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Firebase vs Supabase

Two backend platform options for database. When each fits, what it costs, who moves from one to the other, and what makers who chose it say.

FirebaseBackend platformllms.txtIn Lovable
SupabaseBackend platformllms.txtMCPCLIIn Bolt, Lovable, v0
Ask your AI about this, with this page as the source:ChatGPT ↗Claude ↗Perplexity ↗

Which fits you

Choose Firebase if
  • Mobile apps that need offline sync and client-side SDKs.

Use it whenYou're shipping a mobile app first and want the client to read and write data directly, including while offline.

Trade-offA document store without SQL joins; hard to migrate off.

Choose Supabase if
  • You want the database, auth and file storage in one project, and plain SQL you can take elsewhere

Use it whenYou want one service for most of the backend and a SQL database you can take with you.

Trade-offAuth, storage and database in one vendor makes leaving harder later, and free projects pause after a week without activity.

At a glance

FirebaseSupabase
Used by179 makers' products · 70 open-source projects563 makers' products · 75 open-source projects
Cost at default usagedatabase size 8 GB, data transfer 50 GB, document or row reads 10 million reads, document or row writes 2 million writes$9.66/mo Blaze (pay as you go)$25/mo Pro
Moved to it on GitHubpull requests since Oct 2024113 from Supabase298 from Firebase
Downloads8.8M/wk−21% vs npm25.4M/wk+96% vs npm
PricingFree Spark plan; pay-as-you-go Blaze plan. · paid from Pay as you go (Blaze)Free tier (inactive projects pause); paid plans per project plus usage. · paid from $25/mo
Free tierYesYes
Open sourceNoYes · self-hostable
Incidents, 90 daysfrom its status pageno public status feed50+ (16 major)

Cost as you grow

Both cost $0 up to 0.5 GB; from 1 GB Firebase costs less ($0 vs $25); from about 20 GB Supabase does ($27 vs $28).

$0$20$100$200$5000.51582050100500
SupabaseFirebasex: database size (GB), other usage scaled with it; held at 730 hours (compute hours per month) · cheapest usable plan at each point, list prices · try your own numbers
The numbers, plan by plan
Database sizeFirebaseSupabase
0.5$0 Spark (free)$0 Free
1$0 Spark (free)$25 Pro
5$5.16 Blaze (pay as you go)$25 Pro
8$9.66 Blaze (pay as you go)$25 Pro
20$28 Blaze (pay as you go)$27 Pro
50$73 Blaze (pay as you go)$36 Pro
100$148 Blaze (pay as you go)$70 Pro
500$748 Blaze (pay as you go)$345 Pro

From each vendor's pricing page: Firebase, Supabase.

Who moves from one to the other

Public pull requests on GitHub since Oct 2024 whose title says "Firebase to Supabase" or the reverse — real code changes, by developers in general rather than makers only.

Supabase → Firebase113 PRs
All matching pull requests on GitHub ↗
Firebase → Supabase298 PRs
All matching pull requests on GitHub ↗

What makers say

Makers on using it for database, from Product Hunt and Starter Story interviews, each linked to the source. Products with a page of their own and fuller notes first.

On Firebase
Key role in helping us deliver results in real time, because the analysis streams onto the page as it completes instead of making founders wait for a finished report.
1752vc Pitch Deck Analyzer, the makerSep 2026 ↗
Firebase powers the backbone of uList, ensuring robust real-time data handling, secure authentication, and scalable backend infrastructure. It's the unsung hero making our app fast and reliable.
uList, the makerSep 2026 ↗
Google's Firebase powers ReplyMind with robust and scalable backend infrastructure. Its real-time database, cloud storage, and authentication services ensure a secure and reliable user experience.
ReplyMind, the makerSep 2026 ↗
108 more on the Firebase page →
On Supabase
One Postgres with RLS on every table is the reason a solo founder can ship contracts, invoices and a client portal without a backend team. Auth, storage and realtime came for free.
Accordio AI, the makerSep 2026 ↗
Supabase made it dead simple to manage db and the best part is that we can connect it to Claude for product analysis without having to set up Posthog or other event tracking tools.
Clico, the makerSep 2026 ↗
For powering our backend and database. Managing user uploads and conversion jobs efficiently is critical, and Supabase's real-time capabilities keep everything running smoothly! 🔥
Segwise, the makerSep 2026 ↗
402 more on the Supabase page →

Loved and watch-outs

Themes that recur in makers' words and Hacker News comments, each linked to what it summarises.

Firebase
Most loved
  • Auth, Firestore, Cloud Functions and hosting wire up in minutes, the fastest path to a working backend for a solo developer. PHHN
  • Real-time sync across devices, with offline caching that remains stronger than most all-in-one rivals. PHHN
  • The free tier and serverless pricing keep costs near zero when starting out. PHPH 2
Watch-outs
  • A server-side change made the iOS SDK crash apps everywhere, exposing the risk of a closed SDK you cannot control. HNHN 2HN 3HN 4
  • It feels neglected and bolted onto Google Cloud, and it cannot be self-hosted, so leaving means a full migration. HNHN 2HN 3
  • Client-accessible databases guarded only by optional security rules are a common cause of data leaks. HNHN 2
On Product Hunt: 5.0★, 238 reviews · mentioned most: authentication, scalable backend, real-time database · complaints: complex documentation, complex setup
Supabase
Most loved
  • One project covers Postgres, auth, storage and realtime, so a solo founder ships without stitching vendors or hiring a backend team. PHPH 2PH 3PH 4
  • It is real Postgres with SQL, row-level security and pgvector rather than a proprietary store. PHPH 2PH 3PH 4
  • Open source and self-hostable, which reduces vendor lock-in. PHPH 2HNPH 3
Watch-outs
  • Row-level security policies are hard to get right, so many apps end up exposing data publicly. HNHN 2HN 3HN 4
  • Reliability has been shaky for some, and it is not really built for self-hosting in practice. HN
  • Per-project billing adds up for developers running many small side projects. HN
On Product Hunt: 5.0★, 899 reviews · mentioned most: authentication features, easy setup, PostgreSQL integration · complaints: documentation gaps

Who uses each

Firebase179 makers' products
1752vc Pitch Deck AnalyzerAI Product HunterAI ShadowingAI Visual Reasoning by ChanceArkivATSResumeGeneratorAviquillAximote In-Car AppBabyCheckBentofyBestInterest for CoparentsBlink.new+167 more
Supabase563 makers' products
1-bit.day21sta0.devAccordio AIAdventoryAident AIAirbook AIAISA (aisa.to) AI Fluency AssessmentAlaiAlmanacAlpaca ChatAmara+551 more
Used by both — often one replacing the other, or each for a different part of the product
Blink.newDreamflow

What makers pair each with

With Firebase
Frontend Framework
Payments
Transactional Email
LLM API
With Supabase
Frontend Framework
Transactional Email
Hosting
LLM API

Neither quite right?

See the whole database decision →
ConvexBackend platformRealtime, collaborative apps written entirely in TypeScript.vs Supabase →
NeonManaged databaseServerless Postgres that scales to zero, with a branch per preview deploy.vs Supabase →
PlanetScaleManaged databaseApps that expect heavy scale and want zero-downtime schema changes.vs Supabase →
TursoManaged databaseSQLite at the edge, or one database per customer.vs Supabase →
MongoDBManaged databaseDocument-shaped data and teams already fluent in Mongo.vs Supabase →
PostgreSQLRun it yourselfThe engine behind most of the hosted options above, run on your own server or container for full control and a flat cost.vs Supabase →