Convex vs Firebase for Solo Developers

Quick Comparison

Convex Overview

Convex is a newer backend platform built around the idea that server-side logic, database access, and real-time synchronization should all feel like one seamless system. You define your database schema in TypeScript, write query and mutation functions as TypeScript code, and use them directly in your React components. Data changes propagate to all connected clients automatically.

The type safety is the headline feature. Your schema generates TypeScript types that flow through your server functions and into your frontend. Rename a database field, and your IDE immediately highlights every place in your codebase that references it. This is not just convenient, it prevents an entire category of bugs that plague document databases where schema is typically untyped.

Convex also handles the infrastructure details you would normally manage yourself. Functions scale automatically, the database handles concurrent writes with transactions, and file storage is built in. For a solo developer, this means less time on ops and more time on features.

The platform is still relatively young compared to Firebase, which means the community is smaller and you will find fewer tutorials, Stack Overflow answers, and third-party integrations. But the documentation is excellent and the Discord community is active and helpful.

Firebase Overview

Firebase is Google's backend-as-a-service platform and one of the most widely adopted tools in the solo developer world. It has been around since 2012, and the ecosystem reflects that maturity. Firestore (document database), Authentication (email, social, phone), Cloud Functions (serverless backend logic), Hosting, Storage, Cloud Messaging, Analytics, and Crashlytics. It is an entire backend in a box.

For solo developers, Firebase's appeal is speed of prototyping. Create a project in the Firebase console, install the SDK, and you have authentication and a database ready in minutes. The real-time capabilities of Firestore are strong, with live data syncing and offline support baked in. The mobile SDKs are particularly polished, making Firebase the go-to choice for mobile app developers.

The pricing model is where Firebase gets tricky. The free Spark plan is generous for getting started, but the Blaze (pay-as-you-go) plan charges per document read, write, and delete. This can lead to surprise bills if your data model requires many reads. I have seen solo developers hit unexpected costs because a poorly optimized query was reading thousands of documents per page load. You need to think about your read patterns carefully.

Firebase also lacks the type safety that modern developers expect. Firestore is schemaless, which means there is nothing stopping you from writing inconsistent data. Libraries like Zod or custom type converters help, but it is extra work you have to do yourself.

When to Pick Convex

Convex is the right choice when you want a modern, type-safe backend experience and you are building primarily with React or Next.js.

Pick Convex if:

• End-to-end TypeScript type safety is important to you
• You are building a real-time web application (React, Next.js)
• You want reactive queries that automatically update your UI
• You prefer writing backend logic in TypeScript with a local-first feel
• You want ACID transactions on a document database
• Predictable pricing matters (no per-read/write charges like Firebase)

Convex excels when your application is data-intensive and interactive. The reactive model means you write less code to keep your UI in sync with your database.

When to Pick Firebase

Firebase is the right choice when you need a mature, full-featured backend platform with strong mobile support and the backing of Google's infrastructure.

Pick Firebase if:

• You are building a mobile app (iOS, Android, Flutter)
• You need push notifications, analytics, or crash reporting alongside your backend
• You want the largest ecosystem of tutorials, libraries, and community support
• Google Cloud integration matters for your future scaling plans
• You need offline-first capabilities (Firestore offline support is excellent)
• Authentication with many providers (Google, Apple, phone, etc.) is a requirement

Firebase is the proven choice with a decade of production use. When in doubt, Firebase works.

The Verdict

Convex and Firebase are both backend platforms aimed at developers who want to ship fast without managing infrastructure. The philosophical difference is significant though. Firebase gives you a massive toolkit with maximum flexibility and minimal type safety. Convex gives you a more focused toolkit with maximum type safety and a more opinionated developer experience.

For solo web developers working in TypeScript and React, Convex offers a genuinely better development experience. The end-to-end type safety alone prevents hours of debugging schemaless data issues. The reactive queries eliminate the need for manual refetching and cache management. And the pricing model is more predictable than Firebase's per-operation charges.

For solo mobile developers, or anyone who needs the breadth of services Firebase offers (push notifications, analytics, crashlytics, A/B testing), Firebase is still the right choice. Convex does not compete in the mobile space yet, and Firebase's mobile SDKs are unmatched.

If you are building a web application and have not tried Convex yet, give it a serious look. It represents the next generation of backend development tooling, and for the right project, the productivity gains are substantial. But if you need the kitchen sink of backend services that Google has spent a decade building, Firebase is hard to beat.