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Databases · head to head

Convex vs OpsLevel

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
OpsLevel logo

OpsLevel

Developer Tools

Internal developer portal that scores service ownership and production readiness

From
On request
Free plan
No
Visit OpsLevelFull review

The short version

  • Convex starts at $25/mo; OpsLevel prices on request.
  • Only Convex lists reactive queries; only OpsLevel lists service catalogue.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Convex and OpsLevel actually diverge.

Attributes where Convex and OpsLevel differ
AttributeConvexOpsLevel
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelSubscriptionQuote
Free tierYesNo
CategoryDatabasesDeveloper Tools

Identical on both: 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 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 OpsLevel

  • Service catalogue
  • Scorecards and rubric
  • Checks
  • Campaigns
  • Self-service actions
  • Slack and Teams integration
  • Catalogue auto-enrichment
  • Deployment on request

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 OpsLevel
  • Agent backends that need durable state, scheduled work and transactional writes without assembling a queue, a database and a cachenot OpsLevel
  • Small product teams who need a complete backend, including auth integration, file storage and subscriptions, without hiring infrastructure engineersnot OpsLevel
  • Prototypes that must become production without a rewrite of the data layer, where end-to-end TypeScript types remove a class of integration bugsnot OpsLevel

OpsLevel

  • A platform team that needs to prove every production service has a named owner and an on-call rota before an auditnot Convex
  • Driving a fleet-wide migration such as a runtime upgrade across 400 services with a deadline and visible progressnot Convex
  • Giving developers a paved road to create a new service from a template without waiting on the platform teamnot Convex
  • An organisation where an incident took an hour to route because nobody could identify the owning teamnot 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

OpsLevel

  • OpsLevel does not publish prices at all, not even a starting figure, so you cannot size a budget or compare against Backstage's zero licence cost without entering a sales cycle
  • The Standard plan caps at 50 users, which is below the size at which service ownership becomes a real problem, so most genuine buyers land on Enterprise and its unpublished pricing
  • Scores are only as honest as the metadata teams maintain; where ownership records go stale the rubric produces confident numbers about a catalogue that no longer reflects reality, and leadership acts on them
  • It reports on quality rather than producing it, so it can generate friction between platform teams who set the rubric and product teams who see it as a scoreboard imposed on them without extra headcount to fix the findings
  • As a hosted product it needs read access to source control, cloud accounts and observability tooling, which is a meaningful vendor review in regulated environments; on-premises exists but only on the Enterprise tier

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

OpsLevel

On request
  • StandardOn request
    • Up to 50 users
    • Unlimited catalogued components
    • Scorecards, campaigns and the global rubric
  • EnterpriseOn request
    • Unlimited users
    • Custom integrations
    • Customisable dashboards

Which should you pick?

Choose Convex if

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

Choose OpsLevel if

  • You need service catalogue.
  • You also want scorecards and rubric.
OpsLevel review

Questions people ask

Is Convex or OpsLevel better?
Neither clearly leads. Convex starts at Free and OpsLevel at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Convex or OpsLevel?
Convex has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Convex and On request for OpsLevel.
Does Convex or OpsLevel run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Convex for free?
Yes. Convex has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. OpsLevel starts at On request.
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 OpsLevel is typically brought in for.
What can Convex do that OpsLevel cannot?
Convex covers Reactive queries, TypeScript server functions, ACID transactions, Document database. OpsLevel covers Service catalogue, Scorecards and rubric, Checks, Campaigns.

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.

OpsLevel: How much does OpsLevel cost?

It does not publish pricing. Billing is per developer using the portal, with volume discounts, and a quote requires a sales conversation.

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.

OpsLevel: How does it compare with Backstage?

Backstage has no licence fee but you staff a team to build and run it. OpsLevel is hosted with checks, campaigns and scorecards out of the box, and you pay per developer instead.

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.

OpsLevel: Does it require writing catalogue YAML by hand?

No. It auto-discovers and enriches entries from connected systems, though teams still curate ownership and metadata.

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.

OpsLevel: Can it run on premises?

Yes, but only on the Enterprise plan.

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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