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Vitess vs Convex

Vitess logo

Vitess

Software

Scalable database clustering system for horizontal scaling of MySQL

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
C

Convex

Software

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

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Vitess has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Vitess vTGate scatter queries without sharding key incur significant performance penalties; 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.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Vitess and Convex actually diverge.

Attributes where Vitess and Convex differ
AttributeVitessConvex
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelUnknownusage-based
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, macOS, Docker, KubernetesWeb
Founded2010Unknown

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 Vitess

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

Only in Convex

Nothing recorded that Vitess does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Vitess

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

Convex

No use cases recorded yet. See the Convex review.

Where each one falls short

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

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

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.

Pricing, plan by plan

Vitess

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Vitess review.

Convex

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Convex review.

Which should you pick?

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

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

Questions people ask

Is Vitess or Convex better?
Neither clearly leads. Vitess starts at Free and Convex at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Vitess or Convex?
Vitess has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Vitess and On request for Convex.
Does Vitess or Convex run on more platforms?
Vitess runs on Linux, macOS, Docker, Kubernetes. Convex runs on Web.
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 is Vitess best used for?
Vitess is most often used for transaction processing, data storage, application backend, reporting. Of those, transaction processing and data storage are not what Convex is typically brought in for.
What can Vitess do that Convex 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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