Convex vs Courier
The reactive database where queries are TypeScript code
vs. Notification API with multi-channel orchestration, templates, and preferences
Pricing tiers
Convex
Starter (Free)
Free with overage via usage-based billing. Great for prototypes.
Free
Professional
$25/developer/month. Overage: $2/M function calls. Daily backups, email support, custom domains.
$25/mo
Business / Enterprise
From $2,500/month. SAML/SSO, SLA, dedicated deployments, Slack Connect support.
$2500/mo
Courier
Free
Up to 10,000 notifications/month. All channels. Community support.
Free
Business
From $99/mo. Higher volumes, advanced routing, preference center, branding removal.
$99/mo
Enterprise
Custom. SOC 2, SSO, dedicated support, volume discounts, SLA.
Custom
Free-tier quotas head-to-head
Comparing starter on Convex vs free on Courier.
| Metric | Convex | Courier |
|---|---|---|
| db storage gb | 0.5 GB | — |
| deployments | 40 deployments | — |
| egress gb month | 1 GB/month | — |
| file storage gb | 1 GB | — |
| function calls month | 1000000 calls/month | — |
| notifications monthly | — | 10000 notifications/mo |
| team members | 6 users | — |
Features
Convex · 18 features
- Actions — Non-deterministic functions for external I/O (fetch, AI APIs, email). Cannot rea…
- Authentication — Convex Auth (built-in) or BYO provider (Clerk, Auth0, Kinde, WorkOS). ID tokens …
- Convex Agents — AI agent framework with durable memory, threads, tool use. Works with OpenAI / A…
- Convex Auth — First-party auth library: passwords, magic links, OAuth, phone — stored in your …
- Convex Components — Reusable backend modules (rate limiter, workflow, aggregate, action-retrier, etc…
- Cron Jobs — Recurring schedules defined in convex/crons.ts. UTC, cron-style patterns.
- Durable Workflows — Long-running multi-step workflows with retries and at-least-once guarantees.
- Exception Reporting — Auto-capture errors to Sentry, Axiom, Datadog.
- File Storage — Upload/download via storage API. Returns storage IDs referenced in documents.
- Full-Text Search — BM25 search index on table fields. withSearchIndex query helper.
- HTTP Actions — Expose public HTTP endpoints for webhooks, OAuth callbacks, third-party integrat…
- Log Streams — Stream function logs to Axiom, Datadog, Sentry. Pro+.
- Mutations — Transactional write functions. All reads + writes in one mutation are ACID; conf…
- Preview Deployments — Every Git branch gets its own isolated deployment. Integrates with Vercel/Netlif…
- Queries — Deterministic read-only TS functions. Automatically cached and re-run when under…
- Real-Time Subscriptions — useQuery auto-subscribes; server invalidates when data a query read changes. No …
- Scheduler — schedule.after / schedule.at — enqueue functions to run later. Durable, survives…
- Vector Search — Native vector index on tables. withIndex + filter fields. Up to 4096 dims.
Courier · 13 features
- Chat — Slack, Microsoft Teams, Discord, Mattermost.
- Email — SendGrid, Postmark, Mailgun, AWS SES, Resend, SMTP.
- Inbox (In-App) — React/JS drop-in in-app inbox component.
- Lists — Segment recipients for bulk notification sends.
- Logs + Analytics — Per-message delivery timeline + engagement.
- Multi-channel Routing — Provider failover + preferred channel per user.
- Notification Designer — Visual editor for templates across channels.
- Preferences — Per-user notification preferences hub.
- Push — APNs, FCM, Expo, OneSignal.
- Send API — POST /send with template + recipients + data.
- SMS — Twilio, MessageBird, Vonage, Plivo, Telnyx.
- Templates + Versioning — Template brands, variants, localization, version history.
- Webhooks — Delivery + engagement event webhooks.
Developer interfaces
| Kind | Convex | Courier |
|---|---|---|
| CLI | Convex CLI | Courier CLI |
| SDK | Android / Kotlin Client, iOS / Swift Client, JavaScript/TypeScript Client, Next.js Integration, Python Client, React Client (useQuery), Rust Client, Svelte Client, Vue Client | courier-go, courier-java, @trycourier/courier, trycourier (Python), @trycourier/react-inbox, trycourier (Ruby) |
| REST | Deploy / Dashboard API, HTTP Actions | Courier REST API |
| OTHER | WebSocket Subscriptions | Courier Studio, Outbound Webhooks |
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