Supabase vs Firebase
Supabase and Firebase both give you auth, database, storage, and functions with one signup. Pick Supabase if you want real Postgres, SQL, and open-source portability. Pick Firebase if you are shipping a mobile-first app or want Google-scale infra with the least backend code.
Two products, side by side.
Postgres + Auth + Storage + Realtime + Edge Functions
- Real Postgres with row-level security
- SQL you can query with any tool
- Self-host option
- Storage + Realtime + Edge Functions all first-party
- Open source
- Edge network smaller than Google Cloud
- Realtime is newer than Firebase RTDB
- Some services still v-numbered
NoSQL + Auth + Cloud Functions + Hosting on Google Cloud
- Battle-tested since 2011
- Best-in-class mobile SDKs (iOS, Android, Flutter)
- FCM push notifications built in
- Global Google infra + Firestore multi-region
- Analytics + Crashlytics integrated
- NoSQL model harder to query than SQL
- Vendor lock-in to Google Cloud
- Costs at scale can surprise you
- Query performance depends on collection design
Supabase vs Firebase on the specs.
| Feature | Supabase | Firebase |
|---|---|---|
| Database model | ✓Postgres (SQL) | Firestore (NoSQL) + RTDB |
| Auth | Email, magic link, social, phone | Email, phone, social, anonymous |
| File storage | S3-compatible | Cloud Storage |
| Realtime | Postgres change streams | ✓Firestore listeners + RTDB |
| Serverless functions | Edge Functions (Deno) | Cloud Functions (Node, Python) |
| Row-level security | ✓Built in (Postgres RLS policies) | Security Rules (custom DSL) |
| Self-host | ✓Yes | No |
| Mobile SDK quality | Good on Flutter, React Native | ✓Best in class |
| Push notifications | Bring your own (OneSignal, Expo) | ✓FCM built in |
| Free tier | ✓500 MB DB, 1 GB storage, 50k MAU | Generous quotas, meters at scale |
What you will actually pay.
| Tier | Supabase | Firebase |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 (500 MB DB, 50k MAU, 1 GB storage) | $0 (Firestore free daily quotas) |
| Pro | $25 / mo (8 GB DB, 100k MAU, 100 GB egress) | Pay-as-you-go: reads $0.06 / 100k, writes $0.18 / 100k |
| At scale | Team ($599 / mo) + usage-based | Blaze plan, pure usage, can spike hard |
Which one should you pick?
Web-first app, needs relational queries, wants portability, or has a founder comfortable with SQL and row-level security policies.
Mobile-first app (especially Flutter or native), needs push notifications and Crashlytics out of the box, or values Google's global infra over open source.
For a plain web SaaS that does not need push and does not care about SQL, either works. Supabase's free tier is more generous long-term; Firebase's free tier hits its wall faster on Firestore reads.
Related matchups.
Common questions.
Is Supabase a drop-in Firebase replacement?
Feature-wise mostly yes for web apps (auth, storage, database, functions). Not a drop-in for mobile-first stacks because Firebase's mobile SDKs and FCM push are much more mature. Migration requires rewriting Firestore queries to SQL.
Which is cheaper?
Supabase's free tier is more generous month-over-month for a small-to-mid SaaS. Firebase can be nearly free at very low volume, but Firestore reads add up fast once you hit scale.
Can I use Supabase for a mobile app?
Yes, with the Supabase Flutter / React Native SDKs. But for push notifications and crash reporting you'll add OneSignal, Expo Notifications, or Sentry separately, whereas Firebase bundles FCM + Crashlytics.
Which one has better auth?
Both cover email, social, and magic link. Supabase has cleaner row-level security integration. Firebase has better anonymous-user flows and phone auth.
Can I self-host either?
Supabase yes (Docker Compose, or self-hosted on any cloud). Firebase no, it is Google Cloud only.
Open the tool.
Once you have picked, grade your stack across 10 production categories in 3 minutes. Free, honest, prioritised fix plan.
Grade the Supabase or Firebase setup you pick