DevRelay vs LaunchNotes
LaunchNotes is where a product team writes, publishes and emails its updates, with a roadmap and feedback alongside. DevRelay writes the updates for you: it watches your GitHub releases and drafts the changelog, announcement, posts and docs update, checked against the code, for you to approve.
Facts about LaunchNotes checked on launchnotes.com on
The short answer
Pick LaunchNotes if your updates start in Jira or Linear, you need a roadmap or feedback board, or you email updates to subscribers. Pick DevRelay if your changes ship as GitHub releases and the hard part is that nobody has time to write them up for your changelog, X, LinkedIn and docs.
At a glance
| DevRelay | LaunchNotes | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An AI DevRel employee: watches GitHub, your site and docs, drafts content for every channel | Product communication platform: announcements, roadmap, feedback, changelog page and email |
| Where a draft starts | On its own, when a GitHub release ships (or a merge to your release branch) | When someone starts one: from a Jira ticket, Linear issue, PRD, pull request, tag or pasted text |
| What it writes | Changelog entry, release announcement, X post or thread, LinkedIn post, docs update, tutorial, launch image and video script | Announcements and changelog posts, with Smart Draft (AI writer) |
| Where it publishes | Hosted changelog page, X, LinkedIn, docs pull requests, Markdown export | LaunchNotes page, in-app widget, email, Slack, LinkedIn, Intercom, Notion and more |
| Roadmap and feedback | No | Yes |
| Subscriber email | No (a newsletter draft you paste into your own email tool) | Yes, 5,000 emails a month on Growth |
| Checks before review | Every claim checked against the diff and your docs; no versions, no unreleased work | Drafts left for review |
| MCP server | Yes, for Claude, ChatGPT, Claude Code, Cursor and VS Code | Yes, for Claude, Cursor and other MCP clients |
| Price | Free plan; DevRelay plan $999 a month per organization | Growth $249 a month billed annually; Premium custom |
| Free plan or trial | Free plan, self-serve | No free plan; 14-day trial after a demo |
| Compliance | How access and data are handled is on our security page | SOC 2 Type II |
The real difference: who writes the update
LaunchNotes gives your team a home for product updates. Someone opens a draft, from a Jira ticket, a Linear issue, a PRD, a pull request or pasted text, and Smart Draft helps write it. From there it goes to a LaunchNotes page, an in-app widget, email, Slack and other places.
DevRelay starts earlier. It watches the repositories you pick, and when a GitHub release ships it reads each change's diff, linked issues and your docs, decides whether your users would notice, and drafts what the change deserves: a changelog line for a small fix, a release announcement and posts for a headline feature. The drafts wait in an approval inbox. Nothing publishes until a person approves that exact version.
What DevRelay does that LaunchNotes doesn't
- Waits for the release. A merged pull request is held until a release ships it, so unreleased work never reaches your changelog.
- Drafts every channel from one release. Changelog entry, release announcement, X post or thread, LinkedIn post, docs update, launch image and video script, each in your brand's voice.
- Checks claims against the code. Every claim in a draft has to match the diff, the pull request or your docs, and drafts never name a version or link to GitHub.
- Opens docs pull requests. An approved docs update opens a pull request on your docs repository. It never merges it.
- Finds threads to answer. Engage listens on Hacker News, X and GitHub and drafts replies from your docs that a person posts.
When LaunchNotes is the better fit
LaunchNotes does several things DevRelay doesn't do at all. Choose it, or keep it, if you need:
- A roadmap and feedback. LaunchNotes includes a roadmap and feedback management. DevRelay has neither.
- Subscriber email. LaunchNotes sends updates by email (5,000 a month on Growth) and segments subscribers on Premium. DevRelay sends no subscriber email.
- Updates that start in Jira or Linear. If product managers write updates from tickets rather than from releases, LaunchNotes fits that workflow directly.
- Enterprise procurement. LaunchNotes is SOC 2 Type II and offers SSO and JWT on Growth, and SAML, a custom SLA and SOC 2 report access on Premium.
- Several update pages or white-labeling. Premium adds multiple pages, full white-labeling and full HTML and CSS customization. Every DevRelay changelog page shows a small “Powered by DevRelay” link.
- Cross-posting into your other tools. LaunchNotes connects to Intercom, Notion, Confluence, Slack, Microsoft Teams and Zapier, among others.
Using both
They can work together. Let DevRelay draft the changelog entry and announcement from each release, then paste the approved text into LaunchNotes, where your roadmap, feedback and subscriber email already live. DevRelay keeps handling X, LinkedIn and docs updates.
Pricing
LaunchNotes Growth is $249 a month billed annually, with one LaunchNotes page, two users, one custom domain and 5,000 emails a month. Premium is custom priced. There is no free plan; the 14-day trial is set up after a 30-minute demo.
DevRelay has a free plan that watches your repos and drafts and checks content for every channel, with up to three knowledge sources. The DevRelay plan is $999 a month per organization and adds publishing to your hosted changelog page, X and LinkedIn, scheduling, docs pull requests, launch images and videos, and listening. See pricing for the full comparison.
How to choose
| If this sounds like you | Choose |
|---|---|
| Your updates start in Jira or Linear, written by product managers | LaunchNotes |
| You need a public roadmap, idea voting or feedback collection | LaunchNotes |
| You email release updates to subscriber segments | LaunchNotes |
| Procurement asks for SOC 2 Type II, SAML or a custom SLA | LaunchNotes (Premium for SAML and SLA) |
| Your changes ship as GitHub releases and nobody has time to write them up | DevRelay |
| You want one release to become a changelog entry, posts and a docs update | DevRelay |
| You want drafts checked against the code before anyone reviews them | DevRelay |
| You also want to find and answer threads about your product on HN, X and GitHub | DevRelay |
Not sure? Start free, connect one repository and read what DevRelay would have written about your last release before you decide.
Questions about DevRelay and LaunchNotes.
01What is the main difference between DevRelay and LaunchNotes?
Who starts the update. LaunchNotes is a place your team writes, publishes and emails product updates, with AI help when someone starts a draft. DevRelay watches your GitHub releases and drafts the update for every channel on its own, checks it against the code, and waits for your approval.
02Is DevRelay cheaper than LaunchNotes?
Not on the paid plan. As of October 8, 2026, LaunchNotes Growth is $249 a month billed annually, and the DevRelay plan is $999 a month per organization. DevRelay has a free plan that drafts everything without publishing; LaunchNotes has a 14-day trial after a demo.
03Does DevRelay have a public roadmap or feedback board?
No. DevRelay doesn't do roadmaps, idea voting or feedback collection. If you need those, LaunchNotes, Canny or Productboard fit better.
04Can DevRelay email our subscribers?
No. DevRelay drafts a product update newsletter that you copy into your own email tool. LaunchNotes sends email itself, with segmentation on its Premium plan.
05Can we use DevRelay and LaunchNotes together?
Yes. DevRelay can draft the changelog entry and release announcement from each GitHub release, and you paste the approved text into LaunchNotes. DevRelay still covers X, LinkedIn and docs updates on its own.
06Does LaunchNotes work with GitHub?
Yes. LaunchNotes says you can trigger updates from pull requests or tags, and its MCP skills can turn GitHub work into a draft announcement. DevRelay goes further on GitHub: it reads each change's diff and linked issues, holds merged work until it's released, and drafts every channel from that.
See what DevRelay would write about your last release.
Connect a repo on the free plan. Every draft waits for your approval.
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