Supabase

Supabase is an open-source Firebase alternative providing a complete backend stack, PostgreSQL database, authentication, file storage, edge functions, and real-time subscriptions, as a managed service with the full openness of running on your own infrastructure if needed. The AI toolkit built on PostgreSQL's pgvector extension makes Supabase the backend of choice for many AI applications: store and query vector embeddings in the same database as your application data, build semantic search without a separate vector database, and run RAG pipelines that combine structured data with vector similarity in a single SQL query. The AI Assistant in the Supabase dashboard generates SQL from plain language questions about your database schema and data, enabling non-SQL users to query their own data. Row Level Security enforces fine-grained access control at the database level, making Supabase appropriate for multi-tenant applications where data isolation is a security requirement.

The TypeScript and Python client libraries provide an ergonomic interface to all Supabase services with type safety generated from your database schema. The free tier is genuinely usable for development and small production applications: 500MB database, 1GB file storage, 50,000 monthly active users for auth. Pro plans start at $25/month. Supabase is the dominant backend choice for Next.js applications, AI products, and startups that want PostgreSQL's power with Firebase's developer experience and none of the Google lock-in.