Let's be real for a second. If you’re asking which is cheaper firebase or supabase, you’re probably at that stage where you've got a cool project idea but you're terrified of waking up to a $5,000 bill because some loop in your code went rogue. It happens. We've all seen those horror stories on Reddit.
Choosing between Google’s Firebase and the "open-source alternative" Supabase isn't just about picking a database; it’s about choosing how you want to be billed for the next three years. Honestly, the answer isn't as simple as one being "the cheap one." It depends on whether you’re building a tiny hobby app or a massive SaaS that's going to hit 100,000 users.
The Free Tier Face-Off
Most developers start at $0. Firebase calls this the Spark Plan. Supabase just calls it Free.
Firebase is pretty generous if you're just messing around. You get 50,000 reads and 20,000 writes a day on Firestore. That's a lot for a personal portfolio. But—and it's a big but—Google limits your storage to 1GB. If you’re building something media-heavy, you’ll hit that wall fast.
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Supabase, on the other hand, gives you 500MB of database space but lets you have 50,000 Monthly Active Users (MAUs) for authentication right out of the gate. The catch? They pause your project if it's inactive for a week on the free plan. It’s a bit annoying if you're just hosting a small side project you only check once a month.
Why KEYWORD Still Matters: Scaling to the "Growth" Phase
Once you move past the freebies, the math changes. Firebase moves you to the Blaze Plan. This is pure "pay-as-you-go." You pay for every single document read, every write, and every delete.
This is where people get burned.
Imagine you have a real-time leaderboard. If 1,000 users are watching that leaderboard and it updates every second, Firebase is counting every single one of those "reads" across every user. The meter is running.
Supabase takes a totally different approach. Their Pro plan starts at $25 a month. Instead of charging you for every "read," they charge you for the server resources (compute) and the database size. You can query that database a million times, and as long as the CPU can handle it, your bill stays at $25.
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Breaking down the numbers (Estimated 2026 Rates)
Let's look at a "Growth" scenario. You’ve got 50,000 users. Your app is moderately active.
- Firebase: You might be looking at $350 to $500 a month. Why? Because those document reads add up. At $0.06 per 100,000 reads, a busy app can easily rack up millions of operations.
- Supabase: You’re likely still paying the $25 base fee, maybe plus a bit more for extra storage or egress (bandwidth). Even if you upgrade to a slightly bigger "compute instance" to keep things fast, you're probably under $100.
Basically, for high-activity apps, Supabase is almost always the winner on price.
The Hidden "Gotchas" Nobody Talks About
Firebase has some "free" stuff that Supabase doesn't.
Google gives you things like Push Notifications (FCM), Crashlytics, and Remote Config for free. If you're building a mobile app, these are massive. If you use Supabase, you’ll have to find other services for these, and some of those (like OneSignal for notifications) start charging you once you scale.
Also, Firebase Authentication is essentially free for unlimited users (except for phone/SMS auth). Supabase gives you 100k MAUs on the Pro plan, but after that, they charge about $0.00325 per extra user. If you have a million users who rarely log in, Firebase is actually cheaper for auth.
Which is Cheaper Firebase or Supabase for Modern Apps?
If your app involves a lot of "searching" or "filtering," Firebase gets expensive and complicated. Since it's NoSQL, you often have to duplicate data to make it searchable, which means more writes and more storage.
Supabase is just PostgreSQL.
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You can do complex joins, full-text search, and even vector storage (for AI stuff) right in the database. You don't need extra "services" for these things. In 2026, where every app seems to need an AI "chat with your data" feature, Supabase’s built-in pgvector support saves you from paying for a separate vector database like Pinecone.
Predictability vs. Low Barrier to Entry
Firebase is the king of "easy." You don't have to think about "instances" or "compute power." Google handles the scaling. You just pay the bill at the end of the month. It's great for "vibe coding" where you just want to ship.
But if you want to know exactly what you’ll pay next month, Supabase is better. Their pricing tiers feel like a traditional hosting bill. You know you're paying $25. If you go over your 8GB database limit, you pay a specific amount per GB. It’s predictable.
The Verdict for 2026
If you are building a mobile app and need push notifications, analytics, and crash reporting all in one place, Firebase might actually save you money because of the integrated free tools, even if the database itself is pricier.
However, if you are building a SaaS, a web app, or anything with complex data relationships, Supabase is the clear winner for your wallet. The lack of "per-request" billing means you won't be punished for having an efficient, high-traffic app.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Audit your "Read" frequency: If your app requires constant data polling (like a chat app or live sports scores), avoid Firebase Firestore or be prepared to use the Realtime Database (which bills by bandwidth, not reads).
- Check your data structure: If you need to join tables or do complex filtering, Supabase will save you development time and money.
- Set spending limits: If you choose Firebase, immediately go into the Google Cloud Console and set budget alerts.
- Consider Self-Hosting: If your Supabase bill ever hits $1,000+, remember you can move the whole thing to your own servers since it's open-source. You can't do that with Firebase.