Databases · head to head
Convex vs Namespace
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
Namespace
Developer Tools
The dev platform for the next 100 billion commits
- From
- Free
- Free plan
- Yes
The short version
- Namespace is a developer infrastructure platform.
- Free plans on both; paid from $25/mo and $100/mo.
- Only Convex lists reactive queries; only Namespace lists GitHub Actions runners.
- Where Namespace falls short: developer plan is pay-as-you-go only; minimum usage unclear.
- Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Convex and Namespace actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes).
Not yet recorded: pricing model for Namespace.
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 Namespace
- Devboxes
- GitHub Actions runners
- Docker builds
- Cross-invocation caching
- NVMe storage
- High-speed networking
- Multiple OS support
- Bazel and Turborepo support
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 Namespace
- Agent backends that need durable state, scheduled work and transactional writes without assembling a queue, a database and a cachenot Namespace
- Small product teams who need a complete backend, including auth integration, file storage and subscriptions, without hiring infrastructure engineersnot Namespace
- Prototypes that must become production without a rewrite of the data layer, where end-to-end TypeScript types remove a class of integration bugsnot Namespace
Namespace
- Providing AI coding agents with cloud-based development environmentsnot Convex
- Accelerating CI builds with faster GitHub Actions runnersnot Convex
- Distributing builds across teams with managed infrastructurenot Convex
- Scaling development velocity for monorepo organizationsnot 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
Namespace
- Developer plan is pay-as-you-go only; minimum usage unclear
- Team plan $100/mo is competitive but usage limits may be tight
- Devbox pricing separate at $0.004/minute could add up quickly
- Enterprise plan requires custom sales conversation
Pricing, plan by plan
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
Namespace
Free- DeveloperFree
- Pay-as-you-go
- On-demand compute
- Docker builds
- Team$100/mo
- 100,000 unit minutes
- 1,000 Docker builds
- Everything in Developer
- Business$250/mo
- 250,000 unit minutes
- 2,500 Docker builds
- Everything in Team
- EnterpriseOn request
- Custom compute/Docker build limits
- Audit log export
- Enterprise SSO
Which should you pick?
Choose Convex if
- You need reactive queries.
- You want to start without paying.
- You also want typescript server functions.
Choose Namespace if
- You need devboxes.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, macOS, Windows, Linux.
- You also want github actions runners.
Questions people ask
- Is Convex or Namespace better?
- Neither clearly leads. Convex starts at Free and Namespace at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Convex or Namespace?
- Convex starts at Free and Namespace at Free.
- Does Convex or Namespace run on more platforms?
- Convex runs on Web. Namespace runs on Web, macOS, Windows, Linux.
- 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 Namespace is typically brought in for.
- What can Convex do that Namespace cannot?
- Convex covers Reactive queries, TypeScript server functions, ACID transactions, Document database. Namespace covers Devboxes, GitHub Actions runners, Docker builds, Cross-invocation caching.
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.
Namespace: How is compute usage metered on the Developer plan?
Developer plan uses pay-as-you-go billing. Devboxes bill at $0.004 per minute. Storage and caching services have separate usage-based fees. A 30-day free trial is available to test usage patterns.
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.
Namespace: What is the difference between Team and Business plans?
Team ($100/mo) includes 100,000 unit minutes and 1,000 Docker builds with email support. Business ($250/mo) includes 250,000 unit minutes, 2,500 Docker builds, and high concurrency with a dedicated Slack channel.
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.
Namespace: Can Namespace support AI coding agents?
Yes, Namespace Devboxes are specifically designed as feature-rich development environments for AI coding agents, with full tooling and performance optimization.
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 Readyset
- Convex vs DynamoDB
- Convex vs FaunaDB
- Convex vs LanceDB
- Convex vs Xata
- Convex vs Materialize
- Convex vs BigQuery
- Convex vs dbt
- Convex vs OpenSearch
- Convex vs TiDB
- Convex vs Tinybird
- Convex vs Canary Labs
- Convex vs Aiven
- Convex vs CosmosDB
- Convex vs DataStax
- Convex vs EMQX
- Convex vs Firebase Realtime Database
- Convex vs Firestore
- Convex vs Ona (formerly Gitpod)
- Convex vs CodeSandbox
- Convex vs WarpBuild
- Convex vs Depot
- Convex vs Blacksmith
- Convex vs Earthly
- Convex vs Kubernetes
- Convex vs GitLab
- Convex vs Jenkins
- Convex vs LaunchDarkly
- Convex vs Terraform
- Convex vs Daytona
- Convex vs HCP Terraform
- Convex vs Helm
- Convex vs Jitsu
- Convex vs Notepad++
- Convex vs Postman
- Convex vs Prettier
- Namespace vs Readyset
- Namespace vs DynamoDB
- Namespace vs FaunaDB
- Namespace vs LanceDB
- Namespace vs Xata
- Namespace vs Materialize
- Namespace vs BigQuery
- Namespace vs dbt
- Namespace vs OpenSearch
- Namespace vs TiDB
- Namespace vs Tinybird
- Namespace vs Canary Labs
- Namespace vs Aiven
- Namespace vs CosmosDB
- Namespace vs DataStax
- Namespace vs EMQX
- Namespace vs Firebase Realtime Database
- Namespace vs Firestore
- Namespace vs Ona (formerly Gitpod)
- Namespace vs CodeSandbox
- Namespace vs WarpBuild
- Namespace vs Depot
- Namespace vs Blacksmith
- Namespace vs Earthly
- Namespace vs Kubernetes
- Namespace vs GitLab
- Namespace vs Jenkins
- Namespace vs LaunchDarkly
- Namespace vs Terraform
- Namespace vs Daytona
- Namespace vs HCP Terraform
- Namespace vs Helm
- Namespace vs Jitsu
- Namespace vs Notepad++
- Namespace vs Postman
- Namespace vs Prettier