Supabase searches come from projects outgrowing the free tier's pausing behaviour, or from teams that want a plain Postgres host without the platform around it.
Ask whether you want a platform or a database. Supabase is a platform; several alternatives below are only a database.
Side by side
| Tool | Pricing | Best for | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neon | Freemium | A team running preview environments that wants a throwaway database branch for every pull request. | Web |
| Railway | Freemium | A solo developer shipping a small backend with a database who does not want to configure servers. | Web, CLI |
The options, and what each one costs you
- Better if
- A team running preview environments that wants a throwaway database branch for every pull request.
- You give up
- The free tier suspends idle databases and the first query afterwards is slow, and the branching model is a concept your team has to learn before it pays off.
- Better if
- A solo developer shipping a small backend with a database who does not want to configure servers.
- You give up
- Usage-based billing means you need to watch resource consumption, and the platform has changed its pricing model more than once.
Frequently asked
What is the best alternative to Supabase?
It depends on what you are leaving for. Ask whether you want a platform or a database. Supabase is a platform; several alternatives below are only a database. Our closest match on features and price is Neon.
Is there a free alternative to Supabase?
Neon is free to start. Railway is free to start.
How much does switching from Supabase cost?
Migration is usually the expensive part, not the licence: exports rarely preserve permissions, history or automations. Budget a day per active workspace for anything with a database in it.
How we picked
Every tool here is in our Developer Tools directory, which means we have used it and written down where it falls short. Nothing on this page is sponsored, and the order is not for sale.