Comparison

ntfy vs Split Flap

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

Head to head
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

About

Split Flap

Transform your devices into a retro message board with authentic flip animations and sound. Display custom messages, live feeds like weather and stocks, and schedule content. Offers a premium upgrade for advanced formatting and scheduling.

Highlights
  • Authentic split-flap flip animation
  • Customizable messages with line breaks
  • Live weather and stock feeds
  • Multiple display themes
  • Message scheduling
  • Cross-platform support
Features
Read full description

Turn any screen into a beautiful signage display. Split-Flap Board recreates the mechanical charm of airport departure boards — then goes further with LED matrices, retro marquees, glowing neon, and cinematic text crawls. Write a message, pick a style, and watch it come to life. WHAT YOU CAN DO • Type any message and watch it flip, glow, scroll, or reveal itself character by character • Build playlists that rotate through your messages automatically • Schedule messages to appear at the right time of day • Add live feeds — time, weather, news, and stock prices update themselves • Use it on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV DISPLAY STYLES • Split-Flap — the classic Solari board, in basic and sepia variants (free) • LED Dot Matrix — crisp pixel displays with animated reveals (free) • Cyberpunk Neon — glowing borders that pulse, chase, blink, and hum • Retro Marquee — warm theater bulbs in any color you like • Galaxy Crawl — cinematic perspective scrolling • Word Matrix — dramatic letter-by-letter reveals, in light or dark • Background Image — your own photos behind animated text MADE FOR REAL PLACES Shop hours and daily specials. The Wi-Fi password for guests. A welcome message by the door. A birthday surprise on the TV. A countdown to your next trip. A dashboard on a spare iPad. However you use it, it looks the part. WORKS OFFLINE, STAYS PRIVATE No account. No sign-in. No ads, no tracking, no analytics. Your messages stay on your device. Live feeds only reach the internet when you switch them on. FOR POWER USERS Turn on the built-in local REST API and drive the board from another device on your Wi-Fi — a home server, a shortcut, a script. PREMIUM — ONE PURCHASE, YOURS FOREVER The Split-Flap and LED themes — and all core editing — are free. A single one-time purchase, never a subscription, unlocks every premium theme, unlimited playlists, Fullscreen mode, and the REST API. Buy once, use it on all your devices.

Screenshots

ntfy2 screens
Split Flap4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ntfy at none against Split Flap's 2. ntfy also leads on ratings volume (474 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). Split Flap's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 79%) and rating (5.0 vs 4.8). On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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. Split Flap sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. ntfy asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Split Flap holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ntfy has 474 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 79% of ntfy's written reviews are positive against 100% of Split Flap's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ntfy ships an update fortnightly, Split Flap every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
ntfy versus Split Flap: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterntfySplit Flap
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (474 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews78.9% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings474 — better1
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 4 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV — better
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB15 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPhilipp HeckelGregory Dolder

Customer experience

ntfy

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

Split Flap

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

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

Split Flap

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

ntfy

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Split Flap

One-time1
  • Premium Features2 variants$0.99

Questions

Is ntfy free?
ntfy is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Split Flap free?
Split Flap is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, ntfy or Split Flap?
Split Flap is rated higher. ntfy averages 4.8 out of 5 from 474 ratings, while Split Flap averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do ntfy or Split Flap have ads?
Neither ntfy nor Split Flap shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ntfy or Split Flap?
ntfy ships an update fortnightly, and Split Flap every 4 weeks. Most recently, ntfy was updated on October 25, 2026 and Split Flap on October 24, 2026.

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