Novu

What it is for

Novu is a notification inbox + workflow desk: you trigger a workflow, it fans out to email / SMS / push / chat / in-app, and subscribers open a drop-in Inbox. Use it when the job is workflow runs you start at $0 / 10k, not when you need a $20 chat seat.

What makes it unique: the cover is the official Novu docs Inbox widget (tabs, verification row, action buttons) — not a pricing card. The Inbox chrome itself is ops of Inbox, not a sixth product.

Key features

• Notification workflows — a trigger plus delay / digest / throttle / HTTP steps that fan out to channels (pricing). One run. Extra runs are $1.20 per 1K on Pro/Team. The dashboard “send test” is ops.
• Inbox — a drop-in in-app feed (bell, tabs, unread, preferences) for React and headless SDKs (Inbox docs; cover). A widget, not a send. Snooze and localization are modes of this.
• Email editor — block layouts you design once and reuse in a workflow (pricing Pro). A compose, not a channel checkbox. Custom layouts are this surface.
• Subscriber preferences — each user picks channels and workflows from the Inbox or API (Inbox docs). A setting, not a notification. Topics (fan-out lists) are next to this.
• Novu Connect — put an agent where the customer already works, so the agent can notify without a new inbox (Novu Connect). A door, not a workflow step. Two-way Web Chat is a different surface.

Environments (Dev/Prod; Team adds staging) are SKU of the desk. Activity-feed retention is SKU. Workflow runs are the meter. The CLI / SDK is install. Self-host is Enterprise SKU.

Who it's for

Best fit: product teams who will stay on Free $0 (10k workflow runs, 20 workflows, no card) while they drop in Inbox, then buy Pro at $30/month when they need 30k runs, 7-day retention, and the email editor.

Pricing

Verified 2026-10-22 (Asia/Shanghai) from novu.co/pricing. Cloud is workflow runs. OSS exists; supported self-host is Enterprise.

• Free — $0/month. No card. 10,000 workflow runs/mo. All channels (email, in-app, SMS, chat, push). US + EU residency. Up to 20 workflows. 2 environments (Dev + Prod). Activity feed 24 hours. Up to 3 team members.
• Pro — from $30/month. 30,000 runs included, then $1.20 per 1K. 7-day activity + Inbox feed retention. Remove Novu branding. Advanced email editor (blocks, layouts). Higher rate limits (240 events RPS).
• Team — from $250/month. 250,000 runs included, then $1.20 per 1K. Up to 10 environments. 90-day retention. Unlimited members. RBAC. 600 RPS triggers.
• Enterprise — custom. 10M+ runs. Unlimited environments. Custom retention / delay / digest. HIPAA BAA. SAML / OIDC. SCIM. Extra regions. Self-host. Dedicated Slack/Teams.
• On-prem self-hosted — Enterprise: SSO, RBAC, custom SLAs, dedicated support.

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Limitations / costs

• Free keeps the activity feed for 24 hours. Pro is 7 days; Team 90.
• $1.20 per extra 1K runs on Pro and Team. Free has no published overage — you stay inside 10k.
• A notification desk, not a support inbox. For an agent-facing helpdesk see Chatwoot. For a visual zap canvas see n8n.

Alternatives

• Chatwoot — an open-source support inbox when the job is conversations, not fan-out notifications.
• n8n — a visual workflow canvas when you will wire channels yourself.
• Inngest — durable event functions when the job is an agent step, not an Inbox widget.

Official tutorial

Official Novu channel video: Getting Started with Novu: Comprehensive Beginner's Guide (oEmbed author: Novu). First-party beginner path.

Written path: novu.co/pricing plus the Inbox docs screenshot.

Website

https://www.novu.co

Repository

https://github.com/novuhq/novu

Source

Catalog row curated for AI Tools Nav. Cover is the official Novu Inbox widget from docs. Dollars checked on novu.co/pricing (Free $0 / 10k runs; Pro from $30; Team from $250; extra runs $1.20/1K). Tutorial oEmbed author: Novu.

Last verified

2026-10-22 (Asia/Shanghai) editorial check.