What API should I use for scheduled push notifications?

For scheduled push notifications, the best API depends on what platform you’re targeting and what “scheduled” means in your app:

Common choices

1. Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM)

Use this if you want to send push notifications to Android, iOS, and web from your backend.

• Good for: mobile apps, web apps, cross-platform
• You typically schedule the send on your server, then use FCM to deliver it at the right time
• FCM itself is mainly a delivery API, not a built-in scheduling system

2. Apple Push Notification service (APNs)

Use this for iOS/macOS apps.

• Good for: Apple devices only
• Like FCM, APNs sends notifications when your server tells it to
• Scheduling is usually handled by your backend or job scheduler, not APNs directly

3. OneSignal

Use this if you want a simpler platform that handles both push delivery and scheduling.

• Good for: easier setup, marketing-style notifications, segmented audiences
• Has built-in tools for scheduled notifications
• Supports iOS, Android, web

4. AWS SNS / Amazon Pinpoint

Use this if you’re already on AWS and want infrastructure integration.

• Good for: scalable backend systems
• Scheduling usually still requires a scheduler like:
  • AWS EventBridge
  • Lambda
  • Step Functions
• Pinpoint is stronger for campaigns and targeting than SNS

Important note

If you mean “send at a future time automatically”, most push APIs do not directly handle time-based scheduling by themselves. Usually you combine:

• a push service (FCM, APNs, OneSignal, etc.)
• a scheduler/job queue (cron, Celery, Sidekiq, Cloud Tasks, AWS EventBridge, Quartz, etc.)

Quick recommendation

• Need full control and cross-platform? Use FCM + your own scheduler
• Need simplest scheduled push setup? Use OneSignal
• iOS-only? Use APNs
• AWS-based backend? Use Pinpoint/SNS + EventBridge or Lambda

If you tell me your stack (iOS/Android/web, backend language, cloud provider), I can recommend the best API and architecture.