Key Takeaways
- WhoKnew Signal’s™ free tier includes unlimited active subscribers — there is no cap, no per-subscriber fee, and no upgrade required as your audience grows.
- iOS Safari push notifications are included in the free tier at no extra cost — many competing plugins charge a monthly add-on fee or require a paid plan just to reach iPhone users.
- The free plugin stores every subscriber endpoint in your own WordPress database and sends notifications directly from your server — no third-party relay, no Firebase dependency, and no external account of any kind.
- What the free tier does not include: WooCommerce automation triggers, smart subscriber segmentation, A/B testing, scheduled campaigns, welcome drip sequences, re-engagement automations, advanced analytics, and SMS — those require Pro at $8/month.
- The free tier is genuinely complete for most blogs, publishers, and content sites — Pro is specifically for WooCommerce stores and sites that need automation, segmentation, or SMS.
The most common question people have before installing WhoKnew Signal™ is a simple one: what do I actually get without paying? It’s a reasonable thing to want answered clearly before committing to a setup, especially when most push notification plugins either bury the free tier limitations in fine print or require an account creation before you can find out. This article is that clear answer — the complete list of what’s included in the free tier, what’s not, and why the distinction between the two is where it is.
The Short Version
The free tier of WhoKnew Signal™ is a fully functional, production-ready push notification system with unlimited subscribers and no expiration. It’s not a trial, not a feature-limited preview, and not a stripped-down version designed to force an upgrade. It’s the complete push infrastructure — subscriber collection, notification delivery, PWA manifest, iOS support, welcome notifications, auto-send on publish, and click tracking — without a time limit or a subscriber cap.
What Pro adds is automation, analytics depth, WooCommerce integration, segmentation, and SMS. If you run a WooCommerce store, a high-volume publication, or a site that needs behavioral targeting and scheduled campaigns, Pro is worth it. If you run a blog, a publisher site, a nonprofit, or any content site where the core need is “notify my subscribers when I publish,” the free tier covers everything.
Complete Free vs Pro Feature Breakdown
| Feature | Free | Pro ($8/mo or $80/yr) |
|---|---|---|
| Active subscribers | ✓ Unlimited | ✓ Unlimited |
| iOS Safari push (via PWA) | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| macOS Safari push | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Chrome, Firefox, Edge desktop | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Android Chrome push | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Full PWA manifest + Web App tab | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Self-hosted VAPID delivery | ✓ Always | ✓ Always |
| Subscriber data on your server | ✓ Always | ✓ Always |
| Subscription popup (4 styles) | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Welcome notification | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Auto-send on publish (Posts) | ✓ Included | ✓ All post types |
| Manual campaigns | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Campaign history | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Click tracking | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Subscribers tab (browser/platform/endpoint) | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| VAPID key backup and restore | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| WordPress dashboard widget | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Offline caching + PWA offline page | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Privacy policy text | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Advanced analytics dashboard | — | Pro — CTR charts, browser/platform breakdowns, best time to send |
| A/B testing | — | Pro — split-test titles and bodies, auto-winner promotion |
| Scheduled campaigns | — | Pro — one-time, daily, weekly, monthly, or custom day |
| Welcome drip sequence | — | Pro — timed push sequence for every new subscriber |
| Re-engagement automation | — | Pro — daily check targets inactive subscribers automatically |
| Smart subscriber segments | — | Pro — engagement, device, tenure, Woo purchase behavior |
| WooCommerce push triggers | — | Pro — cart, orders, back-in-stock, price drop, new product |
| Auto-send on all post types | — | Pro — any public custom post type auto-discovered |
| Rich notification images | — | Pro — large banner image in notification body |
| Action buttons | — | Pro — clickable secondary CTA on notifications |
| Auto UTM tagging | — | Pro — appends utm_source=push automatically |
| Background batched sending | — | Pro — optimized send performance profiles |
| Subscriber import/export | — | Pro — full list portability for migrations |
| Install on Phones shortcode | — | Pro — smart device-detecting install buttons for iOS/Android |
| Report & White Label Branding | — | Pro |
| SMS notifications | — | Pro — via your own Twilio account, ~$0.008/SMS |
The Things Most Competing Plugins Charge For — That Signal Includes Free
The comparison that matters most isn’t free vs Pro within Signal — it’s what Signal’s free tier includes compared to what competing SaaS push platforms charge for at comparable tiers.
Getting Started on the Free Tier
The free tier setup takes roughly five minutes. Install the plugin from WordPress.org, activate it — VAPID keys are generated automatically with no configuration required — go to Settings to enable push and customize the subscription popup, then go to the Web App tab to configure your PWA manifest for iOS support. The Dashboard’s “Ready to Send” status confirms everything is working. For a complete step-by-step walkthrough, see WhoKnew Signal™ Guide: WordPress Push Notifications in 5 Minutes.
When Pro Is Worth It
Pro is worth it specifically for WooCommerce stores and high-volume publishers who need the features that aren’t in the free tier. For a blog or content site whose core need is “notify subscribers when I publish,” the free tier is complete and Pro adds nothing you’d actually use daily.
The clearest signals that Pro is worth upgrading to: you run a WooCommerce store and want abandoned cart recovery or back-in-stock alerts; you want to A/B test notification copy; you publish on multiple custom post types and need auto-send to cover all of them; you want scheduled campaigns rather than immediate sends; or you want the advanced analytics dashboard showing CTR trends, best time to send, and subscriber growth charts. Pro starts at $8/month or $80/year — two months free on annual billing.
Further Reading
- WhoKnew Signal™ Guide: WordPress Push Notifications in 5 Minutes — the complete step-by-step setup walkthrough including iOS install shortcode placement.
- What Is VAPID and Why It Matters for WordPress Site Owners — the open standard that makes Signal’s self-hosted delivery work without Firebase.
- How Often Should You Send Push Notifications? — frequency research once your free-tier subscriber list starts growing.
- How WordPress Push Notifications Actually Reach a Phone — the delivery path from your server to a subscriber’s device.
Who knew the free tier of a WordPress push notification plugin could include unlimited subscribers, iOS Safari support, and genuine self-hosted delivery — all at the same time.
