Softwr

APIs · head to head

Convoy vs kind

Convoy logo

Convoy

APIs

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
kind logo

kind

Cloud

Run Kubernetes clusters inside Docker containers

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.; kind requires Docker or Podman, so it inherits whatever container runtime limitations exist on the host
  • They diverge on capability: Convoy covers Inbound and outbound, kind covers Nodes as containers.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Convoy and kind actually diverge.

Attributes where Convoy and kind differ
AttributeConvoykind
Pricing modelPer month, flat rate regardless of volumeOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, CloudLinux, macOS, Windows
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 kind

  • Nodes as containers
  • Multi-node topologies
  • CI-friendly
  • Local image loading

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

kind

  • Spinning up and destroying a Kubernetes cluster inside a CI jobnot Convoy
  • Testing controllers and operators against several Kubernetes versionsnot Convoy
  • Local multi-node clusters without the memory cost of virtual machinesnot 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.

kind

  • Requires Docker or Podman, so it inherits whatever container runtime limitations exist on the host
  • Fewer conveniences than minikube: no addon system, so ingress and metrics need manual installation
  • Because nodes are containers sharing the host kernel, it is a weaker simulation of real node behaviour and storage

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

kind

Free
  • kindFree
    • 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 kind if

  • You need nodes as containers.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want multi-node topologies.
kind review

Questions people ask

Is Convoy or kind better?
Neither clearly leads. Convoy starts at Free and kind at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Convoy or kind?
Convoy starts at Free and kind at Free.
Does Convoy or kind run on more platforms?
Convoy runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud. kind runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
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 kind is typically brought in for.
What can Convoy do that kind cannot?
Convoy covers Inbound and outbound, Broker-driven ingestion, Payload transformation, Portal links. kind covers Nodes as containers, Multi-node topologies, CI-friendly, Local image loading.

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.

kind: Is kind free?

Yes, open source and maintained under Kubernetes SIGs.

Convoy: What does premium cost?

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

kind: Why run Kubernetes nodes as containers?

Speed and cost. A container node starts in seconds and uses far less memory than a virtual machine, which is what makes per-CI-run clusters realistic.

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.

kind: Is kind suitable for production?

No. It is a development and testing tool, and node isolation is weaker than real nodes because containers share the host kernel.

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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