Supabase: an open source alternative to Firebase

Supabase is the open-source backend platform that has established itself as the serious Firebase alternative since 2022. Native PostgreSQL, authentication, storage, REST API, and since 2024 a complete AI ecosystem with pgvector and Edge Functions. Here's what you need to know in 2026.

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What is Supabase?

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Supabase is an open-source backend platform built on PostgreSQL. It consolidates in one tool what you'd usually assemble from several services: relational database, user authentication, file storage, auto-generated API, real-time subscriptions, and serverless functions (Edge Functions).

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Unlike Firebase, which uses Firestore (a NoSQL document database), Supabase uses PostgreSQL. If you know SQL, you're immediately productive. You access your data through an auto-generated REST API, GraphQL, or a direct Postgres connection.

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Supabase is open source. You can self-host it on your own infrastructure or use Supabase's managed cloud. Either way, you keep full control over your data.

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Supabase vs Firebase: key differences

Database

Firebase uses Firestore, a NoSQL document database. Supabase uses PostgreSQL, a relational database with a strict schema. For projects with complex business logic, joins, or well-structured data, PostgreSQL is a stronger fit. Firestore excels at ultra-simple real-time sync.

Open source vs proprietary

Firebase is a proprietary Google product. Supabase is open source (Apache 2.0 license). You can read the code, contribute, and deploy your own instance. No vendor lock-in.

Costs

Firebase charges per operation (reads, writes, storage, bandwidth). Bills can be surprising on high-volume projects. Supabase has predictable per-project pricing with a generous free plan.

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Supabase in 2026: pricing and AI features

Supabase 2026 pricing

- Free: free, 500 MB database, 1 GB storage, 5 GB bandwidth. Limited to 2 active projects.

- Pro: $25/month/project. 8 GB database, 100 GB storage, 250 GB bandwidth. Right for most production projects.

- Team: $599/month. Multiple projects, SSO, extended logs, priority support.

- Enterprise: custom pricing. Guaranteed SLA, dedicated support, private hosting options.

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The Free plan is enough to validate a prototype. The Pro plan covers the vast majority of SaaS or business applications up to several thousand active users.

Supabase and AI in 2026

Since 2024, Supabase has become the default backend for AI projects. A few reasons for that.

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First, pgvector: the PostgreSQL extension that lets you store and query vector embeddings directly in Supabase. In practice, you can build semantic search, a recommendation engine, or an AI agent knowledge base without a separate vector database.

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Second, Edge Functions: serverless TypeScript functions that run close to users. They let you call AI APIs (Claude, OpenAI, Mistral) directly from the Supabase backend, without exposing your API keys on the client side.

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Third, the MCP (Model Context Protocol) from Anthropic lets AI agents read and write to a Supabase database in a standardized way. Claude can query your tables, retrieve records, and create data through a secure connection.

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Core Supabase features

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- PostgreSQL database: full Postgres power (transactions, indexes, functions, triggers, extensions).

- Auth: email/password, OAuth (Google, GitHub, Apple...), magic links, MFA.

- Storage: file storage with granular access policies per user or role.

- Realtime: real-time subscriptions on table changes via WebSockets.

- Edge Functions: serverless TypeScript code deployed in seconds, accessible via HTTPS.

- pgvector: vector search and embeddings directly in the database.

- Row Level Security (RLS): row-level security policies so each user only sees their own data.

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Who is Supabase for?

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Supabase is a strong fit for technical teams that want a modern backend without managing complex infrastructure. It's the standard choice for SaaS projects, business applications, ambitious MVPs, and projects that embed AI.

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Supabase is not the tool to pick if your team has no technical profile capable of managing a database schema. In that case, Airtable or Notion databases are more accessible starting points.

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Scroll builds your Supabase projects

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At Scroll, we use Supabase on most of our application projects: SaaS, back-offices, client portals, and applications with AI agents. We handle data modeling, RLS policies, Edge Functions, and pgvector integration for AI use cases. If you have a project to launch, a prototype to stabilize, or an AI/no-code project to rescue, contact our Supabase team.

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