Softwr

APIs · head to head

Convoy vs HAProxy

Convoy logo

Convoy

APIs

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
HAProxy logo

HAProxy

Cloud

High-performance TCP and HTTP load balancer

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.; HAProxy configuration syntax is dense and unforgiving, with a steep initial learning curve
  • They diverge on capability: Convoy covers Inbound and outbound, HAProxy covers High throughput.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Convoy and HAProxy actually diverge.

Attributes where Convoy and HAProxy differ
AttributeConvoyHAProxy
Pricing modelPer month, flat rate regardless of volumeOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, CloudLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted
CategoryAPIsCloud

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 HAProxy

  • High throughput
  • Layer 4 and 7
  • Health checking
  • Rate limiting and ACLs

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 HAProxy
  • A high-volume platform for which per-message webhook pricing costs more than the flat premium licencenot HAProxy
  • A team that also receives webhooks from many providers and wants ingestion, verification and deduplication in the same gatewaynot HAProxy
  • An engineering group that wants webhook delivery driven directly from an existing Kafka or SQS topicnot HAProxy

HAProxy

  • Load balancing at traffic levels where proxy efficiency shows up in the hardware billnot Convoy
  • Precise traffic control — rate limits, sticky sessions, complex routing rulesnot Convoy
  • TCP load balancing for databases and non-HTTP servicesnot 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.

HAProxy

  • Configuration syntax is dense and unforgiving, with a steep initial learning curve
  • No automatic certificate management, unlike newer servers that treat it as default behaviour
  • The built-in stats page is basic, so real observability needs exporters and dashboards
  • A dedicated load balancer is more machinery than small deployments need

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

HAProxy

Free
  • HAProxyFree
    • Full functionality
    • No usage limits
    • Community support

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 HAProxy if

  • You need high throughput.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted.
  • You also want layer 4 and 7.
HAProxy review

Questions people ask

Is Convoy or HAProxy better?
Neither clearly leads. Convoy starts at Free and HAProxy at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Convoy or HAProxy?
Convoy starts at Free and HAProxy at Free.
Does Convoy or HAProxy run on more platforms?
Convoy runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud. HAProxy runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted.
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 HAProxy is typically brought in for.
What can Convoy do that HAProxy cannot?
Convoy covers Inbound and outbound, Broker-driven ingestion, Payload transformation, Portal links. HAProxy covers High throughput, Layer 4 and 7, Health checking, Rate limiting and ACLs.

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.

HAProxy: Is HAProxy free?

Yes, the community version is open source. HAProxy Technologies sells HAProxy Enterprise separately.

Convoy: What does premium cost?

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

HAProxy: HAProxy or Nginx?

HAProxy is a specialist load balancer with deeper balancing and health-check features. Nginx also serves static content and is more approachable, which is why it is more common as a general web server.

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.

HAProxy: Does HAProxy handle TLS certificates automatically?

No. Certificate issuance and renewal are external, unlike Caddy where it is automatic.

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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