Pushwoosh vs Firebase

Pushwoosh: a feature-rich alternative to Firebase at a reasonable price

Firebase no longer meeting your needs? Scale your app with Pushwoosh—a customer engagement platform with unlimited user segmentation and advanced messaging automation.

Contact sales Start for free

Pushwoosh and Firebase are different classes of systems

Pushwoosh is an omnichannel provider

Firebase suits small apps, but as your audience and data needs grow, Pushwoosh becomes the better choice.

Pushwoosh

Push

Web push

In-app

SMS

Provides comprehensive set of channels
You can seamlessly use six mobile and web channels right out of the box.
Automated cross-channel campaigns
For your cross-channel messaging flows, integrate all channels or choose just one or two that you need.
All channels are managed in one tool
Map and streamline your campaigns, perform reachability checks, and analyze the performance of each channel.

Firebase

Push

Web push

In-app

Provides only three channels
You can only send push and web notifications and in-app messages.
Can’t configure cross-channel campaigns
You have to set separate messaging campaigns with push notifications and in-app messages.
Channels are set in different tools
Pushes are managed in Firebase Cloud Messaging while in-apps are managed in Firebase In-app Messaging, which complicates the workflow.

Pushwoosh is a fully automated visual tool for entire messaging campaigns

Pushwoosh’s UI and UX are suitable for both tech and marketing teams

Pushwoosh

Drag-and-drop visual tool
Map your campaigns by combining user journey elements on a canvas.
Build-and-launch targeting
Define user segments and apply them for targeting, all inside Pushwoosh.
Boundless timing options
Set as many scheduled and recurring push notifications as you need.
Fully automated event-triggered messaging
Respond to a user’s behavior in real time by setting event triggers.
Entire messaging flow logic
Set the entire messaging flow logic (refine segments throughout the flow, send follow-up notifications, set time delays, etc.)

Firebase

No visual tool
You don’t have any builder to map your campaigns.
Extra tools needed for targeting
You have to import user segments from other Google products: Google Analytics and BigQuery.
Limited timing options
You can set unlimited scheduled pushes while recurring notifications are limited to 10 per project.
Extra coding for event-triggered messaging
For event-triggered messages, you need to work with Google Cloud Functions.
No messaging flow logic
You can’t set the entire messaging flow logic, only for simple one-step campaigns.

Pushwoosh offers predictable pricing

With Pushwoosh, you can be certain about your final costs. Can you expect the same level of certainty with Firebase?

Pushwoosh

Pay within a transparent monthly plan
Know exactly what you pay each month with access to all platform built-in features.
No hidden costs for segmentation
Limitless segmentation is already included: you don’t have to pay for data queries, as you use a single internal database.

Firebase

Pay-as-you-go for additional solutions
Firebase’s messaging tool (FCM) is free, but infrastructure products and database usage are paid-as-you-go.
Costs can escalate based on the number and complexity of audiences
You’ll get charged extra if you go over the limits for database queries and function invocations.

Example of an unclear pricing for segmentation in Firebase:

With BigQuery, that is used for audience creation, you’re charged $6.25 per 1 TiB of queries (once you exceed the initial quota). However, it’s challenging to determine 🧐 how this 1 TiB translates into the number and complexity of audiences. This makes Firebase pricing unattractive for apps with larger user bases.

Calculate your predictable monthly cost with Pushwoosh

Unlike Firebase's pay-as-you-go model with escalating database query costs, Pushwoosh offers transparent device-based pricing. No hidden segmentation fees, no surprise charges—just straightforward monthly costs.

How many users are in your database?

users

10k

50k

100k

300k

500k

1000

>1000000

How do you plan to use the email channel?

email campaigns per month

100

250

500

1000

email campaigns recipients

10k

25k

50k

100k

250k

500k

Estimated number of email sends: 80000

Advantages of custom plan:

Custom billing terms and cycle
Personal onboarding program
24/7 priority support
Dedicated manager
SLA and guaranteed uptime
MSA, DPA, Commercial agreement
SSO, Dedicated private cloud
Ultra high-speed push delivery option

Total estimated cost:

$ 0 per month

Start for free

Your cost breakdown:

CDP $0

All features are available:

Campaigns Unlimited
Mobile push notifications Unlimited
Mobile in-apps Unlimited
Segmentation Unlimited
Personalization Unlimited
A/B/n testing Unlimited
Event history Unlimited
API access Unlimited

Pushwoosh offers an advanced segmentation tool

Pushwoosh

Built-in segmentation tool
Set user properties and events directly within the product and combine them in Pushwoosh Segment Builder; No need for external databases.
Real-time user segmentation
Assign tags, set segment splitters, and event triggers right in the course of the user journey.
Straightforward use of behavioral filters
Use behavior filters right away in you audience creation and set advanced frequency conditions.

Firebase

Need extra tools
You need to set user properties and events in other Google products (Google Analytics and BigQuery) and then import them in FCM console.
Can’t define segments in the course of the user journey
You have to organize user segments prior to engagement.
Behavioral filters are complicated to use
Before using a behavioral filter, you need to pre-build it as a user property. Moreover, you can’t set advanced frequency conditions.

Pushwoosh provides better tech support and documentation

Pushwoosh

Support Team available 24/7: first response within 1 hour
Customer-focused experts dedicated to providing exceptional service and resolving issues with personalized care.
User-friendly documentation
Documentation is clear and regularly updated.

Pushwoosh's customer service team has been outstanding to work with.

Terry K.

Firebase

Customer support is slower
According to public client reviews, there are occasional mentions of slower response times with Firebase support.
Confusing documentation
According to public client reviews, Firebase documentation is outdated and hard to understand.

Customer support is late responsive

Amalendu M

This is why ambitious teams choose Pushwoosh over Firebase

Reasons: Pushwoosh was easier to use and had much more abilities.

Switched from: Firebase

Reasons: Easy user interface and professional customer service, as well as continuous improvement based on user feedback in product development.

Switched from: Firebase and OneSignal

Pushwoosh is simply amazing because it offers a complete user interface that can be used to create, schedule and manage push notifications with a lot of features added and even setting up an entire customer journey.

Alternatives considered: Firebase, Airship, and OneSignal

Pushwoosh vs. Firebase: Comparison in Detail

1. Integration

Feature	Pushwoosh	Firebase
SDK	yes	yes
APIs	yes	yes

2. Supported channels and features

Feature	Pushwoosh	Firebase
Mobile push notifications	yes	yes
Web push notifications	yes	yes
Email	yes	no
High-speed push notifications	up to 500k a second	no
SMS	yes	no
WhatsApp	yes	no
In-app messaging	yes	yes

3. Segmentation

Feature	Pushwoosh	Firebase
Advanced Segment Builder	yes	no
RFM segmentation	yes	no
Import of segments from 3d party user engagement platforms	yes	no
Assigning user tags right in the UI	yes	no
Segmentation based on user behavior	yes	yes (via Google Analytics)
Segmentation based on user data	yes	yes (via Google BigQuery)

4. Personalization

Feature	Pushwoosh	Firebase
Timezone sensitivity	yes	no
Silent hours	yes	no
Liquid templates	yes	no
Dynamic content	yes	yes
Multi-language messaging	yes	yes
Deep linking	yes	yes

5. Automated messaging & workflows

Feature	Pushwoosh	Firebase
Automated multichannel workflows builder	yes (Customer Journey Builder)	no
Reachability check	yes	no
Recurring campaigns	yes, unlimited	yes, limited to 10 per project
Time delay options	yes	no
Scheduled campaigns	yes	yes
A/B testing	yes, unlimited A/B/n testing	yes, A/B testing
Frequency capping	yes	yes

6. Analytics

Feature	Pushwoosh	Firebase
Sent, delivered, opened, clicked/CTR	yes	no
Campaign overview statistics	yes	no
App usage statistics	yes	yes
App revenue metrics (conversions, revenue, ARPU)	yes	yes
A/B tests analytics	yes	yes
Real-time reporting	yes	no
User retention analytics	yes	yes

7. Extra features

Feature	Pushwoosh	Firebase
Silent push	yes	no
Best time to send	yes	no
Custom subscription prompts for web push notifications	yes	no
Cross-channel delivery (the same notification can be delivered to different sites or devices, no need to set it up twice for mobile and web)	yes	no
Push notification preview	yes	yes
Setting the lifespan of a message	yes (for in-apps)	yes (for pushes)

8. Pricing

Feature	Pushwoosh	Firebase
Predictable and transparent price plans (no charge for data queries)	yes	no
Good value for money for scaling companies	yes	no
Free plan	yes	yes

Trusted by companies that push their limits

Up to 100%

push-to-gateway delivery rate

99.9%

service uptime guaranteed

5k to 500k

push notifications per second

Most relevant real-time analytics

Pushwoosh analytics is based on historical data, not predictions. Unlike the competitors, we don't charge an extra for off-the-shelf solutions that don't guarantee any sustainable results.