Supabase vs Nhost
Both are alternatives to Firebase. Here's how they stack up — verified facts, no spin.
Also searched as Nhost vs Supabase — same comparison, one verdict.
Supabase
TOP PICKPostgres with Firebase's ergonomics — and you can take the database with you.
Supabase wraps a real Postgres database in the things that made Firebase pleasant: instant REST and GraphQL APIs, row-level security, authentication, file storage, realtime subscriptions and edge functions. The difference that matters is underneath. Your data is in Postgres, so you get SQL, joins, transactions, extensions like PostGIS and pgvector, and the ability to pick up the database and run it on any host on earth. It is Apache-2.0 and self-hostable with Docker Compose, and the hosted tier exists for people who would rather not. Around 107k GitHub stars and pushed to daily.
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
| Supabase | Nhost | |
|---|---|---|
| Sovereignty Score | 91 | 88 |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| Local-first | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Pricing | Free tier for small projects; hosted Pro from about $25/month. Fully self-hostable at no licence cost. | Free tier available; hosted plans from about $25/month. Self-hostable at no licence cost. |
Supabase is Macrostack's recommended Firebase alternative, so it's our pick here.
Supabase
Strengths
- +Real Postgres — SQL, joins, transactions and the whole extension ecosystem
- +Genuinely portable: the database runs anywhere, hosted or not
- +Apache-2.0 with a complete self-host path, not a crippled community edition
- +pgvector built in, so AI features do not need a second database
Trade-offs
- −You now have a Postgres database to think about — indexes, connections, vacuum
- −Mobile offline sync is weaker than Firebase's SDKs
- −Self-hosting the full stack is more moving parts than the hosted product suggests
- −Younger than Firebase; some edges are still being filed off
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.