Staxly

OpenAI API vs Convex

Frontier models: GPT-5, o-series reasoning, image, audio, embeddings
vs. The reactive database where queries are TypeScript code

OpenAI PlatformConvex website

Pricing tiers

OpenAI API

Free Tier (Trial)
$5 free credit for new accounts. Rate-limited.
Free
Pay-as-you-go
No monthly min. Per-token pricing by model.
$0 base (usage-based)
Usage Tiers (1-5)
Automatic tier promotion based on cumulative spend. Higher tiers = higher rate limits + new model access.
$0 base (usage-based)
Enterprise
Custom. Priority access, SLA, dedicated capacity.
Custom
OpenAI Platform

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
Convex website

Free-tier quotas head-to-head

Comparing free-tier on OpenAI API vs starter on Convex.

MetricOpenAI APIConvex
db storage gb0.5 GB
deployments40 deployments
egress gb month1 GB/month
file storage gb1 GB
function calls month1000000 calls/month
team members6 users

Features

OpenAI API · 12 features

  • Assistants APIStateful assistants with tools, threads, file search.
  • Batch API50% discount for async processing within 24h.
  • Chat Completions APIClassic /v1/chat/completions endpoint.
  • Files APIUpload docs for retrieval, fine-tuning, batch.
  • Fine-TuningSupervised + DPO fine-tuning for GPT-4o, GPT-4.1, GPT-4o-mini.
  • Function CallingJSON-schema tool calling; parallel calls supported.
  • ModerationSafety classifier API (free).
  • Prompt CachingAuto-cache repeated prefixes; 50% cheaper cached hits.
  • Realtime APIWebSocket streaming voice + text with low latency.
  • Responses APIStateful conversational API.
  • Structured OutputsEnforced JSON schema compliance.
  • VisionImage input for GPT models.

Convex · 18 features

  • ActionsNon-deterministic functions for external I/O (fetch, AI APIs, email). Cannot rea
  • AuthenticationConvex Auth (built-in) or BYO provider (Clerk, Auth0, Kinde, WorkOS). ID tokens
  • Convex AgentsAI agent framework with durable memory, threads, tool use. Works with OpenAI / A
  • Convex AuthFirst-party auth library: passwords, magic links, OAuth, phone — stored in your
  • Convex ComponentsReusable backend modules (rate limiter, workflow, aggregate, action-retrier, etc
  • Cron JobsRecurring schedules defined in convex/crons.ts. UTC, cron-style patterns.
  • Durable WorkflowsLong-running multi-step workflows with retries and at-least-once guarantees.
  • Exception ReportingAuto-capture errors to Sentry, Axiom, Datadog.
  • File StorageUpload/download via storage API. Returns storage IDs referenced in documents.
  • Full-Text SearchBM25 search index on table fields. withSearchIndex query helper.
  • HTTP ActionsExpose public HTTP endpoints for webhooks, OAuth callbacks, third-party integrat
  • Log StreamsStream function logs to Axiom, Datadog, Sentry. Pro+.
  • MutationsTransactional write functions. All reads + writes in one mutation are ACID; conf
  • Preview DeploymentsEvery Git branch gets its own isolated deployment. Integrates with Vercel/Netlif
  • QueriesDeterministic read-only TS functions. Automatically cached and re-run when under
  • Real-Time SubscriptionsuseQuery auto-subscribes; server invalidates when data a query read changes. No
  • Schedulerschedule.after / schedule.at — enqueue functions to run later. Durable, survives
  • Vector SearchNative vector index on tables. withIndex + filter fields. Up to 4096 dims.

Developer interfaces

KindOpenAI APIConvex
CLIConvex CLI
SDKopenai-dotnet, openai-go, openai-node, openai-pythonAndroid / Kotlin Client, iOS / Swift Client, JavaScript/TypeScript Client, Next.js Integration, Python Client, React Client (useQuery), Rust Client, Svelte Client, Vue Client
RESTOpenAI REST APIDeploy / Dashboard API, HTTP Actions
MCPOpenAI MCP
OTHERRealtime API (WebSocket)WebSocket Subscriptions
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