Webhooky vs. ntfy vs. Pushover
July 20, 2026 · 6 min read
All three solve the same problem: your server, script or webhook needs to make your phone buzz – without you building an app. They just make very different trade-offs. Here is the honest version.
The short answer
- You self-host everything and live on Android? Take ntfy. Open source, unlimited on your own server.
- You want a one-time price and don't mind API tokens? Take Pushover. $4.99 once per platform after the 30-day trial.
- You want the fastest setup, first-class iOS and webhook senders posting directly? Take Webhooky. Install, copy your link, done – no account.
Feature comparison
| Webhooky | ntfy | Pushover | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup | Install app, link is ready – no account | Pick a topic name (hosted) or run your own server | Create account, get user key + API token |
| Send a message | POST any JSON to your URL | POST text to your topic | POST with token, user and message params |
| Raw webhooks (Stripe, Shopify …) | Yes – unknown payloads fall back to your configured title/text | Body arrives as raw text | No – senders must speak Pushover's API format |
| iOS | Native APNs, full support | App exists but clearly behind Android (Apple limits background connections) | Full support |
| Sounds | 40 sounds, per endpoint and per message | Limited, especially on iOS | Good selection, custom uploads |
| Self-hosting | No | Yes – its biggest strength | No |
| Price | Free for 100 notifications, then €4.99/mo or €29.99/yr | Free self-hosted; ntfy.sh free tier rate-limited, Pro from ~$5/mo | $4.99 one-time per platform (30-day trial) |
Where the differences actually bite
Webhooks from third-party services
Stripe, Shopify or GitHub can't fill in Pushover's token/user parameters – you need middleware in between. ntfy accepts any POST, but the notification then shows the raw JSON blob. Webhooky reads title, message and sound when they exist and otherwise shows the title and text you configured for the endpoint – a raw Stripe webhook becomes “💶 New payment” instead of a JSON dump.
iOS
Apple doesn't allow apps to keep a connection open in the background, so every tool must deliver through APNs. Webhooky and Pushover do that natively. ntfy's iOS app depends on its hosted infrastructure even when you self-host, and its developer openly documents that iOS lags behind Android.
Privacy of the address
With ntfy's hosted service, anyone who guesses your topic name can send to it (the topic is the password). Webhooky endpoints use a random 24-character key, and you can delete and recreate an endpoint in two taps if a URL ever leaks.
Verdict
There is no single winner. ntfy earns its place in every self-hoster's stack. Pushover has been reliable for a decade and the one-time price is fair. Webhooky's niche is speed and simplicity: no account, webhook-native parsing, per-event sounds like a cash register for sales – and both stores, Google Play and the App Store. Try the free 100 notifications and see if it fits.
Coming from one of the two? See the migration notes for Pushover and ntfy.
Get Webhooky
Free for your first 100 notifications – set up your endpoint in two minutes.
