Messaging infrastructure built for developers.
Modern engineering teams choose Knock to ship dynamic, cross-channel product notifications and in-app messaging that drives engagement, growth, and retention.
Developer-first messaging engine
Trigger and cancel workflows via our API. Set a schema and enforce data validation to catch errors before they reach users. Deliver messages across multiple channels.
Branch • Throttle • Batch
Functions to deliver messages when and where your users expect them.
Preference Management
Give users control of where and when they receive messages.
Production-Ready Observability
Debug notifications with ease. Stream logs to observability tooling for live monitoring.
Cross-Channel Analytics
Stream notification data to your tools. Learn and iterate.
In-app component library and SDKs
Power all of your in-app messaging. Native to your product. Built for production-level performance.
The top reasons leaders choose Knock over Braze
A developer-first platform
With multiple environment support, a git-like commit system, and a management API + MCP server, Knock meets developers where they work.
Advanced orchestration
Knock is the only messaging platform with batching and throttling and a flexible preferences model. Only notify your users when they need to be.
Best-in-class observability
Knock provides an end-to-end debugger so you can understand what happened from API request to workflow run to notification sent.
Knock vs. Braze feature comparison
| Feature | Knock | Braze |
|---|---|---|
| Visual template editor | ||
| Cross-channel messaging support | ||
| Campaign engagement analytics | ||
| Full observability (API logs, message debugging) | ||
| CLI and management API | ||
| Advanced workflow functions like batching, throttling | ||
| Git-like version control | ||
| Multi-environment support | ||
| Schema-enforced trigger validation | ||
| Native in-app messaging components | ||
| Multi-tenancy support |
Frequently asked questions
What's the main difference between Knock and Braze?
Knock is developer-first messaging infrastructure that provides APIs and SDKs for engineering teams to build custom notification systems. Braze is a marketing automation platform designed for marketers to create campaigns without code.
Knock focuses on transactional product notifications and in-app messaging, while Braze specializes in marketing communications.
Can developers use Braze for transactional notifications?
While Braze can send transactional messages, it's primarily built for marketing campaigns. Developers often find Braze's workflow builder limiting for complex notification logic, whereas Knock provides programmatic control through APIs and code-based workflows designed specifically for transactional product and customer messaging use cases.
Does Knock support marketing campaigns like Braze?
Knock excels at product and customer messaging use cases like user onboarding flows, activity notifications, system alerts, and other product-driven communications.
However, features like Broadcasts and Guides allow engineering, product, and growth teams to work collaboratively to send relevant lifecycle messaging and one-off promotional emails, just like Braze.
Can non-technical team members use Knock?
Unlike Braze, which prioritizes collaboration over flexibility, Knock is purpose-built for developers, so initial setup requires some technical involvement.
From there, non-technical users can easily create messaging workflows, manage notification templates, edit and send one-time messages, ship in-app messaging, and view analytics without any developer involvement.
How do the analytics compare between Knock and Braze?
Braze offers extensive marketing analytics for campaign performance. Knock also provides extensive engagement analytics across channels, plus end-to-end observability for delivery tracking, message debugging, and API logs.
Which platform scales better for high-volume notifications?
Knock is built as infrastructure to handle billions of notifications with guaranteed delivery and idempotency. While Braze can handle large volumes, it's optimized for scheduled campaigns rather than real-time, event-driven notifications at scale.
Does Knock offer the same channels as Braze?
Both platforms support email, push, SMS, and in-app notifications, but only Knock allows integration flexibility with 25+ messaging providers, allowing teams to take advantage of unique benefits of individual services.
For example, AWS-native companies can save costs by using Amazon SES to send transactional emails or use Twilio's infrastructure to reach 180+ countries via SMS.
Unlike Braze, Knock also provides native integrations with chat apps, like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and WhatsApp, plus webhooks for custom channels. Knock's channel management is API-driven, while Braze uses a visual interface.
Can I use Knock and Braze together?
Yes, many companies use both platforms. It's common to see engineering teams using Knock to handle transactional messaging (alerts, updates, collaboration messages) while marketing teams use Braze to manage promotional messaging (lifecycle messaging, one-time broadcasts).
However, this separation can lead to inconsistent messaging over time, and using two systems ends up costing more than just using Knock to handle all product and customer messaging.
Is Knock cheaper than Braze?
Knock typically offers more cost-effective pricing for engineering teams building notification systems. While Braze requires annual contracts, Knock provides transparent usage-based pricing starting at $0 for the first 10,000 notifications, making it accessible for startups and growing companies, with volume discounts for larger enterprise organizations.
All plans include unlimited data ingestion and unlimited channels with no onboarding or service fees, and overages are only incurred by volume of sent messages.
What about compliance and data residency?
Both platforms offer enterprise compliance features. Knock provides SOC 2 Type 2 certification and supports GDPR/CCPA requirements. Braze offers similar compliance but typically requires enterprise contracts.
Knock's infrastructure approach gives engineering teams more control over data handling.
Which platform is easier to implement?
Knock is designed for rapid implementation by developers, with most teams shipping notifications within hours using pre-built components. Braze typically requires weeks of migration, configuration, and training.
If your engineering team needs to ship quickly, Knock's developer experience provides faster time-to-value.
How long does migration from Braze to Knock take?
Most engineering teams migrate from Braze to Knock within 2-4 weeks, depending on notification complexity. Knock's Braze migration guide and responsive support team help accelerate the process.
The investment pays off quickly through improved developer productivity and reduced maintenance.