15 messaging platforms worth trying in 2019

【51CTO.com Quick Translation】As we all know, the push notification services of iOS and Android can promote the retention, opening and use of various apps on users' mobile phones. Of course, there are always two sides to everything: if the push notification is just right, it can enhance the overall user experience (UX); otherwise, it will interrupt the user's normal mobile phone use and even be annoying, which will lead to counterproductive effects such as decreased usage and user loss.

It can be seen that each APP should be oriented to the user group it faces, so that the push notifications it generates can meet the personalized needs of different users on the basis of "private customization". At the same time, their push frequency should not only be affordable for the publisher, but also be able to be combined with back-end tools to achieve real-time analysis and segmented statistics of various data.

Therefore, it is no wonder that although the number of push notification platforms for iOS and Android is increasing day by day, few can accurately target and adapt to users. Below we have listed the 15 best push notification platforms and tools for iOS and Android systems, and attached their unique sales methods behind each one. I hope you can find the one you like.

1. Urban Airship

Urban Airship is a push notification solution that Volkswagen has prepared for its car buyers. Compared with other tools, this platform is both reliable and practical, and claims to be able to unify customer data through messages from multiple channels, thereby achieving corresponding user insights and predictions. The tool is free for beginners, but if you want to get more feature packages, the price ranges from $99 to $349 per month.

Link: https://www.urbanairship.com/

2. Leanplum

The characteristics of Leanplum are personalization and automation. In terms of personalization, it can be programmed to implement a UI (user interface) for specific users. For example, its default sharing options can be customized according to the user's habits.

As for automation, it can automatically send personalized messages based on different user attributes and related behaviors on the application (such as: not opening the application for a long time). It claims to be able to automate the lifecycle engine (Lifecycle Engine), that is, to track the entire process of users using an application.

Link: https://www.leanplum.com/

3. OneSignal

From being able to automate messaging with customizable templates to segmented targeting and real-time tracking, this tool has all the essential features you could want. While it’s completely free, you’ll have to pay for some of its premium support options.

Link: https://onesignal.com/

4. Localytics

When people discuss push notification platforms for iOS and Android, they will definitely mention Localytics and its products. To some extent, it has changed the way of broadcast push notifications and simply sending in-app messages. By analyzing the user's relevant data, its intelligent engine can deliver customized information content to users more accurately.

Link: https://www.localytics.com/

5. Taplytics

Taplytics allows you to integrate with existing analytics platforms and implement visual A/B testing (Translator's Note: Randomly provide two similar versions to user groups at the same time, collect and analyze the experience feedback of each group of users to evaluate which version is more suitable for adoption). We can customize the specific content of message push according to different push goals, such as user retention, increasing product recognition, or interactive engagement. The basic package of this product is free, and the corresponding enterprise version toolkit is priced on demand.

Link: https://taplytics.com/

6. Kahuna

The advantage of Kahuna's message push notification platform is that it can create different options for activities based on the user's current status. For example, once the platform recognizes that a user has not opened the app for a long time or is no longer active, it will push new activity messages to increase user patronage. In addition, when it finds that there are new users visiting, it will also make corresponding information feedback. Therefore, as the user's status changes, the activity messages triggered by Kahuna will also be different. At the same time, it can also support "extreme personalization." That is, it can completely classify according to the characteristics of the audience to customize the message, rather than just publishing content according to the context of the push. In terms of price, it also adopts an on-demand pricing mechanism.

Link: https://www.kahuna.com/

7. Kumulos

What’s interesting about Kumulos is that it offers two different options: First, mobile marketers can use the Kumulos dashboard to quickly implement a push notification service, easily manage it, and get corresponding results reports. Second, these mobile marketers can also let their clients build their own sub-brands on the platform, and evaluate the marketing results in a timely manner through personalized push notifications.

In addition, the tool's highlight push features include:

• Focus on more effective messaging by establishing different channels and segments.
• Supports geolocation and iBeacon display.
• Use deep links (Translator's note: after clicking a link on the mobile phone, it will jump directly to a page inside the APP instead of the default home page of the APP, thereby distinguishing between new and old users), emojis, and badge walls to stimulate greater user engagement.

You can try this tool by using the Free Trial option.

Link: https://www.kumulos.com/features/push-notification/

8. PushWoosh

PushWoosh can push messages to iOS and Android with rich media content, including images, embedded videos, CTAs (Translator's Note: Call To Action, call button), etc. The tool claims to support 21 different mobile and desktop platforms. Users can try it for free for a period of time, and then they will be charged for feature packages based on their usage needs, ranging from $49.95 to $499.95 per month.

Link: https://www.pushwoosh.com/

9. PushBots

Through the PushBots platform, your APP can interact with Android and iOS users, and even Google Chrome browser users. It can not only be installed quickly (only 10 minutes), but also can be easily integrated. Its basic package is free, while other feature packages range from $49 to $499 per month.

Link: https://pushbots.com/

10. Swrve

The core features that Swrve can provide include: WYSIWYG (Translator's Note: What You See Is What You Get, What You See Is What You Get. Please refer to http://www.wysiwygwebbuilder.com/) type mobile screen editor, configurable custom sound effects, action classification and warnings, etc. Its notification center also has various banner and lock screen template setting options, as well as goal tracking and other functions. Although its pricing is not public, users can get it by directly inquiring.

Link: https://www.swrve.com/

11. Carnival.io

The platform's rich messaging (Translator's Note: Rich Messaging, messages with pictures and text. See https://vimeo.com/135820313) and simple SDK integration capabilities are often praised by mobile app developers. Its outstanding features also include behavioral triggering and message personalization. Its price ranges from US$1,000 to US$4,000 per month.

Link: http://carnival.io/

12. Catapush

Catapush is different from other iOS and Android messaging tools mentioned above in that it allows users to respond to the push notifications they receive in a two-way service. At the same time, it also allows service personnel in the backend of the application to have in-depth communication with customers through chat. If you want to learn more about its features, please refer to http://www.catapush.com/features/2-way. In terms of charges, it is free for the first 100 devices, the starting price for 1,000 devices is $21.14 per month, and for 20,000 devices, it is charged $338.18 per month.

Link: http://www.catapush.com/

13. Amazon SNS

If you are only considering the compatibility with Amazon Web Services (AWS), then Amazon's Simple Notification Service (SNS) is undoubtedly your best choice. It can be easily extended to any platform and has the ability to push messages directly from the cloud. Its pricing mechanism is calculated per million messages: the first million messages are free, and then $0.50 is added for each million messages.

Link: https://aws.amazon.com/sns/

14. Streethawk

Streethawk's slogan is "Automate everything for mobile growth", which shows that the core task of this tool is to achieve automated growth. You can easily integrate it with Mixpanel, Flurry, Twilio and Webhooks, and it also supports web platforms such as iOS, Android, PhoneGap, Xamarin, etc. For those apps with 10,000 users, the service tool is free; if you have more users, you may need to ask the platform directly for a price.

Link: http://www.streethawk.com/

15. Mixpanel

Mixpanel was founded in 2009 and is a veteran in the message push field. With its retroactive funnel reporting, precision segmentation, and real-time data analysis, it can fully optimize your message push service. In addition, its core functions include: precise message push, A/B testing, and notification sending schedules. In terms of price, its most basic functions can be used for free; the entry-level functions are $999 per year; and the enterprise-level toolkit is priced on demand.

Link: https://mixpanel.com/

Summarize

App developers can use Appsee's touch screen heat map (see

https://www.appsee.com/features/touch-heatmaps?cpnid=701b0000000XIyj&utm_source=dzone&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=15_best_ios_android_push_notification_platforms&utm_content=dzone_post) and user session records (please refer to https://www.appsee.com/features/user-recordings?cpnid=701b0000000XIyj&utm_source=dzone&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=15_best_ios_android_push_notification_platforms&utm_content=dzone_post) to analyze user usage behavior and design the best push method that suits user experience, thereby ensuring the click-through rate and retention rate of the app.

As the saying goes: no two apps in the world have the same functions. Each of the above-listed messaging platforms has its own audience and can improve the KPIs of mobile apps in different ways. Therefore, all you need to do is find a balance between functionality and price. After all, the best is the right one.

Original title: The 15 Best iOS and Android Push Notification Platforms [2019], author: Lesley Wasserman

[Translated by 51CTO. Please indicate the original translator and source as 51CTO.com when reprinting on partner sites]