Databases · head to head
Convex vs Estuary
Convex
Databases
Reactive backend combining a document database, TypeScript server functions and live queries, source-available under the Functional Source Licence.
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Estuary
Databases
Real-time data integration combining streaming, CDC, and batch
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: 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.; Estuary per-GB pricing adds up quickly for high-volume scenarios
- They diverge on capability: Convex covers Reactive queries, Estuary covers Real-time data delivery.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Convex and Estuary actually diverge.
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 Convex
- Reactive queries
- TypeScript server functions
- ACID transactions
- Document database
- Scheduling and workflows
- File storage
- Text and vector search
- End-to-end types
Only in Estuary
- Real-time data delivery
- Change data capture
- Batch processing
- Data transformation
- Pre-built connectors
- Multiple deployments
- RBAC and monitoring
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Convex
- Collaborative applications where several users see the same data and every client must reflect a change immediatelynot Estuary
- Agent backends that need durable state, scheduled work and transactional writes without assembling a queue, a database and a cachenot Estuary
- Small product teams who need a complete backend, including auth integration, file storage and subscriptions, without hiring infrastructure engineersnot Estuary
- Prototypes that must become production without a rewrite of the data layer, where end-to-end TypeScript types remove a class of integration bugsnot Estuary
Estuary
- Real-time data replication to data warehousesnot Convex
- Change data capture from operational databasesnot Convex
- Feeding analytics and BI systems with fresh datanot Convex
- Powering real-time AI and ML data pipelinesnot Convex
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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.
Estuary
- Per-GB pricing adds up quickly for high-volume scenarios
- No transparent per-connector volume discounts below 6 connectors
- Limited to data movement; transformation capabilities are basic
- BYOC and private deployment requires enterprise plan
- Smaller ecosystem compared to established alternatives
Pricing, plan by plan
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
Estuary
Free- DeveloperFree
- 10 GB per month
- 2 connector instances maximum
- No credit card required
- Cloud$0.5/GB
- $0.50 per GB of data moved
- $100 per connector monthly (6+ connectors $50 each)
- 200+ connectors
- Enterprise$null/custom
- Volume-based discounts
- SOC 2 and HIPAA compliance
- SSO authentication
Which should you pick?
Choose Convex if
- You need reactive queries.
- You want to start without paying.
- You also want typescript server functions.
Choose Estuary if
- You need real-time data delivery.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Cloud, Private Cloud, BYOC.
- You also want change data capture.
Questions people ask
- Is Convex or Estuary better?
- Neither clearly leads. Convex starts at Free and Estuary at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Convex or Estuary?
- Convex starts at Free and Estuary at Free.
- Does Convex or Estuary run on more platforms?
- Convex runs on Web. Estuary runs on Cloud, Private Cloud, BYOC.
- Can I use Convex for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Convex best used for?
- Convex is most often used for collaborative applications where several users see the same data and every client must reflect a change immediately, agent backends that need durable state, scheduled work and transactional writes without assembling a queue, a database and a cache, small product teams who need a complete backend, including auth integration, file storage and subscriptions, without hiring infrastructure engineers, prototypes that must become production without a rewrite of the data layer, where end-to-end typescript types remove a class of integration bugs. Of those, collaborative applications where several users see the same data and every client must reflect a change immediately and agent backends that need durable state, scheduled work and transactional writes without assembling a queue, a database and a cache are not what Estuary is typically brought in for.
- What can Convex do that Estuary cannot?
- Convex covers Reactive queries, TypeScript server functions, ACID transactions, Document database. Estuary covers Real-time data delivery, Change data capture, Batch processing, Data transformation.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
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.
Estuary: What is included in the free Developer plan?
Developer plan ($0/month) includes 10 GB of data per month and up to 2 connector instances, no credit card required.
SourceConvex: 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.
Estuary: How is data pricing calculated on Cloud plan?
Cloud plan charges $0.50 per GB of data moved plus $100/month per connector for the first 6 connectors, then $50/month for additional connectors.
SourceConvex: 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.
Estuary: What discount is available when adding 6+ connectors?
When using 6 or more connectors, the per-connector cost drops to $50/month from $100/month, saving $50 per additional connector.
SourceConvex: 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.
Related pages
Other head to heads
- Convex vs PostgreSQL
- Convex vs Airtable
- Convex vs Cockroach Labs
- Convex vs Amazon Aurora
- Convex vs Readyset
- Convex vs FaunaDB
- Convex vs LanceDB
- Convex vs Xata
- Convex vs Materialize
- Convex vs BigQuery
- Convex vs dbt
- Convex vs Apache Doris
- Convex vs ArangoDB
- Convex vs Canary Labs
- Convex vs Chroma
- Convex vs Cloudinary
- Convex vs DynamoDB
- Convex vs Apache Solr
- Convex vs Fivetran HVR
- Convex vs Apache Druid
- Convex vs ClickHouse
- Convex vs Firebase Realtime Database
- Convex vs SingleStore
- Convex vs Tinybird
- Convex vs Timeplus
- Convex vs NATS
- Convex vs QuestDB
- Convex vs Vitess
- Convex vs Aiven
- Convex vs CosmosDB
- Convex vs DataStax
- Convex vs Apache Pinot
- Convex vs Apache Flink
- Convex vs Apache Kafka
- Estuary vs PostgreSQL
- Estuary vs Airtable
- Estuary vs Cockroach Labs
- Estuary vs Amazon Aurora
- Estuary vs Readyset
- Estuary vs FaunaDB
- Estuary vs LanceDB
- Estuary vs Xata
- Estuary vs Materialize
- Estuary vs BigQuery
- Estuary vs dbt
- Estuary vs Apache Doris
- Estuary vs ArangoDB
- Estuary vs Canary Labs
- Estuary vs Chroma
- Estuary vs Cloudinary
- Estuary vs DynamoDB
- Estuary vs Apache Solr
- Estuary vs Fivetran HVR
- Estuary vs Apache Druid
- Estuary vs ClickHouse
- Estuary vs Firebase Realtime Database
- Estuary vs SingleStore
- Estuary vs Tinybird
- Estuary vs Timeplus
- Estuary vs NATS
- Estuary vs QuestDB
- Estuary vs Vitess
- Estuary vs Aiven
- Estuary vs CosmosDB
- Estuary vs DataStax
- Estuary vs Apache Pinot
- Estuary vs Apache Flink
- Estuary vs Apache Kafka