The short answer
- Choose the replacement by the jobs you use: Postgres, sign-in, file storage, browser-facing APIs and Realtime are separate migration requirements. A cheaper database alone does not replace the whole application backend. recipe
- Downgrading can be the smallest change if your usage fits Free and you can manage exports and inactivity. Keep a paid managed plan when its backup and recovery workflow is worth more than the subscription reduction. supabase.com
- The catalog models a database-focused Neon path. Neon now also documents Managed Better Auth; evaluate that service and your existing user/session model separately rather than assuming either that Neon has no auth or that Supabase Auth transfers unchanged. neon.com
- Self-hosted Supabase buys control over the stack, with responsibility for patches, database maintenance, backups, monitoring and recovery. Choose it when someone will own that work after the first deployment. supabase.com
Four ways to stop paying for Supabase
A cheaper vendor
Cheaper plan Supabase (free tier): saves $288 in year one (+1 more below)
Open source
An agent skill
Nothing in the catalog fits this job yet.
Replace with AI
Nothing in the catalog fits this job yet.
The best option of each kind, modeled, not measured: each figure links its math. Keeping Supabase is a valid answer too.
Who should switch, and who shouldn't
Switch if
- Your project fits the Free limits: 500 MB database, 1 GB file storage, 50,000 MAU and 5 GB egress. supabase.com
- Your application mainly needs Postgres and you can explicitly migrate the other backend jobs. Neon documents a database import using pg_dump and pg_restore; importing public tables is only part of a backend move. neon.com
- You want infrastructure control and have an operator for uptime, security updates and disaster recovery, rather than treating the initial Docker setup as the whole job. supabase.com
Stay if
- You need daily backups: Pro keeps 7 days of them, Free has none. supabase.com
- Real users would notice a paused project. supabase.com
- The app relies on Supabase Auth-linked access policies. Budget for validating grants and row-level security before replacing that integration; a working sign-in screen does not prove users can access only their own records. supabase.com
- You use Storage and need a complete recovery path. Database backups contain object metadata, not the stored files themselves; moving hosts requires a separate plan for those files. supabase.com
What Supabase costs today
List prices from the vendor's pricing page, as stored in the Stackcut catalog. Each price links its source.
| Plan | Billed monthly | Billed yearly (per month) | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supabase Pro | $25/mo | not shown | From $25/mo: 8 GB disk per project, 100 GB file storage, 100,000 MAU, 250 GB egress, $10/mo compute credits; first project included, more from $10/mo |
| Supabase Team | $599/mo | not shown | From $599/mo: same usage quotas as Pro (8 GB disk, 100 GB storage, 100,000 MAU, 250 GB egress); SSO, longer retention |
- Pro's first project is included and extra projects cost from $10 a month each for compute. Pro includes $10 a month of compute credits. supabase.com
- Treat the plan tables as dated catalog evidence and the recipe savings as a model. This editorial update adds decision and migration guidance; it does not turn every stored price into a fresh quote or include all backend add-ons. recipe
The alternatives, ranked
3 ways out, ranked by modeled saving in the first year after setup and upkeep (3 priced). Modeled, not measured: each figure links the math on the recipe page.
- Paths are modeled against Supabase Pro at $25/mo for one project. recipe
- Neon’s current offering extends beyond the database path priced here. Check its current allowances and backend components before treating the table as a full Supabase replacement quote. neon.com
- If self-hosting is attractive, include backup storage, monitoring, security updates and a restore rehearsal in the ownership budget. Open-source availability removes neither these tasks nor their cost. supabase.com
Compare a specific alternative
Considering a specific destination? Read its checked comparison before deciding what to move.
- Supabase vs Neon Checked comparison evidence, migration details, public switching accounts.
What Supabase costs at 10,000 to 250,000 monthly active users
Free covers up to 50,000 MAU; Pro includes 100,000 and bills each extra user. Assumes the database stays within each plan's included size.
| Monthly active users | 10,000 | 50,000 | 100,000 | 250,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Supabase today | $0Free | $0Free | $25Pro | $512.50Pro, plus overage |
| Supabase (self-hosted)Apache-2.0; 4 GB RAM server | $0+ your server | $0+ your server | $0+ your server | $0+ your server |
- Neon doesn't price by MAU: its paid plans bill compute hours and storage ($0.106 per CU-hour and $0.35 per GB-month on Launch), so the monthly price depends on how long the database runs. neon.com
How people actually left Supabase
1 public accounts of leaving Supabase: 1 switched. Summaries are ours; each links the original, and each was checked against its page before it appeared here.
A brief, undetailed comment in Hacker News's monthly "what are you working on" thread: the author states they finished moving a CRUD app's backend from Supabase to Neon. No reasons, metrics or problems are given. Hacker News
How to leave Supabase
Export first, then cancel. Every step links the vendor's own help page, checked on the date shown.
- Before the move, inventory application schemas, roles, extensions, auth customizations and Storage. Keep an export and a rehearsed restore; Supabase documents separate handling for custom changes in managed auth and storage schemas. supabase.com
- For a Neon database move, use the documented unpooled connection for pg_dump, restore into the destination, then compare records and run the application against it before changing the live connection. neon.com
- Copy stored files separately and check their access rules. A successful SQL restore alone is not evidence that users can still download their files. supabase.com
How to leave Supabase
Export first
- Database: roles, schema and data: supabase db dump --db-url … with -f roles.sql --role-only, then -f schema.sql, then -f data.sql --use-copy --data-only (SQL). Storage objects aren't in the dump; move them separately. supabase.com
What you lose
- Daily backups, on Free
- Staying awake: Free projects pause after a week of inactivity
Cancel
- Back up first with the Supabase CLI (see export); Free projects get no automatic backups.
- Change the subscription plan in your organization's billing settings.
- Refunds
- The organization gets credits for unused time on the plan; they don't expire and can be used later.
- After you cancel
- You may see a charge for unbilled usage from the previous billing cycle. You get 2 active free projects; paused projects don't count.
Not covered by the paths above, per the recipe: Realtime, Edge functions, Vector (pgvector), Auto-generated APIs, Daily backups. If you rely on one of these, keep the incumbent or check the path closely.
Moving your data, destination by destination
What each destination's importer carries over, what it leaves behind, and any help it offers switchers.
To Neon
Official guide neon.com · Tools: pg_dump, pg_restore
Moves: Public schema and table data (full). neon.com
Doesn't move: Supabase-managed schemas for Auth, Storage and other platform services (separate schemas; not covered by this guide); Object ownership — Neon's neon_superuser role can't run ALTER OWNER; Realtime, Edge Functions, auto-generated REST/GraphQL APIs and vector storage buckets — Neon replaces only the Postgres database. neon.com
Watch out for:
- Avoid pg_dump over a pooled connection string — Neon's docs say to skip it neon.com
- Expect harmless 'must be owner' errors on restore; Neon's superuser can't ALTER OWNER neon.com
- pg_dumpall, the -C/--create flag, tablespaces and large objects aren't supported neon.com
Official guide neon.com · Tools: Neon Auth (Managed Better Auth) SDK, Neon Data API
Moves: Auth client configuration and newly created user accounts going forward (partial). neon.com
Doesn't move: Existing password-based user accounts and their hashes — different hashing algorithm, no automatic transfer; Phone/SMS or WhatsApp authentication; SAML SSO; Web3 wallet sign-in; Automatic email verification flow — you must build your own verification UI. neon.com
Watch out for:
- "Existing password-based users cannot migrate due to different hashing algorithms" neon.com
To Supabase (self-hosted)
Official guide supabase.com · Tools: Docker Compose, Supabase self-hosting setup script
Moves: Database roles, schema and data (partial). supabase.com
Doesn't move: Storage objects; Branching, managed backups/PITR, advanced analytics, vector storage buckets, ETL and the platform management API — hosted-only features. supabase.com
Watch out for:
- Logs & Analytics (Logflare) are off by default to save memory; enable it manually if you want it supabase.com
- You take over backups, upgrades, secrets and infrastructure management yourself supabase.com
- Storage objects aren't in the CLI dump and must be moved separately supabase.com
From each destination's own migration docs and switching pages, plus community write-ups where no official guide exists, each checked against its page. Confirm terms on the linked page before you rely on an offer.
Open-source and forkable options
- Supabase (self-hosted): Self-host with Docker on a server with at least 4 GB RAM, 2 CPU cores and 40 GB SSD. You own backups and upgrades. License: Apache-2.0 · source code
Open source means no license fee, not free to run: the server, backups and upgrades are yours. Read the license before you fork or resell; several of these are open-core or source-available.
FAQ
What happens if I downgrade Supabase to Free?
The organization gets credits for unused time on Pro, which don't expire. Free projects get no automatic backups and pause after a week of inactivity, and you get 2 active free projects. supabase.com
How do I back up my Supabase database?
With the CLI: supabase db dump writes roles, schema and data as 3 SQL files. Storage objects aren't included, so copy them separately. supabase.com
Can I self-host Supabase?
Yes, with Docker on a server with at least 4 GB of RAM, 2 CPU cores and 40 GB of SSD. The code is Apache-2.0, and backups and upgrades are yours. the math
What does Pro cost as my users grow?
$25/mo includes 100,000 monthly active users; each one after that costs $0.00325. supabase.com
Is Neon only a database alternative?
No. Neon’s current documentation includes Managed Better Auth, with users and sessions stored in Postgres and branched with the database. The path modeled here is narrower. Check your framework, OAuth configuration and migration needs before replacing Supabase Auth. neon.com
What must I check beyond a successful database import?
Run the real read and write flows with signed-out users and distinct signed-in accounts. Review table grants, row-level policies and backend-only credentials. Check denied operations as well as allowed operations; changing a connection string is not an authorization review. supabase.com
Can I keep Supabase and reduce the scope of the bill?
Start with the features and usage in the replacement recipe. A downgrade preserves the integration, but only fits if the Free limits, inactivity behavior and manual backup work are acceptable. A price difference alone is not a reason to discard a working backend. recipe
When is building or self-hosting the better choice?
It is a candidate when control or a specific missing workflow justifies operating the stack. Name the person responsible for updates, monitoring and restores, and include that time in the cost comparison. Keep managed hosting when nobody can carry those responsibilities. supabase.com
Does a database backup include uploaded files?
No. Supabase database backups include Storage metadata rather than the objects. Keep a separate file backup and verify both the database restore and file recovery before relying on a new host. supabase.com
Keep reading
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find_alternatives({"vendor": "Supabase", "monthly_spend_usd": 25,
"features_used": ["Postgres database", "Auth"], "usage": {"mau": 3000, "db_gb": 0.2}})