Courier vs Novu (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Courier and Novu share a 2.4 GPA, both have a free plan and their prices can't be set side by side, so the choice depends on which features you need.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on all five counts.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Courier
Notification and messaging API across email, SMS, push and chat
Novu
Open-source notification infrastructure for apps and agents
Which one is for you
Pick Courier if
- Fits if you send mail, SMS and push from one product and want one API
- Works for small apps that stay under 10,000 sends a month
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want Courier to deliver email itself, since it routes through your own provider
- Tight if you pass 10,000 sends a month, when Business charges $0.005 per send
- Pricey if you send high volume, where 100,000 sends works out at $500
- Watch out: AI Translations, the AI node and EU data residency are on Business
- Watch out: Device Preview is an extra from $20 a month
Pick Novu if
- Fits if you're building an app and want one API for in-app, email and chat messages
- Makes sense if you want US or EU data residency without paying for it
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a plain email sending service, because email goes through your own provider
- Tight if you stay on free: 5 workflows, 3 team members and 24-hour activity history
- Pricey if you grow, as Team starts at $250 a month and extra runs cost $1.20 per 1,000
- Watch out: self-hosting, SSO, SCIM and the HIPAA BAA are Enterprise only
How we grade them
| 2.4GPACourierFair | 2.4GPANovuFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CThe Developer plan is free and Business is $0.005 per send with no per-seat fees, so 10,000 sends cost $50, in the ordinary range for email tools at low volume and above it at high volume. | CPro is $30 a month for 30,000 workflow runs, with extra runs at $1.20 per 1,000. That's above the category's dearer quarter at $20 but under the dearest tenth at $68. |
| Free plan and trial | BDeveloper is free for 10,000 sends a month with journeys, broadcasts, CLI and SDKs, which one person can live on. | BFree plan: 10,000 workflow runs a month, no card needed. The caps are 5 workflows, 3 team members and 24 hours of activity history. |
| Features | CRouting across channels, journeys, design studio, inbox and an AI step. It routes through your own email provider rather than delivering mail, and add-ons like Device Preview start at $20 a month. | CMulti-channel workflows, an Inbox component, a code-first setup and an email editor. Email is sent through a provider you connect, so it isn't a sending service itself. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. You connect providers, build templates and journeys, and wire in SDKs. | CNo store rating on record. You build workflows in code and connect providers. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb service with SDKs, a CLI, an MCP server and connections to SES, Mailgun, Postmark, SendGrid, Twilio, Slack, Teams and FCM. | BWeb dashboard with an API, an Inbox component and connections to Slack, Teams, WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord and more. |
| Best for | notifications across email, SMS, push and chat | open-source notifications on many channels |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Courier and Novu. How we grade
Where they differ
- Novu is open source, according to its own site.
- Courier also covers chatbots.
At a glance
| Courier | Novu | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | Not published | $30 per month for 30,000 workflow runs |
| Free plan | Developer plan: 10,000 sends a month, with journeys, broadcasts, MCP server, CLI and SDKs. | 10,000 workflow runs a month, up to 5 workflows, 2 environments, 3 team members and 24-hour activity feed retention. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Courier | Novu |
| Price read from | courier.com | novu.co |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Courier
- The Business plan has no monthly fee and charges $0.005 per send, with AI Translations, the AI node and EU data residency.
- The Developer plan stops at 10,000 sends a month.
- The Device Preview add-on is from $20 a month.
- Courier routes through your own email provider rather than delivering the mail itself.
Novu
- Novu orchestrates notifications; email is sent through an email provider you connect rather than a standalone sending service.
- The Free plan is capped at 5 workflows, 3 team members and 24-hour activity feed retention.
- Pro and Team prices are starting prices tied to 30,000 and 250,000 runs; overage is $1.20 per 1,000 runs.
- Self-hosting, SSO, SCIM and the HIPAA BAA are Enterprise features.
Key features
Courier
- Omnichannel routing
- One send can go to email, SMS, push, chat or in-app, with fallback between providers.
- Journeys
- Multi-step messaging triggered and personalized from your data.
- Design Studio
- A no-code visual editor with multi-channel preview.
- In-app Inbox
- An embeddable notification center that syncs across devices.
- AI agent step
- Run a language model as a step in a workflow to score users or generate content.
- Provider connections
- Bring your own email, SMS, push and chat providers.
Novu
- Multi-channel workflows
- Workflows deliver across email, in-app, SMS, chat and push, with delay, digest and throttle steps.
- Inbox component
- A prebuilt React Inbox component adds a notification feed with unread counts, preferences, filters and snoozing, and headless components are available.
- Code-first workflows
- The pricing page lists code-first workflows, topics and multi-tenancy support, with the feature set widening on higher plans.
- Email editor and layouts
- A block-based email editor and custom layouts come with Pro and above.
- Conversational channels
- Novu Connect is described as two-way communication with users and agents across WhatsApp, Slack and other channels.
- Data residency
- US and EU regions are on every plan. Singapore, UK, Australia, Japan, South Korea and custom regions are listed on Enterprise.
Plans
Courier
Developer$0
10,000 sends a month, journeys and broadcasts, MCP server, CLI and SDKs, SSO via Google and GitHub, email and chat support.
EnterpriseCustom
Everything in Business plus volume pricing, a dedicated Slack channel, observability integrations, role-based access control and an enterprise SLA.
Novu
Free$0
10,000 workflow runs a month across all channels, US and EU data residency, up to 5 workflows and 3 team members.
Pro$30
per month and up, for 30,000 workflow runs
20 workflows, 7-day activity feed retention, advanced email editor, removal of Novu branding, higher rate limits. Extra runs are $1.20 per 1,000.
Team$250
per month and up, for 250,000 workflow runs
Up to 10 environments, 90-day retention, unlimited team members, role-based access control and 600 requests per second for triggers. Extra runs are $1.20 per 1,000.
EnterpriseCustom
10 million or more workflow runs, HIPAA BAA, SAML/OIDC SSO, SCIM, additional data residency regions and self-hosted deployment options.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Courier or Novu?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Courier publishes no starting price, and Novu starts at $30 per month for 30,000 workflow runs.
Which has a free plan, Courier or Novu?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Courier and Novu have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.