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Updated November 2026

Best backend-as-a-service platforms

Supabase, Firebase, Appwrite, PocketBase and Convex compared: free plans, price, open source and self-hosting, from each official pricing page.

The short answer · November 15, 2026

Supabase is the best backend-as-a-service for most new apps in 2026: real Postgres with auth, storage and realtime, a free plan with 50,000 monthly users and an Apache-2.0 license you can self-host. Firebase stays the pick for mobile-first apps tied to Google, Appwrite for a self-hosted Firebase, and PocketBase for a free backend in a single file.

Comparison

checked 2026-11-15
ToolBest forFree planPaid fromOpen sourceSelf-host
SupabaseBest overall2 projects, 500 MB, 50k MAU$25/mo (Pro)Apache-2.0Yes
FirebaseBest for mobile appsSpark: 1 GiB Firestore, 50k MAUUsage-based (Blaze)NoNo
AppwriteBest self-hosted Firebase2 projects, 75k MAU$25/mo (Pro)BSD-3-ClauseYes (Docker)
PocketBaseBest free, single binaryFree, self-hostedNo paid planMITYes
ConvexBest for realtime TypeScript apps1M function calls/mo$25 per developer/moFSL (source-available)Yes

1.Supabase· Best overall

Open-source Postgres development platform

Postgres with auth, storage, realtime and edge functions. Free projects pause after a week without activity; Pro removes that.

Supabase on DevHunt →AlternativesOfficial pricing

2.Firebase· Best for mobile apps

Google's platform to build and run apps

The best mobile SDKs and Google Cloud integration. NoSQL lock-in, and pay-as-you-go has no hard spending cap by default.

Firebase on DevHunt →AlternativesOfficial pricing

3.Appwrite· Best self-hosted Firebase

Open-source backend for web and mobile apps

Auth, databases, functions, messaging and hosting that self-host with Docker. The cloud free plan also pauses idle projects.

Appwrite on DevHunt →AlternativesOfficial pricing

4.PocketBase· Best free, single binary

Open-source backend in one file

One Go binary with SQLite, auth, file storage and an admin UI. Still pre-1.0 and runs on a single server.

PocketBase on DevHunt →AlternativesOfficial pricing

5.Convex· Best for realtime TypeScript apps

Reactive backend database for TypeScript apps

A reactive TypeScript backend where queries update live in the UI. Source-available under FSL, which converts to Apache-2.0 after two years.

Convex on DevHunt →AlternativesOfficial pricing

How we picked

Every tool here is listed on DevHunt. We compared them on the points below and read each price, free plan and license on the tool's own pricing page and GitHub repository on November 15, 2026. Prices change: follow the official pricing link before you decide.

  • What the free plan includes and whether it pauses
  • Price of the first paid plan
  • Open-source license and self-hosting
  • Database model (SQL or document)

Supabase alternativesFirebase alternativesFree and open-source Firebase alternatives

FAQ

What is the best backend-as-a-service?+

Supabase for most web apps (Postgres, auth, storage, realtime, open source). Firebase for mobile apps in the Google ecosystem, Appwrite if you want to self-host a Firebase-style backend, and Convex for realtime TypeScript apps.

What is the best Firebase alternative?+

Supabase, if you want SQL and open source; Appwrite, if you want the closest feature set to Firebase that you can self-host; PocketBase, if you want something free that runs as one binary.

Is Supabase free?+

Yes, up to 2 active projects with a 500 MB database, 1 GB of file storage and 50,000 monthly active users. Free projects pause after a week of inactivity. Pro costs $25 a month and includes $10 of compute credits.

Can I self-host Supabase?+

Yes. Supabase is Apache-2.0 and ships a Docker Compose setup. Appwrite (BSD-3-Clause) and PocketBase (MIT) self-host too; Firebase cannot.

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