Knock vs Courier
Code-first workflow engine versus visual-journey notification platform.
What matters for early-stage startups
At an early stage the deciding factors are what the free tier actually covers, what the first paid invoice looks like, and how much of a founding engineer's week the setup costs. Feature depth that only matters at a million sends a month is noise until it is not.
| Priority | Knock | Courier |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | 10,000 notifications/mo | 10,000 sends/mo |
| Best published rate per 1,000 | Tiers not published in comparable form | Tiers not published in comparable form |
| Starts at | $249/mo (Starter) | $95/mo (Business) |
| DX score | 9/10 | 8/10 |
| Deliverability | Inherits the deliverability of the provider you BYO (Postmark, SendGrid, Resend). | Inherits providers you connect. |
| Operating since | 2021 | 2019 |
| Scheduling | Yes | Yes |
| SDKs | node, python, go, ruby, php, elixir, java, dotnet | node, python, go, ruby, php, java |
| Webhooks | Yes | Yes |
For a pre-revenue or early-revenue team running a waitlist, a launch announcement, onboarding email, and the first transactional sends, Knock takes developer experience and SDK breadth, while Courier takes operating track record. On free tier, Knock offers 10,000 notifications/mo against 10,000 sends/mo from Courier. That ordering reflects this audience. Weigh the same table differently and the answer changes.
Side by side
| Feature | Knock | Courier |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | 10,000 notifications/mo | 10,000 sends/mo |
| Starts at | $249/mo (Starter) | $95/mo (Business) |
| DX score | 9/10 | 8/10 |
| Deliverability | Inherits the deliverability of the provider you BYO (Postmark, SendGrid, Resend). | Inherits providers you connect. |
| SDKs | node, python, go, ruby, php, elixir, java, dotnet | node, python, go, ruby, php, java |
| Webhooks | Yes | Yes |
| Tagline | Notification infrastructure with workflow engine. | Notification infrastructure with visual journeys. |
| Pricing model | volume | volume |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| SMTP | No | No |
| Templates | rich | rich |
| React Email | Yes | No |
| Inbound | No | No |
| Multi-tenant | Yes | Yes |
| Idempotency | Yes | No |
| Dedicated IP | No | No |
| Best for | Teams that need multi-channel product notifications with preferences. | Teams that need both product notifications and marketing-style journeys. |
Knock
- ›Strong workflow engine
- ›In-app feed component
- ›Deep SDK coverage
- ›Idempotency keys
- ›Pricier than running your own; entry plan is steep
- ›Bring your own delivery provider
Courier
- ›Visual journey editor
- ›Native Slack/Teams routing
- ›Drop-in inbox component
- ›Less code-first than Knock
- ›Pricing climbs with volume