Staxly

Convex vs Helicone

The reactive database where queries are TypeScript code
vs. Open-source LLM observability — 1-line integration via proxy

Convex websiteHelicone website

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
Convex website

Helicone

Hobby (Free)
10,000 requests/month. 7-day retention. 1 seat. Basic monitoring.
Free
Startup Discount
<2 years, <$5M funding: 50% off first year.
$0 base (usage-based)
Self-Hosted (OSS)
MIT-licensed. Run Helicone yourself for free.
$0 base (usage-based)
Pro
$79/month. 10k free + usage-based. Unlimited seats. Alerts, reports, HQL query language. 1-month retention.
$79/mo
Team
$799/month. 5 orgs, SOC-2 + HIPAA compliance, dedicated Slack, 3-month retention.
$799/mo
Enterprise
Custom MSA, SAML SSO, on-prem deploy, bulk discounts, forever retention.
Custom
Helicone website

Free-tier quotas head-to-head

Comparing starter on Convex vs hobby on Helicone.

MetricConvexHelicone
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

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.

Helicone · 16 features

  • AlertsThresholds on error rate, latency, cost, usage. Pro+.
  • Async LoggingLog AFTER the LLM call via SDK — zero added latency.
  • Cost TrackingAutomatic cost calculation per call by provider/model.
  • DashboardRequest tables, aggregate metrics, cost breakdowns.
  • EvaluatorsLLM-as-judge + custom evaluators on runs.
  • ExperimentsA/B test different models/prompts.
  • HQL (SQL over traces)Query your logged data with SQL. Pro+.
  • PII RedactionAutomatically scrub emails, credit cards, etc. from logs.
  • Prompt CachingCache identical requests → save money.
  • Prompts & VersionsStore + version + A/B test prompts.
  • Proxy Mode1-line integration via base URL swap. Captures all requests.
  • Rate LimitingPer-user + per-key rate limit policies.
  • ReportsScheduled email reports with KPIs.
  • Self-HostingDocker + k8s deployment.
  • SessionsGroup related calls (chat sessions, agent runs).
  • User MetricsPer-user cost + usage segmentation.

Developer interfaces

KindConvexHelicone
CLIConvex CLIHelicone CLI
SDKAndroid / Kotlin Client, iOS / Swift Client, JavaScript/TypeScript Client, Next.js Integration, Python Client, React Client (useQuery), Rust Client, Svelte Client, Vue Clienthelicone (npm), helicone-python
RESTDeploy / Dashboard API, HTTP ActionsAsync Logging API, Helicone Proxy, Query API (HQL)
OTHERWebSocket SubscriptionsHelicone Dashboard, Webhooks
Staxly is an independent catalog of developer platforms. Outbound links to Convex and Helicone are plain references to their official websites. Pricing is verified against vendor pages at publication time — reconfirm before buying.

Want this comparison in your AI agent's context? Install the free Staxly MCP server.