Appwrite
The self-hosted backend that ships as one Docker command.
92
sovereigntyAppwrite bundles databases, authentication with 30-plus OAuth providers, storage, serverless functions and realtime into a product designed from the start to be self-hosted — one `docker compose up` and you have the whole backend running on your own machine. Where Supabase leads with Postgres, Appwrite leads with operational simplicity, and the SDK coverage across Flutter, web, Apple and Android is unusually complete. BSD-3-Clause, around 56.7k stars. It is the pick when you want to own the whole stack without becoming a database administrator to do it.
OPEN SOURCEBSD-3-ClauseSELF-HOSTLOCAL-FIRST
LicenseBSD-3-Clause
PricingFree and open source to self-host. Appwrite Cloud has a free tier and paid plans from about $15/month.
Open sourceYes
Self-hostableYes
Local-first dataYes
What it does well
- +Self-hosts in a single Docker Compose command — the lowest-friction option here
- +Excellent SDK coverage including Flutter, Apple and Android
- +Permissive BSD-3-Clause with no enterprise directory carve-out
- +Auth, storage, functions and realtime all in one binary set
Where it falls short
- −Its own database abstraction rather than raw Postgres — less portable data
- −Smaller ecosystem and fewer third-party integrations than Supabase
- −Query capability is thinner than SQL when the data model gets complex
- −Scaling beyond a single node needs planning
Appwrite as an alternative to
Where Appwrite shows up in our comparisons, and how it ranked.
Appwrite head-to-head
Straight comparisons against the tools people weigh it against.