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APIs · head to head

Convoy vs React Native

Convoy logo

Convoy

APIs

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
React Native logo

React Native

Mobile Development

Build native mobile apps with React and JavaScript

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.; React Native the JavaScript bridge has historically been a bottleneck for animation-heavy and list-heavy screens, though the New Architecture addresses much of it
  • They diverge on capability: Convoy covers Inbound and outbound, React Native covers Renders to native components.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Convoy and React Native actually diverge.

Attributes where Convoy and React Native differ
AttributeConvoyReact Native
Pricing modelPer month, flat rate regardless of volumeOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, CloudiOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Web
CategoryAPIsMobile Development

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 React Native

  • Renders to native components
  • React programming model
  • Native modules
  • Fast Refresh
  • Wide platform reach
  • Large package ecosystem

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

React Native

  • Teams with React experience on the web extending into mobilenot Convoy
  • Apps that should feel like the platform rather than look identical across bothnot Convoy
  • Adding a mobile client to a product whose engineers already write JavaScriptnot Convoy
  • Reusing business logic between web and mobile codebasesnot 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.

React Native

  • The JavaScript bridge has historically been a bottleneck for animation-heavy and list-heavy screens, though the New Architecture addresses much of it
  • Upgrading between versions has a reputation for being painful, particularly with many native dependencies
  • Anything the framework does not wrap requires native code in Swift or Kotlin, so a purely JavaScript team can still get stuck
  • Because it renders to real platform components, small behavioural differences between iOS and Android surface in your code rather than being hidden

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

React Native

Free
  • React NativeFree
    • Full framework
    • iOS and Android targets
    • Native module system

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 React Native if

  • You need renders to native components.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Web.
  • You also want react programming model.
React Native review

Questions people ask

Is Convoy or React Native better?
Neither clearly leads. Convoy starts at Free and React Native at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Convoy or React Native?
Convoy starts at Free and React Native at Free.
Does Convoy or React Native run on more platforms?
Convoy runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud. React Native runs on iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Web.
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 React Native is typically brought in for.
What can Convoy do that React Native cannot?
Convoy covers Inbound and outbound, Broker-driven ingestion, Payload transformation, Portal links. React Native covers Renders to native components, React programming model, Native modules, Fast Refresh.

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.

React Native: Is React Native free?

Yes. React Native is open source from Meta with no licence fee, and it is free for commercial use.

Convoy: What does premium cost?

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

React Native: Does React Native produce a real native app?

Yes. JavaScript primitives render to the platform’s own UI components using the same native APIs a Swift or Kotlin app would call, rather than to a web view.

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.

React Native: Which well-known apps use React Native?

Meta cites Facebook, Microsoft Office, Teams and Outlook, Amazon Shopping, Discord, Coinbase and Tesla among thousands of apps built with it.

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.

React Native: Should I use Expo or plain React Native?

Expo handles builds, updates and native configuration for you and is the recommended starting point. Plain React Native gives full control of the native projects, which matters when you need native code the managed workflow does not cover.

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