Supabase

The open source Firebase alternative

5.0•756 reviews•

41K followers

The open source Firebase alternative

5.0•756 reviews•

41K followers

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Databases and backend frameworks

Supabase is an open-source backend-as-a-service that provides real-time databases, authentication, and API services. It enables developers to build and scale applications quickly without managing server infrastructure.

Supabase Reviews

The community submitted 756 reviews to tell us what they like about Supabase, what Supabase can do better, and more.

5.0

Based on 756 reviews

Review Supabase?

Reviewers mostly see Supabase as a practical all-in-one backend that helps small teams and solo founders ship quickly with Postgres, auth, storage, realtime features, and strong developer tooling. Users repeatedly praise the clean UI, easy setup, integrations, and the sense of keeping control of data instead of getting locked into a custom stack. Founders of products like CatDoes and Greta say it has been a stable, scalable backend. Main complaints are thinner docs in places, tricky local setup, edge function cold starts, and some pricing gaps.

+759

Summarized with AI

Pros

authentication features (58)

PostgreSQL integration (42)

easy setup (37)

scalable infrastructure (34)

developer experience (27)

real-time capabilities (27)

open source (24)

storage solutions (24)

fast performance (18)

seamless integration (17)

Cons

documentation gaps (3)

limited free tier (2)

Pros

Cons

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Founder Reviews (720)

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Other Reviews (36)

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•12 reviews

What's great

fast performance (18)developer experience (27)easy setup (37)seamless integration (17)scalable infrastructure (34)authentication features (58)PostgreSQL integration (42)

Built a full marketplace as a solo founder on Supabase (auth, postgres, RLS, storage, edge functions, realtime, serverless webpages). I'd have needed a small backend team to wire all of that up myself. Postgres underneath means I'm never locked in and never fighting a custom DSL.

RLS in particular is the unlock, security policies live next to the data, not buried in middleware that drifts out of sync.

What needs improvement

limited free tier (2)

Edge function cold starts are still slower than I'd like for user-facing calls. The dashboard's SQL editor is good but loses your unsaved query if you accidentally navigate away, would love a draft auto-save,

Oh, and the pricing jump from Pro to Enterprise is steep for solo founders who outgrow the free tier but don't need a whole org plan yet a middle "indie" tier would be welcome.

vs Alternatives

Firebase

Looked at Firebase (no SQL, vendor lock-in), Pocketbase (single binary is great but no managed scaling), and rolling my own on raw Postgres +Hasura + custom auth.

Supabase wins because it gives you real Postgres with the production wiring already done, but doesn't hide the database

behind an opinion. Migrations are SQL files. Queries are SQL.

If I ever leave, I leave with my data and schema intact

Ratings

Ease of use

Reliability

Value for money

Customization

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21 views9d ago

•2 reviews

What's great

fast performance (18)easy setup (37)real-time capabilities (27)authentication features (58)self-hosting option (5)

Running Supabase locally feels like having a full backend “starter kit” living right next to your code.

I spin it up and suddenly I’ve got Postgres, auth, file storage, and realtime all running together, plus a clean web dashboard so I’m not wrestling with random containers or config files. It still feels like my stack though - it’s just Postgres and open-source services under the hood, so there’s no weird lock-in or mystery billing later.

For side projects and experiments, local Supabase has basically become my default backend: I start it, point my app at it, and I’m off building features instead of wiring up yet another database + auth + storage combo.

Ratings

Ease of use

Reliability

Value for money

Customization

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166 views6mo ago

•1 review

Supabase is an excellent alternative to Firebase, offering a robust set of features like real-time databases, authentication, and storage with a more open-source approach. One thing to note, though, is that apps may get suspended after a period of inactivity (like a week), which can be resolved by triggering a simple read request to reactivate the service. Overall, I’ve used Supabase in several freelancing projects and have been impressed by its scalability and ease of integration—great for both small and large applications.

What's great

open source (24)seamless integration (17)scalable infrastructure (34)real-time capabilities (27)authentication features (58)storage solutions (24)

What needs improvement

suspension after inactivity (1)

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118 views1yr ago

•3 reviews

I've always been drawn to MongoDB for its ease of schema updates in tables, but performance issues have been a constant challenge. However, Supabase allows for table updates just as swiftly while retaining all the advantages of PostgreSQL. The time required to deploy a new API has been reduced from several hours to just a few minutes. I can no longer imagine developing applications without Supabase.

What's great

PostgreSQL integration (42)automatic API generation (2)

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62 views2yr ago

•3 reviews

It's such a solid environment to work in. Because, even at this stage, there's a lot of things you can have going at one time, they should do more to support the UX by helping the user understand how changes in one place can impact another service they may have running. Overall though, I feel like I'm working smarter (not just working more easily) when I'm using it.

What's great

developer experience (27)

What needs improvement

documentation gaps (3)

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56 views8mo ago

•11 reviews

Awesome product with great support. Especially useful in the beginning stages of a product. They provide so many things out-of-the-box: authentication, file storage, etc. When a project grows, I find myself replacing some supabase's pre-built solutions with custom solutions. Even then, it holds up great, as it's just a Postgres database under the hood.

What's great

responsive support (5)authentication features (58)PostgreSQL integration (42)storage solutions (24)

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52 views1yr ago

•11 reviews

Especially useful in the beginning stages of a product. They provide so many things out-of-the-box: authentication, file storage, etc. When a project grows, I find myself replacing some supabase's pre-built solutions with custom solutions. Even then, it holds up great, as it's just a Postgres database under the hood.

What's great

authentication features (58)PostgreSQL integration (42)storage solutions (24)

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48 views1yr ago

•10 reviews

What's great

authentication features (58)PostgreSQL integration (42)storage solutions (24)

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45 views1yr ago

•10 reviews

What's great

authentication features (58)PostgreSQL integration (42)storage solutions (24)

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42 views1yr ago

•3 reviews

What's great

Postgres, auth, and storage with zero infrastructure management burden. User friendly and intuitive with great docs.

What needs improvement

Solves a lot of problems for us, would be hard to think of a better product offering.

vs Alternatives

Modern backend that’s quick to spin up and easy to maintain.

Ratings

Ease of use

Reliability

Value for money

Customization

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58 views5mo ago

used Supabase to build ClawSecure

•5 reviews

What's great

fast performance (18)developer experience (27)open source (24)easy setup (37)seamless integration (17)scalable infrastructure (34)real-time capabilities (27)authentication features (58)PostgreSQL integration (42)storage solutions (24)

Supabase is incredible, and not just because of the product's utility and features. What sets it apart is how accessible the entire experience is. The UI, the configuration, the documentation. Everything is designed so that even non-technical teams can navigate it without needing an engineer on call. We use Supabase as our database layer at ClawSecure and it's been one of the most reliable pieces of our stack. Being able to jump into the dashboard, inspect data, manage tables, and configure settings without writing raw SQL every time is a genuine productivity unlock. Supabase removes a barrier that most database tools don't even acknowledge exists.

vs Alternatives

It was an easy choice. UX, costs, and customer service are incredible

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45 views26d ago

Letterbase Resources

•1 review

(disclaimer: I joined supabase 3 months ago) I've been using it for 2 years for everything I've built and the experience is amazing. I always recommend it. As a frontend dev coming from Firebase and other BaaS tools I had to learn some SQL and RLS first but once I started getting the hang of it I couldn't use anything else, it's just too good. Best part is being able to use the parts of supabase that I need instead of opting in to a whole BaaS. I have some APIs that only use the database. I have an app that only uses storage (like a google drive for me). It integrates with many other tools, (nocode tools, ORMs, BI tools...)

What's great

developer experience (27)seamless integration (17)storage solutions (24)

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145 views2yr ago

Gridapps Testimonials

•8 reviews

Supabase is hands-down the best backend-as-a-service for indie hackers, startups, and devs who want to build fast. It gives you everything out of the box — Postgres database, auth, file storage, real-time updates, and auto-generated APIs — all with an amazing DX. I’ve used it to build multiple SaaS MVPs, and what blows me away is the speed at which I can go from zero to working product. The docs are excellent, and the community is 🔥. If you want Firebase power with SQL flexibility (and open-source peace of mind), Supabase is a no-brainer.

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93 views10mo ago