Parse Platform vs Nhost
Both are alternatives to Firebase. Here's how they stack up — verified facts, no spin.
Also searched as Nhost vs Parse Platform — same comparison, one verdict.
Parse Platform
The original backend-as-a-service, now community-run and still going.
Parse was Facebook's backend-as-a-service until it was shut down in 2017 — and rather than dying, it was open-sourced and picked up by the community, which has maintained it ever since. That history is the point: it is the one product in this comparison that has already survived its vendor walking away, which is the exact scenario this page exists to help you plan for. Apache-2.0, around 21.4k stars, still actively pushed. It runs on Node with MongoDB or Postgres, and the SDK coverage for iOS, Android and JavaScript remains broad.
Nhost
Postgres plus instant GraphQL, for teams that think in queries.
Nhost pairs Postgres with Hasura to give you a GraphQL API generated straight from your schema, alongside authentication, storage and serverless functions. If your front end is React or Vue and your team already prefers GraphQL to REST, this is the shortest path from a database table to a typed query in the client. MIT, self-hostable, with a hosted tier. It is the smallest project here at around 9.3k stars, which is the caveat — the technology is sound and the ecosystem is thin.
Side by side
| Parse Platform | Nhost | |
|---|---|---|
| Sovereignty Score | 90 | 88 |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| Local-first | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Pricing | Free and open source. You supply the Node host and the database. | Free tier available; hosted plans from about $25/month. Self-hostable at no licence cost. |
Parse Platform edges it on the Sovereignty Score, but the right pick depends on the trade-offs below.
Parse Platform
Strengths
- +Already survived its parent company shutting it down — the proof case for open source
- +Apache-2.0 with a decade of community stewardship
- +Runs on MongoDB or Postgres, your choice
- +Mature SDKs across iOS, Android and JavaScript
Trade-offs
- −Feels its age next to Supabase and Appwrite
- −You assemble the pieces — Node host, database, dashboard — yourself
- −Community-maintained means no commercial support by default
- −Smaller momentum than the newer options
Nhost
Strengths
- +Instant GraphQL from your Postgres schema via Hasura
- +Real Postgres underneath, so the data stays portable
- +MIT licensed with a genuine self-host path
- +Strong typed-client story for React and Vue front ends
Trade-offs
- −Much smaller community than Supabase or Appwrite
- −GraphQL-first is a commitment, not a neutral default
- −Self-hosting means running Hasura and Postgres, not one binary
- −Fewer SDKs, and mobile support lags the others
Related alternative guides
Facts verified 2026-07-31. Licenses and pricing change — spotted something out of date? That's a correction we want.