When it comes to building modern web and mobile applications, choosing the right backend service is crucial. For years, Firebase has been a popular choice due to its ease of use and comprehensive features. However, Supabase, often dubbed the "open-source Firebase alternative," has been gaining significant traction among developers. In this article, we'll explore ten compelling reasons why you might want to choose Supabase over Firebase for your next development project.
Table of Contents
1. PostgreSQL: The Power of a Battle-Tested Database
At the heart of Supabase lies PostgreSQL, one of the most powerful, reliable, and feature-rich relational database systems available today. Unlike Firebase's NoSQL approach with Firestore, Supabase gives you all the benefits of a true relational database.
This means you can structure your data properly with relationships between tables, enforce data integrity at the database level, and leverage the full power of SQL. For many applications, especially those with complex data requirements, this relational model is significantly more appropriate than Firebase's NoSQL approach.
-- Complex query example with joins in PostgreSQL
SELECT
products.name,
categories.name AS category,
COUNT(orders.id) AS order_count
FROM products
JOIN categories ON products.category_id = categories.id
LEFT JOIN order_items ON products.id = order_items.product_id
LEFT JOIN orders ON order_items.order_id = orders.id
GROUP BY products.id, categories.name
HAVING COUNT(orders.id) > 10
ORDER BY order_count DESC;2. True SQL Support
Supabase gives you direct access to the full power of SQL, whereas Firebase uses its own query language and has many limitations when it comes to complex queries.
With Supabase, you can:
- Write complex SQL queries directly
- Create and manage views
- Use transactions for data integrity
- Utilize the full power of indexes for performance optimization
- Implement advanced filtering, sorting, and aggregation
This SQL foundation is particularly valuable if your team already has SQL expertise, or if your application requires complex data operations that would be difficult to implement in Firebase's query model.
Info!
PostgreSQL supports window functions, recursive queries, common table expressions (CTEs), and many other advanced SQL features that have no equivalent in Firebase.
3. Open Source and Self-Hostable
One of the biggest advantages of Supabase is that it's completely open source. This means:
- You can self-host your entire backend infrastructure
- You have full visibility into how the platform works
- You're not locked into a proprietary service
- You can modify or extend functionality if needed
While Firebase offers a local emulator for development, it's ultimately a closed-source product that can only be used as a service from Google. With Supabase, you have the freedom to deploy anywhere, including your own infrastructure, which is crucial for many enterprise requirements or applications with specific compliance needs.
# Clone the Supabase repository
git clone https://github.com/supabase/supabase
# Navigate to the docker directory
cd supabase/docker
# Start the Docker containers
docker-compose up -d4. Better Pricing Transparency
Supabase offers more predictable and transparent pricing compared to Firebase. Firebase's pricing can become complex and unpredictable as your application scales, especially with Firestore's pricing based on document reads, writes, and deletes.
| Feature | Supabase | Firebase |
|---|---|---|
| Free Tier | 10,000 users, 500MB database, 1GB file storage | Complex limits across multiple services |
| Database Pricing | Based on size and compute, predictable | Based on operations (reads/writes), can be unpredictable |
| Self-hosting Option | Yes, fully self-hostable | No |
| Enterprise Support | Available with custom pricing | Available in Blaze plan |
Supabase focuses more on resource-based pricing (database size, compute resources, etc.), which tends to be more predictable for growing applications. This makes it easier to forecast costs as your project scales.
5. Row-Level Security (RLS)
Both Firebase and Supabase offer security rules to protect your data, but Supabase's approach leverages PostgreSQL's built-in Row Level Security (RLS) policies, which are powerful and flexible.
With RLS, you can:
- Define security at the database level
- Write security rules using standard SQL
- Create complex access patterns based on user roles, data ownership, or any other criteria
-- Enable RLS on the 'todos' table
ALTER TABLE todos ENABLE ROW LEVEL SECURITY;
-- Create policy that only allows users to see their own todos
CREATE POLICY "Users can view their own todos" ON todos
FOR SELECT
USING (auth.uid() = user_id);
-- Create policy that only allows users to insert their own todos
CREATE POLICY "Users can create their own todos" ON todos
FOR INSERT
WITH CHECK (auth.uid() = user_id);This security model is both powerful and familiar to developers who already understand SQL, making it easier to implement complex security requirements.
6. Real-time Capabilities
Like Firebase, Supabase offers real-time capabilities, allowing you to subscribe to changes in your database. This is implemented through PostgreSQL's built-in publication/subscription system (LISTEN/NOTIFY).
// Subscribe to changes in the 'tasks' table
const channel = supabase
.channel('public:tasks')
.on('postgres_changes',
{ event: '*', schema: 'public', table: 'tasks' },
payload => {
console.log('Change received!', payload)
updateUI(payload)
}
)
.subscribe()While Firebase has been known for its real-time database capabilities, Supabase has been rapidly improving in this area, offering similar functionality but with the added benefits of PostgreSQL's robust data model.
7. Seamless Integration with Edge Functions
Supabase Edge Functions provide serverless functionality similar to Firebase Cloud Functions, but with some distinct advantages:
- Built on Deno, offering better security and modern JavaScript/TypeScript support
- Deploy to the edge for lower latency
- Direct access to your Supabase instance with pre-configured environment variables
// Example Supabase Edge Function
import { serve } from "https://deno.land/std@0.131.0/http/server.ts";
import { createClient } from "https://esm.sh/@supabase/supabase-js@2";
serve(async (req) => {
// Create a Supabase client
const supabase = createClient(
Deno.env.get("SUPABASE_URL") ?? "",
Deno.env.get("SUPABASE_ANON_KEY") ?? ""
);
// Process the request
const { name } = await req.json();
// Use the database
const { data, error } = await supabase
.from('visitors')
.insert({ name })
.select();
// Return a response
return new Response(
JSON.stringify({ message: `Hello ${name}!`, data, error }),
{ headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" } },
);
});These edge functions make it easy to extend your application with custom backend logic while maintaining the serverless model that makes Firebase popular.
8. Superior Storage Solution
Supabase Storage is built on top of S3-compatible storage, offering a robust and scalable solution for file storage. It integrates seamlessly with PostgreSQL through Foreign Keys, allowing you to maintain referential integrity between your files and database records.
// Upload a file to Supabase Storage
const { data, error } = await supabase.storage
.from('avatars')
.upload(`public/${userId}.png`, imageFile, {
cacheControl: '3600',
upsert: true
})
// Insert a record with a reference to the file
const { data: profile, error: profileError } = await supabase
.from('profiles')
.update({
avatar_url: data.path,
updated_at: new Date()
})
.eq('id', userId)The storage solution also includes built-in security through RLS policies, making it easy to control who can access which files, all using the same security model you use for your database.
9. Database Migrations and Version Control
Supabase provides excellent tools for managing database schema migrations, which is crucial for application development and deployment. With Supabase CLI, you can:
- Create migration files for schema changes
- Test migrations locally before applying them to production
- Version control your database schema alongside your application code
- Automate migration deployment in CI/CD pipelines
# Create a new migration
supabase migration new add_users_table
# Apply migrations to your local development environment
supabase db reset
# Generate types based on your database schema
supabase gen types typescript --local > types/supabase.tsThis approach to database schema management is more developer-friendly and integrates better with modern development workflows compared to Firebase's more rigid structure.
10. Growing Ecosystem and Community
While newer than Firebase, Supabase has an incredibly active and growing community. The project is rapidly developing with regular updates, new features, and an expanding ecosystem of tools and libraries.
Some highlights of the Supabase ecosystem include:
- Comprehensive client libraries for JavaScript, Dart (Flutter), Python, and more
- Integration with popular frameworks like Next.js, SvelteKit, and others
- Auth helpers for various frameworks
- Active GitHub repository with frequent updates
- Growing collection of community extensions and tools
Let's look at a simple example of how Supabase can be used to build a basic todo application, showcasing several of the advantages mentioned above.
-- Create a table for todos
CREATE TABLE todos (
id UUID PRIMARY KEY DEFAULT uuid_generate_v4(),
user_id UUID NOT NULL REFERENCES auth.users(id),
title TEXT NOT NULL,
completed BOOLEAN NOT NULL DEFAULT FALSE,
created_at TIMESTAMPTZ NOT NULL DEFAULT NOW(),
updated_at TIMESTAMPTZ
);
-- Add updated_at trigger
CREATE TRIGGER set_updated_at
BEFORE UPDATE ON todos
FOR EACH ROW
EXECUTE FUNCTION set_updated_at(); -- [SQL] Enable RLS
ALTER TABLE todos ENABLE ROW LEVEL SECURITY;
-- Users can read their own todos
CREATE POLICY "Users can read their own todos" ON todos
FOR SELECT USING (auth.uid() = user_id);
-- Users can create their own todos
CREATE POLICY "Users can create their own todos" ON todos
FOR INSERT WITH CHECK (auth.uid() = user_id);
-- Users can update their own todos
CREATE POLICY "Users can update their own todos" ON todos
FOR UPDATE USING (auth.uid() = user_id);
-- Users can delete their own todos
CREATE POLICY "Users can delete their own todos" ON todos
FOR DELETE USING (auth.uid() = user_id);
[JS] import { useEffect, useState } from 'react'
import { supabase } from './supabaseClient'
export default function TodoList() {
const [todos, setTodos] = useState([])
const [newTaskText, setNewTaskText] = useState('')
const [loading, setLoading] = useState(true)
useEffect(() => {
// Fetch todos on component mount
fetchTodos()
// Subscribe to changes
const subscription = supabase
.channel('public:todos')
.on('postgres_changes',
{ event: '*', schema: 'public', table: 'todos' },
payload => {
console.log('Change received!', payload)
fetchTodos()
}
)
.subscribe()
return () => subscription.unsubscribe()
}, [])
async function fetchTodos() {
try {
setLoading(true)
// Get all todos for the signed in user
const { data, error } = await supabase
.from('todos')
.select('*')
.order('created_at', { ascending: false })
if (error) throw error
setTodos(data || [])
} catch (error) {
console.error('Error fetching todos:', error)
} finally {
setLoading(false)
}
}
async function addTodo() {
try {
if (!newTaskText.trim()) return
const { data, error } = await supabase
.from('todos')
.insert({ title: newTaskText })
.select()
if (error) throw error
setNewTaskText('')
} catch (error) {
console.error('Error adding todo:', error)
}
}
async function toggleCompleted(id, currentStatus) {
try {
const { error } = await supabase
.from('todos')
.update({ completed: !currentStatus, updated_at: new Date() })
.eq('id', id)
if (error) throw error
} catch (error) {
console.error('Error updating todo:', error)
}
}
return (
My Todo List
setNewTaskText(e.target.value)}
/>
{loading ? (
Loading todos...
) : (
{todos.map((todo) => (
-
toggleCompleted(todo.id, todo.completed)}
/>
{todo.title}
))}
)}
)
}
This example demonstrates several Supabase advantages:
- Relational database design with proper constraints
- Row-level security policies for data protection
- Real-time subscriptions for instant updates
- Simple API for CRUD operations
When Firebase Might Still Be the Better Choice
While Supabase offers many advantages, Firebase might still be preferable in certain scenarios:
- A more mature ecosystem with longer track record
- Firebase-specific features like ML Kit or App Distribution
- Tighter integration with other Google Cloud services
- A NoSQL database model that aligns with your application needs
The choice between Supabase and Firebase ultimately depends on your specific project requirements, team expertise, and long-term goals.
Conclusion
Supabase offers a compelling alternative to Firebase with its PostgreSQL foundation, open-source nature, and developer-friendly features. The platform's combination of SQL power, real-time capabilities, and modern development tools makes it an excellent choice for many projects, especially those that would benefit from relational database features.
As with any technology choice, it's important to evaluate your specific needs, but for many teams, Supabase represents a flexible, powerful, and cost-effective option that gives you more control over your backend infrastructure while maintaining the developer experience benefits that made Firebase popular.
FAQs
Is Supabase completely free to use?
Supabase offers a generous free tier that includes up to 10,000 users, 500MB database, and 1GB of storage. This is sufficient for many small projects and development environments. For production applications or larger needs, Supabase offers paid plans with additional resources. You can also self-host Supabase on your own infrastructure as it's completely open-source.
Can I migrate my existing Firebase project to Supabase?
Yes, you can migrate from Firebase to Supabase, though the process isn't automatic due to the fundamental differences between the two platforms (NoSQL vs SQL). Supabase provides migration guides and tools to help with this process. The migration typically involves restructuring your data to fit a relational model, setting up authentication, and updating your client code to use the Supabase SDK instead of Firebase SDK.
Does Supabase support authentication like Firebase?
Yes, Supabase offers a robust authentication system similar to Firebase Auth. It supports email/password authentication, magic links, phone auth, and various OAuth providers (Google, Facebook, GitHub, etc.). Supabase Auth integrates seamlessly with the database's Row Level Security system, making it easy to secure your data based on user identity.
How does Supabase performance compare to Firebase?
Performance comparisons between Supabase and Firebase depend on the specific use case. PostgreSQL (used by Supabase) can offer better performance for complex queries, joins, and transactions. Firebase might have an edge in simple document retrieval scenarios. Supabase's performance can also be optimized through proper indexing and database design. For real-time capabilities, both platforms offer efficient solutions, though they use different underlying technologies.
What learning resources are available for Supabase beginners?
Supabase offers extensive documentation, tutorials, and examples on their official website. The platform also provides detailed guides for various frameworks (React, Vue, Angular, etc.) and use cases. The Supabase YouTube channel features tutorial videos and live coding sessions. Additionally, there's an active GitHub repository with examples and a supportive Discord community where beginners can ask questions and get help.
Sources:
https://supabase.com/docs
https://firebase.google.com/docs
https://github.com/supabase/supabase
