Supabase vs Firebase vs PocketBase — the BaaS pick for indie devs
Pick the backend you'll actually ship with. Supabase is the open-source default, Firebase is the Google-scale workhorse, PocketBase is the single-binary indie pick. We break it down.
Best overall: Supabase
Supabase is the right default for almost every new project in 2026. Real Postgres, open-source, auth + storage + realtime built in, escape hatch to self-host whenever you want. Firebase is the right call for mobile-first apps that need rock-solid realtime + best-in-class mobile SDKs at Google scale — its proprietary nature is the price you pay. PocketBase is the chef's-kiss pick for solo devs and side projects: one binary, runs on a $5 VPS, no monthly bill. Most readers want Supabase. Some want PocketBase. Few should reach for Firebase first in 2026.
Choose Supabase if you want indie devs, startups, anyone allergic to vendor lock-in.
The contenders
Supabase
Open source. Postgres under the hood. The new default.
- Real Postgres — full SQL, extensions, no proprietary query DSL
- Open source, self-hostable, exit-able
- Auth, storage, realtime, edge functions all native
- Free tier projects pause after 1 week of inactivity
- Realtime less battle-tested than Firestore
- Some features (vector, branching) still maturing
Firebase
The OG BaaS. Google-scale, deeply proprietary.
- Most battle-tested — runs apps with billions of users
- Best mobile SDKs (iOS/Android) of the three
- Generous free tier, scales to Google infra
- Firestore queries are limited — no real joins, no SQL
- Vendor lock-in is real — migrating off is painful
- Pricing scales unpredictably under load
PocketBase
Single Go binary. Self-hosted. Indie minimalist dream.
- One binary, SQLite under the hood, runs anywhere
- Auth + DB + storage + admin UI in <30MB
- Free forever, you own everything
- Single-instance — scaling out is your problem
- Smaller community / fewer integrations than the others
- JavaScript hooks for backend logic, but limited vs full backend
Spec by spec
| Spec | Supabase | Firebase | PocketBase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | |||
| Starting price | Free / $25 Pro | Free / pay-as-you-go | Free (host yourself) |
| Architecture | |||
| Database | PostgreSQL | Firestore (NoSQL) + RTDB | SQLite |
| Real SQL queries | SQL via API filters | ||
| Self-hostable | Open source | Always | |
| Features | |||
| Auth (email, OAuth, magic link) | Native, full | Native, best-in-class | Native, all common providers |
| Realtime / subscriptions | Postgres replication | Firestore listeners (proven) | WebSocket subscriptions |
| File storage | S3-compatible | Cloud Storage (GCS) | Local or S3 |
| Serverless / edge functions | Deno edge functions | Cloud Functions (Node) | JS hooks (limited) |
| Vector / pgvector for AI | Native (pgvector) | Vertex AI integration | Add-on / no native |
| Mobile | |||
| Mobile SDK quality | Decent, improving | Best in class | Community Dart/Swift/Kotlin |
| Pricing | |||
| Free tier (projects) | 2 (paused after 1wk idle) | Unlimited (Spark) | Unlimited (your server) |
| Vendor lock-in | Low (Postgres dump) | High (Firestore proprietary) | None (your binary) |
The fast version
Supabase is the right default for a new project in 2026. Real Postgres, open source, generous free tier, full feature set.
Firebase is the right pick for mobile-first apps that need best-in-class iOS/Android SDKs and battle-tested realtime infrastructure.
PocketBase is the chef’s-kiss pick for solo devs and side projects. One binary, $5/month VPS, no vendor anything.
Most readers want Supabase. Below: why.
Supabase: the open Postgres default
Supabase took Postgres — the database that’s been the right answer for 25 years — and built a hosted BaaS around it. Auth, storage, realtime subscriptions, edge functions (Deno), and pgvector for AI — all on top of normal SQL you already know.
The killer differentiator: you can leave anytime. Postgres dump → import to AWS RDS, fly.io, your own server, whatever. Compare to Firebase, where moving off Firestore means rewriting your data layer.
The free tier handles prototyping. Pro at $25/mo is the realistic production tier — and it’s stupid cheap for what you get. Compared to assembling Postgres + Auth0 + S3 + Lambda yourself, it’s not even close.
The annoyances are real but minor: free-tier projects pause after a week of inactivity (fine for prod, annoying for slow side projects). Realtime is less battle-tested than Firestore. Some newer features (database branching, full-text search at scale) are still maturing. None of these are deal-breakers.
Firebase: the mobile-first incumbent
Firebase has been the BaaS default for over a decade. It still wins on:
- Mobile SDKs — Firebase’s iOS and Android libraries remain best-in-class
- Realtime at massive scale — Firestore handles millions of concurrent listeners gracefully
- Push notifications (FCM) — the de facto standard
- Generous free tier — Spark plan is unlimited projects, no auto-pause
The cost: it’s deeply proprietary. Firestore is NoSQL, query syntax is bespoke, and migrating off is genuinely painful. Pricing scales unpredictably — your bill can 10x in a week if your app goes viral and you weren’t watching.
For mobile-first apps, especially with real-time features (chat, multiplayer, live data), Firebase is still the right answer. For most web SaaS in 2026? You’re better off with Supabase.
PocketBase: the indie minimalist pick
PocketBase is one Go binary. ~30MB. You drop it on a VPS, set up an admin password, and you have:
- A SQLite database with a UI
- Auth (email/password, OAuth, magic links)
- File storage
- Realtime subscriptions
- A REST API and JS SDK
- An admin dashboard
For a $5/mo Hetzner or Linode VPS, you have a real backend that costs less than a coffee. There’s no platform fee, no per-user pricing, no vendor lock-in.
The trade is scale. SQLite is single-writer, so you’re vertically scaled. For most indie projects, you’ll never hit that ceiling — but if you’re explicitly building the next viral chat app, this isn’t the foundation. JS hooks for custom backend logic are powerful but capped — you’ll bump into limits sooner than you would with Supabase Edge Functions.
For Gen Z indie devs building side projects, MVPs, internal tools, and “this might never get 1000 users” apps — PocketBase is genuinely the move. The minimalism is the feature.
Pricing reality
Comparison at a real-world early-stage app (10K users, modest activity):
- Supabase Pro — $25/mo flat, predictable
- Firebase Blaze — $20-80/mo, depends heavily on read/write patterns
- PocketBase — $5-12/mo for the VPS, you do ops
For pure cost, PocketBase wins. For predictable cost-with-features, Supabase. For “I don’t care about cost, give me Google scale,” Firebase.
So who actually wins?
Supabase is our 2026 pick. It’s the right answer for new web apps, SaaS, AI apps, and most full-stack TypeScript projects. The combination of real Postgres + open source + complete feature set is unmatched.
Firebase stays the right call for mobile-first apps and battle-tested realtime at scale. Don’t reach for it first; reach for it when you have the specific need.
PocketBase is the underrated pick for solo devs. If you’ve been overpaying for a managed BaaS on a side project that has 12 users — switch to PocketBase. You’ll save hundreds a year.
The BaaS market matured. The right pick depends on the project, not the hype.
Winner: Supabase
Supabase is the right default for almost every new project in 2026. Real Postgres, open-source, auth + storage + realtime built in, escape hatch to self-host whenever you want. Firebase is the right call for mobile-first apps that need rock-solid realtime + best-in-class mobile SDKs at Google scale — its proprietary nature is the price you pay. PocketBase is the chef's-kiss pick for solo devs and side projects: one binary, runs on a $5 VPS, no monthly bill. Most readers want Supabase. Some want PocketBase. Few should reach for Firebase first in 2026.
Pick by use case
FAQ
Why has Supabase become the default in 2026? +
Three reasons: (1) it's real Postgres, so the SQL skills you already have transfer, (2) it's open-source and self-hostable, so vendor lock-in fear evaporates, (3) the feature surface (auth, storage, realtime, edge functions, vector) is genuinely complete. Firebase remains powerful but its NoSQL-only design and proprietary nature have aged poorly compared to Supabase's open Postgres approach.
Is Firebase still worth using in 2026? +
Yes, for specific cases. Mobile-first apps benefit from Firebase's iOS and Android SDKs, which are still best-in-class. Apps with massive realtime concurrency (chat, multiplayer) get the most battle-tested infrastructure. If you're already in Google Cloud, the integration is seamless. For a typical web app or SaaS, Supabase wins on flexibility and exit-ability.
Can PocketBase actually scale? +
Vertically, yes — a single PocketBase instance on a beefy VPS can handle tens of thousands of users. Horizontally (multiple instances), no, not natively. SQLite is single-writer. For most indie projects this never matters. If you grow to the point of needing horizontal scale, you'd typically migrate to Postgres + Supabase or rebuild your data layer anyway.
What about the new Firebase + Genkit AI features? +
Genkit is Google's open-source AI framework that integrates well with Firebase via Vertex AI. It's good for AI app prototyping but doesn't change the core BaaS calculus — if you want native vector search in your database, Supabase pgvector is more direct. If you want managed AI agents wired into your backend, Firebase + Vertex is a reasonable path.
How much does Supabase actually cost in production? +
Free tier covers prototyping comfortably. Pro at $25/mo covers most early-stage apps (8GB DB, 100GB transfer, no auto-pause). At scale, expect $50-200/mo per project depending on traffic. Compute add-ons are the big variable — a busy DB needs an upgraded compute tier. Compared to running Postgres + auth + storage + Lambda yourself, Supabase Pro at $25 is genuinely a steal.
What about Convex, Neon, or Xata as alternatives? +
Convex is interesting — full-stack TypeScript with reactive queries — but it's proprietary like Firebase. Neon is Postgres-only (no auth/storage/realtime), so it's a database-only alternative, not a full BaaS. Xata is similar — analytics-focused Postgres without the full BaaS surface. Supabase remains the most complete open BaaS in 2026.
Should I pick PocketBase if I'm a beginner? +
If you're a beginner who's comfortable deploying a binary to a VPS, yes — it's an excellent learning path because the simplicity makes everything understandable. If you've never SSH'd into a server, Supabase's hosted free tier removes that step and gets you to 'app deployed' faster. Both are great learning tools; pick based on whether you want to learn ops or skip them.
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