---
title: "Pixeltable vs Cohesivity: one file vs a provisioned backend catalog"
description: "Cohesivity provisions Postgres, Redis, auth, and hosting with no signup until you claim a 72-hour project. Pixeltable is one app.py for media, models, and retrieval. Different jobs."
keywords:
  - Pixeltable vs Cohesivity
  - Cohesivity alternative
  - backend for AI agents
  - agent backend
  - multimodal AI backend
url: "https://pixeltable.com/compare/pixeltable-vs-cohesivity"
---

# Pixeltable vs Cohesivity

Cohesivity is one HTTP API that provisions other vendors — Postgres, Redis, object storage, hosting, social login, an inbox, and a browser — with no signup until you claim a 72-hour project. Pixeltable is one Python file: tables, computed columns, and HTTP for media, models, and retrieval. Different jobs. Use Cohesivity for CRUD plus auth plus hosting. Use Pixeltable when insert should run the models.

## Summary

### Pixeltable

- Tables, computed columns, embedding indexes, and HTTP in app.py
- Insert a row; frames, transcripts, and indexes follow
- Same file locally and on Pixeltable Cloud
- Change a column; only affected rows recompute

### Cohesivity

- One API provisions Postgres, Redis, storage, hosting, auth, inbox, and a browser
- Ephemeral project for 72 hours, then a human claims it
- Provider keys stay server-side; the agent never pastes them
- The app still owns its own schema, models, and sync between those services

## Comparison

| Feature | Pixeltable | Cohesivity |
| --- | --- | --- |
| What it is | Multimodal tables + incremental compute + serving in one file | Agent-native API that provisions a catalog of other backends |
| Signup before the first run | Local needs no account. pxt new is one database to claim within 72 hours, not a catalog of other vendors. | None until you claim. Ephemeral project expires in 72 hours. |
| Postgres, Redis, auth, hosting | Not the product. Bring them, or use Cohesivity, if the app is CRUD. | The product: one call provisions them, keys held server-side |
| Media and models | Image, Video, Audio, Document columns; transforms are assignments | You still write the pipeline and point it at the provisioned services |
| Vector search | EmbeddingIndex on the column; insert keeps it current | A separate provisioned vector database you still have to fill |
| What the agent reviews | One app.py diff: schema, compute, and routes | App code plus a project of provisioned resources |
| Inbox, browser, edge workers | Not offered | In the catalog, with published rate limits per tier |

## The file vs the provision call

Pixeltable: the agent writes the schema and the route. Cohesivity: the agent asks for Postgres and hosting. Apply Pixeltable with pxt schema update app.py my_app, then pxt service update app.py my_app.

### Pixeltable

```python
import pixeltable as pxt
import pixeltable.functions as pxtf
from pixeltable.serving import FastAPIRouter

TableModel = pxt.model_base()

@pxt.udf
def excerpt(text: str, n: int = 12) -> str:
    return text if len(text) <= n else text[:n] + '...'

class Docs(TableModel, name='docs'):
    title: pxt.String
    body: pxt.String | None
    title_upper = pxtf.string.upper(title)
    summary = excerpt(title)

api = FastAPIRouter(name='docs')
api.add_insert_route(
    Docs, path='/docs', inputs=[Docs.title, Docs.body],
    outputs=[Docs.title_upper, Docs.summary],
)
```

### Cohesivity

```bash
curl -fsSL https://cohesivity.ai/quickstart.sh | bash

# The agent then provisions other vendors.
# POST https://cohesivity.ai/api/resources
# Authorization: Bearer <coh_management_key>
# {"resources":["postgres","railway-hosting"]}

# Claim later: POST https://cohesivity.ai/api/claim/url
# A human approves. The project was ephemeral for 72 hours.
```

## When to choose Pixeltable

- **The pipeline is the product**: Video, audio, documents, embeddings, and an HTTP route that must stay in sync on insert. One schema, not a vector database plus an orchestrator plus a bucket.
- **You want one diff**: The agent writes app.py. You review tables, computed columns, and routes together. Same file locally and on Cloud: pxt db update, then pxt schema update, then pxt service update.
- **Recompute should be incremental**: Change a computed column and only the affected rows run again. You do not re-upsert a separate vector index by hand.

## When to choose Cohesivity

- **The app is CRUD plus auth plus hosting**: Postgres, Redis, object storage, social login, and a place to deploy, without a signup for each vendor. Pixeltable does not provision those.
- **You want a project before an account**: A signed-in organization starts at pxt login. pxt new is a 72-hour claim for one Pixeltable database. Neither provisions this catalog.
- **You need their catalog**: An inbox, a headless browser, edge workers, or an AI gateway with keys held server-side. Those are Cohesivity offerings. They are not Pixeltable columns.

## FAQ

### Is Pixeltable a Cohesivity alternative?

Only for the multimodal backend: tables, computed columns, embedding indexes, and HTTP in one file. Cohesivity still wins when the job is provisioning Postgres, Redis, auth, hosting, an inbox, or a browser with no signup.

### Does Pixeltable remove the signup wall?

Locally, pxt schema update needs no Cloud account. pxt new creates one hosted Pixeltable database with no account; claim it within 72 hours. Pixeltable does not provision Railway, Clerk, Redis, an inbox, or a browser.

### Can I use both?

Yes. Cohesivity can provision the CRUD stack. Pixeltable holds media, models, and retrieval. They are not the same API.