Azure SQL Database vs Convex
Azure SQL Database
azure.microsoft.com
Convex
convex.devSide by side
| Figure | Azure SQL Database | Convex |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $25/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 5 | 3 |
| Spec score · Databases And Backend | 8.9 (#4) | 8.5 (#7) |
| Authentication | Applications can authenticate with SQL logins or Microsoft Entra ID, formerly Azure Active Directory. | Convex Auth provides more than 80 OAuth integrations through the Auth.js ecosystem, including Google, GitHub, WorkOS, Okta, and Keycloak. |
| Compliance | Microsoft states that Azure has more than 100 compliance certifications, including over 50 for specific regions and countries. | Convex states that it is SOC 2 Type II compliant, supports HIPAA processing when customers sign a Business Associate Agreement, and complies with GDPR. |
| Integrations | Azure SQL Database can connect to Azure services such as Azure Functions and replicate SQL data into Microsoft Fabric for near-real-time querying and analysis. | Convex lists built-in integrations for Sentry, Datadog, Airbyte, and Fivetran. |
| Security | Its security and governance features include a multilayered approach that includes Microsoft Defender for SQL. | Customer data is encrypted at rest with 256-bit AES, data in transit uses TLS and SSH, and Convex conducts third-party penetration tests at least annually. |
Plans
Azure SQL Database
- Free offerFree
- Azure SQL Database free offerFree
- Azure SQL Database free tierFree
- Azure SQL Database pay-as-you-goPrice not published
- Pay as you goPrice not published
Convex
- Free & StarterFree
- Professional$25 a month
- Business & Enterprise$2,500 a month
In their own words
Azure SQL Database
Azure SQL Database is a cloud-native relational database service built on the SQL Server engine and delivered as a fully managed PaaS. Microsoft manages provisioning, patching, backups, monitoring, and high availability. The service supports standard T-SQL and can be accessed through the Azure portal, SQL Server Management Studio, Visual Studio Code's MSSQL extension, and compatible application frameworks. It supports native JSON and REST and GraphQL APIs through Data API builder. Hyperscale independently scales compute and storage and supports scale-out with up to 30 named replicas. For AI application development, it offers native vector search and connections to Azure OpenAI and Azure AI Search. It can connect to Azure Functions and replicate SQL data into Microsoft Fabric for near-real-time querying and analysis. Security and governance include a multilayered approach with Microsoft Defender for SQL; recovery features include disaster recovery and snapshot-based backups. The free offer allows up to 10 General Purpose databases per subscription, each with 100,000 vCore seconds, 32 GB of data, and 32 GB of backup storage monthly. Once limits are reached, a database can auto-pause or remain online with excess use billed at standard rates.