Yes, OneSignal is free for web push notifications, but with limits. As of November 1, 2026, its Free plan lets you collect web push subscribers at no cost, yet each send reaches at most 10,000 subscribers. Free also caps segments, Journeys and report history. Above that, the Growth plan costs $19 a month plus $0.004 per subscriber.
Is OneSignal free? It’s one of the questions I hear most from site owners, and the honest answer is “free to start”. In this post I break down exactly what the OneSignal Free plan includes for web push, where the limits bite, and when you’d end up paying. All plan details come from OneSignal’s pricing page and billing documentation, checked on November 1, 2026.
Is OneSignal free for web push in 2026?
Yes. OneSignal’s Free plan costs $0 a month and includes web push notifications. There’s no charge per subscriber on Free, and OneSignal doesn’t advertise a cap on how many web push subscribers you can collect.
The catch is the send limit. The pricing page lists Free web push as “Max 10,000 subscribers per send”. So you can build a list of 40,000 subscribers, but a single campaign on Free reaches only 10,000 of them.
The 2026 change to OneSignal’s Free plan didn’t alter this. That change added a 1,000 MAU limit for mobile push and in-app messaging, and OneSignal says web push keeps working under its existing limits. I covered the details in what changed on OneSignal’s Free plan in 2026.
What does the OneSignal Free plan include for web push?
The Free plan includes the core web push toolkit plus a few marketing features with lower caps. Here’s how Free compares with Growth on the points that matter for a website, based on the pricing page and billing docs:
| Feature | Free ($0/mo) | Growth (from $19/mo) |
|---|---|---|
| Web push sends | Max 10,000 subscribers per send | No per-send cap; $0.004 per web subscriber |
| Audience segments | 6 | 10 |
| Active Journeys | 3 | 5 |
| Data Tags | 6 | 10 |
| Dashboard analytics history | 30 days | 90 days |
| Event Streams | 1 stream, up to 1,000 events/month | 3 streams, up to 10,000 events/month |
| 10,000 sends/month | 20,000 free sends/month, then $1.50 per 1,000 |
On paper, that’s a generous starter kit. For example, you get the web SDK, subscriber collection and basic reporting without paying anything.
What are the limits of OneSignal’s free web push?
The main limits are the per-send cap, segment and Journey caps, short report history and data retention. Each one matters at a different stage of growth.
The 10,000 subscribers per send cap
This is the limit most websites hit first. Once your list passes 10,000, a campaign to “all subscribers” can’t reach everyone on Free. You’d need to split sends by segment, which the 6-segment cap also limits, or upgrade.
Segments, Journeys and tags
Free gives you 6 audience segments, 3 active Journeys and 6 Data Tags. That’s enough for basic targeting, such as by browser or country. However, publishers running many topic-based segments will feel it quickly.
Report history and data retention
Free keeps dashboard analytics for 30 days, compared with 90 days on Growth. In addition, OneSignal’s pricing FAQ says that on Free it keeps subscription records active in the past 18 months. Records dormant for longer may be removed. On paid plans, records stay until you delete them.
When do you have to pay for OneSignal web push?
You pay when you upgrade to Growth or an annual plan, usually because your list outgrows the 10,000-per-send cap. Growth costs $19 a month plus $0.004 per web push subscriber, billed monthly. OneSignal counts subscribers in increments of 10, rounded down, and unsubscribed devices don’t count.
Here’s what that looks like at common list sizes (my arithmetic from the published rates, before tax):
| Web push subscribers | Growth cost per month | Growth cost per year |
|---|---|---|
| 10,000 | $59 | $708 |
| 25,000 | $119 | $1,428 |
| 50,000 | $219 | $2,628 |
| 100,000 | $419 | $5,028 |
Note that one person subscribed on two browsers counts as two subscriptions, according to the billing docs. For bigger lists, see my breakdown of OneSignal cost for 100k and 1M subscribers.
Does OneSignal show ads on the free plan?
OneSignal’s pricing page doesn’t mention ads in your notifications on Free. Its Free plan is limited by caps instead, which is a different model from ad-funded free services. If you want to understand that difference, I explain it in do free push notification services send ads to your subscribers?.
Who is OneSignal’s free plan good for?
OneSignal Free suits small sites, new projects and anyone testing web push before committing. It’s also handy if you want web push, email and a mobile app on one dashboard, as long as the app stays under 1,000 MAU.
It’s a weaker fit in three cases:
- Lists above 10,000 subscribers: the per-send cap means you can’t message everyone at once.
- Publishers with many segments: 6 segments won’t cover dozens of topics or categories.
- Long-term reporting needs: 30 days of analytics makes year-on-year comparisons hard.
In those cases, compare the paid Growth cost with other models. My list of best free push notification services covers free alternatives, and the pillar guide to push notification services covers paid ones.
How do you check if you’re within the Free plan limits?
You check your usage in the OneSignal dashboard. Here are the steps I’d follow:
- Go to Organization settings, then Billing, to see your plan and usage.
- Open the Organizations page to see MAU, which should be zero if you only use web push.
- Check your total web push subscribers in the app dashboard.
- Count your active segments against the Free cap of 6.
- If you’re over 10,000 subscribers, decide whether to upgrade or split sends.
Where does LaraPush fit?
LaraPush takes a different route: it’s self-hosted and sold as a one-time licence, not a free plan. Pricing starts from $499 one-time (check LaraPush pricing for the current price), and there are no per-subscriber fees or per-send caps. Subscribers, campaigns and segments are unlimited on your server.
The trade-offs: there’s no free tier, you need your own VPS, and the licence covers one server. So if you have a few thousand subscribers, OneSignal Free is probably fine. Once you’re paying OneSignal every month for a large web list, a one-time panel is worth comparing. See LaraPush features or the OneSignal vs LaraPush comparison.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, OneSignal has a Free plan at $0 a month that includes web push. As of November 1, 2026, each web push send on Free reaches at most 10,000 subscribers, and Free includes 6 segments, 3 Journeys and 30 days of analytics. Paid Growth starts at $19 a month plus usage.
OneSignal doesn’t list a cap on how many web push subscribers you can collect on Free. The limit is on sending: each send reaches a maximum of 10,000 subscribers. To message a larger list in one campaign, you’d need the Growth plan or an annual plan.
OneSignal Growth costs $19 a month plus $0.004 per web push subscriber, according to its pricing page checked November 1, 2026. For 50,000 subscribers that’s about $219 a month before tax. Professional and Enterprise plans use custom annual pricing.
No. The 2026 change added a 1,000 MAU limit for mobile push and in-app messaging. OneSignal says web push and email keep working under the existing Free plan limits, so the 10,000-subscribers-per-send cap still applies as before.
OneSignal says that on the Free plan it keeps subscription records that have been active in the past 18 months. Records dormant for longer than that may be removed. On paid plans, OneSignal keeps records until you choose to delete them.
