PocketBase vs Supabase for Solo Developers

Quick Comparison

PocketBase Overview

PocketBase is a single Go binary that gives you a database, authentication, file storage, realtime subscriptions, and an admin UI. The whole backend is one executable and one SQLite file. You run it with ./pocketbase serve and you have a working API in seconds.

The admin dashboard is built in and looks great out of the box. You define collections through the UI or via migrations, set up access rules per collection, and the auto-generated REST and realtime APIs just work. The JavaScript SDK is small and intuitive. Email auth, OAuth providers, and password resets are wired in by default.

For solo developers who want to ship a small to medium app fast without managing five different cloud services, PocketBase is unbeatable in raw productivity. Deploying it is copying a binary and a data file to any VPS. Backups are copying the SQLite file. It's the simplest production-ready backend you can run.

Supabase Overview

Supabase is the open source Firebase alternative built on Postgres. You get a managed Postgres database, GoTrue auth, S3-compatible storage, realtime subscriptions over Postgres logical replication, edge functions powered by Deno, and a generated REST and GraphQL API via PostgREST. Vector search via pgvector is also built in.

The hosted product has a generous free tier and starts at $25 per month for the Pro plan. Self-hosting is supported but it's a real multi-service stack with Postgres, GoTrue, Realtime, Storage API, Kong, and Studio. It runs, but it's a lot more to operate than a single Go binary.

Supabase has become the default Postgres-based BaaS for serious projects. The Row Level Security model is powerful, the SQL-first approach scales well, and the team ships a lot. For anything that's going to grow beyond a small app, Supabase's foundation on Postgres is a major long-term advantage.

Key Differences

Operational simplicity is in completely different leagues. PocketBase is one binary and one file. You can SCP it to a $5 VPS and you're done. Supabase self-hosted needs Docker Compose running a half-dozen services, a separate Postgres tuning conversation, and meaningful disk and RAM. For a small project, PocketBase wins by an enormous margin.

Database engines have real consequences. PocketBase uses SQLite, which is fantastic up to a certain point and then you either shard, switch to a SQLite-replication tool like Litestream/Turso, or migrate. Supabase uses Postgres, which scales much further before you have to think about it, and you get real concurrency, full-text search, vector search, and a massive ecosystem of extensions.

Security model differs philosophically. PocketBase uses collection-level access rules expressed in a custom filter syntax that's easy to learn. Supabase uses Postgres Row Level Security, which is significantly more powerful but takes longer to internalize. For simple "users can only see their own records" rules, both work. For complex multi-tenant logic, RLS gives you more rope.

Realtime implementations have different ceilings. PocketBase realtime works over Server-Sent Events and scales to a few thousand concurrent clients per instance comfortably. Supabase realtime is built on Postgres logical replication and is designed to scale much higher. For a niche app or internal tool, PocketBase is plenty. For a consumer product hoping to grow, Supabase has more headroom.

Ecosystem and momentum are different scales. Supabase has a huge community, lots of integrations, hundreds of templates, and partnerships across the JavaScript ecosystem. PocketBase has a passionate smaller community and excellent docs but a fraction of the surface area. For learning resources and finding answers to obscure questions, Supabase has more material.

When to Choose PocketBase

• You're building a small to medium app and want one binary you fully understand
• You want true zero-ops backend with backups that are just file copies
• You like SQLite's simplicity and you know your traffic ceiling
• You want the admin dashboard, auth, and file storage in one package
• You'd rather run a $5 VPS than manage a cloud platform

When to Choose Supabase

• You want Postgres specifically (vector search, JSONB, extensions, full-text)
• Your app might grow large and you want the bigger ceiling on day one
• You need a fully managed product with the Pro plan's support
• You want Row Level Security for complex multi-tenant logic
• You'll lean on edge functions or the broader Supabase ecosystem

The Verdict

For small solo developer projects (internal tools, niche SaaS, side projects with predictable scale), PocketBase is the better choice. The single-binary deployment story is genuinely transformative when you're managing everything alone. You spend zero time on infrastructure and all your time on features.

For projects you actually expect to grow into a real business, Supabase is the safer foundation. Postgres gives you a ceiling that's hard to hit, the hosted Pro plan removes infrastructure work entirely, and the Row Level Security model handles the kind of complex permission logic real products eventually need.

The honest answer for most solo developers is to pick based on ambition. Building something you'd be happy keeping small and cheap forever? PocketBase. Building something you'd love to see grow into a real SaaS with users you don't know personally? Supabase. The migration story from PocketBase to Postgres later is doable but annoying, so the upfront decision matters more than people admit.