# Alternatives to Supabase

Supabase is an open-source backend-as-a-service built on PostgreSQL, providing a managed database, authentication, file storage, realtime subscriptions, edge functions, auto-generated APIs, and vector search — with a hosted platform and a self-hostable stack.

Supabase ranks #1 of 10 in Backend-as-a-service, with an Alt Score of 100. It is licensed under Apache License 2.0, open source with paid hosting from $25/mo (Pro) and available on the web. 12 of 12 checklist rows are verified against a public source.

Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/supabase/
Category: Backend-as-a-service

## Overview

- **Who it's for**: Developers building web, mobile, or AI applications who want a Postgres-backed backend without standing up separate services for auth, storage, and realtime — from solo/indie builders on the free tier up to production teams needing SOC2/HIPAA compliance on the Team and Enterprise plans.
- **What you get**: A dedicated Postgres database with instant auto-generated REST and realtime APIs, built-in authentication and Row Level Security, S3-compatible object storage, globally-deployed Deno-based Edge Functions, and pgvector support for AI/vector search — all managed from one dashboard or self-hosted via Docker.
- **How it works**: Every project provisions a dedicated Postgres instance that Supabase introspects to auto-generate a RESTful API (via PostgREST) and realtime websocket channels, while Postgres Row Level Security policies (integrated with Supabase Auth's JWTs) enforce per-row access control without a separate authorization server.

## Profile

- **License**: Apache License 2.0 (verified 2026-07-13)
- **Pricing model**: OSS + paid hosting (verified 2026-07-13)
- **Starts at**: $25/mo (Pro) (verified 2026-07-13)
- **Platforms**: Web
- **Status**: active (verified 2026-07-13)

## Ranked alternatives

| # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms |
|---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------|
| 1 | [Appwrite](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/appwrite.md) | 96 | BSD-3-Clause | Windows, macOS, Linux, Web |
| 2 | [AWS Amplify](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/aws-amplify.md) | 93 | Apache-2.0 | Web, iOS, Android |
| 3 | [Convex](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/convex.md) | 89 | FSL-1.1-Apache-2.0 | Web, Linux |
| 4 | [InstantDB](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/instantdb.md) | 85 | Apache-2.0 | Web, iOS, Android |
| 5 | [Back4app](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/back4app.md) | 81 | ? | Web, iOS, Android |
| 6 | [Firebase](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/firebase.md) | 81 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 7 | [Parse Platform](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/parse-platform.md) | 81 | Apache-2.0 | iOS, macOS, Android, Web |
| 8 | [Xano](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/xano.md) | 81 | Proprietary | ? |
| 9 | [PocketBase](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/pocketbase.md) | 78 | MIT License | Linux, Windows, macOS, Web |

Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/

## Feature comparison

Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified).

| Backend-as-a-service checklist | Supabase | Appwrite | AWS Amplify | Convex | InstantDB | Back4app |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | OSS + paid hosting | OSS + paid hosting | Usage-based | Freemium | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starts at | $25/mo (Pro) | $25/mo | Free | $25/developer/month | $30/mo | $15/mo |
| License | Apache License 2.0 | BSD-3-Clause | Apache-2.0 | FSL-1.1-Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 | ? |
| Platforms | Web | Windows, macOS, Linux, Web | Web, iOS, Android | Web, Linux | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android |
| Managed database | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Auth built in | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes |
| File / object storage | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Realtime subscriptions | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Serverless / edge functions | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Auto-generated APIs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Partial |
| Open source | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Client SDKs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Row-level security | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Vector / AI support | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |

## Sources

Sources for Supabase. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.

- **License**: Apache License 2.0 — <https://github.com/supabase/supabase/blob/master/LICENSE> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “Apache License Version 2.0, January 2004”
- **Pricing model**: OSS + paid hosting — <https://supabase.com/pricing> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Note: Free self-hostable OSS (see license/self-hostable/open-source cells) plus a hosted platform with Free/Pro $25/mo/Team $599/mo/Enterprise tiers.
  - Quote: “Predictable pricing, designed to scale Start building for free, collaborate with your team, then scale to millions of users”
- **Starts at**: $25/mo (Pro) — <https://supabase.com/pricing> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “Pro Most Popular For production applications with the power to scale. Get Started From $ 25 / month”
- **Platforms**: Web — <https://supabase.com/docs/guides/api> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Note: Self-hosting via Docker (supabase.com/docs/guides/self-hosting) implies server/Linux deployment but no page explicitly names an OS, so Linux was left out per the skip-unclear-members rule.
  - Quote: “You can use them directly from the browser (two-tier architecture), or as a complement to your own API server (three-tier architecture).”
- **Status**: active — <https://supabase.com/changelog> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “New updates and product improvements ... Deprecation notice: @supabase/supabase-js will require TypeScript 5.0 Jul 10, 2026”
- **Managed database**: Yes — <https://supabase.com/database> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “Every Supabase project is a dedicated Postgres database. 100% portable with no vendor lock-in.”
- **Auth built in**: Yes — <https://supabase.com/auth> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “Every Supabase project comes with a complete user management system.”
- **File / object storage**: Yes — <https://supabase.com/storage> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “An open source S3 compatible storage solution with unlimited scalability, for any file type.”
- **Realtime subscriptions**: Yes — <https://supabase.com/realtime> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “Sync client state globally over WebSockets. Listen to database changes, store user presence, and broadcast messages to all connected clients.”
- **Serverless / edge functions**: Yes — <https://supabase.com/edge-functions> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “Author, deploy, and monitor serverless functions distributed globally at the edge, close to your users.”
- **Auto-generated APIs**: Yes — <https://supabase.com/docs/guides/api> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “Supabase auto-generates an API directly from your database schema allowing you to connect to your database through a restful interface, directly from the browser.”
- **Self-hostable**: Yes — <https://supabase.com/docs/guides/self-hosting> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “Install and run your own Supabase on your computer, server, or cloud infrastructure.”
- **Open source**: Yes — <https://github.com/supabase/supabase> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “Supabase is a combination of open source tools. We’re building the features of Firebase using enterprise-grade, open source products.”
- **Client SDKs**: Yes — <https://supabase.com/docs/reference> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “The Supabase client libraries help you interact with Supabase products, such as the Postgres Database, Auth, and Realtime. They are available in several popular programming languages.”
- **Row-level security**: Yes — <https://supabase.com/docs/guides/database/postgres/row-level-security> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “Supabase allows convenient and secure data access from the browser, as long as you enable RLS.”
- **Vector / AI support**: Yes — <https://supabase.com/docs/guides/ai> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “Supabase provides an open source toolkit for developing AI applications using Postgres and pgvector.”
- **Free tier**: Yes — <https://supabase.com/pricing> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “Free Perfect for passion projects & simple websites. Start for Free $ 0 / month”

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Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/