Push notifications require the customer to have installed your app and opted in; RCS reaches the native inbox with no app at all. Push is effectively free per message and great for re-engaging existing app users, but its reach is capped by app installs and notification opt-in rates, and messages are easy to dismiss. RCS reaches a far larger audience (anyone with an RCS-capable phone), carries richer interactive content, and persists in the inbox, at a per-message cost.
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RCS vs Push Notifications, line by line.
Every dimension, both sides. Search to jump to what matters, hover a row to focus it.
None, the native inbox
Your app must be installed
Anyone with an RCS-capable phone
Capped by installs and opt-in rates
$0.0039 a text, $0.0150 with media
Effectively free
Stays in the inbox
Easy to dismiss, then gone
Cards, carousels, buttons, two-way replies
Short text, one tap into the app
Written consent, STOP honored
OS notification permission
Reaching people who will never install
Re-engaging your installed base
Push reach is capped twice
The reason push looks cheap and performs narrowly is that its audience is filtered twice before a message is ever sent. First by installation: most customers of most brands never download the app at all. Then by permission: of those who do install, a large share decline notifications or switch them off later, and neither group can be reached by push again at any price. RCS has no equivalent gate. If the customer gave you consent to message them and their phone supports RCS, the message arrives in an inbox they already read, and if the handset does not support RCS it arrives as SMS. That is why the two are usually complements: push works the base you already have, RCS works the market you do not.
Where the message lives afterward
A push notification is a moment. It appears on the lock screen, and once dismissed or cleared it is gone unless the customer goes looking inside the app. An RCS message is a thread. It sits in the messaging inbox with the brand name and logo attached, it can be scrolled back to a week later, and the buttons in it still work, so a reorder prompt or an appointment link keeps earning after the first glance. That persistence is also what makes RCS two-way in a way push is not: the customer can reply in the same thread, and the reply lands in your inbox rather than starting a support ticket somewhere else.
Use push to re-engage your installed base at no marginal cost; use RCS to reach the much larger group who will never install your app but will read a branded text. For many brands, RCS is the way to get app-like engagement without app fatigue.
- Push reach is limited twice over, by who installs the app and by who leaves notifications enabled; RCS depends only on consent and device support.
- RCS messages persist in the messaging thread and stay actionable; a dismissed push notification is gone.
- RCS supports two-way replies, cards, carousels, and buttons, where push carries a short line of text and a tap into the app.
- Push costs nothing per message; RCS is $0.0039 a text or $0.0150 with media on SimplyRCS, which is the trade for reaching people who never installed the app.
RCS vs Push Notifications, common questions.
How is RCS different from push notifications?
Push notifications need your app installed and permission granted, and they clear from the lock screen quickly. RCS delivers a persistent, branded, interactive message to the phone’s inbox, with no app required.
Do customers opt in for RCS like they do for push?
RCS uses consent and honors STOP, like SMS. Unlike push, it does not depend on an installed app or a separate notification permission, so your reachable audience is much larger.
Can RCS do more than a push notification?
Yes. Beyond a short alert, RCS can carry images, carousels, and buttons that let a customer reorder, confirm, or reschedule right inside the thread.
Why is push reach smaller than it looks?
It is filtered twice: first by who installs the app at all, then by who grants and keeps notification permission. Everyone outside those two filters is unreachable by push at any price, and that is the audience RCS is for.
Is push cheaper than RCS?
Per message, yes, push is effectively free. RCS is $0.0039 a text or $0.0150 with media on SimplyRCS. That cost buys reach to people who never installed the app, which is why most brands run both rather than choosing.
What happens to the message after it is delivered?
A dismissed push notification is gone. An RCS message stays in the thread with your brand name and logo, can be scrolled back to later, and its buttons still work, so it keeps earning after the first glance.
Compare RCS with another channel.
Nine head-to-heads, including the one you are reading.