Softwr

APIs · head to head

Convoy vs Redpanda

Convoy logo

Convoy

APIs

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Redpanda logo

Redpanda

Databases

Kafka-compatible streaming platform with no ZooKeeper or JVM

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.; Redpanda the community edition is source-available rather than OSI open source, which matters for some procurement
  • They diverge on capability: Convoy covers Inbound and outbound, Redpanda covers Kafka API compatible.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Convoy and Redpanda actually diverge.

Attributes where Convoy and Redpanda differ
AttributeConvoyRedpanda
Pricing modelPer month, flat rate regardless of volumeSource-available community edition with paid enterprise and cloud tiers
PlatformsLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, CloudLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted
CategoryAPIsDatabases

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 Redpanda

  • Kafka API compatible
  • No JVM or ZooKeeper
  • Thread-per-core
  • Built-in HTTP proxy and schema registry

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

Redpanda

  • Kafka workloads where the operational cost of running Kafka is the blockernot Convoy
  • Latency-sensitive streaming where tail latency mattersnot Convoy
  • Smaller teams wanting streaming without a dedicated platform groupnot 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.

Redpanda

  • The community edition is source-available rather than OSI open source, which matters for some procurement
  • Kafka API compatibility is high but not total, and deep ecosystem tools can hit gaps
  • Smaller community than Kafka, so fewer people have solved your problem before
  • Some operational and tiered-storage features are enterprise-only

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

Redpanda

Free
  • CommunityFree
    • Kafka-compatible broker
    • Single binary
    • 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 Redpanda if

  • You need kafka api compatible.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted.
  • You also want no jvm or zookeeper.
Redpanda review

Questions people ask

Is Convoy or Redpanda better?
Neither clearly leads. Convoy starts at Free and Redpanda at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Convoy or Redpanda?
Convoy starts at Free and Redpanda at Free.
Does Convoy or Redpanda run on more platforms?
Convoy runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud. Redpanda 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 Redpanda is typically brought in for.
What can Convoy do that Redpanda cannot?
Convoy covers Inbound and outbound, Broker-driven ingestion, Payload transformation, Portal links. Redpanda covers Kafka API compatible, No JVM or ZooKeeper, Thread-per-core, Built-in HTTP proxy and schema registry.

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.

Redpanda: Is Redpanda free?

A community edition is free and source-available. Enterprise features and Redpanda Cloud are paid, and the licence is not OSI open source.

Convoy: What does premium cost?

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

Redpanda: Can I use my Kafka clients?

Yes. Redpanda implements the Kafka API, so existing clients and most tooling connect without changes.

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.

Redpanda: Why remove ZooKeeper and the JVM?

Both are significant sources of Kafka’s operational burden — tuning, coordination and failure modes. Removing them is the core of Redpanda’s pitch.

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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