# Alternatives to Xano

Xano is a no-code/visual backend-as-a-service platform that gives teams a managed Postgres database, auto-generated and customizable REST/Swagger APIs, built-in authentication, file storage, and a visual 'Function Stack' for server-side business logic, aimed at founders and agencies shipping MVPs without hand-coding a backend. It is distinguished by its no-code visual workflow builder layered on top of a real relational database, appealing to non-technical builders and no-code app teams. It offers a free tier and scales to enterprise workloads.

Xano ranks #9 of 10 in Backend-as-a-service, with an Alt Score of 81. It is proprietary and freemium from $85/mo. 11 of 12 checklist rows are verified against a public source.

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

## Overview

- **Who it's for**: Xano targets developers, no-code/low-code builders, and agencies who need a hosted backend for web and mobile applications without managing servers. It is positioned for teams that build with AI coding tools or no-code frontends (e.g. WeWeb, Bubble, FlutterFlow) and need a real database and API layer behind them, as well as enterprises with compliance requirements.
- **What you get**: Xano provides a dedicated managed PostgreSQL database, a visual function-stack builder for server-side logic and serverless functions, auto-generated CRUD REST APIs with OpenAPI/Swagger docs, built-in user authentication (JWE tokens), file/object storage, Websocket-based realtime channels, and vector columns for AI/ML data. Paid plans add background tasks, branching, direct database access, and enterprise features like RBAC, HIPAA/SOC2/ISO compliance add-ons, and self-hosting.
- **How it works**: Users build a backend visually: define database tables and fields, then compose API endpoints in the Function Stack using pre-built steps (query, CRUD operations, external API requests, filters) instead of writing traditional server code. Endpoints are exposed as REST APIs that any frontend can call over HTTPS, with authentication enforced via bearer tokens and optional realtime channels for live updates.

## Profile

- **License**: Proprietary (verified 2026-07-30)
- **Pricing model**: Freemium (verified 2026-07-30)
- **Starts at**: $85/mo (verified 2026-07-30)
- **Status**: active (verified 2026-07-30)

## Ranked alternatives

| # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms |
|---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------|
| 1 | [Supabase](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/supabase.md) | 100 | Apache License 2.0 | Web |
| 2 | [Appwrite](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/appwrite.md) | 96 | BSD-3-Clause | Windows, macOS, Linux, Web |
| 3 | [AWS Amplify](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/aws-amplify.md) | 93 | Apache-2.0 | Web, iOS, Android |
| 4 | [Convex](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/convex.md) | 89 | FSL-1.1-Apache-2.0 | Web, Linux |
| 5 | [InstantDB](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/instantdb.md) | 85 | Apache-2.0 | Web, iOS, Android |
| 6 | [Back4app](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/back4app.md) | 81 | ? | Web, iOS, Android |
| 7 | [Firebase](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/firebase.md) | 81 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 8 | [Parse Platform](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/parse-platform.md) | 81 | Apache-2.0 | iOS, macOS, Android, Web |
| 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 | Xano | Supabase | Appwrite | AWS Amplify | Convex | InstantDB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Freemium | OSS + paid hosting | OSS + paid hosting | Usage-based | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starts at | $85/mo | $25/mo (Pro) | $25/mo | Free | $25/developer/month | $30/mo |
| License | Proprietary | 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 |
| Managed database | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Auth built in | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | 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 | Yes | No |
| Auto-generated APIs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Partial | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Client SDKs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Row-level security | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Vector / AI support | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | No |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |

## Sources

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

- **Pricing model**: Freemium — <https://www.xano.com/pricing/> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Quote: “Free For developing and testing $0 Billed annually ... Essential For production-ready apps and agents $85 / month Billed annually”
- **Status**: active — <https://www.xano.com/learn/xano-release-1-60-highlights/> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Quote: “Xano release 1.60 introduces exciting new features like response streaming, improved usage monitoring, release track preferences”
- **Starts at**: $85/mo — <https://www.xano.com/pricing/> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Note: $85/mo is the Essential plan price when billed annually; a Free $0 tier also exists.
  - Quote: “Essential For production-ready apps and agents $85 / month Billed annually”
- **License**: Proprietary — <https://www.xano.com/security/> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Note: No public LICENSE file exists; Xano is closed-source commercial SaaS. Same page confirms it only uses OSS licenses of underlying dependencies (PHP, Node.js, PostgreSQL, Angular, Redis), not that the p
  - Quote: “Upon discontinuing Xano services, you retain the capability to export all data from your Xano account(s)...However, it's important to note that any code associated with your Xano setup is not exportab”
- **Managed database**: Yes — <https://www.xano.com/database/> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Quote: “Every Xano project comes with a dedicated PostgreSQL database — no setup required. Build fast and scale to billions.”
- **Auth built in**: Yes — <https://docs.xano.com/building-backend-features/user-authentication-and-user-data> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Quote: “Adding Pre-built Authentication Endpoints ... Login Accepts an email or username and password, and allows a user to log in Signup Accepts user information and creates an account for them”
- **File / object storage**: Yes — <https://docs.xano.com/file-storage/file-storage-in-xano> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Note: bucket" that can hold...files you are providing to your users, or files they are uploading to your application. You can upload almost anything, from images, to do"
  - Quote: “In Xano, you are provided a separate ”
- **Realtime subscriptions**: Yes — <https://docs.xano.com/realtime/realtime-in-xano> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Quote: “Realtime enables an always-open connection, and in combination with our Javascript SDK or other frontend integration, can easily be enabled in your applications that use Xano as a backend. Behind the ”
- **Serverless / edge functions**: Yes — <https://www.xano.com/pricing/> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Quote: “Server-side business logic Unlimited serverless Lambda functions”
- **Auto-generated APIs**: Yes — <https://docs.xano.com/the-function-stack/building-with-visual-development/apis> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Quote: “CRUD Database Operations Creates a pre-built API for performing CRUD operations (Create, Read, Update, Delete) on a database table.”
- **Self-hostable**: Partial — <https://www.xano.com/pricing/> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Note: Self-hosting is only available on the top-tier enterprise/Custom plan (BYOC), not on Free/Essential/Pro.
  - Quote: “Can I self-host Xano on-premises or in my own cloud? Yes. Self-hosting Xano in your own cloud environment or on-premises is available on Custom plans.”
- **Open source**: No — <https://www.xano.com/security/> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Note: Same page confirms Xano only complies with OSS licenses of dependencies it uses (PHP, Node.js, PostgreSQL, Angular, Redis), not that Xano itself is open source.
  - Quote: “any code associated with your Xano setup is not exportable”
- **Client SDKs**: Yes — <https://docs.xano.com/realtime/realtime-in-xano> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Quote: “Implementation using the Xano SDK ... Using NPM npm install @xano/js-sdk”
- **Vector / AI support**: Yes — <https://docs.xano.com/api-reference/table-schema-type/create-a-vector-column> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Quote: “Create a vector column for storing multi-dimensional data used in AI and ML applications”
- **Free tier**: Yes — <https://www.xano.com/pricing/> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Quote: “Free For developing and testing $0 Billed annually Get started Includes: Natural language prompting No-code visual logic builder...AI-ready Postgres database (up to 100K records) 1 GB image storage (w”

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