# Novu review (2026): is the free plan enough? > Open-source notification infrastructure for apps and agents Checked Nov 13, 2026 ยท graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA. Novu is open-source notification infrastructure that sends in-app, email, push, SMS and chat messages from one API, with a prebuilt Inbox component for in-product notifications. Plans are priced by workflow runs per month rather than by recipient. Self-hosted deployment is listed as an Enterprise option. - **Category:** Email Sending Services - **Made by:** Novu - **Website:** https://www.novu.co - **Runs on:** Web - **Who should skip it:** Skip it if you want a plain email sending service, because email goes through your own provider. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 13, 2026, Novu has a free plan, and paid plans start at $30 per month for 30,000 workflow runs. - **Pricing model:** Free plan - **Free plan:** 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. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | 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. | | Enterprise | Custom | 10 million or more workflow runs, HIPAA BAA, SAML/OIDC SSO, SCIM, additional data residency regions and self-hosted deployment options. | Read from https://www.novu.co/pricing on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Novu before buying. ## Key features - **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. ## Good for - Developers adding an in-app inbox plus email and push to a product - Teams that want an open-source notification layer - Prototypes and small apps: the free plan covers 10,000 runs a month ## Worth knowing - 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. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.4 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. Novu sends in-app, email, push, SMS and chat messages from one API, and the free plan covers 10,000 workflow runs a month. Email still goes through a provider you connect, and the free plan stops at 5 workflows. - **Value for money: C.** Pro 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: B.** Free 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: C.** Multi-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: C.** No store rating on record. You build workflows in code and connect providers. - **Platforms and integrations: B.** Web dashboard with an API, an Inbox component and connections to Slack, Teams, WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord and more. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Novu's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among email sending services - Novu's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 25 of the 50 other email sending services we grade, and level with 8. - It stands best on free plan and trial (B, above 35 of 50) and worst on features (C, above 0). - Its paid plans start at $30 a month, against a middle price of $15 for the category: 31 of the 41 others that charge start lower. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. 14 tools score higher and cost less. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/email-sending ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** To replace Novu you would be making mail servers with a good name among inbox providers. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. It costs $360 a year. Novu is open source, so there is a third way: take its code and run it yourself. - You could not: Mail servers with a good name among inbox providers. - You could not: Connections to other products, each kept working as those products change. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. ## Works with Slack, Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp Business, Telegram, Discord, Google Chat, Zoom, Linear **Tags:** Open source, Transactional email, Workflow automation, Public API ## Alternatives - [Knock](https://toolgpa.com/tools/knock): Cross-channel notification and messaging workflows for products. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/knock-vs-novu) - [Courier](https://toolgpa.com/tools/courier): Notification and messaging API across email, SMS, push and chat. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/courier-vs-novu) - [Twilio SendGrid](https://toolgpa.com/tools/sendgrid): Twilio's email API and SMTP service, priced by monthly email volume. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/novu-vs-sendgrid) - [Resend](https://toolgpa.com/tools/resend): Developer email API with React Email templates and a free tier. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/novu-vs-resend) - [Postmark](https://toolgpa.com/tools/postmark): Transactional email API and SMTP, with broadcasts on a separate stream. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/novu-vs-postmark) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026: - https://www.novu.co/pricing - https://www.novu.co Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/novu Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).