Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Supabase VS IndexedDB

Compare Supabase VS IndexedDB and see what are their differences

Supabase logo Supabase

An open source Firebase alternative

IndexedDB logo IndexedDB

IndexedDB is a low-level API for client-side storage of significant amounts of structured data, including files/blobs.
  • Supabase Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-27
  • IndexedDB Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-29

Supabase features and specs

  • Real-time capabilities
    Supabase offers real-time database features that allow you to subscribe to database changes and sync data with your frontend seamlessly.
  • PostgreSQL foundation
    Supabase is built on PostgreSQL, a robust, mature, and highly extensible SQL database, providing strong data integrity and reliability.
  • Open-source
    Supabase is open-source, which means you can inspect, modify, and contribute to the source code. This fosters community engagement and transparency.
  • Ease of use
    Supabase provides an intuitive dashboard and auto-generated APIs, making it easy for developers to manage databases without extensive backend knowledge.
  • Authentication and Authorization
    Supabase includes pre-built authentication and authorization modules, supporting various sign-in methods like email, OAuth, and more, simplifying user management.
  • Scalability
    Supabase is designed to scale with your application, offering plans that can handle from small to large-scale traffic and data operations.

Possible disadvantages of Supabase

  • New and evolving
    As a relatively new platform, Supabase is still evolving, which means it might lack some features found in more mature solutions and could have occasional bugs or stability issues.
  • Limited integration
    Currently, Supabase has fewer third-party integrations compared to other established backend-as-a-service (BaaS) providers, which might limit its utility in diverse tech stacks.
  • Learning curve
    Despite its user-friendly interface, there could be a learning curve for those unfamiliar with PostgreSQL or real-time database concepts.
  • Pricing for advanced features
    While Supabase offers a free tier, advanced features, and higher usage plans come with a cost. This might be limiting for startups or hobby projects with tight budgets.
  • Limited geographic presence
    Supabase's infrastructure might have limited geographic data centers compared to larger cloud providers, potentially affecting latency and performance for users in certain regions.

IndexedDB features and specs

  • Asynchronous API
    IndexedDB uses an asynchronous API, allowing web applications to perform database operations without blocking the main thread and thus maintaining a responsive user interface.
  • Large Storage Capacity
    IndexedDB provides significant storage capacity, which can store large amounts of data compared to other browser storage options like cookies or localStorage.
  • Complex Data Structures
    It supports storing and querying complex data structures, including nested objects, arrays, and binary data, which facilitates sophisticated applications.
  • Indexing Capabilities
    IndexedDB supports indexing, which allows for efficient searching and querying of records, leading to faster data retrieval.
  • Transactional Support
    It includes support for transactions, ensuring data integrity by allowing groups of operations to complete or fail as a whole.

Possible disadvantages of IndexedDB

  • Complexity
    IndexedDB has a steep learning curve due to its complex API, requiring a good understanding of event-driven programming and database concepts.
  • Browser Compatibility Issues
    Although widely supported, variations in implementation and updates across browsers can lead to compatibility issues and require testing across different environments.
  • Quota Limitations
    There are storage quota limitations that vary depending on the browser and device, potentially leading to unpredictable storage availability.
  • No Structured Query Language
    Unlike SQL databases, IndexedDB does not use a structured query language, which can make querying data less intuitive for those familiar with SQL.

Analysis of Supabase

Overall verdict

  • Supabase is a strong choice for developers looking for an affordable, open-source solution to manage their application's back-end with real-time data and user authentication.

Why this product is good

  • Supabase is an open-source alternative to Firebase, providing a robust back-end platform for web and mobile applications.
  • It offers real-time capabilities, authentication, and auto-generated APIs with PostgreSQL, making it versatile and efficient.
  • The platform is developer-friendly with excellent documentation and an active community.
  • Being open-source allows for greater flexibility and control over your projects.

Recommended for

  • Developers seeking an open-source alternative to Firebase.
  • Teams that require real-time data synchronization.
  • Projects needing a scalable and easy-to-use back-end solution.
  • Individuals or teams working with PostgreSQL.

Supabase videos

Basic demo

More videos:

  • Review - Supabase in 100 Seconds by Fireship

IndexedDB videos

Using A Local Database(IndexedDB) with A Google Chrome Extension

More videos:

  • Tutorial - How to edit an IndexedDB database | lynda.com tutorial

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Supabase and IndexedDB)
Developer Tools
98 98%
2% 2
Databases
0 0%
100% 100
Realtime Backend / API
100 100%
0% 0
NoSQL Databases
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Supabase and IndexedDB

Supabase Reviews

10 Top Firebase Alternatives to Ignite Your Development in 2024
Supabase makes it incredibly easy to migrate from Firebase. Its data structure and APIs are designed to feel familiar, so you can switch without a major learning curve. Plus, the open-source nature means you have complete control over your code and data.
Source: genezio.com
Top 7 Firebase Alternatives for App Development in 2024
Community Support and Longevity: Investigate the size and activity of the platform's community. A larger, more active community can provide better support and resources. Platforms like Parse and Supabase have strong community support.
Source: signoz.io
5 Best Vercel Alternatives for Next.js & App Router
Supabase distinguishes itself through its focus on data and community-driven development. Self-hosting capabilities allow you to deploy Supabase's suite of products within your own infrastructure. This maintains data ownership while still leveraging Supabase's tools.
Source: il.ly
Best Serverless Backend Tools of 2023: Pros & Cons, Features & Code Examples
Create an account, a project, and a database. Unlike a NoSQL database like Firebase’s, you need to have a structure ready to be able to manipulate data. But once this step is done―and you’ll have ready-to-use templates to help speed up this part―you can call Supabase like so:
Source: www.rowy.io
2023 Firebase Alternatives: Top 10 Open-Source & Free
Supabase is another trusted platform in our list that calls itself an open-source alternative to Firebase. You can also name it one of the newest cloud service providers similar to Firebase because it launched in 2020. Indeed, with great scalability and documentation support, Supabase could be an ideal option.

IndexedDB Reviews

We have no reviews of IndexedDB yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Supabase seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 502 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Supabase mentions (502)

  • Fast, Simple and Open Firebase Alternative: TrailBase
    What is the difference between this project and Supabase? Does this project have a different focus than Supabase regarding the features to be implemented? Supabase: https://supabase.com/. - Source: Hacker News / 4 days ago
  • Why devs are quitting aws and what they’re choosing instead
    Platforms like Railway, Render, Fly.io, Vercel, Supabase, and Cloudflare are leading the charge with a shared philosophy:. - Source: dev.to / 20 days ago
  • I analyzed how Supabase and Laravel launched. Here's what I learned.
    Supabase is an open-source alternative to Firebase. They turned fast shipping into a format: launch weeks — announcing something new every day. They were first and initiated a movement. Picture this: according to launchweek.dev, there were 126 launch weeks run by 94 different companies in 2024. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Why You Shouldn’t Invest In Vector Databases?
    In fact, even in the absence of these commercial databases, users can effortlessly install PostgreSQL and leverage its built-in pgvector functionality for vector search. PostgreSQL stands as the benchmark in the realm of open-source databases, offering comprehensive support across various domains of database management. It excels in transaction processing (e.g., CockroachDB), online analytics (e.g., DuckDB),... - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • How to Host a Scalable Full-Stack App for Free Using Cloudflare Pages, Workers, and Supabase
    Create an account at Supabase and create a new project. You’ll get:. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
View more

IndexedDB mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of IndexedDB yet. Tracking of IndexedDB recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Supabase and IndexedDB, you can also consider the following products

Firebase - Firebase is a cloud service designed to power real-time, collaborative applications for mobile and web.

RxDB - A fast, offline-first, reactive Database for JavaScript Applications

Next.js - A small framework for server-rendered universal JavaScript apps

Redis - Redis is an open source in-memory data structure project implementing a distributed, in-memory key-value database with optional durability.

AppWrite - Appwrite provides web and mobile developers with a set of easy-to-use and integrate REST APIs to manage their core backend needs.

PouchDB - Open-source JavaScript database inspired by Apache CouchDB that's designed to run well within the browser