Supabase
Supabase Inc.
8.2
Overall Score / 10
Railway
Railway Corporation
7.9
Overall Score / 10
Our Verdict
Choose Supabase if:
- —You want a complete backend-as-a-service with auth and real-time built in
- —You want auto-generated REST and GraphQL APIs from your database
- —You prefer a managed PostgreSQL with row-level security
Choose Railway if:
- —You need to host custom backend services in any language
- —You want flexibility to use any database (MySQL, Redis, MongoDB)
- —You're deploying Docker containers and need general-purpose hosting
The biggest difference: Supabase is a complete backend-as-a-service with auto-generated APIs and auth; Railway is a general hosting platform where you deploy any app and database
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Criteria | Supabase | Railway |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest Paid Plan | $25/mo (Pro)Source: Supabase Inc. pricing page → | $5/mo (Hobby)Source: Railway Corporation pricing page → |
| Free Tier | Yes 2 projects, 500MB database, 50K MAUs, 1GB file storage, auto-pauses after 7 days inactivity | Yes $5 one-time trial credit, 30-day trial, limited resources |
| Value for Money | 9 | 8 |
| Ease of Use | 7 | 9 |
| Feature Power | 9 | 7 |
| Setup Ease | 8 | 9 |
| Migration Ease | 5 | 6 |
| Transparency | 9 | 8 |
| Deployment | hybrid | cloud |
| API Available | Yes | Yes |
| Platforms | Web, CLI, Self-hosted (Docker) | Web, CLI |
| Compliance | SOC 2 Type II (Team+), GDPR, HIPAA (Enterprise) | SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, HIPAA (Enterprise) |
Feature Comparison
Feature Comparison Matrix
20 features compared · 19 differences
| Feature | Supabase | Railway |
|---|---|---|
| Core | ||
| Authentication | Full | None |
| Auto-scaling | None | Full |
| Cron jobs | None | Full |
| Databases (Postgres, MySQL, Redis, MongoDB) | None | Full |
| Edge functions | Full | None |
| File storage | Full | None |
| GitHub-based deploys | None | Full |
| Instant rollbacks | None | Full |
| Logs and metrics | None | Full |
| Open source | Full | None |
| PostgreSQL database | Full | None |
| Private networking | None | Full |
| Real-time subscriptions | Full | None |
| TCP proxying | None | Full |
| Vector embeddings | Full | None |
| Volume storage | None | Full |
| Advanced | ||
| Templates marketplace | None | Full |
| Integrations | ||
| Auto-generated APIs | Full | Full |
| Database webhooks | Full | None |
| Security | ||
| Row-level security | Full | None |
Pricing Comparison
Supabase Pricing
2 projects, 500MB database, 50K MAUs, 1GB file storage (pauses after 7 days inactive)
8GB database, 100K MAUs, 100GB storage, no pausing, $10 compute credits included
SOC2, daily backups, advanced collaboration, priority support
HIPAA, dedicated infrastructure, custom contracts, SLA
Railway Pricing
$5 one-time credit, 30-day trial, 1 vCPU / 0.5GB RAM per service
$5 included usage, up to 48 vCPU / 48GB RAM, 5GB storage, 5 replicas
$20 included usage, up to 1K vCPU / 1TB RAM, 1TB storage, unlimited seats
SSO, HIPAA BAAs, audit logs, 2.4K vCPU, dedicated VMs, support SLOs
Who Should Choose Which?
Who should choose Supabase
Best for
- Developers wanting an open-source Firebase alternative with SQL
- Full-stack teams needing auth + database + storage + real-time
- Projects wanting to avoid vendor lock-in with PostgreSQL
Avoid if
- You need always-on free tier (projects pause after 7 days)
- You want a NoSQL database (Supabase is PostgreSQL)
- You need a mature enterprise support ecosystem
Who should choose Railway
Best for
- Developers wanting a modern Heroku replacement
- Full-stack teams deploying apps + databases together
- Hobbyists and indie hackers wanting affordable hosting
Avoid if
- You need a permanent free tier
- You need enterprise compliance from day one
- You want frontend-specific optimizations (Vercel/Netlify are better)
Switching Guidance
Switching from Supabase
Common triggers to leave:
- •Free tier pauses inactive projects
- •Need NoSQL flexibility
- •Need mature enterprise features
Potential blockers:
- •PostgreSQL data and schema
- •Auth configuration
- •Edge function code
- •Real-time subscription setup
Switching from Railway
Common triggers to leave:
- •Need permanent free tier
- •Need enterprise compliance
- •Need frontend-specific features
Potential blockers:
- •Deployed services and databases
- •Environment configurations
- •Private networking setup
Try Supabase
Start free — no credit card required
Try Railway
Start free — no credit card required