Softwr

APIs · head to head

Asyncapi vs Convoy

Asyncapi logo

Asyncapi

APIs

Specification and tools for defining asynchronous APIs

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Convoy logo

Convoy

APIs

Open source webhooks gateway you self-host, handling both sending and receiving

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Asyncapi complex to implement and debug asynchronous operations due to their non-linear and concurrent nature; Convoy the default deployment is self-hosted, so you operate Convoy plus Postgres and Redis and carry the on-call burden for the system that delivers your customers' events.
  • They diverge on capability: Asyncapi covers API Specification, Convoy covers Inbound and outbound.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Asyncapi and Convoy actually diverge.

Attributes where Asyncapi and Convoy differ
AttributeAsyncapiConvoy
Pricing modelopen-sourcePer month, flat rate regardless of volume
PlatformsWeb, CLI, IDE ExtensionsLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud
Founded2019Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (APIs).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Asyncapi

  • API Specification
  • Code generation
  • Documentation
  • Multiple messaging protocols
  • Code generators
  • Specification support
  • Tools support
  • CLI support

Only in Convoy

  • Inbound and outbound
  • Broker-driven ingestion
  • Payload transformation
  • Portal links
  • Circuit breaking
  • Retry policies
  • OpenTelemetry export
  • Role-based access control

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Asyncapi

  • API Developmentnot Convoy
  • API Gatewaynot Convoy
  • API Testingnot Convoy
  • API Documentationnot Convoy
  • Microservicesnot Convoy

Convoy

  • A fintech that cannot route customer webhook traffic through a third-party SaaS for compliance reasonsnot Asyncapi
  • A high-volume platform for which per-message webhook pricing costs more than the flat premium licencenot Asyncapi
  • A team that also receives webhooks from many providers and wants ingestion, verification and deduplication in the same gatewaynot Asyncapi
  • An engineering group that wants webhook delivery driven directly from an existing Kafka or SQS topicnot Asyncapi

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Asyncapi

  • Complex to implement and debug asynchronous operations due to their non-linear and concurrent nature
  • Keeping AsyncAPI documents up to date is challenging as systems evolve
  • Tracing and debugging asynchronous operations is more difficult than synchronous request-response patterns

Convoy

  • The default deployment is self-hosted, so you operate Convoy plus Postgres and Redis and carry the on-call burden for the system that delivers your customers' events.
  • Frain Technologies is a small startup, and putting customer-facing delivery infrastructure on it means accepting real vendor continuity risk on a component that is hard to swap out quickly.
  • The premium tier at a flat 999 US dollars a month is poor value below substantial volume, while the community edition omits the portal, transformations and RBAC that most production deployments end up wanting.
  • The hosted cloud trial is capped at one project and 100 events a day, which is too small to properly evaluate the service before committing.
  • Documentation and the third-party ecosystem are thinner than the established webhook services, so unusual configurations often mean reading the Go source.

Pricing, plan by plan

Asyncapi

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • AsyncAPI specification
    • Tools
    • Community support

Convoy

Free
  • CommunityFree
    • Self-hosted open source gateway
    • Inbound and outbound webhooks
    • Automatic retries and message broker support
  • Premium$999/month
    • Flat rate irrespective of message volume
    • Portal links and payload transformation
    • RBAC, circuit breaking and white labelling
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • SAML SSO
    • Dedicated support with SLA
    • On-premises deployment assistance
  • Cloud$undefined/month
    • Hosted by Convoy
    • 14 day trial limited to one project and 100 events a day
    • Usage-based tiers above the trial

Which should you pick?

Choose Asyncapi if

  • You need api specification.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, CLI, IDE Extensions.
  • You also want code generation.
Asyncapi review

Choose Convoy if

  • You need inbound and outbound.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud.
  • You also want broker-driven ingestion.
Convoy review

Questions people ask

Is Asyncapi or Convoy better?
Neither clearly leads. Asyncapi starts at Free and Convoy at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Asyncapi or Convoy?
Asyncapi starts at Free and Convoy at Free.
Does Asyncapi or Convoy run on more platforms?
Asyncapi runs on Web, CLI, IDE Extensions. Convoy runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud.
Can I use Asyncapi for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Asyncapi best used for?
Asyncapi is most often used for api development, api gateway, api testing, api documentation. Of those, api development and api gateway are not what Convoy is typically brought in for.
What can Asyncapi do that Convoy cannot?
Asyncapi covers API Specification, Code generation, Documentation, Multiple messaging protocols. Convoy covers Inbound and outbound, Broker-driven ingestion, Payload transformation, Portal links.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Asyncapi: What is AsyncAPI used for?

AsyncAPI is an open-source specification for defining and documenting asynchronous APIs, message-driven systems, and event-driven architectures. It serves the same purpose for async APIs as OpenAPI does for REST APIs, providing standardized documentation, code generation, and tooling.

Source
Convoy: Is Convoy really open source?

Yes, the community edition is open source and self-hostable, covering both inbound and outbound webhooks with retries.

Asyncapi: Is AsyncAPI free to use?

Yes, AsyncAPI is completely free and open-source. It is hosted by the Linux Foundation and supported by community contributions and sponsorships from companies like Postman, IBM, IQVIA Technology, and Solace.

Source
Convoy: What does premium cost?

A flat 999 US dollars a month, self-hosted, regardless of message volume.

Asyncapi: What protocols and technologies does AsyncAPI support?

AsyncAPI supports multiple protocols and technologies including Kafka, RabbitMQ, MQTT, Socket.IO, AWS EventBridge, and others. It provides language support for JavaScript/TypeScript, Python, Java, Go, C#/.NET, Kotlin, and PHP.

Source
Convoy: Does it receive webhooks as well as send them?

Yes, inbound ingestion with verification and deduplication is a first-class feature, unlike most webhook services.

Asyncapi: Does AsyncAPI have IDE support?

Yes, AsyncAPI has IDE extensions available for VSCode and IntelliJ, along with CLI utilities and GitHub Actions integration for developers.

Source
Convoy: Do I have to self-host?

No, there is a hosted cloud, but the trial is capped at 100 events a day and self-hosting is the primary model.

Share

Related pages

More on Asyncapi

More on Convoy

Keep looking

Other head to heads