Supabase vs Firebase
Supabase gives every project a dedicated Postgres database and charges a flat monthly fee per plan with metered overage. Firebase is Google's app backend built around Firestore and has no fixed fee: the Spark plan costs nothing, and the Blaze plan bills usage. Supabase wins on exit and bill predictability, Firebase on a free plan that does not pause and does not need a card.
Sebastiaan SmitsFounderVendors can pay for visibility on this site; it never changes what we say about a product. How that works.
Choose Supabase ifyou want a relational Postgres database you can dump or run on your own servers, and a monthly bill you can estimate before launch.
Choose Firebase ifyou are building a mobile-first app on Google infrastructure, want to start with no payment method, and accept that growth is billed per operation.
Supabase and Firebase side by side
| Supabase | Firebase | |
|---|---|---|
| Our backend and app hosting platform rank | #1 of 12 | #11 of 12 |
| Established in | Singapore | United States |
| Pricing | Free plan; Pro and Team tiers plus compute add-ons, published | Free Spark plan; Blaze pay-as-you-go at Google Cloud rates, published |
| List price, 20 October 2026 | Free $0; Pro from $25 a month; Team from $599 a month; compute billed per project | Spark no-cost quotas; Blaze pay as you go, for example Functions $0.40 per million invocations after 2M |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Self-hostable | Yes | — |
| Built for | Product teams that want auth, storage and vectors from one Postgres backend | Mobile and web apps that benefit from Google SDKs and Firestore sync |
| Not for | Workloads that need a dedicated high-throughput vector engine | Teams that need SQL, portability or a predictable invoice |
Both are reviewed in full in our backend and app hosting platform ranking: Supabase and Firebase.
Where they differ
Supabase 2 · Firebase 1 · open 2- 01
Leaving the platform
Supabase's repository is Apache-2.0 and its docs recommend Docker for running it yourself, though a self-hosted install lacks branching, managed backups and the Management API. Firebase's managed Firestore export requires the Blaze plan and writes the files to a Cloud Storage bucket you choose, and each exported document counts as a read. Supabase has the shorter way out.
Edge: Supabase
- 02
What the free plan allows
Supabase's Free plan gives 500 MB of database, 1 GB of file storage and 50,000 monthly active users, but pauses a project after one week of inactivity, allows two active projects and includes no automatic backups. Firebase's Spark plan needs no payment method, and Firestore includes 1 GiB stored with 50,000 reads a day. Cloud Functions and Cloud Storage need Blaze.
Edge: Firebase
- 03
Shape of the paid bill
Supabase Pro starts at $25 a month and includes 8 GB of database, 100 GB of storage, 250 GB of egress and 100,000 users, with overage per unit and a $10 compute credit covering one Micro instance. Each extra project adds its own compute. Firebase has no base fee, so cost follows reads, writes and function calls under Google Cloud rates. Supabase is easier to forecast.
Edge: Supabase
- 04
Database model
Supabase describes its core as a dedicated Postgres database per project, so relational queries and standard SQL tooling apply. Firebase's Firestore is a document database, offered in Standard and Enterprise editions with separate free quotas and separate Google Cloud pricing beyond them. The right choice follows the shape of your data, not a score from us.
Depends on the buyer
- 05
Sign-in and users
Both include 50,000 monthly active users at no cost. Firebase Authentication covers email, phone, Google, Apple, Facebook, anonymous accounts and custom systems. Phone sign-in is Blaze-only and billed per SMS, and SAML or OpenID Connect needs the Identity Platform upgrade. We did not verify Supabase's provider list, so confirm the methods you need before choosing.
Depends on the buyer
When neither fits
If you want a hosted app platform without a backend-as-a-service data model, Appwrite and Convex in the same category take different routes, and Render or Railway suit teams that run their own database.
Supabase or Firebase: questions
4 answersIs Supabase an open-source Firebase alternative?
Its repository describes the aim as a Firebase-like developer experience using open-source tools, and the code is Apache-2.0. It is built on Postgres, whereas Firebase uses Firestore, so migrating means remodelling data.
Does Firebase need a credit card?
Not on Spark. Cloud Functions, Cloud Storage, App Hosting and phone authentication need the Blaze plan, which also unlocks managed Firestore export.
Why did my Supabase project stop?
On the Free plan a project is paused after one week of inactivity. Pro and Team projects are not paused for inactivity.
Does Supabase back up the free plan?
No. The docs say free projects are not in automatic daily backups and recommend exporting with the CLI. Pro keeps daily backups for 7 days and Team for 14.
Sources
Checked 20 October 2026- Supabase pricing: plan prices, included database, storage, egress, MAU, pausing, compute credit.
- Supabase repository: Apache-2.0 licence, Postgres focus, Firebase-like aim.
- Supabase self-hosting docs: Docker route and features missing when self-hosted.
- Supabase backups docs: daily backups by plan and none on Free.
- Supabase terms: Supabase Pte. Ltd., Singapore, as default contracting entity.
- Firebase pricing: Spark and Blaze plans, free quotas, products needing Blaze, Functions prices.
- Firestore export and import docs: export requires Blaze, writes to Cloud Storage, one read per document.
- Firebase Authentication docs: sign-in methods and Identity Platform upgrade for SAML and OIDC.