Softwr

Cloud · head to head

CapRover vs Convoy

CapRover logo

CapRover

Cloud

Free self-hosted platform built on Docker Swarm with a dashboard and automatic certificates

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: CapRover since June 2026 one pseudonymous account wrote 97 of roughly 100 commits and the next human contributor wrote one, so there is no identifiable person or company to contract with, escalate to or hold responsible.; 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: CapRover covers One-click applications, Convoy covers Inbound and outbound.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CapRover and Convoy actually diverge.

Attributes where CapRover and Convoy differ
AttributeCapRoverConvoy
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feePer month, flat rate regardless of volume
PlatformsWeb, Linux, Docker, CLI, Self-hostedLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud
CategoryCloudAPIs

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

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 CapRover

  • One-click applications
  • Automatic certificates
  • Web dashboard
  • Multiple deploy paths
  • Docker Swarm clustering
  • Custom nginx configuration

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.

CapRover

  • Running a personal server or homelab with several applications behind automatic certificatesnot Convoy
  • A two person team that wants a dashboard rather than a terminal for deployments on one boxnot Convoy
  • Standing up one-click databases and internal tools without writing Compose filesnot Convoy
  • Hosting client demos cheaply where downtime is inconvenient rather than expensivenot Convoy

Convoy

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

Where each one falls short

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

CapRover

  • Since June 2026 one pseudonymous account wrote 97 of roughly 100 commits and the next human contributor wrote one, so there is no identifiable person or company to contract with, escalate to or hold responsible.
  • Donations over the last twelve months totalled 285 US dollars and there is no commercial tier, so no paid support exists at any price and no maintenance commitment is funded.
  • The LICENSE file is Apache 2.0 with a superseding appendix that bans redistributing a paid version and refers to paid features that do not yet exist, and GitHub cannot classify it, so the terms already anticipate a commercial change of direction.
  • Releases arrive in bursts with an eleven month gap between September 2023 and August 2024 and two further gaps of about six months since, so there is no basis for assuming a security fix will land promptly.
  • The backup feature is documented as experimental, covers only the CapRover configuration directory and explicitly excludes persistent volumes and container images, so every database has to be dumped separately with its container stopped.

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

CapRover

Free
  • CapRoverFree
    • No paid tier and no hosted offering
    • Unlimited applications, servers and users
    • Community support through Slack and GitHub

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 CapRover if

  • You need one-click applications.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Docker, CLI, Self-hosted.
  • You also want automatic certificates.
CapRover 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 CapRover or Convoy better?
Neither clearly leads. CapRover 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, CapRover or Convoy?
CapRover starts at Free and Convoy at Free.
Does CapRover or Convoy run on more platforms?
CapRover runs on Web, Linux, Docker, CLI, Self-hosted. Convoy runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud.
Can I use CapRover for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is CapRover best used for?
CapRover is most often used for running a personal server or homelab with several applications behind automatic certificates, a two person team that wants a dashboard rather than a terminal for deployments on one box, standing up one-click databases and internal tools without writing compose files, hosting client demos cheaply where downtime is inconvenient rather than expensive. Of those, running a personal server or homelab with several applications behind automatic certificates and a two person team that wants a dashboard rather than a terminal for deployments on one box are not what Convoy is typically brought in for.
What can CapRover do that Convoy cannot?
CapRover covers One-click applications, Automatic certificates, Web dashboard, Multiple deploy paths. Convoy covers Inbound and outbound, Broker-driven ingestion, Payload transformation, Portal links.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

CapRover: Does CapRover cost anything?

No. There is no paid tier and no hosted version. The only income is donations, which came to 285 US dollars over the last twelve months.

Convoy: Is Convoy really open source?

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

CapRover: Is the licence really Apache 2.0?

Not quite. The LICENSE file is Apache 2.0 plus an appendix that supersedes it in case of conflict, forbidding modification of paid features and redistribution of a paid version. GitHub does not recognise the result as a standard licence.

Convoy: What does premium cost?

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

CapRover: Does the backup feature protect my databases?

No. It backs up the CapRover configuration directory only and explicitly excludes persistent directories and container images. You have to dump each database yourself with the container stopped.

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.

CapRover: Can I move off Docker Swarm later?

Not without rebuilding. CapRover is architecturally tied to Swarm, so outgrowing it means migrating applications to a different platform rather than switching a scheduler.

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 CapRover

More on Convoy

Keep looking

Other head to heads