Comparison

Pushcut vs ntfy

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Pushcut

Automate tasks and trigger actions with smart notifications and custom widgets. Integrate with HomeKit, Shortcuts, and online services for powerful, personalized workflows.

Highlights
  • Smart notifications
  • Custom widgets
  • HomeKit integration
  • Shortcut scheduling
  • Location-based triggers
  • Webhooks and API support
  • Interactive Apple Watch notifications
Features
Read full description

Pushcut helps you kick off your automation when it matters. Create fine-tuned interactions for HomeKit, Shortcuts, and custom workflows through smart notifications and widgets combined with powerful automation actions. Use HomeKit scenes, shortcuts, online integrations, and web services as notification actions that pop up exactly when they matter to you. Trigger these smart notifications from Shortcuts, HomeKit, schedules, locations, iBeacons, online services (like IFTTT, Zapier, Flow, Integromat, ...), home servers, or anywhere that knows what HTTP is. Design beautiful custom widgets and display dynamic information that you can provide using Shortcuts actions, online services or our own API. "The premiere companion utility for Shortcuts and Home on iOS" - Federico Viticci (MacStories) "An essential tool for HomeKit power users" - Christopher Close (HomeKit Hero) "Very powerful" - Rosemary Orchard (Take Control of Shortcuts) Features + Set up alerts & reminders to trigger scheduled & location-based smart notifications + Combine time and location triggers (eg: "weekdays at 6 PM when I am at work") + Schedule notifications from Shortcuts + Schedule a shortcut from Shortcuts + Design custom home-screen widgets + Trigger notifications and widget updates through a secure webhook or Pushcut API + Trigger notifications and widget updates from third-party integrations and online services like Zapier, Integromat, IFTTT, etc. + Define notifications with custom titles and messages + Add action buttons to the notifications for quicker access + Run shortcuts directly from notification actions + Activate HomeKit scenes directly from notification actions + Add URLs to the push notifications and open them directly from the notifications + Run online actions (webhooks, HTTP requests) directly from notifications without opening any app or website + Execute online actions in the background based on location or iBeacon events + Customize notification sounds and images + Deliver push notifications to specific devices individually + Use a powerful JSON API to deliver dynamic texts, shortcut inputs, and URLs + Turn a dedicated iOS device into your personal Shortcuts and HomeKit server Apple Watch + Interactive notifications (requires watchOS 6) + Run HomeKit scenes, online actions, and HTTP requests (like IFTTT webhooks) directly from your wrist + Execute multiple actions from one notification (with "Keep Open" flag) (Note: Opening Shortcuts, Safari, or other apps is not supported on Apple Watch) Free version limits: + define up to 3 notifications + define up to 2 background actions + define up to 1 action per notification + use with local triggers or basic webhooks (no dynamic content or online actions) — Pro — + custom dynamic widgets + unlimited notification definitions + unlimited actions per notification + activate HomeKit scenes + unlimited background actions + dynamic notifications from service integrations + fully customizable actions using the powerful JSON API + execute online actions and web requests directly + input parameters for shortcuts and online actions + run and monitor an Automation Server (limits apply) — Automation Server Extended — + schedule server actions periodically + trigger delayed server actions + up to 5000 server requests per day Payments You can subscribe to a monthly or annual subscription plan. Payment will be charged to your Apple ID account at the time of purchase. A subscription automatically renews unless it is canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage and cancel your subscriptions by going to your account settings on the App Store after making the purchase. Terms of Use: https://www.pushcut.io/terms Privacy Policy: https://www.pushcut.io/privacy

About

ntfy

This app allows you to send push notifications to your phone from scripts or other applications using simple HTTP requests. It acts as a client for a free, open-source pub-sub service, enabling you to receive alerts and updates directly on your device.

Highlights
  • Send notifications via REST API
  • Subscribe to topics
  • Publish messages via HTTP
  • Integrates with Bash/PowerShell
  • Free and open source client
Features
Read full description

Send push notifications to your phone from any Bash or PowerShell script, or from your own app using PUT/POST requests, e.g. via curl on Linux or Invoke-WebRequest. ntfy is a client for https://ntfy.sh, a free and open source HTTP-based pub-sub service. You can subscribe to topics in this app, and then publish messages via a simple HTTP API. Uses: * Notify yourself when a long-running process is done * Ping your phone when a backup has failed * Alerts when someone logs into your server Example: $ curl -d "Your backup is done" ntfy.sh/mytopic Find more examples and usage instructions here: https://ntfy.sh/docs

Screenshots

Pushcut4 screens
ntfy2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ntfy at none against Pushcut's 5. ntfy also leads on review sentiment (79% vs 52%) and rating (4.7 vs 4.4). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Pushcut sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. ntfy asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ntfy holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 544 and 491 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 52% of Pushcut's written reviews are positive against 79% of ntfy's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pushcut ships an update monthly, ntfy fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Pushcut versus ntfy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPushcutntfy
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (544 ratings)4.7 (491 ratings) — better
Positive reviews52.2% of reviews78.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings544 — better491
Update frequencyMonthlyFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size176 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSimon Peter LeebPhilipp Heckel

Customer experience

Pushcut

All ratings544 ratings
Positive85.1%
Neutral3.1%
Negative11.8%
Written reviews115 reviews
Positive52.2%
Neutral8.7%
Negative39.1%

ntfy

All ratings469 ratings
Positive93.6%
Neutral1.7%
Negative4.7%
Written reviews175 reviews
Positive78.9%
Neutral5.7%
Negative15.4%

User reviews

Pushcut

From 544 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great app
  • 🚀 Powerful automation
  • 🚀 Excellent for HomeKit
  • 🚀 Gives full control over notifications
  • 🚀 Reliable for background actions

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Unreliable, often needs to be restarted
  • 🔑 Paywall for essential features
  • 🔋 Battery drain issues
  • 🤔 Steep learning curve
  • 🤔 Confusing setup and documentation

ntfy

From 491 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Simple and easy to use
  • 🔒 Great for self-hosting
  • 👍 Reliable and works as expected
  • 🚀 Quick and easy to set up
  • 🚀 Lightweight and functional

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Notification issues on iOS
  • 🔍 Limited features compared to other platforms
  • 🔍 Lacks customization options
  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or delivery issues

Bugs and requests

Pushcut

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Shortcuts not running properly on remote server
  • Widgets not updating in a timely manner
  • Notification delivery issues, especially with location-based triggers
  • Server setup process often fails

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add live activities support
  • Allow launching apps directly from notifications
  • Improve widget performance and reliability
  • Provide more notification sound options
  • Make server setup easier and more flexible

ntfy

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Notifications not working on iOS
  • Broken click URLs in notifications
  • Compatibility issues with iOS notification summarizing

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to change notification sounds
  • Support for Apple Watch
  • Customizable topic names/aliases
  • Improved iOS notification handling
  • All topics view and read/unread indicators

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Pushcut

Subscriptions4
  • Pro monthly$1.991 Month
  • Server Extended (Month)$2.491 Month
  • Pro yearly7 Days trial$17.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Server Extended (Year)$22.491 Year
One-time1
  • Pro Lifetime$39.99
None

ntfy

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Pushcut free?
Pushcut is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ntfy free?
ntfy is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Pushcut or ntfy?
ntfy is rated higher. Pushcut averages 4.4 out of 5 from 544 ratings, while ntfy averages 4.7 from 491 ratings.
Do Pushcut or ntfy have ads?
Neither Pushcut nor ntfy shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pushcut or ntfy?
Pushcut ships an update monthly, and ntfy fortnightly. Most recently, Pushcut was updated on November 6, 2026 and ntfy on November 7, 2026.

Other comparisons