Replace / OneSignal
Best free OneSignal alternatives (open source, self-hosted) 2026
The best open-source alternative to OneSignal is ntfy or Gotify, self-hosted on Railway. Push notifications you host. ntfy is Apache-2.0; Gotify is MIT — OneSignal without the message pack.
Estimated save $1,200 a year.
Open the stackStart on Railway
How OneSignal compares
| OneSignal | ntfy / Gotify | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Hosted subscription | Open-source or fair-code license; you pay the host |
| Hosting | Vendor cloud | Self-hosted on Railway or any VPS |
| Rough monthly cost | Public list price not verified this run | Hosting only — no SaaS seat meter in this repo |
- ntfy
Apache-2.0 pub-sub notifications via PUT/POST
- Gotify
MIT WebSocket notification server with a web UI
FAQ
- What is the best free open-source OneSignal alternative?
- The best open-source alternative to OneSignal is ntfy or Gotify, self-hosted on Railway. Push notifications you host. ntfy is Apache-2.0; Gotify is MIT — OneSignal without the message pack.
- Is it free?
- The ntfy / Gotify licenses are open source or fair-code. You still pay hosting (Railway or any VPS) and any APIs the stack calls. There is no OneSignal seat or task bill on this path.
- Can I migrate from OneSignal?
- Yes. Start with the workflows or data you actually use, then cut over. The ntfy / Gotify stack page has the agent prompt and the cost table; most teams rebuild the slice that matters and leave old OneSignal links until they expire.
- How do I deploy it?
- Open the ntfy / Gotify stack, copy the agent prompt, and deploy on Railway (one service, PORT, and a volume when the app needs disk). Placeholder: ntfy (or Gotify) as a Railway service with a volume. Bind HTTP to 0.0.0.0:$PORT. No one-click template in this repo yet — Start on Railway. WebSockets stay on /stacks/centrifugo-realtime.
- What does this replace?
- OneSignal. The published small-team estimate on this stack is $1,200 a year.
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