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Developer Tools · head to head

Argo CD vs Convex

Argo CD logo

Argo CD

Developer Tools

A declarative, GitOps continuous delivery tool for Kubernetes

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit Argo CDFull review
Convex logo

Convex

Databases

Reactive backend combining a document database, TypeScript server functions and live queries, source-available under the Functional Source Licence.

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit ConvexFull review

The short version

  • Argo CD is free; Convex starts at $25/mo.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Argo CD and Convex actually diverge.

Attributes where Argo CD and Convex differ
AttributeArgo CDConvex
Pricing modelOpen-sourceSubscription
CategoryDeveloper ToolsDatabases

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Argo CD

Nothing recorded that Convex does not also cover.

Only in Convex

  • Reactive queries
  • TypeScript server functions
  • ACID transactions
  • Document database
  • Scheduling and workflows
  • File storage
  • Text and vector search
  • End-to-end types

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Argo CD

  • Declarative GitOps continuous deployment for Kubernetes applicationsnot Convex
  • Automated configuration drift detection across multiple clustersnot Convex
  • Multi-environment management with blue/green and canary deploymentsnot Convex
  • Enterprise authentication with SSO, OIDC, OAuth2, LDAP, SAML 2.0not Convex
  • Webhook integration for GitHub, BitBucket, and GitLab automationnot Convex

Convex

  • Collaborative applications where several users see the same data and every client must reflect a change immediatelynot Argo CD
  • Agent backends that need durable state, scheduled work and transactional writes without assembling a queue, a database and a cachenot Argo CD
  • Small product teams who need a complete backend, including auth integration, file storage and subscriptions, without hiring infrastructure engineersnot Argo CD
  • Prototypes that must become production without a rewrite of the data layer, where end-to-end TypeScript types remove a class of integration bugsnot Argo CD

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Argo CD

  • The quick start installation requires the --server-side and --force-conflicts flags due to CRD size limitations, per argo-cd.readthedocs.io, a constraint the documentation states explicitly

Convex

  • The Functional Source Licence is not an OSI open source licence: competing use is prohibited until each release reaches its second anniversary and converts to Apache 2.0, so you may self-host but you may not build a service on it
  • Transactions are bounded at one second of user code, 16 MiB read and written, 32,000 documents scanned and 16,000 written, so every backfill, migration or bulk import has to be chunked into scheduled batches rather than written as a single operation
  • There is no SQL and no query planner; you declare up to 32 indexes per table and traverse them, and joins are loops in TypeScript, so an unanticipated access pattern requires a schema and index change rather than a new query
  • It is not an analytical database, so reporting means streaming data out to a warehouse and BI tools cannot be pointed at Convex directly, which adds a pipeline the architecture diagram did not originally include
  • The application is written against Convex's function and client APIs rather than a standard protocol, so leaving means rewriting the data access layer and replacing the reactivity model, not repointing a connection string

Pricing, plan by plan

Argo CD

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Argo CD review.

Convex

Free
  • Free & StarterFree
    • Supports 1-6 developers
    • Reactive database
    • File storage
  • Professional$25
    • Supports up to 20 developers
    • All Starter features
    • Log streaming
  • Business & Enterprise$2,500/month minimum
    • Supports 50+ developers
    • SAML/SSO
    • Service SLAs

Which should you pick?

Choose Argo CD if

  • You want to start without paying.
Argo CD review

Choose Convex if

  • You need reactive queries.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want typescript server functions.
Convex review

Questions people ask

Is Argo CD or Convex better?
Neither clearly leads. Argo CD starts at Free and Convex at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Argo CD or Convex?
Argo CD starts at Free and Convex at Free.
Does Argo CD or Convex run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Argo CD for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Argo CD best used for?
Argo CD is most often used for declarative gitops continuous deployment for kubernetes applications, automated configuration drift detection across multiple clusters, multi-environment management with blue/green and canary deployments, enterprise authentication with sso, oidc, oauth2, ldap, saml 2.0. Of those, declarative gitops continuous deployment for kubernetes applications and automated configuration drift detection across multiple clusters are not what Convex is typically brought in for.
What can Argo CD do that Convex cannot?
Convex covers Reactive queries, TypeScript server functions, ACID transactions, Document database.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Argo CD: What is the cost of Argo CD?

Argo CD is open source and free to use. No licensing fees, subscription charges, or commercial restrictions apply. The project is maintained by the CNCF community.

Source
Convex: Is Convex open source?

It is source-available under FSL-1.1-Apache-2.0. You may read, modify and self-host it, but competing use is prohibited until each release converts to Apache 2.0 on its second anniversary.

Argo CD: How frequently does Argo CD poll Git repositories by default?

Argo CD checks Git and Helm repositories every 3 minutes by default to detect configuration changes, enabling timely deployment of updates.

Source
Convex: Can I self-host it?

Yes. The backend, dashboard and CLI can run on your own infrastructure, with most of the features of the cloud product. Self-hosted instances include a telemetry beacon that can be disabled.

Convex: Does it support SQL?

No. Data is accessed through a TypeScript query builder over declared indexes. Relationships are traversed in code, which is explicit and type-safe but means no ad hoc querying.

Convex: What happens if a mutation exceeds the limits?

It fails rather than running longer, so bulk work must be split into batches and scheduled. The limits are per transaction: one second of user code, 16 MiB read and written, 32,000 documents scanned and 16,000 written.

Convex: How does reactivity actually work?

Queries are deterministic functions and Convex records the data each one read. When a mutation changes that data, affected queries are re-run and subscribed clients receive the new result, so cache invalidation is handled by the platform.

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