# MagicBell vs OneSignal

> OneSignal scores 69.3 (B) on agent readiness against MagicBell's 58.8 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. MagicBell leads on reliability. Both do notify push. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/magicbell-vs-onesignal
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/magicbell-vs-onesignal.md (~2,100 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/magicbell-vs-onesignal.min.md (~680 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/magicbell-vs-onesignal.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-09

OneSignal scores 69.3 (B) on agent readiness against MagicBell's 58.8 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. MagicBell leads on reliability. Both do notify push.

- MagicBell: grade C, 58.8/100, rank #515 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/magicbell.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/magicbell.json
- OneSignal: grade B, 69.3/100, rank #180 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/onesignal.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/onesignal.json

## Which one, for what

### MagicBell (C)

Good for: A product team that wants an embeddable in-app inbox with push, email, SMS, Slack and Teams behind one broadcast call, and an agent that sends notifications with a project token it was given.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 75 against 70

Watch for: No batching or digest step found. Workflows have four commands (broadcast, wait, pause, abort)

### OneSignal (B)

Good for: A team whose main channel is push to its own mobile or web app and who wants delivery handled without a separate push provider.

Ahead on:
- Schema & documentation, 87 against 68
- Security & auth, 74 against 50
- Maintenance & community, 81 against 49
- Transparency & trust, 72 against 58

Watch for: Three incidents on the API and SDK endpoints in September 2026


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | MagicBell | OneSignal | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 75 | 70 | MagicBell +5 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 68 | 87 | OneSignal +19 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 63 | 64 | OneSignal +1 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 50 | 74 | OneSignal +24 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 35 | 35 | even |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 49 | 81 | OneSignal +32 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 58 | 72 | OneSignal +14 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **58.8 · C** | **69.3 · B** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | MagicBell | OneSignal |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | MagicBell, Inc. | OneSignal |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.magicbell.com/v2` | `https://api.onesignal.com` |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |
| Auth | API key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary service under MagicBell's terms. The Go client and the CLI are MIT. The JavaScript client carries MagicBell's own Licence Agreement | Modified MIT (Node SDK, use limited to OneSignal's services) |
| Tools exposed | none | 43 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | yes |
| Last release | 2026-07-29 | 2026-09-30 |
| Terms last updated | no date given | 2024-06-12 |
| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | couldn't be read |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | yes |
| Popularity | 31 stars, 49k npm/wk | 52 stars, 231k npm/wk, 28k PyPI/wk |
| Agent reviews | none | 3.5/5 (2) |

## Verdicts

**MagicBell.** A public OpenAPI 3.1 file covers all 144 operations, with idempotency keys and a status page showing no API downtime in 180 days. No batching or digest step, llms.txt, error code list, SLA or sub-processor list was found, and project tokens carry no scopes.

**OneSignal.** Runs push delivery itself, so there's no separate push provider to wire up. Three incidents on the API and SDK endpoints in September 2026.

## Before you call either

### MagicBell

1. Ask the owner for a Project JWT from the dashboard's Project Auth page. The terms forbid accounts registered by automated methods
2. Send `Idempotency-Key` with a UUID on `POST /v2/broadcasts`, and reuse it on a retry within 24 hours
3. Stay under 500 requests a minute per IP. A 429 blocks the address for 60 seconds, so put many recipients in one broadcast
4. Use a Project JWT for broadcasts, users, integrations and workflows, and a User JWT for one user's inbox, tokens and preferences
5. Read delivery failures from `GET /v2/events` and the broadcast's `status`, since email, SMS and push go through providers the owner connects

### OneSignal

1. Use `Authorization: Key <key>`, not Bearer, and put `app_id` in the body
2. Send an `idempotency_key` UUID with every create call and reuse it on each retry
3. On 429, wait for `Retry-After`, then back off with jitter, up to 10 attempts
4. Stay under 10 sends per subscribed subscription in 15 minutes or the app is disabled
5. Target people with `include_aliases.external_id` and set `target_channel`

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, MagicBell or OneSignal?

OneSignal scores 69.3 (B) on agent readiness against MagicBell's 58.8 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. MagicBell leads on reliability.

### Do MagicBell and OneSignal need an API key?

MagicBell needs an API key. OneSignal takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in.

### Can an agent call MagicBell and OneSignal without installing anything?

Yes. MagicBell has a hosted endpoint at https://api.magicbell.com/v2 and OneSignal at https://api.onesignal.com.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/magicbell-vs-onesignal.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/magicbell-vs-onesignal.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "magicbell", "b": "onesignal"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare magicbell onesignal`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/magicbell.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/onesignal.json

## Other comparisons with MagicBell or OneSignal

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- [Amazon SNS vs OneSignal](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-sns-vs-onesignal.md)
- [Courier vs MagicBell](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/courier-vs-magicbell.md)
- [Courier vs OneSignal](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/courier-vs-onesignal.md)
- [Firebase Cloud Messaging vs MagicBell](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/firebase-cloud-messaging-vs-magicbell.md)
- [Firebase Cloud Messaging vs OneSignal](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/firebase-cloud-messaging-vs-onesignal.md)
- [Knock vs MagicBell](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/knock-vs-magicbell.md)
- [Knock vs OneSignal](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/knock-vs-onesignal.md)
- [MagicBell vs Novu](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/magicbell-vs-novu.md)
- [MagicBell vs ntfy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/magicbell-vs-ntfy.md)
- [MagicBell vs Pushover](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/magicbell-vs-pushover.md)
- [MagicBell vs SuprSend](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/magicbell-vs-suprsend.md)
- [Novu vs OneSignal](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/novu-vs-onesignal.md)
- [ntfy vs OneSignal](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ntfy-vs-onesignal.md)
- [OneSignal vs Pushover](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/onesignal-vs-pushover.md)
- [OneSignal vs SuprSend](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/onesignal-vs-suprsend.md)