developer tools · Freemium
Supabase
Supabase is an open-source backend with Postgres, auth, and storage. Learn why developers use it, who it's best for, and alternatives.
Why this tool?
The problem
Building backend infrastructure from scratch—database, auth, file storage, APIs—takes weeks before any user-facing feature ships.
The old way
Provision RDS, build auth from scratch with JWT and sessions, set up S3 for storage, and write API endpoints for every resource.
The better way
Supabase spins up a full Postgres backend with auth, storage, and real-time APIs in minutes, so the first week goes to product, not infrastructure.
What makes it stand out
The only BaaS built on real Postgres—meaning full SQL, extensions, foreign keys, and no vendor lock-in to a proprietary query language.
Tradeoffs to consider
Postgres expertise helps; cold starts on free tier; some advanced features still maturing compared to Firebase's longer-established ecosystem.
Who it is for
When not to use it
If you need a non-relational database, already have a backend team comfortable with custom infrastructure, or require a NoSQL data model.
Alternatives
developer tools · Freemium
Railway
Developers and small teams who want to deploy full-stack applications including databases and background jobs without DevOps expertise.
developer tools · Freemium
Vercel
Frontend and full-stack developers deploying Next.js, React, or other modern web frameworks who want fast, reliable hosting without DevOps overhead.
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GitHub
Software developers, engineering teams, and open-source projects that need version control and collaborative code review.
no code · Freemium
Bubble
Non-technical founders, product managers, and operators who want to build and ship custom web apps without a development team.
developer tools · Freemium
Cursor
Software developers, engineers, and technical teams who want AI assistance in their daily coding workflow.
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