Knock is developer-first messaging infrastructure that provides APIs and SDKs for engineering teams to build custom notification systems. Vero is a behavioral and lifecycle messaging platform that supports email, push, and other channels, with a focus on marketers and campaign workflows.

Knock focuses on transactional product notifications and in-app messaging across multiple channels, with native iOS and Android SDKs and API-driven workflows. Vero supports multiple channels but does not offer native SDKs for iOS or Android; push and other non-email channels require manual setup and integration.

While Vero supports messaging across email, push, and SMS channels, it's built around a visual workflow and campaign model. Developers often find Vero's workflow builder limiting for complex notification logic, and push setup is manual with no native iOS or Android SDKs. Knock provides programmatic control through APIs and code-based workflows, plus native mobile SDKs, for transactional product and customer messaging.

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 enable engineering, product, and growth teams to work collaboratively to send relevant lifecycle messaging and one-off promotional emails, just like Vero.

Unlike Vero, which prioritizes ease of use for marketing teams, 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.

Vero offers campaign and engagement analytics across its channels. Knock also provides extensive engagement analytics across channels, plus end-to-end observability for delivery tracking, message debugging, and API logs.

Knock is built as infrastructure to handle billions of notifications with guaranteed delivery and idempotency. While Vero can handle large volumes, it's optimized for scheduled campaigns rather than real-time, event-driven notifications at scale.

Vero supports email, push, and SMS channels, but push and SMS require manual setup; Vero does not provide native SDKs for iOS or Android.

Not only does Knock support email, push, SMS with native mobile SDKs, but also provides native integrations with chat apps, like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and WhatsApp, plus webhooks for custom channels and in-app feeds.

Knock enables greater flexibility by integrating with 25+ messaging providers, so teams can use whatever providers they prefer, such as Amazon SES for transactional email, Resend for promotional email, and Twilio for SMS notifications.

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 Vero to manage lifecycle and campaign messaging across email, push, and other channels.

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.

Knock typically offers more cost-effective pricing for engineering teams building notification systems. While Vero requires tiered subscriptions based on contacts and features, 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.

Both platforms offer enterprise compliance features. Knock provides SOC 2 Type 2 certification and supports GDPR/CCPA requirements. Vero offers similar compliance but typically requires enterprise contracts.

Knock's infrastructure approach gives engineering teams more control over data handling.

Knock is designed for rapid implementation by developers, with most teams shipping notifications within hours using pre-built components. Vero typically requires weeks of migration, configuration, and training for marketing teams.

If your engineering team needs to ship quickly, Knock's developer experience provides faster time-to-value.

Most engineering teams migrate from Vero to Knock within 2-4 weeks, depending on notification complexity. Knock's responsive support team help accelerate the process.

The investment pays off quickly through improved developer productivity and reduced maintenance.