Pylon vs. Convex
Pylon and Convex are the two TypeScript-first reactive backends. Both ship reactive queries, schema-as-code, and a managed cloud. The honest differences are licensing, deployment shape, and what's in the box.
TL;DR
Pick the one that fits your shape
Choose Convexif
You want the most polished pure-TS dev loop, you'll stay on Convex's cloud (or accept their FSL-licensed self-host), and you don't need game shards or faceted search.
Choose Pylonif
You want a single-binary self-host, MIT/Apache license, native faceted search, or authoritative tick-based game shards alongside your app data.
Architecture
Where the two diverge
| Pylon | Convex | |
|---|---|---|
| Process model | Single Rust binary | docker-compose stack |
| Default store | SQLite (Postgres optional) | Custom Convex DB |
| License | MIT OR Apache-2.0 | FSL — converts to Apache after 2 yrs |
| Self-host on day 1 | Yes — one binary | Yes — multi-service compose |
| Faceted search | Built-in (FTS5 + roaring-bitmaps) | Roll your own queries |
| Game shards | Yes (Shard<S: SimState>) | No |
| CRDTs | Loro built in | Integrate Yjs/Loro yourself |
Same shape
What both ship
Either one is a real choice for a TypeScript-first reactive backend. The differences below are about emphasis and operational shape, not feature presence.
- Reactive queries that auto-update the UI on writes
- TypeScript-first `query` / `mutation` / `action` server functions
- Schema as code — entities + types end-to-end
- Real-time WebSocket sync, optimistic mutations
- Built-in auth (email magic links, password, OAuth), file storage
- React, React Native, and Next.js SDKs
- Self-host + managed cloud options
Where Pylon wins
What you get with Pylon you don't with Convex
One binary, no Docker
scp pylon root@vps: and systemctl start pylon — that's the deploy. Convex's self-host is docker-compose with a custom database. For a $5 VPS, Pylon installs in 30 seconds with no Docker daemon.
Native faceted search
useSearch("Post", { facets: ["tags", "authorId"] }) returns hits + live facetCounts in one call. Algolia-style UI without paying Algolia. Convex requires custom queries on top of full-text search.
Authoritative game shards
Shard<S: SimState> with a Rust tick loop. Drop a multiplayer feature next to your app data — same backend. Convex has no equivalent.
Open license, no strings
MIT OR Apache-2.0. Convex's FSL bars you from running a competing managed Convex for 2 years. Edge case for most users; meaningful for devtools companies.
Plugin ecosystem in the binary
32 built-in plugins (TOTP, audit log, Stripe billing, MCP server, SOC2-friendly audit, captcha, rate limit, etc.) you flip on in the manifest. No npm hunt.
Loro CRDTs built-in
Collaborative text/lists/maps/trees with conflict-free convergence. Convex's reactive queries reconcile updates but don't ship a CRDT library.
Where Convex wins
What Convex does better today
Honest comparison — these are real reasons to pick Convex. If any of them are dealbreakers, choose accordingly.
Pure-TS dev loop polish
Convex has invested heavily in DX polish. Type inference flows end-to-end without a codegen step. Pylon requires pylon codegen client once; Convex's TS flow is a bit tighter out of the box.
Larger team + ecosystem
Well-funded YC company, more docs, more examples, more StackOverflow answers, more job postings.
Cron + scheduled functions polish
Convex has clean primitives for scheduled jobs. Pylon has them too (scheduler module + job queue) but Convex's surface is more polished today.
First-class vector search
Convex Vector Search is featureful and built-in. Pylon has the vector_search plugin (in-memory) but Convex's hosted offering is further along.
Migration
Coming from Convex
Most of the dev surface translates one-to-one. The biggest deltas show up as differences in shape, not features missing.
| Convex | Pylon |
|---|---|
defineSchema(...) | buildManifest({ entities: [...] }) |
query / mutation / action | Same names, identical mental model |
useQuery(api.tasks.list) | useQuery("Task") |
ctx.db.insert("tasks", {...}) | ctx.db.insert("Task", {...}) |
| Convex auth | Magic codes / password / OAuth |
| Convex file storage | /api/files/init → direct PUT (Stack0 / S3 / local) |
| Convex scheduled functions | Scheduler module + actions |
| Convex search index | Per-entity search config |
Honest weakness
Where Pylon loses
Both / and
When using both is the right call
Try Pylon — free Hobby tier on Cloud
No card, no setup. Run a real Pylon project against managed Postgres in under a minute. Migrate from Convexwhen you're ready — or run both.
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