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Databases · head to head

Amazon Aurora vs Convex

Amazon Aurora logo

Amazon Aurora

Databases

MySQL and PostgreSQL-compatible relational database built for the cloud

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
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
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Amazon Aurora aurora requires AWS ecosystem knowledge and integration with other AWS services; 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.
  • They diverge on capability: Amazon Aurora covers MySQL/PostgreSQL Compatible, Convex covers Reactive queries.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Amazon Aurora and Convex actually diverge.

Attributes where Amazon Aurora and Convex differ
AttributeAmazon AuroraConvex
Pricing modelusage-basedsubscription
PlatformsAWS CloudWeb
Founded2006Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Databases).

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 Amazon Aurora

  • MySQL/PostgreSQL Compatible
  • 5x MySQL Performance
  • Auto-scaling Storage
  • Global Database
  • Serverless v2
  • Multi-master
  • Fault Tolerant
  • AWS Lambda

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.

Amazon Aurora

  • Transaction processingnot Convex
  • Data storagenot Convex
  • Application backendnot Convex
  • Reportingnot Convex
  • Data analyticsnot Convex

Convex

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

Where each one falls short

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

Amazon Aurora

  • Aurora requires AWS ecosystem knowledge and integration with other AWS services
  • Pricing can become expensive with high-traffic applications using many read replicas
  • Limited support for non-relational data types compared to NoSQL alternatives

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

Amazon Aurora

Free
  • Serverless v2$0.12/hour
    • Auto-scaling
    • Pay per ACU
    • Instant scaling
  • Provisioned$29/month
    • Dedicated instances
    • Predictable performance
    • Reserved capacity

Convex

Free
  • Free & StarterFree
    • Supports 1-6 developers
    • Reactive database
    • File storage
  • Professional$25/month per developer
    • Supports up to 20 developers
    • All Starter features
    • Log streaming
  • Business & Enterprise$2500/month minimum
    • Supports 50+ developers
    • SAML/SSO
    • Service SLAs

Which should you pick?

Choose Amazon Aurora if

  • You need mysql/postgresql compatible.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on AWS Cloud.
  • You also want 5x mysql performance.
Amazon Aurora 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 Amazon Aurora or Convex better?
Neither clearly leads. Amazon Aurora 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, Amazon Aurora or Convex?
Amazon Aurora starts at Free and Convex at Free.
Does Amazon Aurora or Convex run on more platforms?
Amazon Aurora runs on AWS Cloud. Convex runs on Web.
Can I use Amazon Aurora for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Amazon Aurora best used for?
Amazon Aurora is most often used for transaction processing, data storage, application backend, reporting. Of those, transaction processing and data storage are not what Convex is typically brought in for.
What can Amazon Aurora do that Convex cannot?
Amazon Aurora covers MySQL/PostgreSQL Compatible, 5x MySQL Performance, Auto-scaling Storage, Global Database. Convex covers Reactive queries, TypeScript server functions, ACID transactions, Document database.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Amazon Aurora: Is Amazon Aurora compatible with MySQL and PostgreSQL?

Yes, Amazon Aurora offers MySQL and PostgreSQL compatibility with full compatibility to their open-source counterparts, allowing you to migrate existing databases with standard tools.

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.

Amazon Aurora: What uptime SLA does Amazon Aurora provide?

Aurora is designed for up to 99.99% single-region uptime and 99.999% multi-region uptime with automatic failover.

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.

Amazon Aurora: How much does Amazon Aurora cost?

Aurora uses serverless, usage-based pricing where you pay only for consumed capacity. Typical pricing ranges from $50-70 per month for minimal setups to $400-600 per month for small production clusters.

Source
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.

Amazon Aurora: Can Amazon Aurora scale automatically?

Yes, Aurora automatically scales to match workload demands without performance degradation, supporting both read and write scaling.

Source
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.

Amazon Aurora: How many read replicas does Aurora support?

Aurora supports up to 15 low-latency read replicas for distributing read traffic across your application.

Source
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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