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Database software · head to head

Supabase vs Firebase

Sebastiaan Smits Editor Sebastiaan Smits · Published October 19, 2026 · Updated October 19, 2026

Supabase wins for most teams starting today: every project is a standard Postgres database with auth and storage attached, priced in published tiers, and you can leave with a dump. Firebase wins for a mobile team that wants Google's client SDKs, push messaging and crash tooling in one console and accepts a document database tied to Google.

Side by side

SupabaseFirebase
What it isPostgres with authentication, APIs and storage bundled inGoogle's app backend with document databases and auth
Best forSmall teams building a web or mobile appMobile teams without a backend developer
HeadquartersSingaporeUnited States
Pricing modelFlat monthly + compute add-onsUsage-based
PricingFree plan at $0 (500 MB database, 50,000 monthly active users); Pro from $25 per month, Team from $599 per month, plus compute add-ons from $10 per month.Spark plan at no cost with daily quotas (Firestore: 1 GiB stored, 50,000 reads and 20,000 writes per day); Blaze pay-as-you-go beyond that, billed through Google Cloud.
Free optionFree planFree plan
List price
as listed on October 19, 2026		Supabase Pro from $25 per month (Free plan $0; Team from $599 per month; compute add-ons from $10 per month)Firebase Spark plan at no cost; Blaze pay-as-you-go billed per usage beyond the free quotas, with many unit prices on Google Cloud pricing pages
Place in our database software ranking#1 of 12#5 of 12
Websitesupabase.comfirebase.google.com

Both are reviewed in full in Best Database Software in 2026. Position in that ranking can be paid for; the wording of a review or of this comparison cannot. Placement disclosure.

Which one to choose

Choose Supabase if

you want SQL and a database you could host yourself later, with a monthly price you can estimate from a table.

Supabase, #1 in the ranking · Visit Supabase →

Choose Firebase if

you are shipping a mobile app, want Google's messaging, analytics and crash tooling alongside the database, and can live with a Google-only data layer.

Firebase, #5 in the ranking · Visit Firebase →

Where they differ

The database underneath

Supabase's home page says every project is a full Postgres database, with authentication, data APIs, storage, edge functions and vector embeddings added around it. Firebase's core products, Firestore and Realtime Database, are NoSQL stores queried through Firebase's own API rather than SQL. Firebase now also has SQL Connect, a managed PostgreSQL service on Cloud SQL, but it sits behind a GraphQL schema and not a direct database login.

Edge: Supabase

What the free tier gives

Firebase's Spark plan needs no payment method and lists Firestore at 1 GiB stored with 50K reads and 20K writes a day, 10 GiB monthly egress, and sign-in free to 50K monthly active users. Supabase Free gives 500 MB of database, 50,000 monthly active users and 1 GB of file storage, but pauses projects after a week of inactivity and allows two active projects. For a prototype that sits idle, Spark is easier.

Edge: Firebase

Estimating the monthly bill

Supabase prints its plans: Pro from $25 a month including 100,000 monthly active users and 8 GB of disk, Team from $599, and a compute table from $10 for Micro to $3,730 for 16XL. Firebase's Blaze plan charges per document read, write and delete beyond the free quota, then points to Google Cloud pricing pages. A founder can budget Supabase on paper; a Firestore bill follows the query pattern.

Edge: Supabase

Leaving the platform

Supabase documents self-hosting with Docker and its main repository is Apache 2.0, though self-hosted lacks managed backups and branching. Firebase's Firestore export needs the Blaze plan, a Cloud Storage bucket, and costs one read per document exported; the output can be imported into another Firestore database or loaded into BigQuery. Supabase also publishes tools to move Firebase Auth users into its own auth table.

Edge: Supabase

Mobile app extras

Firebase's product list goes well beyond the database: Cloud Messaging, Crashlytics, Remote Config, A/B Testing, App Distribution, Performance Monitoring and Test Lab, with SDKs for Apple platforms, Android, Flutter, web, C++ and Unity. Supabase covers auth, storage, realtime and functions, and its home page shows a JavaScript client. A team shipping native apps will find more of the surrounding work done on Firebase.

Edge: Firebase

Vectors and Postgres features

Both now support embeddings. Supabase lets you add Postgres extensions from the dashboard, including pgvector for embeddings, PostGIS for geospatial data and pg_cron for scheduled jobs, and secures client access with Row Level Security. Firebase SQL Connect advertises vector search on Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL. Supabase offers more direct control of the database, Firebase more Google integration, and neither is better for every build.

Edge: even

Tally: Supabase 3, Firebase 2, even 1.

When neither fits

A team with an existing relational application and no need for bundled auth should look at PostgreSQL on its own servers, or at Neon for serverless Postgres with usage-based billing. Teams that want a document database without Google's ecosystem should read the MongoDB entry in the same category.

See Neon, PostgreSQL and MongoDB among the 12 products in Best Database Software in 2026.

Questions and answers

Is Supabase a Firebase alternative?

Yes, in the sense that it bundles a database, authentication, storage, realtime and functions for app developers. The difference is that Supabase is built on standard Postgres and Firebase's main databases are NoSQL. Supabase documents tools for moving Firebase Auth users and Firestore data into a Supabase project.

Does Firebase have a free plan?

Yes. The Spark plan has no cost and asks for no payment method, with daily Firestore quotas of 1 GiB stored, 50K reads and 20K writes. The Blaze pay-as-you-go plan adds usage beyond those quotas, and Firestore export and import need Blaze.

Does Supabase pause free projects?

Yes. Supabase's pricing page says free projects are paused after one week of inactivity and that a free account is limited to two active projects. Paid plans start at $25 a month for Pro, and daily backups are kept for 7 days on Pro.

Can I self-host Supabase?

Yes, using Docker Compose, and the main repository carries the Apache 2.0 license. Supabase's documentation says self-hosted runs as a single project and omits managed backups, point-in-time recovery and branching, and that you are responsible for security and maintenance.

Sources

Prices, plan limits and product facts on this page were checked against the vendors' own pages on October 19, 2026. Vendors change both without notice, so treat the figures as of that date.