Databases · head to head
Convex vs Prettier
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
The short version
- Prettier is an opinionated code formatter.
- Prettier is free; Convex starts at $25/mo.
- Where Prettier falls short: inflexible style rules that cannot be customized significantly, forcing teams to accept opinionated defaults.
- Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Convex and Prettier actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes).
Not yet recorded: founded for Convex.
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 Prettier
Nothing recorded that Convex does not also cover.
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 Prettier
- Agent backends that need durable state, scheduled work and transactional writes without assembling a queue, a database and a cachenot Prettier
- Small product teams who need a complete backend, including auth integration, file storage and subscriptions, without hiring infrastructure engineersnot Prettier
- Prototypes that must become production without a rewrite of the data layer, where end-to-end TypeScript types remove a class of integration bugsnot Prettier
Prettier
- Automatically formatting TypeScript files to project style standardsnot Convex
- Enforcing consistent HTML indentation across component filesnot Convex
- Removing style-related comments from pull request reviewsnot Convex
- Formatting GraphQL queries with consistent indentationnot 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
Prettier
- Inflexible style rules that cannot be customized significantly, forcing teams to accept opinionated defaults
- Developers must format entire files rather than selective line ranges in some contexts
- Limited language support compared to some alternatives, though it covers major languages
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
Prettier
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Prettier review.
Which should you pick?
Choose Convex if
- You need reactive queries.
- You want to start without paying.
- You also want typescript server functions.
Choose Prettier if
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on API, Editor Plugins, Build Tools.
Questions people ask
- Is Convex or Prettier better?
- Neither clearly leads. Convex starts at Free and Prettier at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Convex or Prettier?
- Convex starts at Free and Prettier at Free.
- Does Convex or Prettier run on more platforms?
- Convex runs on Web. Prettier runs on API, Editor Plugins, Build Tools.
- 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 Prettier is typically brought in for.
- What can Convex do that Prettier cannot?
- Convex covers Reactive queries, TypeScript server functions, ACID transactions, Document database.
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.
Prettier: Is Prettier free and open source?
Yes, Prettier is completely free and open source, available as an npm package with no licensing costs or subscriptions.
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.
Prettier: Can Prettier be integrated with ESLint?
Yes, Prettier integrates with ESLint by disabling ESLint formatting rules via eslint-config-prettier, allowing both tools to work together with Prettier handling formatting and ESLint handling code quality.
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.
Prettier: Does Prettier support configuration customization?
Prettier is intentionally opinionated with limited configuration options to enforce consistency. You can create a .prettierrc file for basic customization, but Prettier does not support extensive rule customization like ESLint.
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.
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