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Software · head to head

Convex vs Vitess

C

Convex

Software

The reactive backend platform that keeps up with you and your agents

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Vitess logo

Vitess

Software

Scalable database clustering system for horizontal scaling of MySQL

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Vitess has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Convex the Free and Starter tier includes only 1 million function calls and 0.5 GB of database storage per month before per-unit overage charges of $2.20 per million calls apply, as of August 2026.; Vitess vTGate scatter queries without sharding key incur significant performance penalties

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Convex and Vitess actually diverge.

Attributes where Convex and Vitess differ
AttributeConvexVitess
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelusage-basedUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebLinux, macOS, Docker, Kubernetes
FoundedUnknown2010

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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

Nothing recorded that Vitess does not also cover.

Only in Vitess

  • Horizontal Sharding
  • Connection Pooling
  • Query Routing
  • Online Schema Changes
  • Shard Management
  • Replication Management
  • Automated Failover
  • MySQL

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Convex

No use cases recorded yet. See the Convex review.

Vitess

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

Where each one falls short

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

Convex

  • The Free and Starter tier includes only 1 million function calls and 0.5 GB of database storage per month before per-unit overage charges of $2.20 per million calls apply, as of August 2026.

Vitess

  • VTGate scatter queries without sharding key incur significant performance penalties
  • Foreign key constraints not enforced across shards, requiring application-level integrity handling
  • Single primary per keyspace limits multi-region write capabilities
  • Distributed transactions without proper sharding key routing suffer performance degradation

Pricing, plan by plan

Convex

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Convex review.

Vitess

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Vitess review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Convex if

Nothing in the data separates Convex from Vitess on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Convex review

Choose Vitess if

  • You need horizontal sharding.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Docker, Kubernetes.
  • You also want connection pooling.
Vitess review

Questions people ask

Is Convex or Vitess better?
Neither clearly leads. Convex starts at On request and Vitess at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Convex or Vitess?
Vitess has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Convex and Free for Vitess.
Does Convex or Vitess run on more platforms?
Convex runs on Web. Vitess runs on Linux, macOS, Docker, Kubernetes.
Can I use Vitess for free?
Yes. Vitess has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Convex starts at On request.
What can Convex do that Vitess cannot?
Vitess covers Horizontal Sharding, Connection Pooling, Query Routing, Online Schema Changes.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Vitess: Is Vitess free to use?

Yes. Vitess is completely free and open source under the Apache 2.0 license. It is a graduated CNCF project with no licensing costs or pricing tiers.

Source
Vitess: What databases does Vitess support?

Vitess supports MySQL and MariaDB as backend databases. It acts as a middleware layer that adds sharding and orchestration capabilities on top of these databases.

Source
Vitess: Does Vitess require Kubernetes to run?

No. Vitess can run on Kubernetes using the Vitess Operator, but it can also be deployed on traditional infrastructure. Kubernetes integration is optional and provides additional automation benefits.

Source
Vitess: How does Vitess handle cross-shard transactions?

Vitess supports distributed transactions across shards, but they require queries to be routed through the sharding key. Transactions without a proper sharding key can result in slower performance.

Source
Vitess: Does Vitess enforce foreign key constraints?

Vitess does not enforce foreign key constraints across shards by default. Referential integrity must be managed at the application layer, though per-database support can be enabled with limitations.

Source
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Related pages

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