starter.wikiSearch⌘K

Managed notification workflows and inbox

Knock

A managed notification platform combining workflows, recipient state, channel routing, and in-app feed components.

Visit official site

Editorial verdict

Choose Knock when a managed notification workflow and persistent feed materially reduce product work and the message-based cost model fits.123

Best for

  • Products needing persistent in-app notification state
  • Teams coordinating in-app and downstream channels
  • Organizations valuing managed workflow and recipient primitives
123

Not ideal for

  • Teams requiring self-hosting
  • Products needing only transient UI messages
  • Buyers ignoring downstream channel fees and per-recipient counting
123
Main trade-off

Managed workflows and feed state reduce application work while adding per-recipient channel metering, data retention boundaries, and provider dependence.123

Product boundary

Whether Knock's managed workflow and persistent in-app feed justify message-based billing and platform dependence.

Knock combines workflow execution and in-app feed state. It is not merely a transient toast library, and downstream email, SMS, or push provider charges remain separate.123

For: Product teams that need a persistent notification feed plus managed orchestration across channels

  • Recipient-channel volume changes
  • Self-hosting becomes required
  • Feed retention, data residency, or enterprise controls change the needed plan

Why teams consider Knock

  • Persistent feed componentsKnock documents in-app feed UI and recipient notification state.123
  • Workflow orchestrationThe platform coordinates channel steps and recipient delivery.123
  • Explicit message meterCurrent pricing defines a message as one recipient on one channel.123

Pricing

Plans meter messages where one recipient on one channel counts as one message; downstream provider charges, retention, guides, environments, and enterprise capabilities remain separate dimensions.3

Development

Developer

Verified 2026-07-26: the Developer plan includes 10,000 messages.3

Production

Starter

Verified 2026-07-26: $250 per month includes 50,000 messages, then $0.005 per additional message.3

Message definition
One recipient on one channel3
Downstream costs
Email, SMS, and other provider charges remain separate3
Retention boundary
Feed and log retention have different plan treatment3
Pricing checked View official pricing

Knock vs alternatives

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 Knock
Deployment choice and source access increase control while expanding infrastructure, upgrade, and feature-parity responsibility.456

Courier

Choose when
Choose it when managed channel routing and an in-app inbox fit a send-metered commercial model.
Avoid when
Avoid it when downstream channel fees or platform ownership make the combined cost and dependency unacceptable.
Compared with Knock
A managed routing layer simplifies multi-channel delivery while adding a second meter above downstream providers.78

Resources and sources

Official product, pricing, and operating-policy sources

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

Related tools

  1. 1
    Knock documentation

    Knock · Accessed Official

  2. 2
    Knock in-app UI overview

    Knock · Accessed Official

  3. 3
    Knock pricing

    Knock · Accessed Official

  4. 4
    Novu Inbox

    Novu · Accessed Official

  5. 5
    Novu Cloud and self-hosted boundary

    Novu · Accessed Official

  6. 6
    Novu pricing

    Novu · Accessed Official

  7. 7
    Courier Inbox overview

    Courier · Accessed Official

  8. 8
    Courier pricing

    Courier · Accessed Official