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Braze alternatives (2026)

The main Braze alternatives are Customer.io, Iterable, OneSignal, Ortto, and fromHello. Braze publishes no list price, so start with how you buy: Customer.io and OneSignal publish theirs and sell without a sales call, Iterable publishes none on its site, where the way in is a demo, Ortto's Starter page shows $199 a month with no contact count, and fromHello publishes its prices but sells fromHello Cloud through a waitlist during early access.

Updated 9 min readBy fromHello

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Key takeaways

  1. Leaving Braze is a downgrade you choose on purpose. You give up proven scale, SLAs, enterprise security review, a dedicated CSM, and mobile tooling nothing on this list fully replaces. You get a price you can read and a purchase you can complete yourself.

  2. Purchase model is the real decision axis. Customer.io and OneSignal publish prices and sell self-serve; Iterable publishes no price, and its pricing URL now opens the homepage, where the way in is a demo; Ortto's Starter page shows $199 a month with no contact count, and its pricing page returned a 404 on 13 October 2026; fromHello publishes its prices and self-hosts free, but sells fromHello Cloud through a waitlist during early access.

  3. Iterable is the like-for-like peer, not a downgrade — same sales cycle. Its own AWS Marketplace listing is the only published enterprise price in the category: $115,000 for a 12-month contract covering 5M users, 75M emails, 2 IPs, and 750K US SMS. That is one packaged offer, not a per-contact rate.

  4. If push is why you bought Braze, OneSignal is the closest match and the cheapest way to keep it. Everything else is a rebuild — Canvases, catalogs, connected content, and SDK instrumentation — measured in days of work, except the mobile SDK, which waits on an app release and on users upgrading.

The shortlist

Braze bills on three dimensions at once: the platform edition (Go, Select, Pro, or Enterprise), monthly active users, and a pool of Action Credits spent across email, SMS, in-product messaging, and BrazeAI Agent Console tasks. None of it carries a published figure. So this page starts with the thing you can check before the call — whether the vendor publishes a price, and whether you can buy without one.

How we chose

Every price, channel, and AI claim below was read off the vendor's own pricing page, docs, or changelog on 10 August 2026, and every price and purchase term was read again on 13 October 2026 — no review sites, no listicles. Tools are ordered by use-case fit, not preference: the closest capability match at a published price first, then the like-for-like enterprise peer, then the mobile specialist, then the widest all-in-one. A channel counts as native only where the vendor documents it as native. Where a vendor has stopped publishing a number, we date the last one rather than pass a stale figure off as current. We build fromHello, so we placed it ourselves, outside the use-case order and never first, and it takes the same watch-outs as everyone else.

  1. Customer.io

    Proprietary (SaaS)
    Compare in depthVisit site

    Best for

    Teams that want the closest thing to a like-for-like Braze replacement they can buy with a card — most of the same channels, at a price on a public page.

    Strengths

    • Essentials is the entry paid tier at $100/mo: 5,000 profiles, 1 million emails a month, 2 object types, with overages printed on the pricing page at $0.009 per extra profile and $0.12 per extra 1,000 emails.
    • Channel coverage close to Braze's core — email, SMS, mobile push, web push, in-app, WhatsApp, webhooks, live notifications on the iOS Lock Screen and Android, plus Meta and Google Customer Match audience sync. SMS is no longer Twilio-only: Sinch, Infobip, and Vonage were added on 30 July 2026.
    • The Agent works inside the operator's own permissions with approval before it acts — building automations, drafting email, running scheduled deliverability and segment audits.

    Watch-outs

    • The priciest of the published, self-serve options here, and it climbs with your data, not your sends: billing counts the maximum number of uniquely identified people and objects on the account.
    • No permanent free plan. Evaluation runs on a trial, and AI credits are unavailable on trial accounts, so LLM actions, the one AI feature that spends them, are the part you cannot try before you pay.
    • Cloud-only in a US or EU region, with no self-host option. LLM actions are metered separately in AI credits at $10 per 100,000, and the burn rate varies by model.

  2. fromHello

    AGPL-3.0Cloud in early access
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    Best for

    Teams leaving Braze for cross-channel journeys at published prices, on AGPL-3.0 code — with fromHello Cloud in early access.

    Strengths

    • Journeys triggered by what people do: first-party tracking, segments recomputed on every event, and a visual builder with 14 node types across email, SMS, in-app banners and modals and ad audiences, with web push built into the platform. Replies land on the contact's profile and can start a journey.
    • Your own AI plugs in over MCP: 59 tools let Claude, Cursor or any MCP client create segments, journeys and templates and read analytics. No tool sends a message, and a journey your AI builds stays a draft until it is published.
    • Open source under AGPL-3.0: self-host it free on your own Postgres and Redis, or use fromHello Cloud, priced from €39 a month excluding VAT, with unlimited seats.

    Watch-outs

    • fromHello Cloud is in early access. Customer.io, Iterable, OneSignal, and Ortto are generally available; fromHello Cloud sells through a waitlist, and that asymmetry is the whole risk.
    • It is the least proven option here — no public scale record, no SLA, and no enterprise security review your customers' procurement teams have already cleared. If those are what you were paying Braze for, this is not the trade.
    • It does not replace Braze's mobile-specific surfaces: mobile push, LINE, KakaoTalk, Content Cards, and feature flags are not part of the platform. And self-hosting changes where your data lives without changing the obligation — you remain the data controller.

  3. Iterable

    Proprietary (SaaS)
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    Best for

    Mid-market and enterprise teams that want a different vendor rather than a smaller one — this is the lateral move, not the escape, and buying it still starts with a demo.

    Strengths

    • The broadest channel set here: email, SMS and MMS, mobile and web push, in-app, embedded messaging, native WhatsApp, plus Meta and real-time Google Ads audience sync added in the Spring 2026 release.
    • Nova Intelligence is the AI layer. Nova Agent creates and edits templates, campaigns, and experiments, and its Review, Experimentation, Handlebars, and Analytics sub-agents audit work before it ships. The core layer is included for all customers; extra agents and advanced decisioning are add-ons.
    • Operational maturity the cheaper options do not carry — SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001, and HIPAA on the trust center, default SMS quiet hours from 8:00 PM to 9:00 AM local on new campaigns, and an open-source MCP server shipped in November 2025.

    Watch-outs

    • Commercially this is Braze again. There is no public pricing: iterable.com/pricing now opens the homepage, where the way in is a demo.
    • The one price Iterable publishes anywhere is its AWS Marketplace listing — $115,000 for a 12-month contract specified as 5M users, 75M emails, 2 IPs, 750K US SMS, 250M push, and a Gold Setup package, with $1.00 per-unit overages and a non-refundable policy. Treat it as one packaged offer, not a rate card.
    • No free plan and no self-serve trial, so evaluation runs through a demo and a quote rather than a weekend.

  4. OneSignal

    Proprietary (SaaS)
    Compare in depthVisit site

    Best for

    Mobile-first teams. If push and in-app are why the Braze invoice was ever justified, this is the one option here that matches that depth at a published rate.

    Strengths

    • Published, self-serve, and metered: a $0 plan, Growth from $19/mo plus mobile push at $0.012 per monthly active user with unlimited sends, web push at $0.004 per subscriber, and 20,000 email sends a month before $1.50 per 1,000. Billed monthly, no long-term commitment.
    • Push is the category benchmark — iOS and Android push, web push, in-app messages included at no extra cost on the push rate, iOS Live Activities, and SMS and RCS, priced through sales.
    • OneSignal AI and a 43-tool MCP server are in open beta on every account, including Free, with an org-level opt-out and a human confirmation step before anything sends.

    Watch-outs

    • The free plan now sends mobile push and in-app messages only for organizations with up to 1,000 monthly active users, a change OneSignal dated 1 September 2026 for new accounts and 1 October 2026 for existing ones.
    • The integrations directory lists no ad-audience sync, so paid-media retargeting stays outside the platform. Client SDKs are open source under a modified MIT license, but the platform itself is proprietary and cloud-only.
    • Growth caps you at 5 active Journeys, 10 segments, and 10 data tags, and self-serve email at 500,000 sends a month. Professional and Enterprise are quote-only annual contracts, and a dedicated success manager comes only with Enterprise.

  5. Ortto

    Proprietary (SaaS)
    Compare in depthVisit site

    Best for

    Small teams that want marketing, a customer data platform, live chat, and a help center under one login, and can trade journey depth for surface area.

    Strengths

    • The widest surface area on this list — email, SMS to 180+ countries, MMS, web push, in-app, popups, forms and surveys, plus mobile push, landing pages, and transactional sending on Professional and above.
    • Native Meta and Google Ads audience sync, a built-in customer data platform with reporting and funnel analysis, and Ortto Talk for live chat, calls, and a self-serve knowledge base.
    • An MCP server lets Claude or ChatGPT query campaign reports, contacts, and audiences in plain language, and an account owner can switch off every AI feature in the account — a kill switch shipped in release 1.29 on 3 March 2026.

    Watch-outs

    • No price list: ortto.com/pricing and ortto.com/plans both returned a 404 on 13 October 2026. The Starter page shows $199 a month with no contact count, so the price at your size comes from Ortto directly.
    • No free-forever plan. The trial is 14 days, capped at 10,000 contacts and 100 email sends with SMS excluded, and an account that does not convert is deleted after 90 days and cannot be recovered.
    • Canva acquired Ortto in April 2026 and the public cadence has gone quiet since — the newest changelog entry is release 1.30, dated 25 May 2026. Ortto says plan, pricing, and data stay as they are; it does not say how long the product stays available standalone.

See fromHello, open-source marketing automation.

Join the waitlistStar on GitHub (opens in a new tab)

FAQ

Common questions

  • What does Braze cost, and why can't I find a price?

    Braze publishes no dollar figure for any edition. Its pricing page describes three billing dimensions — the edition (Go, Select, Pro, or Enterprise), monthly active users, and Action Credits spent across email, SMS, in-product messaging, and BrazeAI Agent Console tasks — and routes you to sales for the number. The only self-serve entry is a 14-day trial. Startups backed by one of Braze's VC partners can get free access, but Braze publishes no length, limits, or criteria for it. Anyone quoting you a Braze list price is guessing.

  • What do you actually give up when you leave Braze?

    Four things, and they are real. Proven scale and uptime at very high message volumes. Contractual SLAs and an enterprise security review your customers' procurement teams have already accepted. A dedicated CSM and named support. And mobile channels almost nobody else carries natively — LINE, KakaoTalk, Content Cards, and feature flags. If your business depends on any of those, the honest answer is to stay.

  • Which Braze alternatives can I buy without a sales call?

    Customer.io, OneSignal, and Ortto's Starter plan. Customer.io and OneSignal publish their rates: OneSignal from $19/mo on Growth plus metered usage, Customer.io on its Essentials tier at $100/mo for 5,000 profiles and 1 million emails a month. Ortto sells Starter self-serve at $199 a month after a 14-day trial, with no contact count stated; its pricing page returned a 404 on 13 October 2026. Iterable publishes no price — its pricing URL now opens the homepage, where the way in is a demo. fromHello publishes its prices too — Core and Team month-to-month, Business and Enterprise on a 12-month term — but sells fromHello Cloud through the waitlist during early access; self-hosting under AGPL-3.0 is free.

  • We're mobile-first. Which alternative matches Braze's push?

    OneSignal, and it is not close. Mobile push is metered at $0.012 per monthly active user with unlimited sends, in-app messaging is included at that rate, and iOS Live Activities are native. Customer.io covers mobile push, web push, and in-app credibly and adds live notifications on the iOS Lock Screen. Iterable matches Braze on breadth but on Braze's commercial terms. Ortto gates mobile push to Professional and above. Watch OneSignal's free plan: since 1 September 2026 for new accounts and 1 October for existing ones, it sends mobile push only for organizations with up to 1,000 monthly active users.

  • How long does implementation take compared with a Braze rollout?

    Braze and Iterable are both multi-week programs, and Iterable bundles a named setup package into the contract rather than selling it separately. Customer.io and OneSignal are self-serve — you can be sending on day one. The work that actually takes time is not the tool: re-instrumenting the mobile SDK, rebuilding Canvases as journeys, porting catalogs and connected content, and re-checking every trigger. On a small stack that is days — except the mobile SDK, which waits on an app release and on users upgrading. Our guide to switching email platforms covers the migration sequence.

  • What happens to an annual Braze or Iterable contract if we move mid-term?

    Assume you pay it out. Iterable's AWS Marketplace contract runs 12 months and is explicitly non-refundable, OneSignal's Professional and Enterprise tiers are annual, and Ortto's annual commitments cannot be downgraded mid-term and need 30 days' notice. The practical route is to run the new platform in parallel for the tail of the term — move one channel first, keep the incumbent sending until the new domain is warm, then let the contract lapse. Budget for the overlap before you sign anything new.

Sources

  1. Braze pricing page — editions, MAU and Action Credits model, no published figures; checked 13 October 2026 (opens in a new tab)
  2. Braze free trial — 14 days; checked 13 October 2026 (opens in a new tab)
  3. Braze for Startups — free access through VC partners, no published length, limits, or criteria; checked 13 October 2026 (opens in a new tab)
  4. Customer.io pricing page — Essentials tier contents and overage rates; checked 13 October 2026 (opens in a new tab)
  5. Customer.io docs — AI credits: only LLM actions spend them, not available on Trial plans; checked 13 October 2026 (opens in a new tab)
  6. Iterable's own AWS Marketplace listing — $115,000 for a 12-month contract, bundle spec, per-unit overages, non-refundable; checked 13 October 2026 (opens in a new tab)
  7. Iterable pricing URL — opens the homepage (a 301 redirect), checked 13 October 2026 (opens in a new tab)
  8. OneSignal pricing page — free plan, Growth from $19/mo, metered push, web push, and email rates, plan limits; checked 13 October 2026 (opens in a new tab)
  9. OneSignal usage and billing docs — MAU definition and the 2026 free-plan restructure dates; checked 13 October 2026 (opens in a new tab)
  10. Ortto pricing page — HTTP 404 on 13 October 2026, as is ortto.com/plans (opens in a new tab)
  11. Ortto Starter page — $199 a month after a 14-day trial, no contact count stated; checked 13 October 2026 (opens in a new tab)
  12. Ortto help — 14-day trial plans: 10,000 contacts, 100 email sends, no SMS, deleted 90 days after expiry; checked 13 October 2026 (opens in a new tab)
  13. Ortto help — Checking and managing your plan: annual contracts can't be downgraded mid-term; checked 13 October 2026 (opens in a new tab)

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