Appwrite vs Supabase: Open-Source BaaS

Supabase vs the alternative at a glance

Supabase is the backend-as-a-service platform with fully verified, published pricing in this comparison; Appwrite's current pricing and plan structure are not documented in the fact sheet used to write this page. What we can say with confidence is that Supabase is built on standard Postgres rather than a proprietary database, and its pricing separates a genuinely usable free tier from a predictable $25/mo Pro floor with metered overage.

Pricing compared

Supabase's free tier includes a 500 MB database (shared CPU, 500 MB RAM), 1 GB file storage, 5 GB egress, and 50,000 monthly active users, though free projects pause after 1 week of inactivity. Pro costs $25/mo and removes pausing while raising limits to 8 GB disk (then $0.125/GB), 100 GB storage (then $0.0213/GB), 250 GB egress (then $0.09/GB), and 100,000 MAUs (then $0.00325 per additional MAU).

Team jumps to $599/mo for the same included limits as Pro plus team controls, which leaves a real gap between the two tiers — nothing sits between $25 and $599. Overages past Pro's included limits are metered per GB rather than forcing a plan upgrade, which is a predictable structure for a growing project. Appwrite's pricing and plan structure are not in the fact sheet used to write this page, so no direct cost comparison against Supabase can be made from verified data alone.

Where Supabase is stronger

Supabase's core advantage is that it's genuinely Postgres — there's no proprietary query language to learn and no lock-in on the data layer, so you can connect any Postgres client or ORM you already know. That matters for a team that wants an easy exit path or wants to bring existing Postgres tooling and expertise to a new project.

The free tier's 50,000 monthly active users is far more headroom than most early-stage projects will reach, and Pro's $25/mo flat floor with metered overage — rather than a hard usage cliff — makes budgeting predictable as a project grows. For more detail on exactly what the free and paid tiers include, see Supabase pricing explained.

Where the alternative is stronger

Appwrite is generally positioned in the market as another open-source backend-as-a-service platform, often discussed as a Firebase-style alternative with a broader set of built-in services beyond just the database layer. But because the fact sheet does not document Appwrite's pricing, hosting options, or usage limits, this comparison cannot make specific claims about its cost or how it compares to Supabase's Postgres-based model.

That's a meaningful gap for anyone deciding based on cost — any "Appwrite vs Supabase" verdict that quotes specific Appwrite numbers without verification should be treated with caution. If Appwrite's self-hosting story or broader built-in service set is what draws you to it, confirm its current pricing and limits directly with the vendor before comparing it against Supabase's published numbers.

Which one should you pick?

Pick Supabase if you want verified, published pricing, a real Postgres database with no proprietary lock-in, and a free tier with enough headroom on monthly active users to cover most early-stage projects. It's also the safer default if predictable, metered overage pricing matters more than an unverified alternative's marketing claims. For a look at how Supabase compares against a NoSQL-based competitor, Supabase vs Firebase covers that comparison, and Best Firebase Alternatives rounds up the open-source-first field more broadly.

Pick Appwrite only after confirming its current pricing, hosting model, and usage limits directly with the vendor, since none of that is in the fact sheet used for this page. If Appwrite's actual pricing turns out to be more competitive once verified and its broader built-in service set matters more than Postgres compatibility, the calculus could shift — but based on verified data alone, Supabase is the documented, lower-risk choice, and Supabase vs PlanetScale is worth a look if you want another well-documented Postgres-adjacent option to compare against.

The honest summary is that this isn't a comparison between two equally documented platforms. Supabase's free tier, Pro pricing, and Team pricing are all published and verifiable, so you can budget for a real project before committing to either subscription. Appwrite may well be competitive on price or richer in built-in services, but until its pricing shows up in verified data, treat any specific dollar figure attached to it as a claim to confirm yourself, not a fact to plan a budget around. When the decision comes down to two open-source-friendly platforms and only one has published numbers, that asymmetry is itself useful information.