A feature-by-feature and pricing comparison of two hosted app backends, based on each vendor's own documentation as of July 29, 2026.
Supabase and Firebase both give developers a hosted backend so you can ship an app without standing up your own servers. Each bundles a database, user authentication, file storage, serverless functions, and realtime updates behind a single dashboard and a set of client libraries.
Where they part ways is the foundation. Supabase builds every project on a Postgres relational database and, per its documentation, is open source with a self-hosting option. Firebase, part of Google, centers on Firestore and its Realtime Database and folds in a wide suite of mobile-focused services such as analytics, crash reporting, and messaging. This comparison lays out what each vendor documents today, where the real trade-offs sit, and how to pick based on your project.
At a glance
In short
Short version: Both are hosted backends with authentication, storage, functions, and realtime. Choose Supabase for a Postgres/SQL foundation, open-source portability, and built-in vector search; choose Firebase for Firestore's document model and Google's deep mobile tooling (analytics, Crashlytics, A/B testing, messaging). Supabase posts fixed plan tiers from $0 to $599/month, while Firebase bills by usage with a $300 new-account credit (as of 2026-07-29).
Head to head
Key differences side by side.
| Feature | Supabase | Firebase |
|---|---|---|
| Database model | Full Postgres relational database on every project, with SQL and Row Level Security (as of 2026-07-29) | Firestore and Realtime Database (document-oriented), plus a SQL Connect product (as of 2026-07-29) |
| Open source & self-hosting | Documented as open source; self-hosting guide provided (as of 2026-07-29) | Not covered on the pages we read (2026-07-29) |
| Authentication | Built-in Auth with Row Level Security and multiple providers (as of 2026-07-29) | Authentication with multiple identity providers; Phone Number Verification (as of 2026-07-29) |
| Serverless functions | Edge Functions, globally distributed (as of 2026-07-29) | Cloud Functions (as of 2026-07-29) |
| File storage | Storage integrated with Postgres and Row Level Security (as of 2026-07-29) | Cloud Storage (as of 2026-07-29) |
| Realtime updates | Realtime data sync and database change streams (as of 2026-07-29) | Realtime Database; Cloud Messaging (as of 2026-07-29) |
| AI / vector search | Built-in pgvector to store, index, and search embeddings (as of 2026-07-29) | Firebase AI Logic and generative AI products (as of 2026-07-29) |
| Instant data APIs | Auto-generated REST and GraphQL APIs (as of 2026-07-29) | Not covered on the pages we read (2026-07-29) |
| Mobile app operations (analytics, crash reporting, A/B testing) | Not covered on the pages we read (2026-07-29) | Google Analytics, Crashlytics, A/B Testing, Remote Config, Performance Monitoring, Test Lab (as of 2026-07-29) |
| Web/app hosting | Not covered on the pages we read (2026-07-29) | Hosting and App Hosting (as of 2026-07-29) |
| Free starting tier | $0/month Free plan: 500 MB database, 50,000 monthly active users, 1 GB file storage (as of 2026-07-29) | $300 credit for new billing accounts; free service allowances published on Firebase's pricing page (as of 2026-07-29) |
| Migration guides from the other platform | Guides for migrating from Firebase Auth, Firebase Storage, and Firestore (as of 2026-07-29) | Not covered on the pages we read (2026-07-29) |
Feature matrix
| Feature | Supabase | Firebase |
|---|---|---|
| Managed database — Supabase: Postgres (relational). Firebase: Firestore and Realtime Database (document). Both as of 2026-07-29. | ✅ | ✅ |
| Authentication — Both list built-in auth with multiple identity providers (as of 2026-07-29). | ✅ | ✅ |
| Serverless functions — Supabase Edge Functions; Firebase Cloud Functions (as of 2026-07-29). | ✅ | ✅ |
| File storage — Supabase Storage; Firebase Cloud Storage (as of 2026-07-29). | ✅ | ✅ |
| Realtime data — Supabase Realtime; Firebase Realtime Database (as of 2026-07-29). | ✅ | ✅ |
| Built-in vector / AI features — Supabase pgvector; Firebase AI Logic (as of 2026-07-29). | ✅ | ✅ |
✅ full · 🟡 partial/paid · ❌ not supported
Pricing
Confirm current pricing on each vendor's site.
Supabase Free$0/month (as of 2026-07-29)
500 MB database size
50,000 monthly active users
1 GB file storage
5 GB egress + 5 GB cached egress
Unlimited API requests
Community support
Free projects paused after 1 week of inactivity; limit of 2 active projects
See Supabase pricingSupabase ProFrom $25/month (as of 2026-07-29)
100,000 monthly active users, then $0.00325 per MAU
8 GB disk per project, then $0.125 per GB
250 GB egress, then $0.09 per GB
100 GB file storage, then $0.0213 per GB
Daily backups retained 7 days; 7-day log retention
Email support
$10/month compute credits (covers one Micro instance); add-ons scale to 64 cores / 256 GB RAM
See Supabase pricingSupabase TeamFrom $599/month (as of 2026-07-29)
Everything in Pro
SOC 2 and ISO 27001
SSO for the Supabase dashboard
Project-scoped and read-only access
Daily backups retained 14 days; 28-day log retention
Priority email support & SLAs
HIPAA available as a paid add-on
See Supabase pricingSupabase EnterpriseCustom (contact sales) (as of 2026-07-29)
Designated support manager
Uptime SLAs
BYO Cloud supported
24x7x365 premium enterprise support
Private Slack channel
Custom security questionnaires
Contact SupabaseFirebase (usage-based)Usage-based; $300 credit for new billing accounts (as of 2026-07-29)
Billed by consumption across services (Firestore, Cloud Functions, Cloud Storage, and more)
$300 credit for a new billing account to try features
Per-service rates and free allowances are published on Firebase's pricing page
Estimate cost from your own reads, writes, storage, and function calls
Pros & cons
SupabasePros
Every project is a full Postgres relational database with SQL and Row Level Security (supabase.com, as of 2026-07-29)
Documented as open source with a self-hosting option (supabase.com/docs, as of 2026-07-29)
Built-in pgvector for storing and searching embeddings
Auto-generated REST and GraphQL APIs
Fixed plan tiers posted up front, from a $0 Free plan to a $599/month Team plan (supabase.com/pricing, as of 2026-07-29)
Migration guides for teams coming from Firebase Auth, Storage, and Firestore
Cons
Free projects are paused after a week of inactivity and capped at two active projects (supabase.com/pricing, as of 2026-07-29)
Total cost combines a plan tier with usage-based compute add-ons, so scaling spend takes estimation
A relational model means document-style data has to be modeled into tables, which can be a shift for teams used to a document database
FirebasePros
Firestore and Realtime Database offer a flexible, document-oriented model that syncs across clients (firebase.google.com, as of 2026-07-29)
Broad app-operations suite in one console: Google Analytics, Crashlytics, A/B Testing, Remote Config, Performance Monitoring, Cloud Messaging, Test Lab (firebase.google.com, as of 2026-07-29)
Part of Google's ecosystem, with $300 credit for new billing accounts to start
Documented products span build and run: Authentication, Cloud Functions, Cloud Storage, Hosting, App Hosting, Extensions, Firebase AI Logic
Cons
Usage-based billing across services means cost depends on consumption and takes per-workload estimation
Per-service rates live across Firebase's pricing page rather than a single flat plan tier, so budgeting requires modeling reads, writes, storage, and function calls
A document data model requires remodeling if you later move to a relational/SQL system
Supabase and Firebase: the public release and download record on 2026-07-28
| Measured on 2026-07-28 | Supabase supabase/supabase-js · @supabase/supabase-js | Firebase firebase/firebase-js-sdk · firebase |
|---|---|---|
| Latest release — GitHub REST API | v2.111.0, published 2026-07-28 | firebase@12.15.0, published 2026-06-16 |
| Commits, weekly average — GitHub REST API | 12.4 a week (149 commits in the 12 weeks to 2026-07-28) | 8.2 a week (99 commits in the 12 weeks to 2026-07-28) |
| Most recent commit — GitHub REST API | 2026-07-28 | 2026-07-28 |
| Downloads from npm, last 30 days — npm registry download API | 89,614,029 (2026-06-25~2026-07-24) | 35,004,307 (2026-06-25~2026-07-24) |
As observed on 2026-07-28, the npm package registry recorded 89,614,029 downloads of @supabase/supabase-js over the preceding 30 days against 35,004,307 for firebase, while the two projects' public GitHub source repositories showed weekly commit averages of 12.4 and 8.2 respectively across the twelve weeks ending that same date. The download totals come from a package registry and the commit rates from public source repositories, not from either vendor's own status page, so they measure distribution volume and development cadence rather than anything a reader directly experiences. For someone weighing the two libraries, the figures reasonably suggest that Supabase's client is currently being installed and changed at a higher rate, which can point to active maintenance and present momentum. They do not, however, establish reliability, quality of support, or overall product quality, and they do not show how many people actually use either product, since registry downloads are inflated by automated builds, mirrors and reinstalls and commit counts say nothing about the value of what was changed.
Where these numbers come from: on 2026-07-28 (2026-07-28T16:34:36Z) we called the public endpoints listed below and recorded what they returned. Nothing here is taken from either vendor's marketing pages, and anyone can repeat the same calls. Repository figures describe the named repository — for a closed-source platform that is its official CLI or SDK, not the platform itself. What these figures do not tell you: Commit counts include merges, dependency bumps and documentation changes, and a monorepo will always show more commits than a single-purpose repository, so this measures how busy the named repository is — not progress, quality, or how much of it reaches the product. The commit date says the repository is being worked on, nothing about what changed. Downloads count installs by machines — CI runs and mirrors included — so they track how widely a package is pulled, not how many people use the product. None of them measures reliability, support or how either product feels to use.
Supabase — GitHub REST API · GitHub releases API · npm registry · the official JavaScript client library
Firebase — GitHub REST API · GitHub releases API · npm registry · the official JavaScript SDK
The core difference: data model and openness
Supabase's site is explicit that every project is a full Postgres database, the relational engine that speaks SQL and enforces access rules through Row Level Security (supabase.com, as of 2026-07-29). You get tables, joins, constraints, and the wider Postgres extension ecosystem, including pgvector for storing and searching embeddings.
Firebase's documented data stores are Firestore and the Realtime Database, both organized around documents and collections rather than SQL tables (firebase.google.com, as of 2026-07-29). Firebase also lists a SQL Connect product, so the platform is not limited to one model. The practical effect is that a document model like Firestore tends to favor flexible, denormalized reads, while Postgres favors structured, relational queries with joins and constraints.
Openness is the other axis. Supabase's documentation covers self-hosting, and its site describes the platform as open source, which gives you the option to run the stack on your own infrastructure rather than staying on a managed provider. If avoiding a single-vendor dependency matters to you, that portability is worth weighing.
Features side by side
Both platforms cover the backend basics. Supabase lists built-in Authentication with Row Level Security, Edge Functions for server-side code, Storage for large files, Realtime data sync, and instant REST and GraphQL data APIs (supabase.com and supabase.com/docs, as of 2026-07-29). Firebase lists Authentication with multiple identity providers, Cloud Functions, Cloud Storage, its Realtime Database, and Cloud Messaging (firebase.google.com, as of 2026-07-29).
Firebase's catalog leans heavily into app operations beyond the database. Its site groups a set of run-time products that includes Google Analytics, Crashlytics, A/B Testing, Remote Config, Performance Monitoring, In-App Messaging, App Distribution, and Test Lab (firebase.google.com, as of 2026-07-29). If your priority is shipping and instrumenting a mobile app, that breadth of built-in analytics and quality tooling is a meaningful draw.
Supabase, for its part, publishes migration guides for teams coming from Firebase Auth, Firebase Storage, and Firestore, alongside guides for Postgres-family sources such as Amazon RDS, Neon, and Heroku (supabase.com/docs, as of 2026-07-29). Client libraries are documented for JavaScript, Flutter, Python, C#, Swift, and Kotlin.
Pricing: what each vendor publishes
Supabase posts fixed monthly plan tiers and adds usage-based compute on top. The Free plan is $0/month and includes a 500 MB database, 50,000 monthly active users, 1 GB of file storage, and 5 GB of egress; free projects are paused after a week of inactivity, and you can keep two active projects (supabase.com/pricing, as of 2026-07-29).
The Pro plan starts at $25/month, with 100,000 monthly active users included (then $0.00325 per extra user), 8 GB of disk per project, 250 GB of egress, daily backups retained for 7 days, and email support. Paid plans include $10/month in compute credits that cover one Micro instance, and compute add-ons scale up to 64 cores and 256 GB of RAM. The Team plan starts at $599/month and adds SOC 2 and ISO 27001, dashboard SSO, 14-day backup retention, and priority support with SLAs; Enterprise is custom-quoted (all figures supabase.com/pricing, as of 2026-07-29).
Firebase bills on a usage model and gives new billing accounts $300 in credit to explore its features (firebase.google.com, as of 2026-07-29). Its per-service rates are published on Firebase's pricing page. Because Firebase charges by how much of each product you consume, the fair way to compare cost is to estimate your own reads, writes, storage, and function calls and price them there against Supabase's posted tiers.
Which should you choose?
If your app is relational at heart, if you want SQL and Row Level Security, or if the option to self-host and stay portable matters, Supabase fits that shape. Its documented pgvector support also makes it a straightforward pick when you need to store and search embeddings for AI features.
If you are building a mobile app and want analytics, crash reporting, A/B testing, and messaging wired in from the same console, Firebase's breadth of app-operations tooling is the stronger match, especially if you are already invested in Google's ecosystem. Firestore's document model also suits apps that need flexible records that sync across clients.
Many teams can succeed on either. When the decision is close, let the data model lead: Postgres and Supabase for structured, relational workloads, and Firestore and Firebase for document-oriented, mobile-first apps. Estimate cost against your own usage rather than a headline number.
Migration and lock-in
Switching costs are worth thinking about before you commit. Supabase publishes migration guides specifically for moving from Firebase Auth, Firebase Storage, and Firestore, which lowers the effort of moving in that direction (supabase.com/docs, as of 2026-07-29). Because Supabase is documented as open source with a self-hosting guide, you also keep the option to run the stack yourself rather than staying on the managed service.
Moving data between a document store and a relational schema is not automatic in either direction. You will typically remodel collections into tables (or the reverse) and rewrite queries, so budget engineering time for the remodel regardless of which way you go.
Verdict
There is no single winner here, because the two platforms optimize for different foundations. The selection criteria used are data-model fit, ecosystem and tooling, openness and portability, and posted pricing.
Pick Supabase when you want a relational Postgres database with SQL and Row Level Security, when open source and a self-hosting escape hatch matter, or when you need pgvector-backed embeddings for AI features. Its plan pricing is posted up front, from a $0 Free tier to a $599/month Team tier, with usage-based compute on top (supabase.com/pricing, as of 2026-07-29).
Pick Firebase when you are shipping a mobile-first app and want Firestore's document model together with Google Analytics, Crashlytics, A/B Testing, Remote Config, and Cloud Messaging in one console (firebase.google.com, as of 2026-07-29). Price it against your expected per-service usage using Firebase's pricing page. For structured, relational, or portability-sensitive projects, Supabase is the more natural home; for instrumented mobile apps inside Google's ecosystem, Firebase is.
FAQ
Is Supabase or Firebase free?
Both offer a no-cost way to start. Supabase has a $0/month Free plan with a 500 MB database, 50,000 monthly active users, and 1 GB of file storage, though free projects pause after a week of inactivity and are capped at two active projects (supabase.com/pricing, as of 2026-07-29). Firebase gives new billing accounts $300 in credit to try its features, and its ongoing free service allowances are listed on Firebase's pricing page (firebase.google.com, as of 2026-07-29).
Is Supabase a drop-in replacement for Firebase?
Not automatically. They use different data models (Postgres tables versus Firestore documents), so moving requires remodeling data and rewriting queries. Supabase does publish migration guides for Firebase Auth, Firebase Storage, and Firestore to ease that path (supabase.com/docs, as of 2026-07-29).
Which is better for a mobile app?
Firebase documents a broad set of mobile-focused services in one console, including Google Analytics, Crashlytics, A/B Testing, Cloud Messaging, and Test Lab (firebase.google.com, as of 2026-07-29), which many mobile teams value. Supabase can back a mobile app too and provides client libraries for Flutter, Swift, and Kotlin (supabase.com/docs, as of 2026-07-29); the choice often comes down to whether you want that built-in app-operations tooling.
Can I self-host either one?
Supabase's documentation includes a self-hosting guide and describes the platform as open source, so you can run the stack on your own infrastructure (supabase.com/docs, as of 2026-07-29). Firebase's deployment and hosting model was not covered on the pages we read, so consult Firebase's own documentation for its options.
Sources
Originally published at https://stack.utilverse.info/compare/supabase-vs-firebase-which-backend-platform-should-you-choose-in-2026/.
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