Prompt
I'm building a SaaS app and want to send in-app, email, and SMS when certain events happen. What should I use?
Latest observation
If you want to send in-app, email, and SMS notifications from one SaaS app, the simplest choice is usually a notification orchestration service or multi-channel messaging platform rather than building each channel yourself.
Good options
- OneSignal — strong for in-app + push, and also supports email/SMS on higher tiers or via integrations.
- Novu — open-source notification infrastructure focused on SaaS product notifications across in-app, email, SMS, push, etc. Good if you want control and a developer-friendly workflow.
- Courier — very good for multi-channel notifications with routing, templates, preferences, and developer APIs.
- Knock — built specifically for product notifications, with inbox/in-app plus email and other channels.
- Firebase + SendGrid/Twilio — if you want to assemble it yourself:
- Firebase Cloud Messaging for push
- SendGrid or Postmark for email
- Twilio for SMS
- but this means more custom orchestration.
My recommendation
- If you want the fastest path: Courier or Knock
- If you want open source / self-hostable: Novu
- If you mainly need in-app + mobile push with some email/SMS: OneSignal
What to consider
- Event workflow support: can it trigger notifications from app events?
- Templates: reusable message templates per channel
- User preferences: allow users to opt in/out by channel
- Routing rules: e.g. in-app first, then email, then SMS if urgent
- Deliverability: especially for email/SMS
- Inbox UI: if you want a built-in notifications center in your app
- Cost: SMS can get expensive quickly
If you’re early-stage
A common stack is:
- Novu or Courier for orchestration
- SendGrid/Postmark for email
- Twilio for SMS
- in-app inbox from the orchestration tool or a custom UI
If you tell me:
- your backend stack,
- whether you need push notifications too, and
- whether you prefer hosted vs self-hosted,
I can recommend the best fit more precisely.
Observation history
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