Moving away from proprietary systems
VideoGen moved 3.3 million users off Firebase using only two engineers. Mobbin moved 200,000 users from Firebase to obtain a better authentication experience. These migrations highlight a shift toward open-source tools that avoid vendor lock-in. Supabase provides a Postgres development platform that uses existing tools in the ecosystem whenever possible. While the platform aims to provide a Firebase-like experience, Supabase does not provide a 1-to-1 mapping of Firebase. You likely know that proprietary constraints often limit developer flexibility. Supabase builds on products with MIT or Apache 2 licenses to ensure users remain in control. Lovable now powers millions of AI-generated apps with this backend. eXp Realty also uses the platform to empower 2,000+ employees to build production software. Some developers use the Model Context Protocol to create better row securities and receive best practices for setting up their applications. Teams also utilize the platform to scale from first lines of code to fully licensed fintech operations in just three months.
Technical foundations and scalability
Chatbase scaled from zero to $10M ARR on a single Postgres-backed platform. Rally built a pan-European fleet payments platform in just three months. The platform manages many backend requirements through its specialized components.
| Component | Technical Specification |
|---|---|
| Authentication | GoTrue (JWT-based) |
| API Access | PostgREST (RESTful) |
| Realtime | Elixir server (Websockets) |
| File Storage | S3-based RESTful API |
| Vector Search | OpenAI and Hugging Face |
The architecture integrates several open-source tools. GoTrue handles JWT-based authentication for user sign-ups and session management. PostgREST turns a PostgreSQL database directly into a RESTful API. The Realtime component uses an Elixir server to listen to database changes via websockets, and this server polls Postgres’ built-in replication functionality for changes, converts changes to JSON, and broadcasts them to authorized clients. The Storage component manages files in S3 through a RESTful API. Users can deploy these services locally or use the hosted version. Client libraries exist for JavaScript, Flutter, Swift, Python, C#, Go, Java, Kotlin, Ruby, and Rust. The platform includes built-in Advisors that provide security and performance linters. Postgres-meta allows users to fetch tables, add roles, and run queries. Envoy provides a high-performance edge and service proxy.
Efficiency and enterprise adoption
Cost reduction drives many large-scale migrations. Shotgun achieved an 83% reduction in data infrastructure costs. Humata achieved 4X cost savings while using the platform. Good Tape also reduced costs by 60% after migrating to managed Postgres and Authentication. Quilla launched 5,000 Vector databases on Supabase. Phoenix Energy completed its critical infrastructure migration from MongoDB in six months. The database is a full Postgres database, which remains the world’s most trusted relational database.
The platform supports diverse use cases, from AI chatbots to fintech applications. One developer used Supabase Edge Functions as a backend for a React and React Router project. Another team built a user management app using Flutter, Auth, and file storage. Developers also use the platform for LangChain projects in Next.js using the Vercel AI SDK. The platform includes a Next.js App Router template configured with cookie-based auth using Supabase, TypeScript, and Tailwind CSS. This template works with Stripe and Vercel to create an all-in-one subscription starter kit. An extended version of create-t3-turbo implements authentication on both the web and mobile applications. An open-source AI chatbot app template uses Next.js, the Vercel AI SDK, and OpenAI. Will the platform maintain this momentum as more enterprises evaluate its security?
