head to head · open source
Ntfy vs useSend
Ntfy has 34,282 GitHub stars, 1,605 forks, 393 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. useSend has 4,686 stars, 421 forks, 37 open issues and last shipped 10 days ago. Ntfy leads on adoption by 632% (34,282 vs 4,686 stars). Ntfy is written in Go under Apache-2.0; useSend is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. Ntfy has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, useSend 9%. Ntfy was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
← all 8884 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Ntfy | useSend | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 34K | ★ 4.7K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-08 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.6K | ⑂ 421 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Ntfy if
- You weight community size — 34K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick useSend if
- You want the useSend feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and useSend fits your workflow better
About Ntfy
ntfy is an HTTP based publish subscribe notification service that delivers push notifications to phones and desktops via simple REST API calls. It operates in the open source notification ecosystem, providing a lightweight alternative to proprietary push notification infrastructure. Users publish messages to topics via standard HTTP methods, and subscribers receive them instantly on registered devices.
About useSend
useSend is open source sending infrastructure, positioned directly as an alternative to Resend, Sendgrid and Postmark, and written in TypeScript under the AGPL 3.0 license. It lives in the email and communication ecosystem, filed under Productivity & Utilities / Email & Communication. Like most email products on the market, it uses Amazon SES under the hood to transmit messages, and it wraps that delivery layer in an open dashboard for sending reliably and cheaply. The project's stated premise is simple: pay per email sent, rather than paying for contact storage. The repository carries 4676 stars, 421 forks and 3…
read the full useSend overview →
More in Productivity & Utilities
Related comparisons
More Email & Communication projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Email & Communication field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Ntfy or useSend more popular?
Ntfy has 34,282 GitHub stars and useSend has 4,686. Ntfy has the larger community by that measure.
Are Ntfy and useSend free?
Both are open source. Ntfy is licensed under Apache-2.0 and useSend under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Ntfy and useSend?
Ntfy is written in Go and useSend in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Ntfy or useSend?
Choose Ntfy if you want the larger community (34,282 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose useSend if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.