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Novu vs. Knock: Best Knock alternative for customer engagement infrastructure

Build multi-channel workflows with routing, preferences, and <Inbox /> in Novu Notify. Add Novu Connect when users need to reply to your agent. Choose managed cloud or evaluate self-hosted deployment.

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Novu is trusted by leading teams worldwide

  • Vitruvi
  • Unity
  • Sinch
  • UNOPS
  • MongoDB
  • Mothership
  • deriv
  • Teamcore
  • Cloud Software Group
  • Mottu
  • CheckSammy
  • Quorum Cyber
  • Veridas
  • PriceLabs
  • Sherweb
  • Medprev
  • Phocas Software
  • Novacy
  • Softermii
  • ClaritasRx
  • MyEvergreen
  • ValueLabs
  • soumith pirlamarla
  • Joyride
  • Moises
  • Terrascope
  • Tenderd
  • Check Point Software Technologies
  • Roche
  • Korn Ferry
  • TrustFlight
  • Medvol
  • Ebury
  • EL-PROFFEN
  • Gangverk
  • Correla
  • BitMEX
  • Unified
  • Normative
  • Veritext
  • BPP
  • NEP Group
  • Influencer
  • Balance
  • TatilBudur.com
  • Kant Akademi
  • Docplanner
  • Region 4 ESC
  • Hemnet
  • Whoppah
  • Namirial

Open Notification Infrastructure

Novu is open-source notification infrastructure. Build a workflow once and deliver it to in-app, email, SMS, push, and chat, with digests, delays, and user preferences built in. Design it in the dashboard or define it in code, run it on Novu Cloud or your own servers, and let users reply to your AI agent through Novu Connect.

Why teams switch to Novu:

Get Started
  • Create workflows via dashboard or code
  • Open-source with self-host options
  • Notifications and agent conversations

The frustrations that bring teams to Novu

If you're evaluating alternatives, you've probably lived at least one of these.

No fallback path

A hosted-only model can become a problem when security, compliance, or procurement requirements change and you need more control over where your infrastructure runs.

Awkward pricing jump

Moving from a free plan to a $250/month paid tier is a harder step for teams that are growing but not ready for enterprise-style pricing yet.

Global features gated to enterprise

Translation support and per-customer branding and preferences are locked behind the enterprise plan, unavailable to growing teams that need them earlier.

No deployment control

A fully managed platform means you can’t choose where your notification infrastructure runs. Novu offers cloud, self-hosted, and hybrid options.

Hosted dashboard, not code-first

Teams that prefer engineering-owned workflows want workflows defined in code — not just API access layered on top of a dashboard-centric model.

No Agent to Answer Replies

Users reply to notifications with questions. With Novu, assign an agent to a workflow and supported replies continue as a conversation with your AI agent, with the original notification as context.

Switch to Novu

The Novu difference

Build delivery rules around your product. Control workflow steps, provider selection, and the in-app experience, with deployment options for your infrastructure requirements.

  • Notifications and preferences in one <Inbox />

    An in-app notification inbox wrapped in a single <Inbox />. Use the drop-in component or go headless and build your own UI.

  • Every step in one place

    Build workflows in the dashboard or define them with Novu Framework. Configure channel content, conditions, delays, and digests in the same workflow.

  • Self-host or use our cloud

    Use Novu Cloud or deploy Novu on your infrastructure. Compare Community Self-Hosted and commercial editions for the features, licensing, and support your team needs.

  • Data residency from day one

    Novu Cloud includes US and EU data residency on Free. Enterprise offers additional regional and self-hosted deployment options.

  • Ship tenant-aware experiences cleanly

    Contexts, topics, and Inbox scoping help map notification behavior to real B2B product structure.

  • Notifications users can act on

    Real-time delivery, unread counts, snooze controls, and preferences. Styled out of the box and customizable with the appearance prop.

Explore Novu

Just copy and ship

Add a powerful notification inbox to your app with 6 lines of code. It's that simple.

import React from 'react';
import { Inbox } from '@novu/nextjs';

export function NotificationInbox() {
  return (
    <Inbox />
  );
}

Novu vs Knock comparison

Compare ownership, deployment flexibility, pricing, and feature access.

Feature
Novu
Knock
What this means for you
Open-source availability
Open-source platform
Proprietary managed platform
Compare provider retries separately from workflow follow-ups. Review the Novu retry policy and Knock delivery policy. More control over your stack and a clearer fallback path if your infrastructure, compliance, or vendor requirements change
Deployment model
Cloud and On Prem Self-Hosted
Hosted platform
Choose the deployment model that fits your requirements instead of adapting to a hosted-only setup
Pricing metric
Workflow runs
Messages sent
You get a pricing model that is easier to predict when one notification flow sends across multiple channels
Code-first workflow ownership
Framework lets you create workflows entirely in code and keep them alongside app code
Dashboard workflows plus CLI and Management API support
With Novu, you can keep notification logic closer to your application code and source control when your team wants engineering-owned workflows
Agent conversations
Novu Connect lets users reply to notifications and talk to your AI agent.
Agent Toolkit lets agents trigger workflows and request approvals.
Turn notification replies into two-way conversations with your agent.
Tenant-specific branding and preferences
Tenant-aware scoping and filtering through context-aware Inbox patterns
Per-customer branding and tenant-admin preferences are Enterprise-only
You can support tenant-specific notification experiences earlier, without waiting for an enterprise upgrade
Workflow translations
Available on Team and Enterprise
Translation support is Enterprise-only
You can localize notification experiences for end users much earlier
In-app evaluation path
Inbox keyless mode for instant testing
Pre-built feed and inbox components
Try the in-app experience before you set up production
Preferences experience
Inbox includes notifications and preferences in the default UI
Preferences are exposed through APIs and components
Ship notifications and user preferences together in one Inbox
Public roadmap
Community-driven with full visibility
Changelog and support channels
Know what's coming and request features in the open

Don't just take our word for it...

Explore what developers and non-technical users say about why they're fans of our open-source notifications framework.

Frequently asked questions

Switch to Novu

Build one workflow from your product, connect your providers, and inspect the results. Talk to our team about deployment requirements or migration planning.

Novu Notify Free includes 10,000 workflow runs per month

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