Backend-as-a-Service
The biggest real distinction between Convex and ThingsBoard is straightforward: Convex carries high lock-in while ThingsBoard has low lock-in. Convex sits at hybrid pricing with $25/member/mo (Pro), a free tier, enterprise plan available and carries high lock-in, while ThingsBoard sits at freemium with paid upgrades and carries low lock-in. Convex is a fit when you need mobile, teams — typical scenarios include mvp/prototyping speed. ThingsBoard is aimed at teams that need self-hosted iot with device mgmt, telemetry and rule chains, with workloads like open-source iot platform with device management and dashboards as the common case. The honest trade-off: Convex is explicitly not for complex custom business logic; ThingsBoard is not intended for small teams wanting a polished managed iot saas with zero ops. Lock-in is the factor most teams underestimate: Convex and ThingsBoard have different exit paths, and that shapes total cost of ownership over a two-to-three year horizon. Before committing, audit where each tool stores state, which APIs you depend on, and how painful a switch would be six months in.
Quick take
Convex is for mobile, teams; ThingsBoard is for teams that need self-hosted iot with; decide based on how much lock-in you can accept.
| | | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Backend-as-a-Service | Backend-as-a-Service |
| Pricing Model | hybrid | freemium |
| Entry Price | $25/member/mo (Pro) | — |
| Free Tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing Complexity | low | — |
| Developer Experience | 5/5 | 4/5 |
| Pricing Transparency | 4/5 | 4/5 |
| Lock-in Level | high | low |
| Migration Complexity | high | — |
| Data Portability | Via API export | — |
| Enterprise | Available | — |
| GitHub Stars | 11.3k | 21.6k |
| License | NOASSERTION | Apache-2.0 |
High — reactive data model proprietary, no standard SQL
Migration difficulty: high
Data you keep: Via API export
API standard: Proprietary
Risk notes: High — reactive data model proprietary, no standard SQL
💡 Plan 2-4 weeks minimum. Consider running parallel during migration
Choose Convex if your primary workload is mobile, teams and hybrid pricing ($25/member/mo (Pro)) is acceptable.
Not for: Complex custom business logic
Choose ThingsBoard if your primary workload is teams that need self-hosted iot with device mgmt, telemetry and rule chains and low switching cost matters.
Not for: Small teams wanting a polished managed IoT SaaS with zero ops
Check each tool's dedicated page for deeper reviews, setup notes, and pros/cons.
Convex publishes an entry price of $25/member/mo (Pro); ThingsBoard's entry price is not in our data, so a definitive comparison is not possible without a quote from ThingsBoard.
Migrating from Convex to ThingsBoard is not trivial — Convex has high lock-in, which typically means data formats, APIs, or stack assumptions that have to be rewritten. Since both tools sit in the same category (Backend-as-a-Service), the conceptual mapping is closer, but you still need to validate feature parity against your specific workload. Plan migration as a project, not a script: inventory integrations, test on non-production workloads, and keep Convex running in parallel until ThingsBoard is verified.
On our 0–5 developer experience scale, Convex scores higher (5/5 vs 4/5 for ThingsBoard). The gap is one point — meaningful but not decisive, since DX is workflow-dependent. Still, score your own tasks: DX is subjective and tied to stack assumptions.
ThingsBoard is in the same category as Convex (Backend-as-a-Service), so it's a reasonable alternative to evaluate. ThingsBoard is aimed at teams that need self-hosted iot with device mgmt, telemetry and rule chains, while Convex targets mobile, teams — that difference should drive the switch decision. Note that ThingsBoard is explicitly not for small teams wanting a polished managed iot saas with zero ops — if that describes your workload, it's not a viable replacement.
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