Build with Supabase

Supabase uses PostgreSQL (SQL) while Firebase uses Firestore (NoSQL). Supabase is fully open-source and self-hostable. Both offer real-time, auth, and storage. Choose Supabase for complex queries, relations, and data integrity; Firebase for simpler document-based apps with Google ecosystem integration.

Yes, Supabase is fully open-source. Deploy via Docker Compose for development or Kubernetes for production. Self-hosting requires managing PostgreSQL, GoTrue (auth), PostgREST (API), Realtime, and storage. The managed platform handles all this with backups, upgrades, and monitoring included.

RLS policies are SQL conditions that PostgreSQL evaluates for every row access. Define policies like 'users can only read their own data' using the auth.uid() function. Policies are enforced at the database level, so they apply whether access comes from API, Edge Functions, or direct SQL.

Edge Functions are TypeScript/JavaScript functions deployed globally on Deno Deploy. They're ideal for webhooks, payment processing, or any logic requiring secrets. They run close to users for low latency, can access Supabase client libraries, and integrate with the auth system seamlessly.

Enable real-time on tables, then subscribe using supabase.channel().on('postgres_changes'). Specify INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE events. For presence (who's online) and broadcast (ephemeral messages), use the dedicated Realtime channels. All WebSocket connections authenticate using your Supabase auth tokens.

Yes, Supabase includes pgvector extension for vector similarity search. Store embeddings alongside your data, create HNSW or IVFFlat indexes for fast retrieval, and query with operators like <=> (cosine distance). Perfect for semantic search, recommendations, and RAG applications.

Export Firebase data as JSON, transform to match your PostgreSQL schema, and import using Supabase's SQL editor or bulk insert APIs. For auth, use the migration tool to import Firebase Auth users. Realtime and storage have different APIs but similar concepts. Plan for schema redesign to use relations.

Email/password, magic links, phone OTP, and social OAuth (Google, GitHub, Apple, Microsoft, etc.). Also supports SAML SSO for enterprise, anonymous auth for guest users, and custom JWT providers. All auth methods integrate with RLS policies via the auth schema.

Supabase Storage provides S3-compatible object storage with CDN. Create buckets, set access policies (public/private), and upload via client SDK or resumable uploads API. Generate signed URLs for private access. Image transformations (resize, crop) are available on Pro plans.

Free tier: 500MB database, ~60 connections. Pro: 8GB included, scaling available. Connection limits can be extended with PgBouncer (built-in). For serverless, use the connection pooler mode. Enterprise plans offer dedicated databases with custom sizing.

Supabase can connect to external PostgreSQL databases, but some features require Supabase-specific extensions. For full feature parity, migrate to a Supabase-managed instance. Alternatively, use only the client libraries with your existing database for API generation.

Pro plan includes generous free usage with pay-as-you-go overage. Costs scale with database size, bandwidth, storage, and Edge Function invocations. For high-traffic apps, the Team plan offers better rates. Enterprise plans include committed use discounts and SLAs.