Softwr

APIs · head to head

Convoy vs Puppeteer

Convoy logo

Convoy

APIs

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Puppeteer logo

Puppeteer

Testing

Node.js library for controlling Chrome and Firefox

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.; Puppeteer chrome and Firefox only, with no Safari or WebKit story
  • They diverge on capability: Convoy covers Inbound and outbound, Puppeteer covers DevTools Protocol.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Convoy and Puppeteer actually diverge.

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

  • DevTools Protocol
  • Headless by default
  • PDF and screenshots
  • Network interception

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

Puppeteer

  • Generating PDFs or screenshots of rendered pages on a servernot Convoy
  • Scraping sites that require JavaScript executionnot Convoy
  • Automating browser tasks where a full test framework is unnecessarynot 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.

Puppeteer

  • Chrome and Firefox only, with no Safari or WebKit story
  • Not a test framework: assertions, retries and reporting need Jest or similar bolted on
  • Bundles a Chromium download, which makes installs large and awkward in constrained CI images

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

Puppeteer

Free
  • PuppeteerFree
    • Full functionality
    • Unlimited tests
    • 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 Puppeteer if

  • You need devtools protocol.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want headless by default.
Puppeteer review

Questions people ask

Is Convoy or Puppeteer better?
Neither clearly leads. Convoy starts at Free and Puppeteer at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Convoy or Puppeteer?
Convoy starts at Free and Puppeteer at Free.
Does Convoy or Puppeteer run on more platforms?
Convoy runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud. Puppeteer 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 Puppeteer is typically brought in for.
What can Convoy do that Puppeteer cannot?
Convoy covers Inbound and outbound, Broker-driven ingestion, Payload transformation, Portal links. Puppeteer covers DevTools Protocol, Headless by default, PDF and screenshots, Network interception.

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.

Puppeteer: Is Puppeteer free?

Yes, open source from the Chrome team.

Convoy: What does premium cost?

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

Puppeteer: Puppeteer or Playwright?

Playwright came from the same original team, adds WebKit and Firefox support, automatic waiting and a test runner. Puppeteer stays a focused Chrome automation library, which is simpler if automation rather than testing is the goal.

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.

Puppeteer: Can Puppeteer generate PDFs?

Yes, and it is one of the most common uses — rendering a page and printing it to PDF server-side.

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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