Hooklistener
Hooklistener vs Hookdeck

Debugging webhooks vs routing them

Hookdeck is webhook infrastructure for reliable delivery. Hooklistener is a webhook debugger for understanding what happened and why. Different tools, different jobs.

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Visual debugger
Inspect every header, body, and response visually
One-click replay
Resend any webhook to any environment instantly
CLI tunnels
Forward webhooks to localhost without ngrok

Debugging-first design

Hooklistener is built around the debugging workflow: see what arrived, inspect every detail, replay to reproduce, and share with your team. Every feature serves that loop.

Zero-config start

Generate a webhook URL and start receiving payloads immediately. No routing rules, no destination configuration, no deployment steps.

Silent failure detection

Hookdeck alerts when deliveries fail. Hooklistener also detects when webhooks stop arriving entirely—the silent failures that are hardest to catch.

Predictable pricing

Flat monthly plans: 25,000 requests/month on Pro, up to 2M on Scale. Going over never drops a webhook, and there are no per-request charges.

Feature comparison

Different tools for different parts of the webhook workflow.

CapabilityHooklistenerHookdeck
Core focusWebhook debugging, inspection, and team collaborationWebhook infrastructure, event routing, and delivery reliability
Visual debuggingFull visual debugger with JSON prettification, header inspection, payload diffing, and searchEvent log viewer focused on delivery status and routing outcomes
Replay & testingOne-click replay to any destination, replay with an edited body, and saved replay suites with assertionsRetry delivery to configured destinations based on routing rules
Localhost tunnelingBuilt-in CLI tunnels for local development with full request capture and historyThe Hookdeck CLI (hookdeck listen) forwards events from a Hookdeck source to localhost
MCP server for AI agentsHosted MCP server with OAuth and an optional read-only scope. 67 tools: wait for a webhook, verify Stripe/GitHub/Slack signatures, replay with re-signing, plus email inboxes, real-time endpoints and tunnelsLocal stdio MCP in the CLI (hookdeck gateway mcp), in beta, scoped to Event Gateway, read-only unless started with --allow-write
Email testingDisposable @hookinbox.com inboxes that capture test emails for signup and notification flowsNo email testing inboxes
Inactivity monitoringMonitors that alert via email/Slack when webhooks stop arrivingAlerting focused on delivery failures, not inactivity detection
Pricing modelFlat monthly tiers starting at $0. 25,000 requests/month on Pro, up to 2M on Scale; going over never drops a webhookRequest-volume pricing that scales with webhook traffic
Setup complexityGenerate a URL and start debugging in seconds—no configuration requiredRequires source and destination configuration with routing rules before receiving webhooks
Checked September 2026

MCP server and AI coding agents

Hookdeck's MCP server runs inside its CLI as a local stdio process (hookdeck gateway mcp). It is in beta, works on your Event Gateway projects, and starts read-only; pass --allow-write to let the agent create resources or retry events. It is a good fit for investigating production traffic that already flows through Hookdeck (Hookdeck docs).

Hooklistener's MCP server is hosted, so there is nothing to install: sign in with OAuth and pick full access or read-only. It is built for the development loop: the agent creates a URL, waits for the webhook with wait_for_request, checks the signature, and replays it to localhost with the payload re-signed. The same server covers email inboxes, WebSocket/MQTT endpoints, tunnels and monitors.

See webhook MCP servers compared for ten servers side by side, or set up the Hooklistener MCP server.

FAQ

When should I use Hooklistener vs Hookdeck?
Use Hooklistener when your primary need is webhook debugging, inspection, and team collaboration—especially during development and incident response. Choose Hookdeck when you need production webhook infrastructure with routing rules, transformations, and delivery guarantees at scale. Many teams use both: Hooklistener for debugging and Hookdeck for production routing.
Can Hooklistener handle production webhook traffic?
Yes. Hooklistener handles production traffic with up to 2,000,000 requests a month on Scale (going over never drops a webhook), up to 90-day retention, and team collaboration features. It's designed to be your debugging layer alongside your production webhook handler.
Does Hooklistener support webhook transformations?
Hooklistener focuses on capturing and inspecting webhooks as-is, then replaying or forwarding them to any destination. For complex transformation pipelines, Hookdeck or custom middleware may be a better fit.
Is Hooklistener free?
Yes. The free plan includes a Debug Endpoint, 1 day of history, and replay. Pro starts at $12/mo with 25,000 requests a month, 14-day retention, and CLI access. Production at $49/mo adds 250,000 requests a month, 30-day retention, 25 endpoints, and collaboration. Scale at $149/mo goes up to 2,000,000 requests a month and 90-day retention.
Does Hookdeck or Hooklistener have an MCP server for AI coding agents?
Both do, built for different jobs. Hookdeck's MCP runs locally over stdio from its CLI (hookdeck gateway mcp); it is in beta, reads your Event Gateway connections, requests, events, attempts, issues and metrics, and is read-only unless you pass --allow-write. Hooklistener's MCP server is hosted at app.hooklistener.com/api/mcp with OAuth sign-in and a read_only scope, and gives the agent a webhook URL it can wait on, signature checks, replay to localhost with re-signing, email inboxes and WebSocket/MQTT endpoints. As of September 2026.
Can I forward webhooks from Hooklistener to Hookdeck?
Absolutely. Many teams use Hooklistener as a debugging passthrough: capture webhooks in Hooklistener for visibility, then forward them to Hookdeck (or directly to your backend) for production routing.

Debug webhooks with full visibility

Hooklistener gives your team a visual debugger, instant replay, and monitoring for every webhook. Start free in seconds.

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