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APIs · head to head

Convoy vs Windmill

Convoy logo

Convoy

APIs

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Windmill logo

Windmill

Automation Integration

Open-source developer platform for building scripts, workflows, and internal apps

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.; Windmill free self-hosted tier caps SSO users at 10 and workspaces at 3, requiring Enterprise for larger teams.
  • They diverge on capability: Convoy covers Inbound and outbound, Windmill covers Script-to-workflow engine.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Convoy and Windmill actually diverge.

Attributes where Convoy and Windmill differ
AttributeConvoyWindmill
Pricing modelPer month, flat rate regardless of volumeopen-source
PlatformsLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloudweb, api, linux, windows, mac
CategoryAPIsAutomation Integration

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 Windmill

  • Script-to-workflow engine
  • Auto-generated UIs
  • Self-hosted deployment
  • Git sync
  • SSO support
  • Audit logs

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

Windmill

  • Turning ad-hoc scripts into scheduled jobs and APIsnot Convoy
  • Building internal tools from existing Python/TypeScript codenot Convoy
  • Self-hosted automation for engineering teamsnot Convoy
  • Orchestrating multi-language workflowsnot 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.

Windmill

  • Free self-hosted tier caps SSO users at 10 and workspaces at 3, requiring Enterprise for larger teams.
  • Compute unit and seat-based pricing (developer vs. operator seats, worker compute units) adds pricing complexity beyond a flat monthly fee.
  • Email triggers are capped at 100/day on the free tier, limiting event-driven use cases without upgrading.
  • Smaller ecosystem of pre-built integrations compared to more established automation tools like n8n.

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

Windmill

Free
  • Free / Open-sourceFree
    • Unlimited executions
    • Self-hosted deployment
    • Max 10 users with SSO
  • Enterprise$120/month
    • Unlimited executions and workspaces
    • Uncapped SSO seats
    • 24/7 priority support (3-hour response)

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 Windmill if

  • You need script-to-workflow engine.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web, api, linux, windows, mac.
  • You also want auto-generated uis.
Windmill review

Questions people ask

Is Convoy or Windmill better?
Neither clearly leads. Convoy starts at Free and Windmill at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Convoy or Windmill?
Convoy starts at Free and Windmill at Free.
Does Convoy or Windmill run on more platforms?
Convoy runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud. Windmill runs on web, api, linux, windows, mac.
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 Windmill is typically brought in for.
What can Convoy do that Windmill cannot?
Convoy covers Inbound and outbound, Broker-driven ingestion, Payload transformation, Portal links. Windmill covers Script-to-workflow engine, Auto-generated UIs, Self-hosted deployment, Git sync.

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.

Windmill: What does Windmill cost?

Windmill's Free and Open-source edition is $0/month for self-hosted use with unlimited executions, while Enterprise starts at $120/month with unlimited workspaces and uncapped SSO seats, priced further by developer/operator seats and compute units.

Source
Convoy: What does premium cost?

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

Windmill: Is there a free plan and what are its limits?

The free self-hosted plan supports unlimited executions but caps SSO at 10 users, workspaces at 3, groups/permissions at 4, and email triggers at 100 per day.

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.

Windmill: How is usage metered on Windmill Enterprise?

Enterprise usage is metered through seats (developer seats at $20/month, operator seats at $10/month) and compute units, e.g. $100/month for 2 standard-worker compute units.

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.

Windmill: What happens to a self-hosted Windmill deployment if the company shuts down?

The pricing page addresses this directly as an FAQ topic, noting that self-hosted applications built on the open-source edition can continue running independently of Windmill the company.

Source
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