If you want to stay on PostgreSQL with usage-based billing and database branching, look at Neon, which now also offers auth, a Data API and functions. For an open source backend you can self-host with Docker that now includes native PostgreSQL and MySQL databases in its cloud, look at Appwrite. For Postgres with a GraphQL API, Nhost is the closest like-for-like stack. For a single-binary backend on one server, PocketBase. If you do not need SQL at all, Firebase and Convex are the main managed options, and if you only need a production database, PlanetScale now offers Postgres as well as MySQL-compatible Vitess.
Supabase is a backend platform built around a full PostgreSQL database, with authentication, file storage, realtime subscriptions, edge functions and a dashboard (Studio). Its main repository is Apache 2.0 licensed and it can be self-hosted with Docker Compose. That combination of real Postgres and open source is why many projects start on it. People who look elsewhere usually have one of these reasons; some are documented by Supabase and the rest are our editorial reading, not a survey.
- Free tier limits. Supabase's pricing page lists a limit of 2 active free projects, and free projects are paused after one week of inactivity.
- Per-project compute. Supabase documents that each project runs on its own Postgres server and that each project you launch increases your monthly compute costs. Its Spend Cap, available on the Pro plan, does not cover compute. Teams with many small projects sometimes prefer a host that scales idle databases to zero (editorial).
- Self-hosting gaps. Supabase's self-hosting guide states that a self-hosted install is a single project and lacks branching, managed backups with point-in-time recovery, analytics and the Management API, and that you take on security, backups and high availability yourself.
- Different data model. Some teams want a document or reactive data model rather than SQL and Row Level Security policies, or want to stay on MySQL (editorial).
- Only the database. If you use Supabase purely as hosted Postgres, a database-only service may fit better (editorial).
For direct comparisons, see Supabase vs Firebase, Supabase vs Neon and Supabase vs PlanetScale. If you are coming from the other direction, our Firebase alternatives guide covers the same platforms from a Firebase user's point of view.
Quick picks
Usage-based billing with no monthly minimum on paid plans, scale to zero, and database branching, now with auth and a Data API.
BSD 3-Clause licensed, self-hosted with Docker, and covering auth, databases, storage, functions, messaging and realtime.
MIT licensed stack of Postgres, Hasura GraphQL, auth, storage and functions, hosted or self-hosted.
One MIT-licensed executable with an embedded SQLite database, auth, realtime, file storage and an admin UI.
Managed Postgres and Vitess (MySQL-compatible) clusters with high availability options, without a bundled backend.
How we chose
We considered Firebase, Neon, Appwrite, PocketBase, Nhost, AWS Amplify, Convex and PlanetScale. To be included, a product had to be actively developed or sold in 2026, cover at least the database part of what Supabase provides, and publish its plans, licence or self-hosting position on an official page. For each one we recorded whether it is open source and under which licence, which database engine sits underneath, whether it can be self-hosted, and how its free tier and paid billing work.
Free tiers and pricing models are described as they appeared on each vendor's pricing page on 7 October 2026. We do not quote exact prices here because they change often and several depend on usage; check the linked pricing pages before deciding. None of this comes from our own use of the platforms.
The order is not a ranking: entries start with the closest Postgres-based alternatives and move towards products with a different data model.
At a glance
| Platform | Price | Database | Open source | Best for | Main trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neon | Freemium (usage-based) | PostgreSQL | Yes, core is Apache 2.0 | Serverless Postgres with branching | Backend features newer than Supabase's |
| Appwrite | Freemium | TablesDB / DocumentsDB; native PostgreSQL and MySQL on Cloud | Yes, BSD 3-Clause | Self-hosted or managed full backend | Native SQL databases are new (September 2026) |
| Nhost | Freemium | PostgreSQL with Hasura GraphQL | Yes, MIT | Postgres plus GraphQL API | Free project paused after 1 week inactivity |
| PocketBase | Free (self-hosted) | SQLite (embedded) | Yes, MIT | Small apps on one server | Pre-1.0; scales vertically only |
| Firebase | Freemium | Firestore (NoSQL); Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL via SQL Connect | No | Mobile apps on Google Cloud | Not self-hostable; spend caps cover few services |
| Convex | Freemium | Document-relational (no SQL) | Source available (FSL, becomes Apache 2.0) | Reactive TypeScript apps | Queries are TypeScript, not SQL |
| AWS Amplify | Pay as you go (AWS Free Tier) | DynamoDB via AppSync; can connect to MySQL and PostgreSQL | Tooling Apache 2.0; services are AWS | Teams already on AWS | Billing spread across several AWS services |
| PlanetScale | Paid (usage-based) | PostgreSQL or Vitess (MySQL-compatible) | No | Production database only | No auth, storage or functions; no free plan listed |
Neon
Neon is serverless PostgreSQL that separates storage and compute; its core repository is Apache 2.0 licensed. Neon is now owned by Databricks and describes itself as a complete backend built on Lakebase Postgres, adding Managed Better Auth, a Data API (a PostgREST-compatible REST endpoint secured by JWT and Row Level Security), Functions, Object Storage and an AI Gateway.
Its plans are Free, Launch and Scale. The Free plan needs no credit card and, as listed on 7 October 2026, allows 100 projects with 1 GB of storage and 100 compute-unit hours per project each month; compute scales to zero after 5 minutes of inactivity. Paid plans are metered hourly with no monthly minimum. That suits Supabase users with many small or intermittently used projects. See Supabase vs Neon and Neon vs PlanetScale.
- The auth, Data API, functions and storage layers are newer than Supabase's; the Data API client library was still published with beta version numbers when checked.
- Scale to zero means the first query after an idle period waits for compute to start.
- Usage-based billing is harder to predict than a fixed monthly plan.
Appwrite
Appwrite is an open source backend platform under the BSD 3-Clause licence, available as Appwrite Cloud or self-hosted with Docker. It covers authentication, databases, storage, serverless functions, messaging (email, SMS and push), realtime and Sites for front-end hosting. Its database product offers TablesDB (typed columns, rows, relationships and indexes) and DocumentsDB (schemaless JSON-style documents).
Since September 2026 Appwrite Cloud also provisions native, dedicated PostgreSQL (18 by default, 17 available) and MySQL (8.4 by default, 8.0 available) databases that you connect to directly with any driver, in all six Appwrite Cloud regions (Frankfurt, New York, San Francisco, Singapore, Sydney and Toronto). That closes much of the "real SQL database" gap with Supabase for Appwrite Cloud users. The Free plan allows 2 projects; paid plans add capacity, and dedicated database compute is billed separately.
- The native PostgreSQL and MySQL databases launched in September 2026, so they have a short track record.
- The changelog describes native databases on Appwrite Cloud; check the self-hosting docs if you need the same on your own servers.
- The Free plan is limited to 2 projects and one organisation, with services disabled when usage limits are exceeded.
Nhost
Nhost is an MIT-licensed backend built on PostgreSQL and the Hasura GraphQL Engine, with its own authentication and storage services and Node.js serverless functions. It can be used on the hosted platform, locally through its CLI, or fully self-hosted with Docker Compose. Its pricing page lists Starter (free), Pro, Team and Enterprise plans, with usage beyond plan quotas billed on top and compute billed by the minute.
It is the closest stack to Supabase in shape (Postgres underneath, auth and storage around it), but the main API is GraphQL rather than REST. That suits teams already working with GraphQL clients.
- The free Starter plan is a single project that is paused after one week of inactivity, with a 1 GB database.
- Data access goes through GraphQL and Hasura permissions, which is a different model to learn if you used Supabase's REST API and Row Level Security.
- Smaller project and community than Supabase.
PocketBase
PocketBase is an MIT-licensed backend delivered as one executable file, with an embedded SQLite database, realtime subscriptions, email/password and OAuth2 authentication, file storage (local or S3) and an admin dashboard. It can be extended with Go or JavaScript hooks. The current version on its site is 0.40.4.
Its FAQ positions it for small and midsize applications and is explicit that it scales vertically only, on a single server. For a side project or internal tool where running Supabase's full container stack feels heavy, it is the simplest self-hosted option on this page.
- Still pre-1.0: the project states that full backward compatibility is not guaranteed before v1.0.0.
- SQLite only, with no plans to support other databases, and no horizontal scaling.
- No official hosted service; you run and back it up yourself.
Firebase
Firebase is Google's app platform. Its main database, Cloud Firestore, is a NoSQL document database with native SDKs and offline support, available in a Standard edition and an Enterprise edition with a MongoDB-compatible API. For relational data, Firebase now offers SQL Connect (formerly Data Connect), which puts a GraphQL-defined API and generated type-safe SDKs in front of Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL.
The no-cost Spark plan needs no payment method; the Blaze plan is pay as you go and is where Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL is available, with a free trial period. Firebase is the main alternative for teams that prefer a document model with offline sync over SQL. See Supabase vs Firebase.
- Proprietary Google service with no self-hosted edition, so moving away later means migrating data and rewriting data access.
- Firebase spend caps cover only a few services (AI Logic, App Hosting, Cloud Functions and Extensions); budget alerts elsewhere do not stop usage.
- SQL access to PostgreSQL goes through SQL Connect and Cloud SQL on the Blaze plan, and since 3 February 2026 Cloud Storage for Firebase also requires Blaze.
Convex
Convex describes itself as a document-relational database: JSON-like documents stored in tables with relations. Queries are TypeScript functions on the server rather than SQL, and queries are reactive, so clients update automatically when the data they depend on changes. The backend is published under the Functional Source License 1.1 with an Apache 2.0 future licence that takes effect two years after each release, and Convex documents self-hosting with SQLite or Postgres among the options.
Its plans are Free and Starter, Professional (priced per developer) and Business and Enterprise. It suits teams who chose Supabase mainly for realtime and would rather write data access in TypeScript than in SQL and RLS policies.
- No SQL query language, so existing SQL skills, tools and reports do not carry over directly.
- The licence is source available rather than open source until the Apache 2.0 conversion date of each release.
- Professional pricing is per developer, which affects the cost of larger teams.
AWS Amplify
AWS Amplify Gen 2 lets you define a backend in TypeScript with Git branch-based environments; its backend tooling is Apache 2.0 licensed. Amplify Data creates an API powered by AWS AppSync and connected to Amazon DynamoDB, and can also connect to existing MySQL or PostgreSQL databases. Authentication, storage and functions use other AWS services.
Amplify itself has a free tier and pay-as-you-go pricing, and the underlying services (Cognito, AppSync, DynamoDB, Lambda, S3) are billed separately with their own free tiers. It suits teams whose infrastructure, compliance and billing are already on AWS.
- The default data store is DynamoDB, a NoSQL database; relational data means bringing your own MySQL or PostgreSQL database.
- Costs are spread across several AWS services, which makes them harder to predict than a single plan.
- The managed services cannot be self-hosted outside AWS.
PlanetScale
PlanetScale now offers two engines: Postgres, in high-availability (3-node) or single-node configurations, and Vitess, its MySQL-compatible option, in 3-node high-availability configurations. Pricing is usage-based on cluster size, storage, backups and network transfer, and varies by cloud provider and region; the pricing page checked on 7 October 2026 did not list a free plan.
It is an alternative only to the database part of Supabase. Teams that already have auth and storage elsewhere and want a managed production database, with the option of MySQL compatibility, can compare it directly. See Supabase vs PlanetScale and Neon vs PlanetScale.
- No authentication, file storage, realtime or functions; it is a database service only.
- No free plan on the pricing page, so even small projects pay.
- Prices vary by cloud provider, region and cluster size, so the cost of a small project is less obvious than on a plan-based service.
When to stay with Supabase
Stay with Supabase if you want a full PostgreSQL database with extensions such as pgvector and PostGIS, plus auth, storage, realtime and functions from one vendor, and you value being able to self-host the same open source stack later. Few alternatives combine all of those: Neon is Postgres but its backend layer is newer, Appwrite's native Postgres is new, and Firebase and Convex are not SQL.
If cost is the issue, check whether the Spend Cap and a single larger project solve it before migrating; if free-tier pausing is the issue, a paid plan may cost less than a migration. Moving between Postgres hosts (Supabase, Neon, PlanetScale Postgres) is a standard dump and restore, but moving away from Supabase Auth, Storage or Realtime means rewriting that part of your application.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best open source alternative to Supabase?
Appwrite (BSD 3-Clause), Nhost (MIT) and PocketBase (MIT) are fully open source backends you can self-host. Nhost is closest in architecture because it is also built on PostgreSQL. PocketBase uses SQLite and runs as one executable.
Is Neon a replacement for Supabase?
For the database, yes: both run PostgreSQL. Neon now also offers auth, a Data API, functions and object storage, but these are newer than Supabase's equivalents. See Supabase vs Neon.
Is Firebase better than Supabase?
They suit different data models. Firebase's main database, Firestore, is a NoSQL document store with offline sync; Supabase is built on PostgreSQL. Firebase now offers PostgreSQL through SQL Connect on its paid plan. See Supabase vs Firebase.
Does PlanetScale have a free tier?
Its pricing page, checked on 7 October 2026, describes usage-based pricing for Postgres and Vitess clusters and did not list a free plan.
Can I self-host Supabase instead of switching?
Yes, with Docker Compose. Supabase documents that a self-hosted install is a single project and lacks branching, managed point-in-time recovery backups, analytics and the Management API, and that you are responsible for security, backups and availability.
Sources
- Supabase pricing
- Supabase self-hosting documentation
- Supabase cost control (Spend Cap)
- Supabase GitHub repository (licence)
- Neon pricing
- Neon GitHub repository (licence)
- Appwrite GitHub repository (licence)
- Appwrite changelog: native PostgreSQL and MySQL databases
- Nhost pricing
- Nhost GitHub repository (licence)
- PocketBase FAQ
- Firebase pricing
- Firebase SQL Connect
- Firebase: Cloud Storage requires the Blaze plan
- Convex pricing
- Convex backend licence
- AWS Amplify pricing
- Amplify Data documentation
- PlanetScale pricing
Checked October 2026.
How we research these guides: our editorial method.