What is the best alternative to Knock?

Novu is the top-rated alternative to Knock. It offers Open source and Multi-channel (email, SMS, push, in-app), and is open-source starting at $250/month (cloud)/month.

Is there a free alternative to Knock?

Yes — Novu is a open-source alternative to Knock. Open source

Why do developers switch from Knock?

Common reasons to switch from Knock: Expensive vs DIY; Less known than Twilio; Limited free tier.

Best Knock Alternatives(2026)

We compared 3 alternatives to Knock — so you can find the best option for your needs and budget.

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You're replacing

Knock

freemium

Notification infrastructure that scales

Starts at $100/month

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Common reasons to switch

Expensive vs DIYLess known than TwilioLimited free tier

Novu

open-source

From $250/month (cloud)

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Novu is an open source notification infrastructure for managing in-app, email, SMS, push, and chat notifications via a single API.

Pros

+Open source

+Multi-channel (email, SMS, push, in-app)

+Self-hostable

Cons

−Complex for simple use cases

−Cloud pricing is high

−Still maturing

Multi-channel notificationsIn-app notification centerWorkflow builderDigest & batchingSubscriber management

Courier

freemium

From $249/month

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Courier is a notification platform with a visual designer for building multi-channel notifications across email, SMS, Slack, push, and more.

Pros

+Non-technical friendly designer

+Strong routing logic

+Good preference center

Cons

−Expensive

−Complex for simple use cases

−Limited free tier

Multi-channel APIVisual template designerRouting rulesBatch & digestPreference center

Sendbird

freemium

From $399/month

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Sendbird provides in-app chat, messaging, video calls, and push notification APIs for mobile and web applications.

Pros

+Best for chat-heavy apps

+Prebuilt UIKit

+Video calls included

Cons

−Very expensive

−Overkill for simple notifications

−Long contracts

In-app chat APIPush notificationsVideo & voice callsModeration toolsAI chatbot

Compare Knock Head to Head

Knock vs Novu Knock vs Courier Knock vs Sendbird