Overview
Convex is a backend platform built around a transactional document database. Instead of writing SQL and an API, you write TypeScript query, mutation and action functions that run on Convex; queries are reactive, so clients subscribed through the React or other client libraries receive updates whenever the underlying data changes. File storage, text and vector search, scheduled functions, crons and auth are built in.
The Free plan has hard caps (for example 1 million function calls and 0.5 GB of database storage a month) and supports up to six developers. Starter, added in June 2025, keeps the same allowances but lets you pay per unit beyond them, so a small app can go over the free limits without buying a full plan and costs nothing when idle.
Professional costs $25 per developer per month and raises the included resources sharply (25 million function calls, 50 GB of database storage, 100 GB of file storage), with lower unit rates, daily backups, log streaming, custom domains, HIPAA and SOC 2 reports and a BAA. Business, from a $2,500 monthly minimum, adds SSO, SLAs and dedicated deployments.
Deployments run in AWS US East or, since February 2026, AWS eu-west-1 at 1.3 times the resource price. The backend is open source and can be self-hosted with SQLite or Postgres storage, which limits lock-in even though the programming model is Convex-specific.
Pricing and plans
Free tier · no card
Free plan: 1-6 developers, 40 deployments, 1M function calls, 20 GB-hours of action compute, 0.5 GB database storage, 1 GB file storage, 1 GB database I/O and 1 GB egress per month (US regions); hard caps, no backups
At the limit Stops at the limit Past the free hard caps, new writes may fail and the deployment can return errors; nothing is charged.
No backups| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Hard resource caps, 1-6 developers, S16 deployment class, no card needed |
| Starter | Pay as you go | Free allowances, then e.g. $2.20 per extra 1M function calls, $0.22/GB database storage, $0.33 per action GB-hour (US) |
| Professional | $25 per developer/mo | Up to 20 developers; 25M function calls, 50 GB database storage, 100 GB files included; daily backups, log streaming, custom domains, HIPAA/SOC 2 reports, BAA |
| Business | $2,500/mo minimum | SAML SSO, service SLAs, dedicated deployments, fine-grained permissions, month-to-month |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom MSA and annual commit discounts |
What it does
- Reactive queries
- Query functions are subscriptions: clients receive new results automatically when the data they read changes.
- TypeScript functions
- Queries, mutations and Node.js actions run next to the data with ACID transactions and end-to-end type safety.
- Search
- Built-in text search and vector search indexes on the same data.
- Scheduling
- Crons and scheduled functions for background jobs without a separate queue.
- Preview deployments
- Separate backend deployments for pull requests on every plan.
- Self-hosting
- Open-source backend and dashboard in Docker, storing data in SQLite or Postgres.
Strengths and limitations
Strengths
- Realtime sync without writing websocket or cache-invalidation code
- Database, functions, storage, search and scheduling in one TypeScript codebase
- Free plan plus a scale-to-zero pay-as-you-go Starter plan
- Open-source backend that can be self-hosted
- SOC 2 Type II and HIPAA with a BAA on Professional
Limitations
- Proprietary data model and function API; not SQL
- Only two regions, US East and EU Ireland
- EU deployments cost 1.3x and get no included usage on paid plans
- Daily backups and log streaming need Professional
- Professional is priced per developer seat
Who it suits
Good for
- Realtime collaborative and chat apps built with React or TypeScript
- AI-assisted and agent-built apps that benefit from end-to-end types
- Small teams that want one backend service instead of several
Look elsewhere if
- Teams that need SQL, existing ORMs or BI tools against the primary database
- Apps that need data residency outside the US or EU
Pricing history
-
Business plan and self-serve pricing changes
Announced (rolling out from May 2026): a Business plan with a $2,500/mo minimum, and file bandwidth replaced by data egress at $0.12/GB. Source ↗
-
EU region at 1.3x pricing
Announced: deployments in aws-eu-west-1 on all plans, with resource prices 30% higher and no included usage on paid plans in the EU. Source ↗
-
Pay-as-you-go Starter plan
Effective 2025-06-18: a Starter plan that is pay-as-you-go beyond the free limits; before, the only paid option was Professional at $25 per developer a month. Source ↗
-
Free team seats raised from 2 to 6
Announced: the free plan's team size went from 2 to 6 developers, and spending limits were added to Pro. Source ↗
Alternatives to Convex
| Tool | From | Free option | Stages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supabase Managed Postgres backend platform | $25/mo | Free tier | |
| Crunchy Bridge Managed PostgreSQL on AWS, Azure and GCP | $9/mo | ||
| MongoDB Atlas Managed document database | $8/mo | Free tier | |
| Render Managed PaaS | $7/mo | Free tier | |
| Aiven Managed open-source data platform (PostgreSQL, MySQL, Kafka, Valkey, OpenSearch, ClickHouse) | $5/mo | Free tier | |
| Redis Cloud Managed Redis | $5/mo | Free tier |
Questions
Is Convex free?
Yes. The Free plan supports up to six developers with capped resources such as 1 million function calls and 0.5 GB of database storage a month.
How much does Convex cost?
Starter is pay as you go beyond the free allowances, Professional is $25 per developer per month with larger included resources, and Business starts at a $2,500 monthly minimum.
Can I self-host Convex?
Yes. Convex open-sourced its backend and dashboard and publishes Docker images that store data in SQLite or Postgres.
Does Convex have an EU region?
Yes. Since February 2026 deployments can run in AWS eu-west-1 (Ireland), at 1.3x resource pricing.
Is Convex a SQL database?
No. It is a document database queried through TypeScript functions, with indexes and ACID transactions.
Sources read for this page