Firebase vs Supabase in 2026: Data Model, Pricing, Self-Hosting and Lock-In Compared

Firebase vs Supabase comes down to the data model and how much control you want. Firebase is Google's closed-source, hosted platform built around the Firestore document database, with a wide set of mobile services. Supabase is an open-source platform built on Postgres that you can also self-host. Pick Firebase for mobile-first apps that want ready-made push, crash reporting and A/B testing. Pick Supabase when you want SQL, row-level security and the option to leave.

Both give you authentication, a database, file storage, serverless functions and realtime updates behind one dashboard, so the choice is less about features than about how each one stores data, bills you and lets you move. This comparison goes through each, then points to other options if neither fits.

What does Firebase do best?

Firebase is Google's mobile and web app development platform, bundling authentication, databases, hosting, messaging and analytics as a managed backend. Its strength is the breadth of the mobile tooling around the database. The Build side includes Authentication, Firestore, Realtime Database, Cloud Functions, Cloud Storage and Hosting. The Run side adds Crashlytics, Performance Monitoring, Cloud Messaging, In-App Messaging, Remote Config, A/B Testing, Test Lab and App Distribution.

The client SDKs for Cloud Firestore cover Apple platforms, Android, web, Flutter, C++, Unity, Node.js, Java, Python and Go, and Firestore caches data locally so an app can read and write while a device is offline. That combination is why Firebase is common for mobile apps and games.

• Best for: mobile and cross-platform apps that want push notifications, crash reporting, remote config and a managed database from one vendor.
• Watch out for: it is closed source and hosted only, and its data model, Security Rules and SDKs are specific to Firebase.

What does Supabase do best?

Supabase is an open-source Postgres development platform that bundles a database, auth, auto-generated APIs, realtime, storage and vector tools. Its stated aim is a developer experience similar to Firebase, built from open-source components, with a relational database instead of a document store.

APIs are generated from your schema as REST and GraphQL, and Postgres extensions such as PostGIS are available. For AI features there is a toolkit for vectors and embeddings built on pgvector. Supabase documents client libraries for JavaScript, Flutter, Python, C#, Swift and Kotlin, and it is licensed under Apache-2.0.

• Best for: web and full-stack teams that want SQL, joins, a standard Postgres database and the option to self-host.
• Watch out for: its documented products focus on the backend itself, so push notifications, crash reporting and A/B testing come from other tools.

Firebase vs Supabase at a glance

Document database or Postgres: which data model fits?

Cloud Firestore stores data in documents, which are organized into collections and can contain nested objects and subcollections. Supabase gives you a Postgres database, where data lives in tables with relationships between them.

Documents fit data that is read together and has few relationships, such as a user profile, a chat room with its messages or a game session. SQL fits data with many relationships, reporting needs or a schema you expect to evolve, because joins, constraints and queries across tables are built in. If your team already knows SQL, Supabase will feel familiar. If it has built around Firestore queries and offline sync, Firebase's model may be faster to work with.

Firebase now lists SQL Connect as a separate product described as a managed PostgreSQL relational database service, so staying inside Firebase and using Postgres is possible. Its pricing page says SQL Connect database instances require the Blaze plan.

How do authentication and security rules compare?

Both products handle sign-in for you. Firebase Authentication supports email and password, phone numbers, federated providers such as Google, Apple, Facebook, Twitter and GitHub, anonymous accounts and custom auth systems, with FirebaseUI as a drop-in interface. Some enterprise features, including SAML, OpenID Connect and multi-tenancy, depend on upgrading to Identity Platform. Supabase Auth covers password, magic link, one-time password, social login and single sign-on, with phone authentication through providers such as Twilio and Vonage.

The bigger difference is authorization. Firebase controls data access with Security Rules that you write for Firestore, the Realtime Database and Cloud Storage. Supabase uses Row Level Security, a Postgres feature in which each policy is attached to a table and runs every time it is accessed, so you can think of it as adding a WHERE clause to every query. Because it lives in the database, it also protects data reached through other tools. That also means you must write and review policies carefully, since Supabase's documentation warns that a table protected only by policies can still expose an insert path if the underlying grant is not revoked.

How do storage, functions and realtime compare?

• Storage: Firebase offers Cloud Storage, and Supabase offers file storage for user uploads. Both are managed services.
• Functions: Cloud Functions for Firebase run JavaScript, TypeScript or Python in a managed environment and can be triggered by Firestore, Authentication, Cloud Storage, HTTP requests, schedules and more. Deploying them requires the Blaze plan. Supabase Edge Functions are TypeScript functions on Deno, distributed close to users, and Postgres database functions can hold logic next to the data.
• Realtime: Firestore listeners send a data snapshot whenever the data a client listens to changes, and Supabase offers realtime subscriptions over websockets. Firestore's SDKs also work offline and sync later, so verify what your Supabase client library offers before you rely on offline behavior.
• AI features: Supabase includes pgvector tooling for embeddings, and Firebase lists Firebase AI Logic for working with generative AI models.

Can you self-host Firebase or Supabase?

Firebase cannot be self-hosted. Enlisted lists it as closed source with no self-hosted version, so your data and logic stay on Google's infrastructure.

Supabase can. Its self-hosting guide recommends Docker with Docker Compose, and the project is licensed under Apache-2.0. The same guide says a self-hosted setup lacks some managed features, such as managed backups with point-in-time recovery, and that you take on server maintenance, security, database management and monitoring. Self-hosting is a real option for teams with data residency or compliance needs, but it moves operations work onto your team. See the open-source Firebase alternatives page for other projects you can run yourself.

How does pricing work?

Both have a free starting point, and both bill beyond it in different ways. Firebase has a no-cost Spark plan within set limits and a pay-as-you-go Blaze plan. According to its pricing page, Firestore charges build up from stored data, network egress and document reads, writes and deletes, Authentication is billed by monthly active users after a free allowance, and Cloud Functions are metered by invocations and compute time. Your bill therefore follows how often the app touches data.

Supabase is organized into plans: Free, Pro, Team and Enterprise. Its pricing page lists compute, egress, storage and monthly active users as usage-based components beyond what each plan includes, and says spend caps are on by default on the Pro plan. It also states that free projects are paused after a period of inactivity, which matters for side projects and demos. Check the Firebase pricing page and Supabase pricing page for current figures, and model your own reads, writes and users before deciding.

Which one has more lock-in?

Firebase has more. Firestore data, Security Rules, Cloud Functions triggers and the client SDKs are specific to Firebase, and there is no self-hosted version to fall back on, so leaving means reworking the data layer and the app code that calls it.

Supabase reduces that risk but does not remove it. The database is standard Postgres, so tables, SQL and extensions are portable to other Postgres hosts. Auth users, storage and Edge Functions are Supabase services, though, and each needs its own migration plan if you leave. The ability to self-host the same open-source stack is the main safety net.

How hard is it to move from Firebase to Supabase?

Supabase publishes migration guides for three parts of a Firebase project: authentication, Firestore data and Cloud Storage files. The Firebase Auth guide describes one tool that exports users from a Firebase project to a JSON file and another that imports them into the auth users table in your Postgres database. The guide also points to a repository with advanced options, including middleware for verifying an existing Firebase password.

The user import is the mechanical part. The design work is the rest: turning Firestore documents into tables, rewriting Security Rules as Row Level Security policies, replacing Cloud Functions triggers with Edge Functions or database functions, and changing every client call that uses the Firebase SDKs. Migrate one feature at a time and run both backends side by side until the new one is proven.

Are there other options besides Firebase and Supabase?

Yes. Appwrite is an open-source backend that covers auth, databases, storage, functions, messaging and hosting, with managed cloud or Docker self-hosting, and it is licensed under BSD-3-Clause. PocketBase is an MIT-licensed single-executable backend on SQLite for small projects, though its documentation warns that backward compatibility is not guaranteed before v1.0.0. Nhost pairs Postgres with a Hasura GraphQL API. For a longer list sorted by the part of Firebase you are replacing, read the best Firebase alternatives. If sign-in is your main pain point, the Auth0 alternatives guide covers dedicated authentication tools. Google's own Cloud Firestore listing is also available if you only need the database.

Firebase vs Supabase: which should you pick?

Verdict

Choose Supabase if your data is relational, you want SQL and Row Level Security, or you may need to self-host or change providers later. Choose Firebase if you are building a mobile app that benefits from its Run-side services, you are comfortable with a document database and you are happy to stay on Google's platform. Start with the data model: write down your three most important queries and see which database answers them more naturally.

Features overlap enough that a checklist will not settle it. Model a month of realistic usage against each pricing page, write one security policy in each system, and see which feels easier to maintain. Enlisted lists both in the backend-as-a-service category, and how Enlisted ranks tools explains the catalogue data behind this page.