8 Best Supabase Alternatives in 2026 (Open Source, SQL and NoSQL)

The best Supabase alternative depends on why you're leaving: Neon if you want to stay on Postgres with compute that scales to zero instead of a paused project, Convex if you want a reactive TypeScript backend, Firebase if you'd rather work with a document database and Google's app tooling, PocketBase if you want a single-file backend on your own server, and Appwrite or Nhost if you like the all-in-one model but want a different stack. AWS Amplify fits teams already on AWS, and Back4App fits Parse developers who want flat per-app plans. Prices below were checked on October 4, 2026.

Supabase is a sensible default: a dedicated Postgres database per project, plus auth, storage, realtime and edge functions, all open source. People rarely leave because it's bad. They leave because one specific thing stopped fitting, and that thing decides the replacement.

Why people leave Supabase

Free-tier limits. Supabase's pricing page lists the Free plan at $0 a month with a 500 MB database, 50,000 monthly active users, 1 GB of file storage and 5 GB of egress, and states: "Free projects are paused after 1 week of inactivity. Limit of 2 active projects." Pro starts at $25 a month, includes the first project (additional projects from $10 a month) and $10 a month of compute credits, and the plan comparison lists pausing as "Never" on paid plans. Before you migrate only to avoid pausing, note that Appwrite's and Nhost's free tiers pause inactive projects too.

A different database model. Every Supabase project is a Postgres instance. If you want documents instead of tables, or queries that update the UI live by design, you need a different kind of product, not a different Postgres host.

Self-hosting. Supabase is Apache-2.0 licensed on GitHub and can be self-hosted with Docker. Its self-hosting docs are candid that a self-hosted install runs as a single project, and that branching, managed backups and point-in-time recovery, and the Management API aren't available. PocketBase is the smaller thing to run.

The realtime model. Supabase Realtime gives you Broadcast, Presence and Postgres Changes (listening to database changes). If your app is mostly live, shared state, a backend built on reactive queries may fit better.

How we compared

We matched each tool to the exit reason it solves, then compared database model, free-tier limits, entry price and self-hosting. Prices and limits were checked on each vendor's own pricing page and docs on October 4, 2026, and are stated as of October 2026 with the billing basis each vendor gives.

At a glance

The 8 best Supabase alternatives

1. Neon – stay on Postgres without a paused project

Neon is serverless Postgres, and its docs footer notes that Neon is part of the Databricks Platform. The Free plan includes 100 projects, 100 CU-hours of compute per project each month, 1 GB of storage per project, Managed Better Auth for up to 60,000 monthly active users, 5 GB of object storage and Functions. Paid plans are usage-based: Launch is $0.106 per CU-hour and $0.35 per GB-month of storage.

Strengths: it's the shortest move, because Postgres stays Postgres. Neon's scale-to-zero docs say an idle database suspends after 5 minutes and "reactivates automatically within a few hundred milliseconds" when queried, rather than pausing the whole project after a week. Limits: on Free that 5-minute setting is fixed, and Neon's pricing page doesn't list a realtime service, so plan a replacement if you used Supabase Realtime.

2. Convex – a reactive backend written in TypeScript

Convex lists a reactive database, file storage, text and vector search, crons, auth and Node.js actions on every plan. The Free plan has hard caps (0.5 GB of database storage, 1 GB of file storage and 1M function calls a month), and its limits page says new writes may fail once they're hit; Starter removes the hard stop with pay-as-you-go rates such as $2.20 per extra million function calls. Professional is $25 per developer per month.

Strengths: for live state (dashboards, collaborative tools, chat), reactivity is the core of the product. The backend can be self-hosted under the FSL Apache 2.0 licence (code converts to Apache-2.0 two years after creation). Limits: it isn't SQL, so moving from Supabase means rewriting your data layer, and the licence bars products designed to compete with Convex Cloud.

3. Firebase – a document database with Google's app tooling

Firebase is Google's app platform: Firestore, Authentication, Cloud Functions, Hosting and more under one console. The no-cost Spark plan needs no payment method and includes 1 GiB of Firestore storage and 50,000 document reads a day. Blaze is pay as you go and is required for Cloud Functions and, since September 2024, for Cloud Storage for Firebase.

Strengths: mobile SDKs plus a set of products that stay no-cost on any plan, including Crashlytics, Cloud Messaging and most Authentication options. Limits: you trade SQL for Firestore's query model, and costs on Blaze follow usage. Our Firebase alternatives guide covers why teams move the other way.

4. Appwrite – open-source all-in-one with more database choices

Appwrite bundles auth, databases, storage, functions, messaging, realtime and hosting, and its code is BSD-3-Clause on GitHub. Free is $0 with 75,000 monthly active users, 5 GB of bandwidth and 2 GB of storage, and one database, one bucket and two functions per project. Pro starts at $25 a month with 200,000 monthly active users and budget caps. Dedicated databases from $10 a month can be DocumentsDB, VectorsDB, PostgreSQL or MySQL.

Strengths: Supabase's all-in-one shape with a choice of database engines. Limits: "Free projects are paused after 1 week of inactivity," so it doesn't solve the pausing complaint.

5. Nhost – Postgres with a GraphQL API

Nhost gives each project a dedicated Postgres instance with the Hasura GraphQL Engine, plus auth, storage and functions, and the code is MIT-licensed on GitHub. The Starter plan is free for one project, with a 1 GB database, 1 GB of storage and 5 GB of egress; Pro is from $25 a month with $15 in compute credits and a 10 GB database, and Team is from $599 a month.

Strengths: your data stays in Postgres, so migration is mostly a database move. Limits: the free project is "paused after 1 week of inactivity," and GraphQL-first won't suit every team.

6. PocketBase – one file you run yourself

PocketBase is an MIT-licensed, single-binary backend: an embedded SQLite database with realtime subscriptions, auth, file storage and an admin dashboard. It's free, and its FAQ is blunt: it's self-hosted only, it scales on a single server, and it's "a personal open source project" maintained on a volunteer basis.

Strengths: the simplest self-hosting story here. Limits: the docs say full backward compatibility isn't guaranteed before v1.0.0 and that it's not recommended for production-critical apps yet.

7. AWS Amplify – for teams already on AWS

AWS Amplify lets you define a backend in TypeScript and provisions AWS services for it: Cognito for auth, AppSync for real-time APIs, DynamoDB for data, Lambda for functions and S3 for storage, each billed at its own rates. Hosting is metered (for example $0.15 per GB served), and new AWS customers get up to $200 in Free Tier credits.

Strengths: your backend lives in the AWS account you already use and pay for. Limits: costs are spread across several services, and DynamoDB isn't Postgres (though Amplify can connect to an existing MySQL or PostgreSQL database).

8. Back4App – Parse with flat per-app plans

Back4App is a hosted backend built on the Parse SDKs (Parse Server is Apache-2.0 on GitHub). Free covers 25,000 requests, a 250 MB database, 1 GB of transfer and 1 GB of files. MVP is $15 per app per month billed annually or $25 billed monthly, with 500,000 requests; Pay As You Go is $80 per app per month billed annually or $100 monthly.

Strengths: fixed monthly plans with published overage rates (on MVP, $5 per extra 100,000 requests). Limits: pricing is per app, so a portfolio of small apps adds up.

Two names that dropped off the list

InstantDB. Instant announced that its team is joining OpenAI: new Instant Cloud signups are closed, existing users should migrate, and cloud apps shut down on August 31, 2027. The code remains open source for self-hosting.

Xata. Xata now describes itself as a branch-native Postgres platform for coding agents; its pricing covers Postgres instances and storage, not auth or file storage.

How to choose

First ask whether the problem is the platform or the plan. If it's pausing, Supabase Pro at $25 a month removes it, which usually costs less than a migration. If it's Postgres itself, expect to rewrite your data layer whichever way you go.

• Keep Postgres: Neon (serverless) or Nhost (with GraphQL).
• Change the model: Convex for reactive TypeScript, Firebase for documents and mobile tooling.
• Run it yourself: PocketBase for small apps, Appwrite or Supabase's own Docker setup for something closer to a full platform.
• Stay in a cloud you already pay for: AWS Amplify.

Check the exit first: our vendor lock-in checklist works for backends too.

If you're shopping for a backend because you're building an app with AI, a different route is to generate the whole app, backend included. Greta.sh builds a full-stack app (frontend, backend, database, authentication and deployment) from a plain-English description and exports clean Next.js code. Pricing: Free is 5 credits a day; deployment starts on Starter ($5/month welcome offer, normally $20/month), and the Database feature is on Pro ($20/month welcome offer, normally $50/month). It isn't a backend service for an existing app, and you own maintaining what you ship. Here's why AI app builders need real databases. If the app you're building wraps an AI agent, see our roundup of the best AI agent builders.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best alternative to Supabase?

It depends on why you're leaving: Neon to stay on Postgres, Convex for a reactive TypeScript backend, Firebase for documents and Google's tooling, PocketBase to self-host simply, and Appwrite or Nhost for an all-in-one platform on a different stack.

Is there a free Supabase alternative that doesn't pause?

Neon's Free plan scales compute to zero after 5 minutes of inactivity and reactivates automatically when queried, rather than pausing the project. PocketBase runs as long as your own server does. Appwrite's and Nhost's free tiers pause inactive projects after a week, like Supabase's.

What is the best open-source alternative to Supabase?

Appwrite (BSD-3-Clause) is the closest all-in-one platform, Nhost (MIT) pairs Postgres with GraphQL, and PocketBase (MIT) is the simplest to self-host. Convex's backend is source-available under the FSL Apache 2.0 licence. Supabase itself is Apache-2.0 and self-hostable.

Is Firebase better than Supabase?

Neither is better in general. Firebase suits document data and mobile apps on Google's tooling; Supabase suits teams that want SQL and Postgres. Decide by the data model your app needs.

How much does Supabase cost?

As of October 2026, Free is $0 a month (paused after a week of inactivity, two active projects), Pro starts at $25 a month with $10 a month of compute credits, and Team starts at $599 a month.

Leave for a reason, not a logo

Name the one thing Supabase stopped doing for you and pick the tool that fixes it. A move made for a vague reason tends to land you on a platform with the same problem and a new migration bill.