A push notification service costs anywhere from $0 to several thousand dollars a year, depending on your list size and pricing model. To compare free, one-time and monthly plans fairly, use one push notification cost calculator formula: 3-year cost = upfront fee + (monthly fee × 36) + hosting. At 100,000 subscribers, that ranges from about $931 to over $15,000.
Monthly prices are hard to compare with a one-time licence, because one is a stream and the other is a lump sum. So I put everything on the same timeline: three years. In this post you’ll get the formula, a worked table at four list sizes, a break-even calculation and a blank worksheet you can fill in. All vendor prices come from their own pricing pages, checked on Oct 31, 2026, excluding tax.
How do you calculate the cost of a push notification service?
You calculate the cost of a push notification service by adding every payment over the same period. I use 36 months, because that’s long enough for a one-time licence to show its value and short enough to plan around.
The push notification cost calculator formula is:
- 3-year cost = upfront fee + (monthly fee × 36) + (monthly hosting × 36)
For a SaaS plan, the upfront fee is usually $0 and hosting is $0, so it’s just the monthly fee times 36. For a self-hosted licence, the monthly fee is $0, but you add your server. For a free plan, everything is $0 until you pass its limit.
What inputs does a push notification cost calculator need?
You need four numbers before the formula is useful. Gather them first, because guessing any of them skews the result.
- Count your current web push subscribers, then estimate the count in 12 and 36 months.
- Find each vendor’s price at those counts on its own pricing page.
- Note any upfront fee, such as a one-time licence.
- Add hosting if you self-host, using your host’s published price.
Growth matters most. A free plan that fits today may not fit in year two. So I always price the plan you’ll be on at the end of the period, not the start.
What does push notification cost over 3 years at different list sizes?
Here’s the formula applied to four list sizes, using published prices checked on Oct 31, 2026. It assumes a flat list size for the whole period to keep the maths simple.
| Subscribers | Webpushr (tiers) | OneSignal Growth | WonderPush | LaraPush Startup + $12/mo VPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10,000 | $0 (free tier) | $2,124 ($59/mo) | about €360 (€10/mo) | $931 |
| 50,000 | $1,044 ($29/mo) | $7,884 ($219/mo) | about €1,800 (€50/mo) | $931 |
| 100,000 | $1,764 ($49/mo) | $15,084 ($419/mo) | about €3,600 (€100/mo) | $931 |
| 250,000 | Custom quote | $36,684 ($1,019/mo) | about €9,000 (€250/mo) | $931 (size the server up) |
The sources are Webpushr pricing (free to 10K, $29 to 50K, $49 to 100K, custom above 150K), OneSignal pricing ($19 a month plus $0.004 per web push subscriber), WonderPush pricing (€1 per 1,000 subscribers) and LaraPush pricing ($499 one-time Startup licence). OneSignal’s Free plan can also cover 10,000 subscribers at $0, with a cap of 10,000 subscribers per send.
The $12 VPS is my assumption, based on a DigitalOcean Basic Droplet with 2 GiB RAM at $12 a month. A larger list may need a bigger server, so adjust the hosting line.
How do you calculate the break-even point for a one-time licence?
The break-even point is the month when a one-time licence becomes cheaper than a monthly plan. Use this formula:
- Break-even months = upfront fee ÷ (monthly SaaS fee − monthly hosting)
Here’s how that works out against LaraPush Startup at $499 with a $12 server:
| Compared with | Monthly fee | Break-even |
|---|---|---|
| Webpushr at 50,000 subscribers | $29 | about 29 months |
| Webpushr at 100,000 subscribers | $49 | about 13.5 months |
| WonderPush at 100,000 subscribers | about €100 | about 5 to 6 months (depends on the EUR/USD rate) |
| OneSignal Growth at 100,000 subscribers | about $419 | about 1.2 months |
In short, the bigger the monthly bill, the faster a one-time licence pays for itself. Below about 10,000 subscribers, though, a free tier never breaks even against anything, because it costs nothing.
What costs does a simple calculator miss?
A simple calculator misses costs that don’t appear on pricing pages. I add these as notes beside the number:
- Your time: self-hosting means server updates, backups and monitoring.
- Support length: LaraPush Startup includes 6 months of support and Pro includes 12 months.
- Major upgrades: on LaraPush, major version upgrades are a separate, optional paid upgrade.
- Price changes: SaaS prices can rise at renewal, and intro discounts may end.
- Switching cost: moving providers can mean re-collecting subscribers, so lock-in has a price.
- Ads: an ad-supported free plan costs $0 but sends ads to your subscribers.
None of these are in the table, so weigh them against the gap in dollars. For more on hosting, see the actual cost of running a push notification server.
Can you use a blank worksheet to run your own numbers?
Yes. Copy this worksheet, fill in your own prices and list size, and compare the totals.
| Line | Option A | Option B | Option C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upfront fee | |||
| Monthly fee × 36 | |||
| Monthly hosting × 36 | |||
| Add-ons or upgrades | |||
| 3-year total |
Fill it in at your expected list size in year three. If two options are within 10 to 20%, choose on features, data ownership and support instead. Our guide to push notification pricing models explains each billing unit, and self-hosted vs SaaS push notifications covers the non-price trade-offs.
Where does LaraPush fit?
LaraPush is the one-time column in this calculator. It’s a self-hosted web push panel with a one-time licence: Startup $499 and Pro $799, excluding tax, with unlimited subscribers and domains on one licensed server. Installation is free. However, it has no free plan, and you pay for and look after your own VPS. If your 3-year number favours it, compare plan contents on the LaraPush features page and current prices on the pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
It ranges from $0 on a free tier to several thousand dollars a year. At 100,000 web push subscribers, published prices on Oct 31, 2026 work out to $588 a year on Webpushr and about $5,028 on OneSignal Growth. A one-time licence like LaraPush costs $499 once plus hosting.
Use 3-year cost = upfront fee + (monthly fee × 36) + (monthly hosting × 36). For SaaS plans the upfront fee and hosting are usually zero. For self-hosted software, the monthly fee is zero, but you add your server.
Divide the upfront fee by the monthly SaaS fee minus your monthly hosting. For example, a $499 licence with a $12 server breaks even in about 13.5 months against a $49 monthly plan, and in about 1.2 months against a $419 plan.
Yes, if your list stays under the free limit, usually about 10,000 subscribers. If your list grows past it, you’ll move to a paid tier, so price the plan you’ll need in year three, not the one you need today.
No. LaraPush is a one-time licence from $499 with no monthly licence fee. You pay your own hosting, and major version upgrades are a separate, optional paid upgrade. There’s no free plan.
