Softwr

APIs · head to head

Convoy vs Metabase

Convoy logo

Convoy

APIs

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Metabase logo

Metabase

Spreadsheets

Fast analytics with the friendly UX

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.; Metabase aI Service charges $3.75 per 1 million tokens (after 1M free tokens included)
  • They diverge on capability: Convoy covers Inbound and outbound, Metabase covers No-code Query Builder.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Convoy and Metabase actually diverge.

Attributes where Convoy and Metabase differ
AttributeConvoyMetabase
Pricing modelPer month, flat rate regardless of volumefreemium
PlatformsLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, CloudWeb, Self-hosted cloud
CategoryAPIsSpreadsheets
FoundedUnknown2014

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 Metabase

  • No-code Query Builder
  • SQL Editor
  • Interactive Dashboards
  • Alerts
  • Embedding
  • PostgreSQL
  • MySQL
  • MongoDB

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

Metabase

  • Business intelligence and data exploration for non-technical usersnot Convoy
  • Embedded analytics for SaaS applicationsnot Convoy
  • Self-service reporting and dashboard creationnot Convoy
  • Integration with 40+ data sources including cloud warehousesnot 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.

Metabase

  • AI Service charges $3.75 per 1 million tokens (after 1M free tokens included)
  • Transforms cost $0.01 per run after 1,000 included runs per month
  • Advanced Transforms cost $0.02 per run after included allocation
  • Storage overages start at $2 per 1M rows (1M rows free)
  • All yearly plans offer 10% discount versus monthly, incentivizing annual commitment

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

Metabase

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Unlimited users
    • Unlimited questions and dashboards
    • AI-powered query generation
  • Starter$90/month
    • Email and chat support
    • $100/month standard monthly billing
    • 20+ data connectors
  • Pro$517.5/month
    • $575/month standard monthly
    • Row/column-level permissions
    • SSO
  • Enterprise$20000/year
    • Dedicated success engineer
    • 1-day support response SLA
    • Air-gapped deployment

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 Metabase if

  • You need no-code query builder.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Self-hosted cloud.
  • You also want sql editor.
Metabase review

Questions people ask

Is Convoy or Metabase better?
Neither clearly leads. Convoy starts at Free and Metabase at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Convoy or Metabase?
Convoy starts at Free and Metabase at Free.
Does Convoy or Metabase run on more platforms?
Convoy runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud. Metabase runs on Web, Self-hosted cloud.
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 Metabase is typically brought in for.
What can Convoy do that Metabase cannot?
Convoy covers Inbound and outbound, Broker-driven ingestion, Payload transformation, Portal links. Metabase covers No-code Query Builder, SQL Editor, Interactive Dashboards, Alerts.

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.

Metabase: How much does Metabase cost?

Metabase Open Source is free for self-hosted deployments with unlimited users and dashboards. Cloud-hosted Starter tier costs $90/month annually ($100/month monthly) with Pro at $517.50/month annually ($575/month monthly). Enterprise plans start at $20,000 per year.

Source
Convoy: What does premium cost?

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

Metabase: Does Metabase charge for additional users?

Yes, Metabase charges per-user fees beyond included users. Starter includes 5 users at $6 per additional user per month. Pro includes 10 users at $12 per additional user per month. Enterprise pricing is custom.

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.

Metabase: What usage-based fees does Metabase charge?

Metabase charges $3.75 per 1 million tokens for AI services (after 1M free tokens), $0.01 per transform run after 1,000 included per month, $0.02 for advanced transforms, and storage overages at $2 per 1M rows beyond the included 1M rows.

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.

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