Status: Resolved Our engineering team identified the issue internally and has completed the necessary mitigation and resolution steps. Affected components In-App Messages (Operational) Journeys (Operational) Push (Operational) Dashboard / UI (Operational) Email (Operational) Integrations (Operational) APIs & SDK Endpoints (Operational) SMS (Operational) Analytics & Reporting (Operational)
Pros and cons
Expo
OneSignal
Pros
- Simplifies push for React Native apps by abstracting away APNS and FCM complexity
- Free push notification delivery with no per-message costs
- Receipt tracking enables monitoring delivery success and debugging failures
- No need to manage platform-specific credentials or certificates
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
- Tied to the Expo ecosystem; apps ejected from Expo lose some push conveniences
- Platform features beyond push (EAS Build, EAS Update) require a paid plan at scale
- Adds a proxy layer between your app and APNS/FCM, which can increase latency
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
What is the difference between Expo and OneSignal?
Expo provides a unified push notification API for React Native apps, abstracting away APNS and FCM complexity with free delivery and built-in receipt tracking. OneSignal is a cross-platform push notification service with built-in segmentation, A/B testing, analytics, and intelligent delivery optimization. Expo is best suited for react native and expo apps, while OneSignal is geared toward cross-platform push with built-in analytics.
Which is cheaper, Expo or OneSignal?
Expo push notifications are free with no per-message cost. The broader Expo platform has paid tiers: Production at $99/month and Enterprise at $999/month, which include EAS Build, EAS Update, and priority support. Push notification delivery itself has no additional cost at any tier. 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.
Which is faster, Expo or OneSignal?
Based on real-world data from Knock, Expo has a median push API response time (p50) of 42ms compared to 225ms for OneSignal.
Which is more reliable, Expo or OneSignal?
From January 22nd to April 22nd, Expo showed an error rate of 0.20% while OneSignal showed 0.13%. Both rates are within acceptable thresholds for production push notification delivery, and Knock automatically retries failed requests to minimize the impact of transient errors.
Which is more popular, Expo or OneSignal?
On the Knock platform, Expo handled 25M–100M notifications from January 22nd to April 22nd compared to <1M for OneSignal. Expo volume has remained stable, while OneSignal volume has remained stable.
Can I use both Expo and OneSignal together?
Yes. Knock enables you to integrate multiple push notification providers into a single notification workflow. You can use Expo and OneSignal side by side, route traffic between them, or migrate from one to the other without changing your application code.
What are the main pros and cons of Expo vs OneSignal?
Expo strengths include simplifies push for react native apps by abstracting away apns and fcm complexity and free push notification delivery with no per-message costs. 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, Expo drawbacks include tied to the expo ecosystem; apps ejected from expo lose some push conveniences, 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 Expo, 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.