Stop Using Firebase for Everything: Why I Switched to PostgreSQL (Supabase)

Ujjwal Sharma — Sat, 02 May 2026 21:34:14 +0000

1. The Hook
We’ve all been there. You start a new project, you want to move fast, so you plug in Firebase. It feels like magic at first. But what happens 6 months down the line when your app scales, your data becomes relational, and suddenly you are paying a premium just to run complex queries? You hit the NoSQL wall.

2. The Problem
The biggest trap modern developers fall into is treating a NoSQL document store (like Firebase/Firestore) as the ultimate solution for every single app.
Here is where the pain starts:
Vendor Lock-in: Moving away from Firebase once your app is live is a nightmare.
Complex Queries: Need to filter data based on multiple nested conditions? Good luck writing that without fetching half your database.
Pricing Surprises: It's free until you accidentally run a bad query in an infinite loop and wake up to a massive bill.

3. The 'StackByUjjwal' Solution
It's time to respect Relational Databases again. If you love the ease of Firebase but need the power of PostgreSQL, the industry is rapidly shifting towards tools like Supabase (the open-source Firebase alternative).
Here is how beautifully simple it is to fetch relational data using Supabase in your JavaScript app, without losing the power of SQL:

// 📁 db-service.js
import { createClient } from '@supabase/supabase-js'

// Initialize the PostgreSQL connection via Supabase
const supabaseUrl = '[https://your-project-id.supabase.co](https://your-project-id.supabase.co)'
const supabaseKey = 'YOUR_ANON_KEY'
const supabase = createClient(supabaseUrl, supabaseKey)

// Fetching Relational Data
export const getActiveUsersWithProfiles = async () => {
  try {
    const { data, error } = await supabase
      .from('users')
      .select(`
        id, 
        username, 
        profiles (avatar_url, bio)
      `)
      .eq('status', 'active');

    if (error) throw error;
    return data;

  } catch (error) {
    console.error("Database Query Failed: ", error.message);
  }
}

4. The Link Dump

Written by Ujjwal Sharma, Founder of @stackbyujjwal. Passionate about Full-Stack Web Development, building scalable architectures, and sharing code that makes sense.
Let's connect and build something awesome:
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/stackbyujjwal
🐙 GitHub: https://github.com/stackbyujjwal
📺 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@stackbyujjwal?si=mRRyKaWoZ-xbXQWp

DEV Community: Ujjwal Sharma

Stop Using Firebase for Everything: Why I Switched to PostgreSQL (Supabase)