Supabase vs Firebase vs PlanetScale (2026)

Choosing your backend determines your app's architecture for years. Supabase, Firebase, and PlanetScale each offer different trade-offs between simplicity, scalability, and flexibility. Here's how they compare for real projects.

Quick Comparison

Feature	Supabase	Firebase	PlanetScale
Database	PostgreSQL	Firestore (NoSQL)	MySQL (serverless)
Auth	Built-in	Built-in	No
Real-time	Built-in	Built-in	No
Storage	Built-in	Built-in	No
Edge Functions	Deno	Cloud Functions	No
Open Source	Yes	No	Partially
Self-Hostable	Yes	No	No
Free Tier	Generous	Generous	Free (hobby)
Best For	Full-stack apps	Mobile/web apps	Database-only

Supabase: The Open-Source Firebase Alternative

Supabase wraps PostgreSQL with auth, real-time subscriptions, storage, and edge functions — giving you a complete backend from one platform.

Strengths

PostgreSQL power. You get a full PostgreSQL database — not a proprietary NoSQL store. SQL queries, joins, foreign keys, views, stored procedures, and extensions (PostGIS, pgvector, etc.). Your existing SQL knowledge transfers directly.

Row Level Security. Define access policies at the database level. "Users can only read their own data" is a SQL policy, not application code. Security is enforced even if your API has bugs.

Real-time subscriptions. Subscribe to database changes in real-time. When a row is inserted or updated, connected clients are notified instantly. Built on PostgreSQL's LISTEN/NOTIFY.

Complete platform. Auth (email, OAuth, magic links), Storage (S3-compatible file storage), Edge Functions (Deno-based serverless), and Vector (AI embeddings) — all integrated.

Open source. Self-host the entire Supabase stack. No vendor lock-in. Migrate to any PostgreSQL host if needed.

Developer experience. Clean dashboard, excellent documentation, and auto-generated API from your database schema. Define tables → get REST and GraphQL APIs automatically.

Weaknesses

• Scaling requires planning. PostgreSQL scaling (read replicas, connection pooling) requires more thought than Firebase's auto-scaling.
• Real-time has limits. PostgreSQL-based real-time works well for moderate use but doesn't match Firestore's scale for millions of concurrent listeners.
• Edge Functions are newer. Deno-based functions work but the ecosystem is smaller than Firebase Cloud Functions.
• Self-hosting complexity. Running Supabase yourself requires managing PostgreSQL, GoTrue (auth), PostgREST, and other services.

Pricing

• Free: 500MB database, 1GB storage, 50K auth users
• Pro ($25/mo): 8GB database, 100GB storage, 100K auth users
• Team ($599/mo): Higher limits, priority support, SOC 2
• Enterprise: Custom

Best For

• Full-stack web applications (Next.js, Nuxt, SvelteKit)
• Teams that know SQL and want relational data
• Projects needing auth + database + storage in one platform
• AI applications (pgvector for embeddings)
• Open-source and self-hosting advocates

Firebase: Google's App Platform

Firebase is Google's comprehensive app development platform, centered around Firestore (NoSQL database) and tightly integrated with Google Cloud.

Strengths

Firestore scales automatically. No connection pooling, no read replicas, no scaling configuration. Firestore handles millions of reads/writes per second without any infrastructure management.

Mobile-first. Firebase SDKs for iOS, Android, Flutter, and React Native are the most mature in the industry. Offline support, automatic sync, and real-time listeners work seamlessly on mobile.

Real-time at scale. Firestore's real-time listeners handle millions of concurrent connections. For apps like chat, live dashboards, or collaborative tools, Firebase's real-time is unmatched.

Comprehensive platform. Auth, Firestore, Storage, Cloud Functions, Hosting, Analytics, Crashlytics, Remote Config, A/B Testing, ML Kit — Firebase covers the entire app lifecycle.

Google Cloud integration. Seamlessly connect to BigQuery, Cloud Run, Pub/Sub, and other Google Cloud services. Firebase projects are Google Cloud projects.

Weaknesses

• NoSQL constraints. Firestore doesn't support joins, complex queries, or relational data well. Data modeling requires denormalization — storing data redundantly for different access patterns.
• Vendor lock-in. Firestore is proprietary. No self-hosting. Migrating away requires rewriting your data layer.
• Pricing unpredictability. Pay per document read/write/delete. A poorly optimized query can generate thousands of reads and spike your bill.
• Cloud Functions cold starts. Serverless functions have cold start latency (1-5 seconds). Impacts UX for infrequently used endpoints.
• Complex security rules. Firestore security rules are powerful but have a unique syntax that's hard to test and debug.

Pricing

• Free (Spark): 1GB Firestore, 50K reads/day, 20K writes/day
• Pay-as-you-go (Blaze): $0.06/100K reads, $0.18/100K writes, $0.18/GB storage
• No fixed monthly plans — purely usage-based after free tier

Best For

• Mobile applications (iOS, Android, Flutter)
• Real-time collaborative apps at massive scale
• Rapid prototyping (fastest time to working app)
• Apps with simple data models (no complex relations)
• Teams already on Google Cloud

PlanetScale: Serverless MySQL

PlanetScale is a serverless MySQL platform built on Vitess (the database technology that powers YouTube). It's a database — not a full backend platform.

Strengths

Serverless MySQL. No connection management, no server provisioning. PlanetScale handles scaling, replication, and availability. MySQL compatibility means your existing tools and ORMs work.

Branching. Create branches of your database schema — like Git branches for your database. Test schema changes safely before merging to production. This is unique and invaluable for teams.

Non-blocking schema changes. Alter tables without locking or downtime. Add columns, change indexes, modify types — all while the database serves traffic. Critical for production databases.

Performance. Built on Vitess, which handles YouTube's scale. PlanetScale databases are fast, with global read replicas and intelligent query routing.

Insights. Built-in query analytics showing slow queries, most frequent queries, and optimization suggestions.

Weaknesses

• Database only. No auth, no storage, no real-time, no functions. You need separate services for everything else.
• MySQL limitations. No foreign key constraints (Vitess limitation). This is controversial — some love the flexibility, others miss referential integrity.
• No self-hosting. Proprietary platform. Your data lives on PlanetScale's infrastructure.
• Pricing changes. PlanetScale removed their free tier in 2024, then reintroduced a hobby plan. Pricing stability is a concern.

Pricing

• Hobby (Free): 5GB storage, 1B row reads/mo, 10M row writes/mo
• Scaler ($29/mo): 10GB storage, higher limits, branching
• Scaler Pro ($59/mo): 25GB, production features
• Enterprise: Custom

Best For

• Teams that need a managed MySQL database (not a full platform)
• Applications requiring non-blocking schema changes
• High-scale read-heavy applications
• Teams with existing MySQL expertise
• Microservice architectures where the database is one component

Decision Framework

You Need a Complete Backend → Supabase or Firebase

If you want auth + database + storage + functions from one platform:

Choose Supabase if:

• You prefer SQL and relational data
• You want open source and self-hosting options
• You're building a web app (Next.js, SvelteKit)
• Data relationships are complex (foreign keys, joins)

Choose Firebase if:

• You're building a mobile app
• Real-time sync at massive scale is essential
• Data model is simple and document-oriented
• You want the fastest path to a working prototype

You Need Just a Database → PlanetScale

If you already have auth (Clerk, Auth0), storage (S3, Cloudflare R2), and functions (Vercel, AWS Lambda) — and just need a database:

Choose PlanetScale if:

• You want managed MySQL with zero operations
• Schema branching and non-blocking migrations matter
• Your team knows MySQL
• You're building a large-scale application

Migration Paths

Firebase → Supabase

Supabase provides migration guides and tools. Export Firestore data to JSON, transform to relational schema, import to PostgreSQL. Auth users can be migrated. Plan for 2-4 weeks.

PlanetScale → Supabase

MySQL to PostgreSQL migration requires schema conversion (data types differ slightly). Tools like pgloader handle the data migration. Plan for 1-2 weeks.

Any → Firebase

Moving to Firestore requires rethinking your data model from relational to document-oriented. This is the most disruptive migration direction.

FAQ

Which is cheapest for a side project?

All three have free tiers. Supabase's free tier is the most generous for a full-stack app (database + auth + storage).

Which scales best?

Firebase (Firestore) auto-scales with zero configuration. PlanetScale handles massive MySQL workloads. Supabase requires more manual scaling but handles most applications well.

Can I switch later?

Supabase → anything is easiest (PostgreSQL is portable). Firebase → anything is hardest (proprietary NoSQL). PlanetScale → anything MySQL is moderate.

Which has the best developer experience?

Supabase for web developers. Firebase for mobile developers. PlanetScale for database engineers.

What about Neon, Turso, or other databases?

Neon (serverless PostgreSQL) competes directly with Supabase's database layer. Turso (SQLite-based) is interesting for edge applications. Both are database-only — not full platforms.

Bottom Line

• Full-stack web apps → Supabase (PostgreSQL + everything)
• Mobile apps or real-time at scale → Firebase (auto-scaling, mobile SDKs)
• Need just a database → PlanetScale (managed MySQL, branching)

For most new web projects in 2026, Supabase offers the best balance of power, simplicity, and value. It gives you a real PostgreSQL database with all the backend services you need — without vendor lock-in.