# CleverTap alternatives for subscription apps

The main CleverTap alternatives for a subscription app are Whisperr, Customer.io, OneSignal, Braze and Airship. Whisperr fits if you want retention handled per user without building journeys, and it works alongside whatever analytics you already use. Customer.io and OneSignal are campaign tools with published prices, and Braze and Airship are enterprise platforms that publish no prices.

Updated 2026-10-20. HTML: https://whisperr.net/alternatives/clevertap-alternatives

## The alternatives at a glance

| Tool | Best for | Channels | Published pricing |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Whisperr | Retention decided and written per user, alongside your existing analytics | Push and email | Free up to 1,000 users; paid from $49 a month |
| Customer.io | Behaviour-triggered campaigns your team builds | Email, push, SMS, in-app, WhatsApp, LINE | Essentials from $100 a month; 14-day trial |
| OneSignal | Low-cost sending of messages you design | Mobile push, web push, email, SMS, in-app | Free plan; Growth from $19 a month |
| Braze | Large teams running many channels and campaign types | Push, email, SMS, WhatsApp, in-app and more | Not published; no free plan |
| Airship | Mobile-first brands with a mobile marketing team | Push, SMS, email, in-app, web, mobile wallet | Not published |
| CleverTap, for reference | Analytics and engagement in one platform | Push, email, WhatsApp, in-app, web, RCS, SMS | Core $85 a month after a 30-day trial |

## Whisperr

Whisperr reads each user's product events and subscription events from RevenueCat, Superwall or Adapty, decides whether a retention message would help, writes it for that user, and sends it by push or email through your own providers. There are no journeys to build, and a 10% holdout shows what it kept once each group has 200 users. [Whisperr vs CleverTap](https://whisperr.net/compare/whisperr-vs-clevertap).

## Customer.io

Customer.io builds workflows on your event data and sends email, push, SMS and in-app messages, with your own SMTP server or SendGrid account for email if you want. [Whisperr vs Customer.io](https://whisperr.net/compare/whisperr-vs-customer-io).

## OneSignal

OneSignal is the low-cost choice for sending messages you design, with a free plan and Journeys. Whisperr can send through your OneSignal account. [Whisperr vs OneSignal](https://whisperr.net/compare/whisperr-vs-onesignal).

## Braze

Braze is the broadest platform, with Canvas journeys, Predictive Churn, Intelligent Timing and a Global Control Group, sold through sales quotes. [Whisperr vs Braze](https://whisperr.net/compare/whisperr-vs-braze).

## Airship

Airship is a mobile-first enterprise platform with Predictive Churn, Optimal Send Time, holdout experiments and mobile wallet. [Whisperr vs Airship](https://whisperr.net/compare/whisperr-vs-airship).

## How to choose

- **Retention without building journeys:** Whisperr.
- **Campaigns your team builds, at a published price:** Customer.io or OneSignal.
- **Enterprise scale and many channels:** Braze or Airship.

## FAQ

### Why look for a CleverTap alternative?

Teams that already have product analytics elsewhere may not need CleverTap's analytics half, and building journeys still takes a team. Some want a cheaper sender; others want retention that runs on its own.

### Which CleverTap alternative keeps a control group?

Whisperr holds back 10% of users by default and shows retention and revenue kept with a confidence interval once each group has 200 users. Braze has a Global Control Group of 1 to 15%, Airship has holdout experiments, and Customer.io runs holdout tests per email message.

### Which alternative is cheaper than CleverTap?

OneSignal has a free plan and Growth from $19 a month. Whisperr is free up to 1,000 users with paid plans from $49 a month. CleverTap Core is listed at $85 a month. Customer.io Essentials starts at $100 a month.

### Does Whisperr replace CleverTap's analytics?

No. Whisperr reads your app's product events to decide who gets a retention message, and shows the messages' effect against a holdout, but it isn't a product analytics tool. Keep your analytics where they are.

## Sources

Checked 2026-10-20.

- [CleverTap pricing](https://clevertap.com/pricing/)
- [Customer.io pricing](https://customer.io/pricing)
- [OneSignal pricing](https://onesignal.com/pricing)
- [Braze docs, Global Control Group](https://www.braze.com/docs/user_guide/engagement_tools/testing/global_control_group/)
- [Airship docs, Holdout Experiments](https://www.airship.com/docs/guides/experimentation/holdout-experiments/)
- [Customer.io docs, holdout tests](https://docs.customer.io/journeys/holdout-test/)