Supabase
Open-source Firebase alternative with PostgreSQL, auth, realtime subscriptions, and storage.
Use Cases
Free Tier
500MB database, 1GB storage, 50K monthly active users, realtime
How to Maximize the Free Tier
Supabase's free tier (500MB DB, 1GB storage, 50K MAU) is enough for MVP-scale apps. The 50K monthly active users is the most valuable metric — optimize your queries to minimize database reads per request. Use Row-Level Security (RLS) policies early rather than retrofitting them, and test them thoroughly since debugging can be painful. The TypeScript SDK auto-generates types from your schema — use it to catch migration issues at compile time.
Getting Started
Sign up → create new project → copy anon key and URL to client → set up auth providers in dashboard → define tables in SQL editor → upload files to Storage bucket → subscribe to Realtime channels.
Pros
- Full backend: Database, authentication, storage, and realtime in one platform — replaces multiple services
- PostgreSQL under hood: Built on PostgreSQL — not a proprietary database. You get full SQL access and pgAdmin compatibility
- Generous MAU tier: 50,000 monthly active users on the free tier — enough for most early-stage products and MVPs
Cons
- Storage limits: 500MB database and 1GB file storage fill fast when storing user uploads or media assets
- Realtime limits: Realtime connections and message volumes are limited on the free tier — scales with paid plans
- RLS complexity: Row-Level Security policies are powerful but can be difficult to debug when queries fail silently