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Best open-source webhook tools compared

Pick wrong and you'll spend months migrating later. We've been there. Here's what we know about the webhook infrastructure landscape.

You can test Hook0's webhook delivery for free right now with our webhook tester -- no signup required.

Feature comparison​

Legend: ✅ = Full support | ⚠️ = Partial support | ❌ = Not available

FeatureHook0SvixHookdeckHostedhooks
SaaS (managed)✅✅✅✅
Self-hosting✅ Full feature parity⚠️ Open-core (limited)⚠️ Outpost only (Apache-2.0)❌
Open-source license✅ SSPL-1.0⚠️ Open-core⚠️ Partial (Outpost Apache-2.0, Event Gateway closed)❌ Proprietary
Outbound webhooks✅✅✅ Outpost (separate product)✅
Inbound webhook proxy❌❌✅ Core focus❌
Multi-tenant filtering✅ Label-based⚠️ Basic❌❌
HMAC signatures✅✅✅✅
Automatic retries✅ Fixed escalating backoff, capped by max retries + window✅✅✅
Dead letter queue✅✅✅❌
Event type hierarchy✅ Dot-notation✅❌⚠️ Flat
Custom retry schedules⚠️ Global limits only (self-hosted)✅✅❌
Delivery logs & replay✅✅✅⚠️ Logs only
REST API✅✅✅✅
SDK supportJS, Rust, Python, Go, Ruby, PHP, C#, Java, Kotlin, Lua, ZigJS, Python, Go, Ruby, JavaJS, Python, Go, RubyJS
AuthenticationBiscuit tokens + Service tokensAPI keysAPI keysAPI keys
Self-funded✅❌ $17M raised❌ $5.5M raisedUnknown

Funding and feature data last verified: January 2025. Svix and Hookdeck self-hosting rows rechecked against their public repositories and pricing pages on 2026-10-08.

Detailed comparisons​

  • Hook0 vs Svix: both send outbound webhooks and both self-host from public code. Hook0 is SSPL-1.0 with no closed tier and an EU data plane; Svix has an MIT core and keeps supported on-prem for Enterprise.
  • Hook0 vs Hookdeck: Hookdeck sells an inbound Event Gateway and a separate outbound product, Outpost. Licensing, self-hosting scope and pricing tiers compared.
  • Hook0 vs Convoy: Rust and SSPL-1.0 against Go and the Elastic License v2.0, with pricing side by side.
  • Hostedhooks vs Hook0: proprietary vs open-source. Hostedhooks has fewer features but a simpler setup.
  • AWS EventBridge vs Hook0: an event bus for your own services vs a delivery server for external endpoints.
  • Build vs Buy: what building webhook infrastructure from scratch actually costs.
  • Webhook cost comparison: public prices at 100k to 10M events a month, with the self-hosted ops bill.

Tools that receive webhooks rather than send them:

  • Hook0 vs Requeue: Requeue is a dead-letter inbox for webhooks you receive and for failed jobs.
  • Hook0 vs Webhook Relay: Webhook Relay forwards third-party webhooks to localhost or private servers.
  • Hook0 vs ngrok: ngrok tunnels any local service; the Hook0 CLI forwards webhooks to localhost with no account.

Webhook service vs a message queue (SQS, RabbitMQ, EventBridge)​

A queue moves messages between services you run. A webhook service delivers HTTP requests to endpoints your customers run. You can build the second on top of the first, and that build is exactly the work a webhook service saves you.

What outbound webhooks needSQS / RabbitMQEventBridge (API destinations)Hook0
HTTP POST to a customer URL❌ Your consumer makes the call✅✅
Payload signature the receiver can verify❌ Build it❌ Auth header only (API key, Basic, OAuth)✅ HMAC-SHA256 on every request
Retries while an endpoint is down⚠️ Redelivery to your consumer, then a dead-letter queue✅ Up to 24 hours and 185 attempts by default✅ Up to 24 retries over about 8 days by default, with jitter
Per-attempt log (status code, response body)❌ Build it❌ Metrics, plus failed events sent to a DLQ✅
Replay a past event❌ Build it⚠️ Archive and replay, per event bus✅ POST /events/{event_id}/replay, resent to every matching subscription
Customers manage their own endpoints❌ Build it❌ One rule and destination per target, in your AWS account✅ Subscriptions filtered by event type and labels

Keep the queue for work between your own services. Put a webhook service at the edge, where events leave for systems you don't control.

What matters if you're a startup​

Time to integrate: Hook0 and Svix both have good APIs. First webhook in under 10 minutes with either. Hookdeck's Event Gateway is fast too, but it handles the receiving side; its sending product is Outpost.

Cost at scale: Self-hosting Hook0 costs you nothing beyond your own infrastructure. With Svix's open-source version, you get a subset of features. Hostedhooks has no self-hosting option, and Hookdeck's inbound Event Gateway is cloud-only; only its Outpost delivery engine can be self-hosted.

Lock-in: Hook0 is SSPL-1.0. You can view, modify, fork, and self-host the code. The only restriction: if you offer Hook0 as a managed service to others, you must open-source your entire stack. For self-hosting your own webhook infrastructure, there are no extra obligations. If we disappeared tomorrow, your webhook infrastructure would keep running.

Open-source options​

Hook0 is the only webhook server where the self-hosted and cloud versions have the same features. Svix is "open-core": its open-source server lacks some features of the hosted service, and supported on-prem deployment is an Enterprise-plan feature.

If you need source access for auditing, compliance, or to avoid vendor dependency, Hook0 is the only real option here.

FAQ​

Which webhook service has the best free tier?​

Hook0 Cloud offers a free tier for development and testing. But the real free tier is self-hosting: run Hook0 on your own infrastructure with zero per-message costs, forever.

Can I migrate from Svix to Hook0?​

Yes. Both use similar REST API patterns. The main work is mapping Svix's "endpoints" to Hook0's "subscriptions" and updating your SDK calls. Most teams complete the migration in a day.

Is Hookdeck a replacement for Hook0?​

It depends on the Hookdeck product. Its Event Gateway receives and routes inbound webhooks, which Hook0 does not do. Hookdeck Outpost is its outbound delivery product and overlaps with Hook0. Teams that receive webhooks from providers and also send webhooks to their own customers can use the Event Gateway and Hook0 side by side. Hook0 vs Hookdeck compares licensing, self-hosting and pricing.

Do I need a webhook service if I use message queues?​

Message queues (RabbitMQ, Kafka, SQS) handle internal communication. Webhooks handle external communication: delivering events to your customers' HTTP endpoints. They're complementary, not competing.

Can SQS or RabbitMQ replace a webhook delivery service?​

They can carry the events, but they stop at consumers you run. To reach customer endpoints you still write the HTTP client, the payload signing, a retry schedule per endpoint, a delivery log, replay, and the screens where customers register their URLs. A webhook service such as Hook0 is that layer, and many teams keep their queue upstream of it.

Can AWS EventBridge send webhooks to customer endpoints?​

Yes, through API destinations. EventBridge calls an HTTP endpoint using a connection that holds an API key, Basic or OAuth credentials, and by default retries for up to 24 hours and 185 attempts. It does not sign the payload for the receiver to verify, keeps no per-attempt response log, and every target is a rule plus a destination in your own AWS account, so your customers cannot manage their endpoints themselves. It fits a few internal or partner endpoints; customer-facing webhooks are what a dedicated service like Hook0 is built for. See AWS EventBridge vs Hook0.

What is the best open-source webhook management tool?​

Hook0 is the only webhook server where the self-hosted and cloud versions have the same features. Svix is open-core: its open-source server lacks some features of the hosted service. Convoy (Go) handles both inbound and outbound but is VC-funded. For teams that want full source access with no feature gating, Hook0 is the strongest option.

How does pricing compare at scale?​

At 1M events/month: Hook0 Cloud and Svix are in similar price ranges. Hookdeck charges per request. Self-hosting Hook0 eliminates per-message costs entirely. You only pay for compute and storage.

Next steps​