YouLMK vs ntfy

YouLMK or ntfy?

ntfy, in its own words: "a simple HTTP-based pub-sub notification service" that lets you "send notifications to your phone or desktop via scripts from any computer, and/or using a REST API". It is "100% free software", dual-licensed under Apache 2.0 and GPLv2, developed on GitHub (34,166 stars on 12 September 2026) and in Discord and Matrix. YouLMK is an inbox you let things interrupt you through: anything with an HTTP client sends into it, and you decide per sender how far a message may reach, whether quiet hours hold it and how repeats group. It can also watch a page, an endpoint, a status page, a feed, a number or a time, and send when the answer changes.

Every fact about ntfy below was read on its own pages on 12 September 2026. If one has changed since, write to hello@youlmk.com and it is corrected the same day.

Side by side

ntfy

YouLMK

What it is

A pub-sub server: you publish to a topic, the apps subscribed to it get the message.

A hosted inbox: every sender has its own key and its own rules on your side.

Price

Free on ntfy.sh without signing up (a topic name is the password); Supporter $6 a month ($5 yearly), Pro $12 ($10), Business $25 ($20); free to self-host.

Send $4 a month or $40 a year for unlimited notifications; Watch $12 or $120 adds watching. Trial: 10 notifications and 3 watches, no card.

Open source

Yes, the server and the apps.

No. The libraries, the Claude Code plugin, the GitHub Action and the Apprise plugin are open source; the service is not.

Self-hosting

Yes, the server is one binary or one container.

No, hosted only.

Sending

PUT or POST to a topic URL, with headers or query parameters for title, priority (1 to 5), tags, click, icon, attach, email, actions and delay; 4,096 bytes of text.

POST text or JSON to your key, GET with query parameters, a bearer token door, a webhook URL that understands 21 services, an MCP server, libraries for Node, Python, Swift, Kotlin and React Native.

Rules on the receiving side

The sender sets the priority per message (min, low, default, high, urgent), which the phone maps to vibration and pop-over.

Per sender: a Reach level (Silent, Badge, Banner, Break through), whether quiet hours hold it, grouping of repeats within a window, which destinations it reaches.

Quiet hours

The phone's own settings.

One schedule; held items arrive together when it ends, never dropped.

Watching

None; ntfy sends what it is given.

A sentence becomes a watch: a page, an endpoint, a status page, a feed, a number or a time, checked on a schedule.

Agents

Any client that can make an HTTP call.

The same, plus an MCP server with notify and watch tools.

Where it lands

Android, iOS, the web app; email and phone calls on paid plans (50 emails and 3 calls a day on Supporter).

iPhone and Apple Watch, Android, the browser, email, Slack, a signed webhook you own.

Choose ntfy if

You want it free and you are happy with a public topic as the only secret, or you run your own server.
You need open-source software end to end, or an air-gapped setup.
Everything you send is your own script's output and the phone's own notification settings are rules enough.

Choose YouLMK if

Several things send to you and they should not all be equally loud: the deploy may wake you, the backup never should.
You want quiet hours that hold rather than drop, repeats grouped into one card, and a link and two actions on every notification.
You want the same inbox in email, Slack or a webhook of yours, or a watch on a page, a price or an endpoint without running anything.
You do not want to run a server, and $4 a month is fine.

What is the same

Both take one HTTP call from anything, both have phone apps with real push, both are used from cron jobs, CI, home servers and agents, and both work with Apprise. If all you need is a push from a script, ntfy will do it; YouLMK is for what happens after it arrives.

Try it

The trial is 10 notifications and 3 watches, no card, no clock. Get your key, or read the docs first.

Sources

ntfy.sh, the front page with the pricing, read 12 September 2026
docs.ntfy.sh/publish, the headers and priorities, read 12 September 2026
github.com/binwiederhier/ntfy, read 12 September 2026