the catalog · ☁️ Hosting
Supabase
★ 90kPostgres-based Firebase alternative with auth, realtime, storage, edge functions, and auto-generated APIs
Supabase does the job of Firebase, self-hosted. It is Apache-2.0-licensed, so you can do essentially what you like with it, and setting it up is an afternoon, not a weekend. Firebase bills $25-599+ for it. 90k stars on GitHub.
Open-source replacement for Firebase.
- Licence
- Apache-2.0
- Self-hosting
- Medium
- The paid one costs
- $25-599+
- GitHub stars
- 90k
Is it actually a replacement?
We have written a verdict on what it replaces — what you lose, and why people still pay:
How Supabase runs
Where it runs
Supabase runs on your machine or their cloud.
Installing it
Hosted Supabase project, or the official Docker Compose stack; `supabase start` runs the local stack.
Where your data lives
Relational data, auth records, and platform metadata live in PostgreSQL; Realtime consumes the Postgres replication stream; object data lives in the configured storage backend with metadata in Postgres; edge-function and migration source stays in project files. Supabase Cloud stores and operates the managed copy.
What setup takes
Self-hosting is not 'just Postgres': the Compose stack needs many secrets and services, plus SMTP, object storage, TLS, backups, observability, and coordinated upgrades.
The catch compared with Convex
Supabase replaces Convex's document/function runtime with PostgreSQL, SQL migrations, row-level security, and separate services, so the application architecture must be rewritten rather than simply moved.
Supabase questions
Is Supabase open source?
Yes — it is released under Apache-2.0.
Can Supabase replace Firebase?
Our verdict on Firebase Blaze is YES. Supabase (108k stars), PocketBase (59k stars), Appwrite (57k stars) are mature open-source replacements for Firebase Blaze — self-host with real ops work and stop paying.
Can I self-host Supabase?
Yes — we rate it medium to self-host, and it runs on your machine or their cloud. Hosted Supabase project, or the official Docker Compose stack; `supabase start` runs the local stack.