Convex
Convex is a full-stack TypeScript development platform that replaces your traditional database, server-side functions, and caching layers with a unified, real-time backend-as-a-service to accelerate application building.
Heroku
Heroku is a cloud platform as a service that enables you to build, run, and scale modern applications entirely in the cloud without managing underlying infrastructure.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | Convex | Heroku |
|---|---|---|
| Website | convex.dev | heroku.com |
| Pricing Model | Freemium | Subscription |
| Starting Price | Free | $5/month |
| FREE Trial | ✘ No free trial | ✘ No free trial |
| Free Plan | ✓ Has free plan | ✘ No free plan |
| Product Demo | ✓ Request demo here | ✘ No product demo |
| Deployment | ||
| Integrations | ||
| Target Users | ||
| Target Industries | ||
| Customer Count | 0 | 0 |
| Founded Year | 2021 | 2007 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, USA | San Francisco, USA |
Overview
Convex
Convex provides you with a complete backend for your web applications, eliminating the need to manage separate databases, middleware, or complex state management. You can write your entire backend in TypeScript, using familiar syntax to define schemas, functions, and data mutations. It automatically handles data persistence, real-time synchronization, and server-side logic execution without you ever touching infrastructure or worrying about scaling.
You can build reactive applications where your UI stays perfectly in sync with your data automatically. It solves the common headache of 'glue code' by providing a unified environment where your frontend and backend share types and logic seamlessly. Whether you are building a collaborative document editor or a complex SaaS dashboard, you get a production-ready environment that scales from your first prototype to millions of users.
Heroku
Heroku is a cloud platform that handles the complexity of infrastructure so you can focus on writing code. You can deploy, manage, and scale your applications using a simplified workflow that supports popular languages like Python, Ruby, Node.js, and Java. By using isolated containers called Dynos, the platform manages everything from hardware orchestration to security patching and runtime configuration automatically.
You can easily extend your application's capabilities through a vast ecosystem of integrated add-ons for databases, monitoring, and caching. Whether you are launching a personal project or scaling a high-traffic enterprise application, the platform provides the tools to monitor performance and adjust resources instantly. It eliminates the need for dedicated systems administration, allowing your development team to move from idea to production faster.
Overview
Convex Features
- Real-time Subscriptions Keep your UI in sync automatically with built-in data subscriptions that push updates to your frontend instantly.
- ACID Transactions Ensure your data remains consistent with fully transactional functions that prevent partial updates or corrupted states.
- TypeScript Integration Share types between your frontend and backend to catch errors early and enjoy full autocomplete across your stack.
- Scheduled Functions Run background jobs and delayed tasks directly within your backend without setting up external cron services.
- File Storage Upload and serve large files like images or videos using integrated storage that links directly to your database.
- Vector Search Build AI-powered features easily with native vector search capabilities for semantic queries and RAG-based applications.
Heroku Features
- Heroku Dynos. Run your applications in isolated, virtualized Linux containers that scale vertically or horizontally with a single click.
- Managed Data Services. Access fully managed instances of Postgres, Redis, and Apache Kafka to handle your application data securely and reliably.
- Heroku Add-ons. Extend your app instantly with over 200 integrated services for logging, monitoring, storage, and automated testing.
- GitHub Integration. Connect your repositories to enable automatic deployments every time you push code to a specific branch.
- Heroku Runtime. Deploy apps using official buildpacks for Node, Ruby, Java, PHP, Python, Go, Scala, and Clojure without manual configuration.
- Operational Experience. Monitor application health and performance metrics through an intuitive dashboard that alerts you to potential issues.
Pricing Comparison
Convex Pricing
- 1 GB database storage
- 10 GB file storage
- 1 million monthly function calls
- Community support
- Real-time data sync
- Everything in Free, plus:
- 5 GB database storage included
- 50 GB file storage included
- 5 million monthly function calls
- Team collaboration tools
- Email support
Heroku Pricing
- 1,000 monthly Dyno hours
- Shared across all Eco apps
- Sleeps after inactivity
- Custom domains
- Standard deployment tools
- Everything in Eco, plus:
- Unlimited Dyno hours
- App never sleeps
- SSL certificates included
- Heroku Dashboard access
- Integrated metrics
Pros & Cons
Convex
Pros
- Eliminates the need for complex state management libraries
- Exceptional developer experience with end-to-end TypeScript safety
- Automatic scaling handles traffic spikes without manual intervention
- Unified backend reduces the amount of boilerplate code required
Cons
- Requires commitment to the Convex ecosystem and architecture
- Limited to JavaScript and TypeScript for backend logic
- No local-only offline mode for mobile-first applications
Heroku
Pros
- Extremely simple deployment process saves significant time
- Excellent documentation makes onboarding new developers easy
- Vast add-on marketplace simplifies third-party integrations
- Managed database services reduce operational overhead significantly
Cons
- Costs scale rapidly compared to raw infrastructure
- Limited control over underlying server configurations
- No longer offers a forever-free tier