Supabase vs. Firebase: Which is best? [2025] TechTricks365

As a content marketer who’s dabbled in building my own tools, I’ve learned to pick my battles carefully. While LLMs can provide me with code for just about any situation, using established tools can save me from a lot of headaches later on.

One example: backend-as-a-service (BaaS) platforms like Supabase and Firebase let me focus on solving problems instead of getting lost in server configurations and database management. 

These database tools store data: both associated app data (e.g., inventory) and user data (e.g., favorited items). They enable CRUD—the ability to create, read, update, and delete data—in vibe coding tools, according to specified rules and policies.

But which platform should you use for your vibe coding projects? I’ve used both Firebase and Supabase, and I have a few thoughts to share based on my experiences.

Table of contents:

Supabase vs. Firebase at a glance

Here’s how Supabase and Firebase stack up at a glance:

• Supabase is best for vibe coders who prefer working with structured data and are already using modern development tools like Replit, Vercel, or Bolt—especially those comfortable with spreadsheet-like data organization. It offers transparent PostgreSQL databases, predictable pricing, and native integrations with popular vibe coding platforms. It’s an incredibly useful choice for data-driven applications where you need clear relationships between your data.

• Firebase is best for vibe coders building flexible, real-time apps who want to work within Google’s ecosystem. It comes with generous free tier limits, unlimited projects, and mature real-time capabilities that handle any type of data changes without upfront database planning. If you want support for rapid prototyping, chat applications, and projects with unpredictable or evolving data structures, Firebase is probably the best pick for you.

Supabase is best for structured data, while Firebase excels at flexibility

Firebase uses Firestore, a proprietary NoSQL document-based database. If that sounds scary, don’t sweat it. All you need to know is that data is organized in collections and documents (similar to folders and files) and it offers a flexible schema that evolves with your application. It’s great for figuring things out as you go, or if you just don’t want to think about the database structure.

This also makes it ideal for working with data that doesn’t have obvious relationships and for apps that require real-time updates. For example, a live chat app, which doesn’t rely on complex relationships and involves real-time interactions—that’s an ideal project for Firebase.

But since it’s unstructured, the data can get messy—similar to how folders and files run wild if you don’t manage them properly. So I’d say Firebase isn’t ideal for reporting or analytics because queries are difficult to run across different types of data. 

To demonstrate what to expect from Firebase-specific syntax, here’s an example of a simple user table and associated notes. Your vibe coding app will take care of this for you, but this is just to show you what it looks like.

users (collection)

  └── userId (document)

        ├── name: string

        ├── email: string

        ├── createdAt: timestamp

        └── notes (subcollection)

              └── noteId (document)

                    ├── title: string

                    ├── content: string

                    ├── createdAt: timestamp

Now let’s talk about Supabase. For starters, Supabase uses PostgreSQL, which is open source. This means that you can easily move data around if you decide to switch databases. (Using Firebase comes with a vendor lock—it’s proprietary to Google, so migrating isn’t as easy.)

Supabase’s PostgreSQL is a powerful relational database. Data is organized in tables with relationships and it has a structured schema—for example, each table has specific columns. 

It handles data with clear relationships (e.g., users, posts, and comments) really well. It also makes reporting and analytics easier due to its spreadsheet-like nature. For all these reasons, Supabase isn’t suitable for unstructured or rapidly changing data. It requires data with clear relationships, so it’s best for things like a CMS with comments and analytics or a customer support ticketing system. 

One other thing: because it’s based on SQL, you might need to know the basics of SQL. (Firebase is different: it uses NoSQL and stores data as collections of documents or JSON objects.) The good news is that since SQL is an established query language, LLMs can help you fill any knowledge gaps.

To demonstrate what to expect from Superbase-specific syntax, here’s an example of a Supabase data structure for a simple user table and associated notes: 

-- users table

CREATE TABLE users (

  id uuid PRIMARY KEY DEFAULT gen_random_uuid(),

  name text NOT NULL,

  email text UNIQUE NOT NULL,

  created_at timestamp with time zone DEFAULT now()

);


-- notes table

CREATE TABLE notes (

  id uuid PRIMARY KEY DEFAULT gen_random_uuid(),

  user_id uuid REFERENCES users(id) ON DELETE CASCADE,

  title text NOT NULL,

  content text,

  created_at timestamp with time zone DEFAULT now()

);

As someone with experience organizing information in spreadsheets, I found Supabase’s table-based approach much more intuitive. But for quick projects with indeterminate structure, Firebase’s flexibility is hard to beat.

Firebase has the edge for real-time sync

Firebase’s real-time sync has been a core feature since day one. It syncs data between all connected devices, eliminating the complexities of keeping data consistent across the board.

This makes it great for chat apps, live dashboards, and other apps where users expect instant updates. Unlike Supabase, which specifically syncs database changes, Firebase syncs any data changes (e.g., cursor positions, notifications, location-sharing, or other events not stored in the database). 

And implementing Firebase’s real-time data sync is simple, requiring just a few lines of code (see the image below) in your vibe-coded app. It involves setting up a “listener” that instructs your app to watch for changes at specific locations in your database and automates sending updates to your app.

Supabase’s real-time capabilities are built on PostgreSQL’s replication features (making copies of your database), and it uses listening to process changes to your database structure. It’s a powerful option for data-driven apps, but it’s not as battle-tested or flexible as Firebase.

To make it a little more real-world-applicable: building a collaborative Google Docs competitor would be an ideal project for Firebase, while launching a new event management platform that doesn’t necessarily need to reflect changes in immediate real-time would be a great project for Supabase.

Both Firebase and Supabase offer excellent authentication and security features

When you’re building an app, security is probably the thing you should consider first and most often. That means your backend tool needs to provide security for users and protect app developers from unauthorized actions that impact their users’ experiences, like unintentionally deleting data that everyone should have access to.

Let’s start with that first part: secure authentication. 

Firebase offers multiple authentication options, including:

• Email/password

• Log in with Google and other social logins

• Phone number authentication

• Anonymous authentication

• Multi-factor authentication

• Custom auth system integration

Supabase supports login via:

• Email/password

• Magic link authentication

• Log in with Google and other social logins

• Phone auth (by setting up an SMS provider)

Users in both apps also benefit from pre-built UI components (check them out in Firebase and Supabase). 

Firebase users may find familiarity in how the security rules use a JavaScript-like syntax. Here’s an example Firestore Security Rule to delete a user from a profiles collection. 

rules_version = '2';

service cloud.firestore {

  match /databases/{database}/documents {

    // Match all documents in the profiles collection

    match /profiles/{profileId} {

      

      // Allow delete if the authenticated user is the profile owner

      allow delete: if request.auth != null && request.auth.uid == resource.data.user_id;

      // Optionally also allow read/write if needed

      // allow read, write: if request.auth.uid == resource.data.user_id;

    }

  }

}

Supabase’s Auth is built on PostgreSQL Row Level Security (RLS). RLS enables robust and granular data access control at the database level. Specifically, Supabase incorporates SQL-based policies for access control. Here’s a DELETE policy from Supabase for an example profiles table:

-- 1. Create table

create table profiles (

  id uuid primary key,

  user_id uuid references auth.users,

  avatar_url text

);

-- 2. Enable RLS

alter table profiles enable row level security;

-- 3. Create Policy

create policy "Users can delete a profile."

on profiles for delete

to authenticated                     -- the Postgres Role (recommended)

using ( (select auth.uid()) = user_id );      -- the actual Policy

That’s all to say, although the execution is different on each app, the approach is the same: a focus on security.

Supabase’s costs are more predictable, but Firebase offers flexible scaling options

Let’s start with the free options. 

Firebase’s free tier, also known as the Spark plan, offers:

• Unlimited projects (no strict limits)

• 10,000 authenticated users

• 1 GB of database storage

• 5 GB for file storage

• 10 GB of monthly data egress (the amount of data you can transfer to users from Firebase’s servers each month)

But it’s a little more complicated than that because Firebase’s free plan has specific limits for writing (20K/day), reading (50K/day), and deleting (20K/day) data. Refer to the Firebase pricing guidelines for more details. 

Supabase’s free plan is similar, just a little simpler and with a limit on projects:

For Firebase, if you plan to exceed the limits set in the free tier or need certain Google Cloud services, you’ll want the pay-as-you-go Blaze Plan. Just keep in mind that costs can become unpredictable as traffic scales. I personally struggled to find a way to set limits as a ceiling, but you can at least set alerts.

Supabase’s paid plans, on the other hand, start at $25/month and include more projects and resources. The Team plan starts at $599/month for larger organizations.

So if you’re moving past the free plan, I’d say Firebase is ideal for apps with variable usage patterns or for experimentation—just keep an eye out in case your app suddenly becomes popular so you don’t go bankrupt. Supabase is more predictable.

Both platforms integrate AI well, but Supabase is a better choice for advanced workflows

Supabase and Firebase both offer impressive AI capabilities. I wouldn’t recommend choosing between them based on AI features alone for a couple reasons. First, they’re likely to look very different in a few months—everything’s changing so rapidly. Plus, both platforms offer model context protocol (MCP) servers, which means you can interact with other tools using natural language. That makes each platform’s specific AI features less of a deciding factor.

In any case, let’s take a look at what each one brings to the table.

Firebase offers a native integration with Google’s AI ecosystem and several useful features:

• Firebase Studio for AI app development (a vibe coding tool)

• Genkit framework for generative AI features

• Vertex AI integration for access to Google’s models

• AI-assisted Firebase development

Supabase’s standout AI feature is how it works with vector embeddings. The PostgreSQL pgvector extension for vector operations can be linked to vector embeddings and RAG, allowing you to use it for:

• Storing and querying vector embeddings directly in your database

• Similarity search with AI applications for relevant retrieval 

• Semantic search capabilities

Supabase also integrates with popular AI tools, including OpenAI, HuggingFace, and LangChain.

Both Firebase and Supabase can seamlessly integrate with your vibe coding projects

Both Firebase and Supabase are a great match for vibe coding projects, they just have—say it with me—different approaches.

Let’s start with Firebase. Google recently released a native vibe coding solution in the form of Firebase Studio (formerly called Project IDX). Like other vibe coding tools, it empowers non-developers to build apps using just text and images. Firebase Studio’s App Prototyping agent converts natural language descriptions into working code. 

Supabase, on the other hand, comes pre-packaged with several vibe coding tools: Replit, Lovable, Vercel, and Bolt all have native integrations. So if you’re already using another vibe coding tool, it’s a great choice—and the interface will be more intuitive to most vibe coders too.

Both Supabase (via PostgreSQL) and Firebase also integrate with Zapier, which means you can orchestrate all your AI workflows across your tech stack. Connect either app to a spreadsheet, send notifications for changes, update your database based on form submissions, or connect them to your mailing list or CRM—and that’s just the tip of the automation iceberg.

Learn more about how to automate PostgreSQL and how to automate Firebase, or get started with one of these pre-made workflows.

Firebase and Supabase support and learning resources

Firebase and Supabase are both becoming increasingly more accessible for non-developers thanks to growing user bases that are creating their own resources.

Firebase vs. Supabase: Which backend platform is right for you?

I’ve used both Firebase and Supabase in my projects, so I can confidently say they’re both great tools—there’s no wrong choice here. There’s a lot of crossover between them in terms of how they function, but here’s my general take.

• Choose Firebase if you like working in the Google ecosystem, need a flexible data structure, and want to take advantage of its real-time sync. If you tend to create multiple small projects, especially those that involve chat applications and real-time collaboration tools, and the idea of a generous free tier sounds good, Firebase is your best bet.

• Choose Supabase if you feel most comfortable with spreadsheets and tables and are already using other vibe coding tools. Supabase operates optimally when dealing with data that has clear relationships and makes it easy on users transferring between tools with its open-source approach to data portability. It’s ideal for use with content management systems, and eCommerce applications, and its predictable pricing is a plus.

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