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Managed notification routing and inbox

Courier

A managed notification platform for channel routing, templates, delivery workflows, and a persistent in-app Inbox.

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Editorial verdict

Choose Courier when managed channel routing plus a persistent Inbox reduces enough product work to justify the send meter and downstream-provider dependence.123

Best for

  • Products combining in-app Inbox with external channels
  • Teams wanting managed routing and template operations
  • Organizations able to model both Courier and downstream-provider cost
123

Not ideal for

  • Teams requiring self-hosting
  • Products needing only transient UI messages
  • Buyers treating Courier's send fee as the full channel cost
123
Main trade-off

Managed routing and Inbox state simplify product delivery while adding another platform, send meter, retention boundary, and downstream cost layer.123

Product boundary

Whether Courier's managed routing and Inbox fit justify a send-based meter above downstream providers.

Courier combines managed channel routing with an in-app Inbox. A Courier send and the downstream email, SMS, push, or chat provider charge are separate cost boundaries.123

For: Product teams coordinating in-app Inbox state with managed delivery across external channels

  • Send volume or downstream channel mix changes
  • Self-hosting or a smaller application-owned feed becomes mandatory
  • Retention, data, or enterprise controls require a different contract

Why teams consider Courier

  • Persistent InboxCourier documents an in-app Inbox with recipient-facing notification state.123
  • Channel routingThe platform coordinates delivery across configured downstream providers.123
  • Published send meterCurrent plans expose included sends and per-send Business pricing.123

Pricing

Plans meter Courier sends; downstream channel provider fees, log retention, environments, support, and enterprise controls remain separate dimensions.3

Development

Free

Verified 2026-07-26: $0 includes 10,000 sends per month.3

Production

Business

Verified 2026-07-26: Business is listed at $0.005 per send, with plan-specific platform and retention capabilities.3

Primary meter
Courier sends3
Downstream costs
Configured email, SMS, push, or chat providers charge separately3
Retention boundary
Logs and enterprise history differ by plan3
Pricing checked View official pricing

Courier vs alternatives

Knock

Choose when
Choose it when a managed notification workflow and persistent in-app feed are worth message-based billing.
Avoid when
Avoid it when self-hosting or a smaller application-owned feed is a hard requirement.
Compared with Courier
Managed workflow and feed primitives reduce product work but add per-recipient channel metering and platform dependence.45

Novu

Choose when
Choose it when an open-source notification platform or self-hosted ownership route materially changes the decision.
Avoid when
Avoid it when the team cannot operate the self-hosted route or Cloud-only capability and pricing boundaries are unclear.
Compared with Courier
Deployment choice and source access increase control while expanding infrastructure, upgrade, and feature-parity responsibility.678

Resources and sources

Official product, pricing, and operating-policy sources

  • Courier documentation
    Open
  • Courier Inbox overview
    Open
  • Courier pricing
    Open
  • Knock in-app UI overview
    Open
  • Knock pricing
    Open
  • Novu Inbox
    Open
  • Novu Cloud and self-hosted boundary
    Open
  • Novu pricing
    Open

Related tools

  1. 1
    Courier documentation

    Courier · Accessed Official

  2. 2
    Courier Inbox overview

    Courier · Accessed Official

  3. 3
    Courier pricing

    Courier · Accessed Official

  4. 4
    Knock in-app UI overview

    Knock · Accessed Official

  5. 5
    Knock pricing

    Knock · Accessed Official

  6. 6
    Novu Inbox

    Novu · Accessed Official

  7. 7
    Novu Cloud and self-hosted boundary

    Novu · Accessed Official

  8. 8
    Novu pricing

    Novu · Accessed Official