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APIs · head to head

Convoy vs Detox

Convoy logo

Convoy

APIs

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Detox logo

Detox

Testing

Open source end-to-end testing framework for React Native apps, built and maintained by Wix

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Detox it only benefits React Native apps; teams with native iOS, native Android, or non-React-Native hybrid apps get no advantage from its core gray-box synchronisation design and should use Appium instead.
  • They diverge on capability: Convoy covers Inbound and outbound, Detox covers Gray-box synchronisation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Convoy and Detox actually diverge.

Attributes where Convoy and Detox differ
AttributeConvoyDetox
Pricing modelPer month, flat rate regardless of volumeOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, CloudiOS, Android
CategoryAPIsTesting

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 Convoy

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

Only in Detox

  • Gray-box synchronisation
  • React Native native integration
  • Real device and simulator support
  • Jest integration
  • Element matching and actions
  • CI-friendly execution

What people use each for

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

Convoy

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

Detox

  • A React Native team wanting end-to-end tests that reliably wait for real app state rather than fixed sleep delaysnot Convoy
  • A CI pipeline running mobile end-to-end tests that need to be genuinely reliable, not flaky, to avoid blocking merges on false failuresnot Convoy
  • A team migrating from Appium-based React Native testing wanting tighter synchronisation with the app's async internalsnot Convoy
  • An engineering organisation wanting a free, actively used-in-production framework rather than a lightly maintained side projectnot Convoy

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Detox

  • It only benefits React Native apps; teams with native iOS, native Android, or non-React-Native hybrid apps get no advantage from its core gray-box synchronisation design and should use Appium instead.
  • As a single-company open source project, its long-term maintenance priority is tied to Wix's own continued internal use of React Native and Detox, which is a real, if currently low, dependency risk.
  • Initial setup, particularly around build configuration for iOS and Android, has a steeper learning curve than some competing frameworks, with configuration errors being a common source of early frustration.
  • Its community and plugin ecosystem is smaller than Appium's broader, foundation-governed mobile automation ecosystem.
  • Debugging synchronisation issues when the gray-box mechanism misjudges app idle state can itself be a non-trivial troubleshooting exercise, ironically producing the same kind of flaky-test debugging it is designed to avoid.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Detox

Free
  • DetoxFree
    • Full functionality, no usage limits
    • Community support via GitHub
    • Built and maintained by Wix for its own internal React Native testing needs

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Detox if

  • You need gray-box synchronisation.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android.
  • You also want react native native integration.
Detox review

Questions people ask

Is Convoy or Detox better?
Neither clearly leads. Convoy starts at Free and Detox at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Convoy or Detox?
Convoy starts at Free and Detox at Free.
Does Convoy or Detox run on more platforms?
Convoy runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud. Detox runs on iOS, Android.
Can I use Convoy for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Convoy best used for?
Convoy is most often used for a fintech that cannot route customer webhook traffic through a third-party saas for compliance reasons, a high-volume platform for which per-message webhook pricing costs more than the flat premium licence, a team that also receives webhooks from many providers and wants ingestion, verification and deduplication in the same gateway, an engineering group that wants webhook delivery driven directly from an existing kafka or sqs topic. Of those, a fintech that cannot route customer webhook traffic through a third-party saas for compliance reasons and a high-volume platform for which per-message webhook pricing costs more than the flat premium licence are not what Detox is typically brought in for.
What can Convoy do that Detox cannot?
Convoy covers Inbound and outbound, Broker-driven ingestion, Payload transformation, Portal links. Detox covers Gray-box synchronisation, React Native native integration, Real device and simulator support, Jest integration.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Convoy: Is Convoy really open source?

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

Detox: Is Detox owned by Wix?

Yes, it is built and maintained by Wix as an open source project, used internally across Wix's own React Native apps.

Convoy: What does premium cost?

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

Detox: Does Detox work with native iOS or Android apps, not just React Native?

It is specifically designed around React Native's architecture; for native or non-React-Native hybrid apps, Appium is the more appropriate choice.

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.

Detox: Is Detox free?

Yes, entirely open source with no licence fee.

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.

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