Consider Supabase when…
Shortlist Supabase when your data is relational, you want SQL and the wider Postgres ecosystem, or you may need to self-host.
Explore Supabase alternativesFIND YOUR FIT
Supabase vs Firebase
Supabase vs Firebase: compare Postgres and NoSQL backends by data model, self-hosting, free-plan limits, and how usage is billed.
The decision in brief
The core difference is the database. Supabase is built on Postgres, so you use SQL and row-level security, and you can self-host the stack. Firebase centres on Firestore, a NoSQL document database with real-time sync, and is billed per document read, write, and delete. Firebase also offers Postgres through SQL Connect.
A focused editorial selection based on the linked official documentation. Fit notes are our judgment, rather than firsthand benchmark results or a universal ranking. How we select and verify information.
Compare the working details
| Decision factor | Supabase | Firebase |
|---|---|---|
| Main focus | An app backend built on a full Postgres database, so you can use SQL and row-level security directly. | Mobile and web backends built on NoSQL document databases with real-time sync and SDKs for iOS, Android, Flutter, and the web. |
| Working setup | Create a project, design tables in the dashboard or with migrations, add row-level security policies, then call the generated APIs from a client library. | Create a Firebase project, add the SDK to your app, choose Firestore and Authentication, then write Security Rules to protect the data. |
| Pricing model | A free plan with 50,000 monthly active users, a 500 MB database, and 1 GB of file storage, limited to two active projects; free projects pause after a week of inactivity. Pro is a monthly subscription with compute billed per project and usage beyond the included quotas. Self-hosting with Docker is free. | The no-cost Spark plan needs no payment method and has daily and monthly quotas, such as 50,000 Firestore document reads a day. The Blaze plan is pay as you go and is required for Cloud Functions. SQL Connect runs on Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL with a three-month no-cost trial. |
| What to verify | Free projects pause after a week without activity, and each extra paid project adds compute cost; count your projects and environments. | Firestore is billed per document read, write, and delete; model reads for your busiest screen, including real-time listeners, before launch. |
Which belongs on your shortlist?
Consider Firebase when…
Shortlist Firebase when you are building mobile-first apps that suit documents and real-time sync, and you want Google's SDKs, analytics, and messaging alongside.
Run the same evaluation in both
- Model the same fictional app in both: users, a shared list, and items that only list members can see.
- Write the access rules: row-level security policies in Supabase and Security Rules in Firebase, then test them with a second user.
- Load the busiest screen with realistic data and record reads, egress, and function calls to estimate a month's cost on each.
Try the same task before you choose
Back one small app end to end
Use the same fictional app in each candidate: a team notes app with two fictional users in one workspace and a third user outside it. Each note has a title, body, and optional image. Set up sign-in, storage, access rules, and a live update, then compare effort, limits, and cost for the same test data.
Every check starts as Not run. Record your own observations; these are evaluation criteria, rather than completed product tests. Your worksheet stays in this page and can be downloaded.
| Task and expected observation | Supabase | Firebase |
|---|---|---|
| Sign up the three fictional users Email sign-up and one OAuth provider work, and each user has a stable ID you can reference in data. | ||
| Create the notes model and seed ten notes Notes are stored with an owner and workspace, and you can query them by workspace from the client. | ||
| Sign in as the outside user The outside user cannot read or change any workspace note, enforced on the server rather than in the UI. | ||
| Attach an image to one note The image uploads, is linked to the note, and is not readable by the outside user. | ||
| Edit a note with two sessions open The second workspace user sees the change without reloading the page. | ||
| Export the data and run locally You can export notes and users, and run the backend locally or self-hosted for development. | ||
| Estimate a month at higher volume Record the billing units each platform counts, then estimate a clearly labelled month with more users and notes. |
0 of 14 checks have an observation. An observation does not imply a passed test.
Sources and check dates
Provider documentation supports the product and billing descriptions. Confirm current limits and terms before choosing a plan.
ShowMeYourSaaS also offers commercial product coverage. These guides follow our editorial selection criteria; placement is not a purchased ranking. Send a correction with the page and a supporting source.