Braze alternatives: where to go and how to switch without breaking anything
Seven destinations, one for each reason to leave, and an eight-step migration plan.
The short answer: Customer.io if you want email, push and in-app in one tool with a public price (from $100 a month), OneSignal if push notifications are your real need (free to start, Growth from $19 a month), CleverTap or MoEngage if you run a consumer app and want to stay on a full platform, Brevo or Klaviyo if email drives most of your revenue. One thing to know before you choose: your push tokens don't leave with the export. Your users have to open the new version of your app before you can reach them again. We compared the seven destinations in this guide and checked their prices in 2026.
Some links are affiliate links. They don't change the order or the opinions on this page.
Why teams leave Braze, and why it takes a while
Braze is a strong platform. CRM teams that use it praise its depth and the hands-on onboarding. People leave for other reasons: a price you only see in a quote, credits that are hard to forecast, a level of complexity that needs engineers, and a new owner on the way. Six reasons, all checked in 2026.
No public pricing
Braze's pricing page shows no numbers. It lists four editions (Go, Select, Pro and Enterprise) and sends you to sales for the rest. You get a quote based on your monthly active users and Action Credits, with no grid to place yourself before the call. So you can't compare it with an alternative without talking to sales.
A bill in two units
Price scales with your monthly active users (MAU), and the contract adds Action Credits: a shared pool that every channel and Braze's AI features draw from. Several customers say they struggle to work out how many credits they need. The result is a budget that moves every time you add a channel or an AI campaign.
A dense platform that needs engineers
Braze does a lot, and you feel it day to day. Reviews mention a steep learning curve for teams new to marketing automation, campaigns that take long to configure, and Liquid personalization (a templating language) that often lands on a developer's desk. Some also find team roles and integration APIs less granular than they hoped.
Increases at renewal
Smaller companies mostly talk about renewals: repeated price increases and the feeling that a startup doesn't matter much. Other customers find Braze cheaper than heavier rivals. Both are true. Braze makes sense at scale, much less for an app that mainly sends push.
The Salesforce acquisition
Salesforce signed an agreement to buy Braze for $47.50 per share in cash, about $5.66 billion in enterprise value. Closing is expected in Salesforce's fiscal year 2028, subject to shareholder approval and regulatory clearance. Braze's CEO says the team will keep building as Braze, and the announcement talks about bringing that expertise to Salesforce Marketing Cloud. For you, the takeaway is simple: don't sign a multi-year deal until things are clear.
Too much platform for one channel
If 90% of your sends are push notifications, or ecommerce emails, you are paying for a multichannel platform to do one job. A specialist tool does the same work for a fraction of the price. It's the most common exit reason for apps that grew slower than planned.
You're leaving because… go to…
The right Braze alternative depends on what is pushing you out. Usually one line fits. Each card jumps to the full profile below.
Email, push and in-app on every plan, Essentials from $100 a month.
You mostly send push notificationsOneSignalFree to start, Growth from $19 a month.
You run a consumer app and want to keep everythingCleverTapCore plan at $85 a month, 30-day trial.
You want a full platform billed per tracked userMoEngageGrowth and Enterprise plans, pricing on demo.
Email drives most of your revenueBrevoFree at 300 emails a day, Starter from $9 a month.
You sell onlineKlaviyoEmail, SMS and mobile push built on order history.
Braze alternatives, tool by tool
For each tool: why move to it, who it's for, its catch, how to migrate from Braze, and what it costs. Prices are the ones shown in 2026. The ranking is editorial: a sponsored spot is always labeled on its card, and no affiliate link changes a score.
Customer.io: the most direct exit, with a public price
Closest to BrazeWhy switch to Customer.io. It keeps the most of Braze without the quote: email, push and in-app messages on every plan, journeys triggered by your product events, and a public price list. Essentials starts at $100 a month billed monthly, with 5,000 profiles and 1 million emails a month. Each extra profile costs $0.009. Web push is free on every plan as part of push notifications.
Who it's for. SaaS products and apps that drive messaging from product data, with a small engineering team.
Who it's not for. A marketing team with no developer. Setup runs through the SDK and event tracking, just like Braze.
The catch. Premium starts at $1,000 a month, billed yearly, and SMS is priced on custom volume. One more thing to plan for: Customer.io manually reviews every account before any outbound message goes out. Leave a few days of buffer. Tip: if your startup raised under $10M, its Startup Program gives you a full year free.
How to migrate. Customer.io publishes a guide for leaving Braze. Braze exports cap at 500,000 users at a time, so you export by segment. Attribute names come out in capital letters, so remap them on import. You don't export device tokens: they get registered again when the Customer.io SDK identifies each person. Create a "migrated" segment to track progress, then push your app update.
- Paid
- Essentials from $100/mo
- Included
- 5,000 profiles, 1M emails/mo
- Channels
- email, push, in-app
- Catch
- manual review before 1st send
OneSignal: when push is what you really need
PushWhy switch to OneSignal. Plenty of apps pay Braze mostly to send push notifications. OneSignal is built around that job, with a free tier and a readable price list. Free costs $0 and covers unlimited mobile push for organizations with up to 1,000 monthly active users. Growth starts at $19 a month, then $0.012 per monthly active user for mobile push and $0.004 per web push subscriber.
Who it's for. Mobile apps and media sites where push and in-app carry most of the messaging.
Who it's not for. A CRM team building long journeys across email, SMS and purchase data. Professional and Enterprise are custom-priced, so you're back to negotiating.
The catch. The free plan caps web push at 10,000 subscribers per send. Email exists but plays second fiddle: 10,000 sends a month on Free, 20,000 included on Growth, then $1.50 per 1,000.
How to migrate. This is where the token problem is handled best. Imported iOS subscriptions can receive push right away. Android, Huawei and Amazon subscriptions need the OneSignal SDK running on the device. Web push subscriptions can't be imported at all, because browsers block it. OneSignal suggests importing users active in the last 270 days, and removing the old SDK in the same release: keeping both is only meant for a phased migration, when you can't remove the old one in one release. Our advice goes the same way: one active push SDK, to avoid token conflicts and duplicate notifications.
- Free
- mobile push up to 1,000 MAU
- Paid
- Growth from $19/mo
- Beyond
- $0.012 per MAU
- Catch
- web push can't be imported
CleverTap: mobile engagement with an entry price
Consumer appsWhy switch to CleverTap. It's the closest match to Braze for a consumer app: behavior analytics, real-time segments, push, in-app, web push, email, SMS and WhatsApp (RCS is only an add-on on Pro and Ultimate). The difference is a published entry price. Core costs $85 a month, before taxes and add-ons, and billing only starts after a 30-day trial.
Who it's for. Commerce, gaming, media and fintech apps that want analytics and messaging in one place.
Who it's not for. A B2B SaaS that mostly sends email. You'd pay for a mobile platform to run email.
The catch. Pro and Ultimate have no listed price, so you go through a demo. Several channels are paid add-ons. Pricing climbs in MAU tiers, from up to 5,000 to over 100,000. Watch out for comparison sites still quoting a $75 plan: the official page now shows Core at $85.
How to migrate. Put your real MAU number on the table on the first call, since that's the billing unit. Use the 30-day trial to wire the SDK into a test build, rebuild your three main journeys and check segments before you import the whole base.
- Paid
- Core $85/mo
- Trial
- 30 days before billing
- Channels
- push, in-app, email, SMS, WhatsApp
- Catch
- Pro and Ultimate on demo
MoEngage: stay on a full platform, billed differently
Full platformWhy switch to MoEngage. If your team really uses the breadth of Braze (mobile and web push, email, SMS, in-app, on-site messages), MoEngage covers the same ground. Its billing unit is different: it counts MTUs, each unique user actively engaged or tracked in the month. For an app where many active users get almost nothing, that's a different basis to negotiate on.
Who it's for. Large consumer apps that want a new vendor without giving up a full platform.
Who it's not for. A team leaving Braze because of the quote. MoEngage shows no numbers and runs everything through a demo.
The catch. Two plans, Growth and Enterprise, with no public price. Content cards and messaging apps (WhatsApp, RCS, Line, Viber, Telegram) are add-ons.
How to migrate. Get two quotes side by side, MoEngage and CleverTap, with the same user count and the same channels. Make sure every add-on you need is written into the quote, not promised on a call.
- Billing
- per MTU (tracked user)
- Plans
- Growth, Enterprise
- Price
- on demo
- Catch
- messaging apps are add-ons
Brevo: when email does the heavy lifting
Email, low budgetWhy switch to Brevo. If your Braze campaigns are mostly emails and a few texts, Brevo does that job for a very different bill. It charges mostly by email volume. The free plan sends 300 emails a day and stores up to 100,000 contacts. Starter costs $9 a month and Standard $18, both for 5,000 emails. We rate it 4.1 out of 5 in our review.
Who it's for. Small businesses and online stores leaving Braze for email, who want SMS and transactional email in the same account.
Who it's not for. A mobile app that lives on push and in-app messages. That's not its turf.
The catch. Since 2025, Starter at $9 stores only 500 contacts, and small tiers cap contacts based on send volume. Automations stop at 2,000 contacts until you reach Standard.
How to migrate. Export Braze users by segment, keep only those who opened or clicked, and load unsubscribes into the blocklist before anything else. Our Brevo pricing breakdown walks through every tier.
- Free
- 300 emails a day
- Paid
- Starter $9/mo
- Score
- 4.1/5
- Catch
- 500 contacts on first tier
Klaviyo: when you sell online
EcommerceWhy switch to Klaviyo. Braze thinks in active users. Klaviyo thinks in orders: segments on purchase history, ready-made abandoned cart flows, and email, SMS and mobile push in one place. For an ecommerce brand that used Braze mainly to bring buyers back, it's often the best ratio of effort to revenue.
Who it's for. Shopify or WooCommerce stores that want to run email, SMS and push off purchase data.
Who it's not for. A non-commerce app, a media site, a SaaS. You'd pay for a tool designed around shopping.
The catch. Free covers 250 active profiles, 500 emails a month and $5 of mobile messages a month. Past that, the pricing page has you build your plan from your list size instead of showing a simple grid. Mobile push only reaches app users who opted in to notifications.
How to migrate. Connect your store first: order history is what makes Klaviyo worth it. Then import the engaged profiles exported from Braze. Our guide to switching from Klaviyo also lays out its limits, which helps when you negotiate.
- Free
- 250 profiles, 500 emails/mo
- Mobile
- $5 of messages/mo included
- Best for
- ecommerce
- Catch
- plan built to your size
Airship: the mobile option with a self-serve way in
MobileWhy switch to Airship. Airship is a long-standing specialist in mobile notifications and engagement. Its offer comes in two parts: the Airship Experience Platform, the full platform sold on a quote, and Airship Essentials, a self-serve option to get started without a sales call.
Who it's for. Mobile apps whose product team wants to own push and in-app, with room to grow into the full platform.
Who it's not for. A team that wants to compare prices before the first call. No figures are listed, Essentials included.
The catch. A pricing page without a number, just like Braze. Self-serve Essentials at least lets you wire up the SDK and judge the tool on your own app before you negotiate.
How to migrate. Same rule as everywhere: one active push SDK at a time, a "migrated" segment to track the app update, and a channel-by-channel switch.
- Offers
- AXP on quote, Essentials
- Access
- self-serve with Essentials
- Best for
- mobile apps
- Catch
- no listed price
The 7 alternatives side by side
Our default pick: Customer.io if you want the same channels with a public price, OneSignal if push dominates. For a sense of scale: an app with 50,000 monthly active users on mobile push pays $600 a month for the push part on OneSignal Growth (50,000 × $0.012), on a plan that starts at $19. On Braze, the same base is negotiated without a grid, on an annual contract. The table gives one row per tool: on the left the price unit and entry point, on the right the strong channel and how to migrate.
| Entry price | Strength and migration | |
|---|---|---|
| BrazeWhere you start | No public price, four editions, billed on MAU and Action Credits | Multichannel platform; export by segment, push tokens don't transfer |
| Customer.ioClosest match | Essentials from $100 a month (5,000 profiles), Premium from $1,000 | Email, push, in-app on every plan; Braze migration guide |
| OneSignalPush | Free, then Growth from $19 a month and $0.012 per MAU | Mobile and web push; iOS works on import, Android needs the SDK |
| CleverTapConsumer apps | Core $85 a month, after a 30-day trial | Analytics and messaging; Pro and Ultimate on demo |
| MoEngageFull platform | Growth and Enterprise on demo, billed per MTU | Push, email, SMS, in-app, on-site; messaging apps as add-ons |
| BrevoEmail | Free at 300 emails a day, Starter $9 a month | Email, SMS, transactional; CSV import by segment |
| KlaviyoEcommerce | Free for 250 profiles and 500 emails a month | Email, SMS, mobile push on order history |
| AirshipMobile | AXP on quote, self-serve Essentials | Push and in-app; one SDK active at a time |
Entry prices before tax, subject to change. Always run the numbers on your real active user count.
Migrate off Braze in eight steps
Order matters. Each step protects something: your contract, your data, your push audience, your sender reputation.
Read your contract before telling anyone
FirstWrite down the renewal date, the notice period, the MAU and Action Credits you committed to, and what's included (Currents in particular). A clean migration often takes several weeks. If renewal comes first, negotiate a short extension rather than another full year.
Negotiation tip: letting Braze know you're actively evaluating other tools puts real pressure on price. And until the acquisition closes, say no to multi-year terms.
- Time
- one hour
- Risk if rushed
- another year to pay
Inventory Canvases, segments and integrations
Day 1List every Canvas (Braze's journeys) with its trigger, delays and messages, every segment in use, every custom attribute, every event your app sends, and every integration (data warehouse, CDP, attribution tool). Flag the Liquid blocks too: they won't paste cleanly anywhere else.
One spreadsheet, one row per item, with its equivalent in the destination tool. That's your checklist for switch day.
- Time
- half a day to two days
- Risk if rushed
- forgotten Canvas
Export users by segment
CriticalBraze's export API pulls every user in a segment, as JSON with one user per line. Only one export runs at a time per segment, and 20 million users can take an hour or more. Each Braze export caps at 500,000 users, so split your base into smaller segments.
Remap column names on import, since Braze exports them in capitals. Keep a raw copy of every export outside both tools.
- Format
- JSON, one user per line
- Cap per export
- 500,000 users
Save your event history
The user export doesn't carry your full engagement history (sends, opens, clicks). If your contract includes Currents, Braze's data stream, point it at your warehouse before you leave: it ships those events as Avro files. Without Currents, that history stays in Braze.
Decide early. An event you didn't export is gone once the account closes.
- Tool
- Currents, if contracted
- Format
- Avro
Ship the new SDK and handle push tokens
Longest stepPush tokens don't transfer cleanly. On Customer.io they get registered again when the SDK identifies the user. On OneSignal, imported iOS tokens work right away, Android needs the new SDK on the device, and web push can't be imported: you have to ask the browser for permission again.
Ship an app version with the new SDK, remove Braze's SDK in that same version, then push the update (in-app message, forced update if needed). Watch a "migrated" segment until it covers most of your active users.
- Rule
- never two push SDKs at once
- Tracking
- "migrated" segment
Rebuild the journeys that make money
No Canvas exports to another tool. Start with the two or three journeys that drive revenue or retention (welcome, win-back, abandoned cart). Rewrite the Liquid personalization in the destination's syntax, then send every message to a test account.
For users mid-journey on switch day, let the old one finish in Braze and start the new one for new entrants only.
- Priority
- welcome, win-back
- Risk if rushed
- duplicate messages
Warm up your sending IP
Before the first big sendA new sending IP is a stranger to Gmail and Outlook. Braze's own warming schedules start at 50 emails on day one. The rule holds for any destination: scale up every day without skipping one, and aim for your average daily volume, not your peak.
Start with engaged contacts. Never import addresses that have never opened or clicked. And remember: go a month without sending and you have to warm up again.
- Day 1
- 50 emails
- Target
- average daily volume
Switch channel by channel, then close
Move email first, then push once the "migrated" segment is large enough, then in-app. Keep Braze running to the end of your contract for stragglers and to compare numbers.
Before you close, check that exports, history and documented Canvases are all stored outside Braze.
- Order
- email, push, in-app
- Close
- at contract end
Is your tool missing from this page? Email us: hello@hackceleration.com
What makes a Braze migration fail
The same mistakes show up again and again, in vendors' import guides and in what CRM teams report. None of them is rare, and each one costs more than the time it would have taken to avoid it.
Renewing Braze on autopilot
Renewal arrives, the migration isn't ready, and you sign for another year. Start the exit at least a quarter before the deadline and ask for a short extension if you need it. With the acquisition pending, a multi-year term is the worst case.
Assuming push tokens come along
They don't, or not cleanly. A team that cuts Braze's SDK before users update the app loses part of its push audience for weeks. Check the "migrated" segment daily before you switch off.
Running two push SDKs
Two live SDKs fight over tokens and send duplicate notifications. Users then turn notifications off, and you lose exactly what the migration was meant to protect. One SDK per app version.
Forgetting event history
Without Currents, engagement history doesn't leave Braze. If your data team needs it for retention models, connect the stream before the contract ends, not after.
Mailing the whole base on day one
A fresh IP sending your peak volume at once lands in spam. Follow the schedule, start with engaged users, and don't let a month pass without sending.
Comparing prices without comparing units
Braze counts MAU plus credits, MoEngage counts MTUs, OneSignal counts push MAU and web subscribers, Customer.io counts profiles, Brevo counts emails. Compare on your real numbers. Our rankings of push notification software, customer data platforms and ecommerce marketing automation help you decide, and our guides to switching from Bloomreach or Segment cover neighboring tools.
- Renewal date and notice period noted, no multi-year term
- Canvases, segments, attributes, events and integrations listed
- Users exported by segment, columns remapped
- Engagement history streamed to the warehouse if Currents is included
- New SDK shipped, Braze SDK removed in the same version
- "Migrated" segment checked daily
- Revenue journeys rebuilt and checked on a sandbox account
- IP warmed from 50 emails, no skipped days
- Never-engaged addresses left behind
- Channel-by-channel switch, Braze kept until contract end
Braze alternatives: frequently asked questions
How much does Braze cost?
Braze doesn't publish prices. It sells four editions (Go, Select, Pro, Enterprise) priced on your monthly active users, plus Action Credits for channels and AI. Pricing is by quote. There is no free plan.
What is the best alternative to Braze?
Customer.io if you want email, push and in-app with a public price (from $100 a month). OneSignal if you mostly send push. CleverTap or MoEngage if you want a platform as broad as Braze. Our marketing automation ranking widens the field.
Is Braze like Klaviyo?
Not really. Braze is built for apps and digital products, with push and in-app at the center. Klaviyo is built for ecommerce, with purchase history at the center, and adds SMS and mobile push. If you sell online and email drives revenue, Klaviyo is often enough.
Is switching from Braze a lengthy migration?
The export itself is quick: a 20-million-user segment takes an hour or more. The slow parts are users updating your app and rebuilding Canvases. Plan for several weeks, and start at least a quarter before renewal.
Can I keep my push tokens when I leave Braze?
Only partly. On OneSignal, imported iOS tokens work immediately, Android needs the new SDK, and web push can't be imported. On Customer.io you don't export tokens at all: they're registered again on identify. Either way, plan an app update.
Which Braze alternative is best for mobile push?
OneSignal for pure push, with free mobile push up to 1,000 MAU and Growth from $19 a month. CleverTap if you want analytics and other channels on top, from $85 a month. See our push notification software ranking for more.
What happens after the Salesforce acquisition?
Salesforce agreed to pay $47.50 per share, about $5.66 billion in enterprise value. Closing is expected in its fiscal year 2028, subject to approvals. Nothing changes in your contract until then. The safe move: no multi-year commitment, and a clear exit clause.
Do I need to warm up a new IP after migrating?
Yes, for any new sending IP. Start low (Braze's own schedules begin at 50 emails on day one), don't skip days, and aim for your average daily volume. A month without sending means starting over. Our guide to switching from Twilio covers SMS sending too.
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