What is Supabase used for?

Supabase is an open-source Postgres development platform bundling a database, auth, auto-generated APIs, realtime, storage and vector tools, often chosen as a Firebase alternative. It is a good fit for backend for web and mobile apps, moving off Firebase to Postgres, and storing embeddings for AI features.

Is Supabase open source?

Yes. Supabase is open source under the Apache-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at supabase/supabase and is written mainly in TypeScript.

Yes. Supabase is open source, so the software itself is free to use. A managed cloud version is also available, with paid plans from $25 per month.

Can I self-host Supabase?

Yes. Supabase can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.

What is Supabase an alternative to?

Supabase is an open-source alternative to Firebase, Back4App, Backendless and Xano. Other open-source alternatives to Firebase include Appwrite, PocketBase and Nhost.

Is Supabase actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to Supabase was on 16 October 2026, and the latest release is v1.26.08, published on 7 August 2026. The project has 112k stars on GitHub.

Supabase: open-source alternative to Firebase, Back4App

About Supabase

Supabase is a backend platform built around a dedicated Postgres database. It packages the pieces most web, mobile and AI apps need, including authentication and authorization, auto-generated APIs, file storage, serverless functions and a dashboard, so developers can start without assembling separate services. Its stated aim is a developer experience similar to Firebase, built from open-source components.

APIs are generated from your schema as REST and GraphQL, with realtime subscriptions over websockets. Logic can live in database functions or in Edge Functions that run on Deno. For AI work there is a toolkit for vectors and embeddings built on pgvector, and Postgres extensions such as PostGIS are available. Supabase combines existing open tools with ones it builds itself when nothing suitable exists.

The code is Apache-2.0 licensed. Supabase is offered as a hosted platform you can sign up for without installing anything, and the same stack can be self-hosted or run locally for development. It suits teams that want Postgres at the core of their app but prefer not to build the surrounding backend themselves.

Key features

Hosted Postgres database with a dashboard
Authentication and authorization
Auto-generated REST and GraphQL APIs
Realtime subscriptions over websockets
Edge Functions and database functions
File storage for user uploads
Vector and embeddings toolkit with pgvector

Good fit for

Backend for web and mobile apps
Moving off Firebase to Postgres
Storing embeddings for AI features

Built with: TypeScript tools; PostgreSQL tools; Deno tools; Next.js tools
Tags: postgres; backend-as-a-service; auth; realtime; database; firebase-alternative; edge-functions; vector-search; self-hosted

Supabase: questions and answers

What is Supabase used for?: Supabase is an open-source Postgres development platform bundling a database, auth, auto-generated APIs, realtime, storage and vector tools, often chosen as a Firebase alternative. It is a good fit for backend for web and mobile apps, moving off Firebase to Postgres, and storing embeddings for AI features.
Is Supabase open source?: Yes. Supabase is open source under the Apache-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at supabase/supabase and is written mainly in TypeScript.
Is Supabase free?: Yes. Supabase is open source, so the software itself is free to use. A managed cloud version is also available, with paid plans from $25 per month.
Can I self-host Supabase?: Yes. Supabase can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
What is Supabase an alternative to?: Supabase is an open-source alternative to Firebase, Back4App, Backendless and Xano. Other open-source alternatives to Firebase include Appwrite, PocketBase and Nhost.
Is Supabase actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to Supabase was on 16 October 2026, and the latest release is v1.26.08, published on 7 August 2026. The project has 112k stars on GitHub.