Supabase is an open-source Firebase alternative with Postgres, auth, edge functions, and realtime APIs. See pricing, features, pros, and cons.
Category
Developer Tools
Pricing
freemium, from Free (Pro plan from $25/month)
Verified
Not yet
Last updated
July 19, 2026
Founded
2020
Headquarters
Singapore
Free PlanWeb AppAPIOpen SourceAIFreemium
What Is Supabase
Supabase is a backend-as-a-service platform built on top of Postgres. Instead of stitching together a database, authentication provider, storage service, and API layer separately, developers get all of these as one integrated product with a generous free tier.
Since launching in 2020, Supabase has grown into one of the most widely used backend platforms for startups and AI-assisted development, largely because it uses standard, open-source Postgres rather than a proprietary database format.
Key Features
Core features include a managed Postgres database, Supabase Auth for user sign-up and login, instant auto-generated REST and GraphQL APIs, Edge Functions for serverless logic, realtime data subscriptions, and object storage for files and media.
Supabase also supports AI workloads through the pgvector extension for storing and querying vector embeddings, and it enforces fine-grained data access through Postgres Row Level Security policies.
Pricing
Supabase offers a Free plan with limited database size and monthly active users, a Pro plan at $25 per month with usage-based overages for storage, egress, and active users, a Team plan at $599 per month adding SOC2 and SSO features, and custom Enterprise pricing with SLAs and dedicated support.
Key Features
Managed Postgres database — A full, standard Postgres database with no proprietary query language, so existing Postgres skills and tools carry over directly.
Built-in authentication — Supabase Auth handles email, password, magic link, and social login flows out of the box.
Auto-generated REST and GraphQL APIs — Database tables are instantly exposed as REST and GraphQL endpoints without writing boilerplate API code.
Edge Functions — Deno-based serverless functions for running custom backend logic close to users.
Realtime subscriptions — Listen to database changes and broadcast them to connected clients for live, collaborative features.
File storage — Object storage for images, videos, and other files, integrated with the same access-control system as the database.
Vector embeddings for AI — Native support for the pgvector extension enables similarity search for AI and machine learning applications.
Row Level Security — Fine-grained, Postgres-native policies control exactly which rows each user can read or write.
Pros & Cons
Pros
Built on standard Postgres, avoiding proprietary database lock-in
Generous free tier that is useful for real prototyping, not just demos
Open source, with the option to self-host the full stack
Combines database, auth, storage, functions, and realtime in one platform
Strong developer experience that has made it popular with AI-assisted coding tools
Cons
Costs can scale quickly once usage-based overages kick in
Free-tier projects pause automatically after a period of inactivity
Some enterprise features such as SSO and HIPAA support require higher-tier plans
Realtime and edge function limits can require careful architecture at higher scale
Younger ecosystem than long-established platforms like Firebase in some areas
Pricing
Free $0 monthly
Pro $25 monthly
Team $599 monthly
Enterprise Custom custom
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Supabase?
Supabase is an open-source backend-as-a-service platform built on Postgres, offering a database, authentication, instant APIs, edge functions, realtime updates, and file storage.
Is Supabase free?
Yes, Supabase has a free plan with limited database size and monthly active users, with paid plans starting at $25 per month for higher limits and more features.
Is Supabase open source?
Yes, the core Supabase stack is open source and can be self-hosted, though most users use the managed hosted platform.
Can I self-host Supabase?
Yes, the entire Supabase stack can be self-hosted using Docker, though the hosted platform handles scaling and maintenance automatically.
What database does Supabase use?
Supabase uses standard Postgres, extended with tools for authentication, storage, and realtime functionality.
How does Supabase compare to Firebase?
Supabase is often described as an open-source Firebase alternative; the key difference is that Supabase is built on relational Postgres rather than Firebase's proprietary NoSQL database.
Does Supabase support authentication?
Yes, Supabase Auth supports email and password, magic links, and social login providers out of the box.
What is Supabase pricing?
Supabase offers a Free plan, a Pro plan at $25 per month, a Team plan at $599 per month, and custom Enterprise pricing.