Supabase

Open source Firebase alternative. Postgres, auth, storage, realtime.

Operational · 99.96% · 110ms · 78h ago

Official Verified Security 94/100 Quality 96/100 Last checked Aug 28, 2026

What it is

Supabase wraps a Postgres database with a suite of developer-friendly services: authentication (email, OAuth, magic links, MFA), file storage (S3-compatible), edge functions (Deno-based), realtime (Postgres changes streamed over WebSocket), and a generated REST + GraphQL API. It is the closest 1:1 open source analog to Firebase.

Why we recommend it

The Postgres foundation is the killer feature. Unlike Firebase (a proprietary document store), every row in Supabase is a real SQL row you can query, join, back up, and migrate. Row-level security policies let you write authz in SQL, not middleware. And when you outgrow the managed tier, you can docker compose up the entire stack on your own server in under an hour.

When to use it

Building a BaaS-style backend without vendor lock-in
Replacing Firebase on a new project
Adding auth, storage, and realtime to an existing Postgres app
Startups that want a 6-month runway to validate before paying for the managed tier

Quickstart

Run this in your terminal. Self-hosts locally with Docker or your preferred setup.

$ npx create-supabase-app@latest my-app

Setup

**Option 1 — managed (easiest):** Sign up at https://supabase.com and create a project. Free tier includes 500MB database, 1GB storage, 50K monthly active users. **Option 2 — self-host:** 1. Install Docker and Docker Compose 2. `git clone https://github.com/supabase/supabase` 3. `cd supabase/docker && cp .env.example .env` 4. `docker compose up -d` 5. Studio is available at `http://localhost:54323`

Integrates with

postgresrow-level-securityrest-apigraphqlwebsocket

Common use cases

→backend
→mvp
→auth
→realtime-apps
→startup

Pricing

Free tier: 500MB DB, 1GB storage, 50K MAU. Pro: $25/mo (8GB DB, 100GB storage, 100K MAU). Team: $599/mo. Self-hosted: free, you pay for hosting.

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