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APIs · head to head

Convoy vs REST Client VSCode

Convoy logo

Convoy

APIs

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
REST Client VSCode logo

REST Client VSCode

APIs

VSCode extension for making HTTP requests and testing REST APIs

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.; REST Client VSCode limited to Visual Studio Code; not available as a standalone application
  • They diverge on capability: Convoy covers Inbound and outbound, REST Client VSCode covers REST Client.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Convoy and REST Client VSCode actually diverge.

Attributes where Convoy and REST Client VSCode differ
AttributeConvoyREST Client VSCode
Pricing modelPer month, flat rate regardless of volumeUnknown
PlatformsLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, CloudWindows, macOS, Linux
FoundedUnknown2016

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (APIs).

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 REST Client VSCode

  • REST Client
  • HTTP requests
  • Response viewing
  • VSCode
  • Environment variables
  • Custom headers
  • VSCode extension support

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

REST Client VSCode

  • API Developmentnot Convoy
  • API Gatewaynot Convoy
  • API Testingnot Convoy
  • API Documentationnot Convoy
  • Microservicesnot 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.

REST Client VSCode

  • Limited to Visual Studio Code; not available as a standalone application
  • No support for WebSocket, gRPC, or other advanced protocols
  • No cloud sync or team server features; requires Git-based workflow

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

REST Client VSCode

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the REST Client VSCode review.

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 REST Client VSCode if

  • You need rest client.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux.
  • You also want http requests.
REST Client VSCode review

Questions people ask

Is Convoy or REST Client VSCode better?
Neither clearly leads. Convoy starts at Free and REST Client VSCode at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Convoy or REST Client VSCode?
Convoy starts at Free and REST Client VSCode at Free.
Does Convoy or REST Client VSCode run on more platforms?
Convoy runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud. REST Client VSCode runs on Windows, macOS, Linux.
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 REST Client VSCode is typically brought in for.
What can Convoy do that REST Client VSCode cannot?
Convoy covers Inbound and outbound, Broker-driven ingestion, Payload transformation, Portal links. REST Client VSCode covers REST Client, HTTP requests, Response viewing, VSCode.

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.

REST Client VSCode: How much does REST Client VSCode cost?

REST Client VSCode is completely free and open source. It is available on the Visual Studio Code Marketplace with no subscription or licensing fees.

Source
Convoy: What does premium cost?

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

REST Client VSCode: What authentication methods does REST Client support?

REST Client supports Basic Auth, Digest Auth, SSL certificates, Azure AD, and AWS Signature v4 authentication for API requests.

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.

REST Client VSCode: Can I save and manage multiple requests?

Yes. REST Client supports multiple requests per file using ### delimiters, request history with auto-save, environment variables for different configurations, and code snippet generation for multiple programming languages.

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.

REST Client VSCode: How do teams collaborate with REST Client?

REST Client requests are stored as text files that can be version-controlled in Git repositories. Teams collaborate by sharing requests through Git, making the API specs part of the codebase.

Source
REST Client VSCode: What protocols does REST Client support?

REST Client primarily supports HTTP/HTTPS and GraphQL. It does not support WebSocket, gRPC, or other advanced protocols available in desktop clients like Insomnia.

Source
REST Client VSCode: Is there cloud sync for REST Client requests?

No. REST Client has no built-in cloud sync or team server features. All collaboration and sharing relies on Git repository management.

Source
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Related pages

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