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Postgres Platform vs Service Bundle

Supabase vs Appwrite: Which One Should You Choose in 1970?

Supabase is PostgreSQL first: full SQL, row level security, and a migration path to any Postgres host. Appwrite bundles auth, storage, functions and a document database into one self-hostable stack with lighter SQL expectations.

Quick verdict

Relational data and sql
Supabasestandard Postgres, RLS, zero lock-in
Multi service without sql
Appwriteauth, storage, functions and GraphQL in one bundle

Supabase vs Appwrite: feature comparison

FeatureSupabaseOpen SourceSelf-HostableAppwriteOpen SourceSelf-Hostable
DatabasePostgreSQL 15+MariaDB document collections
LicenceApache-2.0BSD-3-Clause
Self-Host DifficultyLow (official Docker template)Medium (many services)
Cloud Free Tier500MB DB, 50,000 MAU1 project, 2GB storage
GraphQLVia extension (pg_graphql)Native

Pricing takeaway

Both are free self-hosted. Supabase Cloud Pro is $25/mo with a fixed database allowance; Appwrite Cloud Pro is $15/mo but its limits per project are tighter, so cost depends on how much storage and bandwidth the app actually uses.

Supabase
Freemium / Usage-based / Open-Source. Starts at $25/mo (Pro tier) or Free Self-Hosted. Free Cloud plan: 500MB database, 50,000 monthly active users.Full Supabase pricing breakdown
Appwrite
Open source (BSD-3) / Cloud plans. Starts at $0 (self-hosted) or $15/mo (Cloud Pro). Cloud free tier: 1 project, 2GB storage.Full Appwrite pricing breakdown

Pros and cons

Supabase

Visit Supabase

Pros

  • Full power of standard PostgreSQL with Row Level Security (RLS)
  • Built-in Authentication, Edge Functions, Realtime, and S3-compatible Storage
  • Easy migration: plain standard SQL with zero proprietary lock-in

Cons

  • Free tier projects pause after 1 week of inactivity
  • Edge functions support TypeScript/Deno only
  • Free projects pause after a week of inactivity, and heavy usage needs paid compute add-ons

Appwrite

Visit Appwrite

Pros

  • Auth, databases, storage, functions and messaging in one self-hostable stack
  • REST and GraphQL APIs with SDKs for web, mobile and server
  • BSD-3 licence, so everything can run on your own servers

Cons

  • Many moving services make self-hosting heavier than Supabase
  • Smaller community and fewer tutorials than Firebase or Supabase
  • Cloud free tier is tighter than Supabase's

Supabase vs Appwrite: FAQ

Is Appwrite a good alternative to Supabase?

Supabase is PostgreSQL first: full SQL, row level security, and a migration path to any Postgres host. Appwrite bundles auth, storage, functions and a document database into one self-hostable stack with lighter SQL expectations.

Which is cheaper, Supabase or Appwrite?

Both are free self-hosted. Supabase Cloud Pro is $25/mo with a fixed database allowance; Appwrite Cloud Pro is $15/mo but its limits per project are tighter, so cost depends on how much storage and bandwidth the app actually uses.

Is Supabase or Appwrite open source?

Supabase is open source (github.com/supabase/supabase). Appwrite is open source (github.com/appwrite/appwrite).

Can I self-host Supabase or Appwrite?

Supabase can be self-hosted. Difficulty: Low (Official Docker template). Appwrite can be self-hosted. Difficulty: Medium (Docker Compose with many services).

Do Supabase and Appwrite have a free tier?

Supabase: Free Cloud plan: 500MB database, 50,000 monthly active users. Appwrite: Cloud free tier: 1 project, 2GB storage.