Supabase vs Convex: PostgreSQL BaaS vs Reactive TypeScript Backend

Supabase and Convex are both backend platforms but they take fundamentally different approaches. Supabase is an open-source Firebase alternative built on PostgreSQL, packaging a relational database with authentication, file storage, real-time subscriptions via Postgres replication, and Deno-based edge functions into a single product. Convex is a reactive backend platform where your database queries are TypeScript functions that automatically re-run when the underlying data changes, eliminating the need for manual cache invalidation or pub/sub wiring.

As of February 2025, Convex open-sourced its backend under the FSL licence, addressing earlier vendor lock-in concerns and enabling self-hosting. Supabase has been open source since launch. Both platforms have free tiers. Supabase has over 1.7 million registered developers and 100,000 GitHub stars, reflecting strong ecosystem momentum. Convex is smaller but growing quickly, particularly among TypeScript developers who find SQL an obstacle rather than an asset. The right choice depends on whether you want the power of a relational database or the developer experience of a reactive, type-safe backend.

Supabase runs on PostgreSQL and supports the full SQL feature set: JSONB columns, full-text search, window functions, array types, and a rich extension ecosystem. Over 15% of Supabase databases created in 2025 use pgvector for AI vector search, built directly into the database layer. PostGIS enables geospatial queries. You write SQL directly or use an ORM such as Prisma or Drizzle. Row Level Security policies enforce access control at the database layer regardless of which API sends the query.

Convex uses a document-relational model. Tables are schemaless by default but support optional TypeScript schema definitions. Queries are TypeScript functions using Convex's query API rather than SQL. There are no joins in the traditional sense; you compose queries using TypeScript logic. This approach produces end-to-end type safety from database to UI with no manual type generation step. The trade-off is that teams with existing SQL expertise or complex relational data models face a steeper mental shift than teams starting fresh in TypeScript.

Convex queries are reactive by default. Every query function automatically re-runs on the server and pushes updates to all subscribed clients when the underlying data changes. There is no channel subscription, no manual listener setup, and no risk of stale cache. This architectural choice makes building collaborative, live-updating features straightforward without additional infrastructure.

Supabase provides real-time via Postgres logical replication. You subscribe to table-level changes or filter by column values. As of 2026, Supabase real-time requires enabling replication on each table either via the dashboard or SQL, and clients must set up channel subscriptions explicitly. For applications where real-time is a primary requirement, the setup overhead in Supabase is meaningful compared to Convex. For applications where real-time is a secondary concern, the explicit opt-in model may actually be preferred to avoid unnecessary replication load.

Supabase includes production-ready authentication supporting email and password, magic links, OAuth providers including Google, GitHub, Apple, and phone-based auth. Auth integrates with Row Level Security at the Postgres level, meaning authorisation logic is enforced inside the database. The free tier supports up to 50,000 monthly active users; the Pro plan at $25 per month includes 100,000 MAUs. Storage is S3-compatible, with 1 GB on the free tier and 100 GB on Pro.

Convex does not include built-in authentication. The recommended approach is to integrate Clerk or Auth0, both of which have first-party Convex integration guides. Convex does include built-in file storage with a straightforward API for uploads and downloads. The absence of native auth is the most significant practical gap compared to Supabase. Teams that already use Clerk and do not need to manage auth from scratch will not feel this limitation; teams hoping to avoid a third-party auth vendor will.

Supabase's free tier includes 500 MB database storage, 1 GB file storage, 50,000 monthly active auth users, and 500,000 edge function invocations. Projects pause after 7 days of inactivity, making the free tier unsuitable for anything that needs constant availability. The Pro plan at $25 per month removes the pause, adds 8 GB database storage, 100 GB file storage, and daily backups. Auth, storage, and real-time are all included in the $25 base price.

Convex's free tier includes 1 million function calls per month, 20 GB-hours of compute, and does not pause for inactivity. The Professional plan costs $25 per developer per month and includes 25 million function calls and 250 GB-hours of compute. This per-developer pricing means costs scale with team size rather than usage alone. For a solo developer, the two platforms are price-equivalent at the Pro level. For a four-person team, Convex's Professional plan costs $100 per month before usage charges. Supabase's Pro plan remains $25 regardless of team size.

Convex provides the strongest TypeScript developer experience of any backend platform. Queries, mutations, and actions are TypeScript functions. The Convex client auto-generates types from your function signatures, giving end-to-end type safety from database query to React component with no manual step. Real-time reactivity means you write a query function once and the UI stays in sync without additional wiring.

Supabase generates TypeScript types from your database schema using the Supabase CLI. The types reflect your tables, views, and stored procedures. For TypeScript teams, this produces type-safe queries through the supabase-js client without requiring an ORM. The developer experience is good but involves more configuration than Convex. The Supabase dashboard is well-regarded, providing a SQL editor, table viewer, auth management, and storage browser in one place. Both platforms have active local development tooling: Convex runs via the CLI and proxies to the cloud; Supabase runs a full local stack via Docker using the Supabase CLI.

For most developers building new applications in 2026, Supabase is the lower-risk default. The free tier with no inactivity pause on auth, the large community, PostgreSQL's feature richness including pgvector, and strong AI builder support from tools like Lovable, Bolt, and v0 make it the most practical starting point. The 1.7 million registered developer figure reflects a platform with substantial community resources, tutorials, and third-party integrations.

Choose Convex when your application has real-time collaboration or live-updating data at its core, when your team is TypeScript-first and SQL feels like friction, or when you want automatic cache invalidation without building pub/sub infrastructure. Convex's per-developer pricing rewards small solo teams but becomes a meaningful cost consideration as team size grows. If you already use Clerk for auth and are comfortable without SQL, Convex's developer experience is difficult to match. For teams integrating with AI builders or needing a proven auth and storage layer out of the box, Supabase remains the stronger default.