If you're building a modern software or app, you're going to need notifications. Ideally across email, push, SMS, in-app, and any other channels your users may use.
But here's the thing: most teams stay limited in one channel (email), or hack something together with duct-taped providers, bad logic, and zero visibility into what's actually being sent. That doesn't scale.
So, I spent the time evaluating the top notification infrastructure platforms so you don’t have to. Here's the breakdown.
What to look for in a notification platform
- Multi-channel support: Not just email. Think push, SMS, in-app, Slack, and more.
- APIs and SDKs: If developers can’t access clean docs and SDKs, it's a no from me.
- Templating: You need templates that can be reused, localized, and personalized.
- Observability: Logs, events, delivery status. If you can't debug it, you can't trust it.
- Scalability + pricing: Can it handle volume without blowing up your AWS bill?
- Customizability: The platform should bend to your product, not the other way around.
Overview
1. Knock
Developer-first messaging infrastructure
If you’re serious about building notifications that scale, Knock is the obvious choice. One API powers all your channels, and you get first-class tooling to build logic-heavy workflows with visibility baked in.
Channels: Email, in-app, SMS, push, Slack, Teams, etc.
Knock Features:
- Workflow engine with batching, delays, digests
- SDKs for Node, Python, Go, etc.
- Template editor + versioning
- Rich observability: delivery logs, status, errors
- Multi-tenant support, role-based access, compliance (GDPR, HIPAA)
Pros:
- Purpose-built for developers
- Extremely robust at scale
- Great docs and SDKs across languages
Cons:
- No hobby-tier beyond free plan
Knock Pricing:
- Free: 10k notifications per month
- Starter ($250/mo): 50k notifications per month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
View the Knock pricing page for more details.
2. Novu
Open-source, self-hosted option
Novu is for teams who want full control or need to self-host. It’s open source, has a growing community, and offers UI components for building a notification center. If you’re building something where vendor lock-in is a concern, this might be for you.
Channels: Email, in-app, SMS, push, Slack, Teams
Novu features:
- Open source + self-hosting
- Preference management
- Digest and delay support
- Webhooks, prebuilt UI components
Pros:
- Fully open source (MIT license)
- Active community, frequent updates
- Self-host or use Novu Cloud
Cons:
- Not as mature for enterprise use cases
- Self-hosting adds maintenance overhead
Novu Pricing:
- Free: 10k notifications per month
- Starter ($30/mo): 30k notifications per month
- Team ($250/mo): 250k notifications per month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
View the Novu pricing page for more details.
3. Courier
Blend of design and delivery
Courier leans heavily into the "drag-and-drop" notification builder for non-devs, while still offering a decent API for developers. If you have a design or growth team that needs to touch messaging, this one can make sense.
Channels: Email, push, SMS, in-app, Slack, etc.
Courier features:
- Drag-and-drop visual editor with branding controls
- A/B testing, analytics, routing logic
- Event-based triggering + fallback providers
Pros:
- Good for hybrid teams (devs + designers)
- Flexible notification design options
Cons:
- Workflow logic isn’t as flexible
- API isn’t developer-first
Courier Pricing:
- Free: 10k notifications per month
- Pro: $0.005/notification
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
View the Courier pricing page for more details.
4. SuprSend
Lightweight orchestration with good logs
SuprSend focuses on clean APIs, quick setup, and real-time visibility. You can plug it in and get started fast.
Channels: Email, SMS, push, in-app, Slack, Teams
SuprSend features:
- Orchestration engine with channel preference logic
- Real-time delivery and failure tracking
- SDKs for Node, Python, Go, Java
- Built-in user preferences + retry handling
Pros:
- Dev-friendly API and docs
- Strong observability out-of-the-box
Cons:
- Limited enterprise workflow logic
- Lacks some frontend/UI tooling
SuprSend Pricing:
- Free: 10,000 notifications/month
- Essentials ($100/mo): 50k notifications per month
- Business ($250/mo): 50k notifications per month, plus features like batching, digest, user preferences, and more
- Enterprise: Custom pricing based on volume, infrastructure, and compliance needs
View the SuprSend pricing page for more details.
5. Fyno
Routing layer for your notifications
Fyno abstracts over 50+ messaging providers so you can build complex routing logic without maintaining dozens of custom integrations. Ideal if you work across many systems.
Channels: Email, SMS, voice, push, Slack, WhatsApp
Fyno features:
- 50+ built-in provider connectors
- No-code workflow builder
- Dynamic routing based on user behavior
- Delivery logs and analytics
Pros:
- Great for provider orchestration
- Easy to set up and visualize workflows
Cons:
- Less flexible for product-level custom logic
- Limited SDK/language support
Fyno Pricing:
- Free: Up to 50,000 API requests for 15 days (Fyno doesn't have or plan to have a free forever plan)
- Paid ($250/mo): 200,000 notifications per month
View the Fyno pricing page for more details.
TLDR: Which should you pick?
- Knock: Best for developers that need enterprise-grade workflows with complete observability.
- Novu: Best for budget-sensitive teams who need a self-hosted option.
- Courier: Best for when product and design teams are regularly working together.
- SuprSend: Best for a fast-to-implement platform with clean observability.
- Fyno: Best if you're routing across many third-party providers.
| Knock | Novu | Courier | SuprSend | Fyno | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pros | ✅ Purpose-built for developers ✅ Extremely robust at scale ✅ Great docs and SDKs across languages | ✅ Fully open source ✅ Active community, frequent updates ✅ Self-host or Novu Cloud | ✅ Good for hybrid teams ✅ Flexible notification design options | ✅ Dev-friendly API and docs ✅ Strong, out-of-the-box observability | ✅ Great for provider orchestration ✅ Easy to set up and visualize workflows |
| Cons | ❌ No hobby-tier beyond free plan | ❌ Not as mature for enterprise ❌ Maintenance overhead | ❌ Workflow logic not as flexible ❌ API isn’t developer-first | ❌ Limited enterprise workflow logic ❌ Lacks some front-end/UI tooling | ❌ Less flexible for product-level custom logic ❌ Limited SDK/language support |
| Pricing | 👉 Free: 10k notifications/month 👉 Starter ($250/mo): 50k notifications/month 👉 Enterprise: Custom pricing | 👉 Free: 10k notifications/month 👉 Starter ($30/mo): 30k notifications/month 👉 Team ($250/mo): 250k notifications/month 👉 Enterprise: Custom pricing | 👉 Free: 10k notifications/month 👉 Pro: $0.005/notification 👉 Enterprise: Custom pricing | 👉 Free: 10k notifications/month 👉 Essentials ($100/mo): 50k notifications/month 👉 Business ($250/mo): 50k notifications/month 👉 Enterprise: Custom pricing | 👉 15-day free trial: Up to 50k API requests 👉 Paid (starting at $249/mo): Up to 200k notifications/month |
Bottom line: If you're building serious software and want notifications to just work, choose something that respects both your stack and your team. Most platforms over-index on UI or try to be "all-in-one."
Don’t duct tape your notifications. Invest in the right infra early. Your users (and engineers) will thank you.
