Supabase vs DynamoDB for Solo Developers

Quick Comparison

Supabase Overview

Supabase packages PostgreSQL with authentication, file storage, real-time subscriptions, edge functions, and auto-generated REST APIs. It's a complete backend that you can start using in minutes. The free tier is generous enough to build and launch a full MVP.

What I appreciate about Supabase is how much it eliminates. No building an auth system. No writing CRUD API endpoints. No setting up file upload infrastructure. Define your tables, set your row-level security policies, and your frontend talks directly to the database through a type-safe client library. For a solo developer, that's weeks of backend work you skip entirely.

The PostgreSQL foundation means your data model uses proper relational tables, joins, constraints, and all the SQL features you'd expect. You're not making compromises on your data layer. You're just not building the infrastructure around it.

DynamoDB Overview

DynamoDB is AWS's fully managed NoSQL database. You get single-digit millisecond response times, virtually unlimited throughput, and zero server management. AWS handles replication, backups, and scaling completely. Your job is to design your data model and access patterns.

That "design your access patterns" part is where DynamoDB gets complicated. Unlike SQL databases where you model your data first and query it however you want later, DynamoDB requires you to know exactly how you'll access your data before you design your tables. Partition keys, sort keys, global secondary indexes. These decisions are hard to change after you've built on top of them.

The free tier provides 25GB of storage, 25 write capacity units, and 25 read capacity units. That's usable for small applications. But once traffic grows, DynamoDB's pricing model (per-request or provisioned capacity) requires careful optimization to avoid expensive surprises.

Key Differences

Data model philosophy. Supabase uses PostgreSQL, a relational database where you model your data naturally and write SQL to query it however you need. DynamoDB uses key-value pairs and documents where your table design is driven by your query patterns. Relational modeling is more intuitive for most applications. DynamoDB's model is powerful but requires a mental shift that takes time to learn well.

Query flexibility. With Supabase, you can run any SQL query. Join tables, aggregate data, filter on any column, use subqueries, window functions, full-text search. DynamoDB efficiently supports only queries that match your key design. Everything else requires expensive table scans. For solo developers who iterate quickly and change requirements often, Supabase's flexibility is critical.

Bundled services. Supabase includes auth, storage, real-time, and edge functions. DynamoDB is just a database. Need auth? Add Cognito. Need file storage? Add S3. Need an API layer? Add API Gateway and Lambda. Each AWS service adds configuration, IAM policies, and billing complexity. Supabase bundles everything with one bill and one dashboard.

Vendor lock-in. Both have lock-in concerns, but the degree differs. Supabase's data is PostgreSQL, which is standard and portable. You can dump your Supabase database and load it into any Postgres instance. DynamoDB's data model is AWS-specific. Your partition key design, your access patterns, your GSIs are all DynamoDB concepts. Migrating away means redesigning your data layer.

Developer experience. Supabase has a clean dashboard, inline SQL editor, and client libraries for every major framework. DynamoDB has the AWS Console (which is notoriously complex) and requires understanding IAM, VPCs, and AWS-specific concepts. The DX gap is enormous for solo developers.

Cost predictability. Supabase has straightforward tier pricing. Free, $25/month, $599/month. You know what you're paying. DynamoDB's pay-per-request model means your bill varies with traffic. I've seen developers get shocked by DynamoDB bills after a traffic spike. Supabase won't surprise you.

When to Choose Supabase

• You want a complete backend without assembling multiple AWS services
• You need relational data with flexible querying
• You want to start free and pay predictable amounts as you scale
• You prefer a clean developer experience over enterprise tooling
• You don't want AWS vendor lock-in

When to Choose DynamoDB

• You're building on AWS Lambda and want tight integration
• Your access patterns are well-defined and won't change
• You need virtually unlimited scale for key-value lookups
• You're already deep in the AWS ecosystem
• Your application is primarily key-value with simple access patterns

The Verdict

Supabase wins this comparison for solo developers by a wide margin. The 10/10 vs 5/10 rating reflects real differences in developer experience, cost, and practicality.

Supabase gives you a relational database with flexible querying, plus auth, storage, and real-time. One dashboard, one bill, one set of docs. DynamoDB gives you a NoSQL database that requires careful upfront design, surrounded by an ecosystem of AWS services you need to learn and configure individually.

The mental overhead of DynamoDB is the biggest issue. You spend time thinking about partition keys and access patterns instead of building features. You learn AWS IAM instead of shipping product. You debug CloudFormation templates instead of iterating on your UI. For a solo developer, every hour spent on infrastructure is an hour not spent on the product.

My recommendation: Supabase, every time. Unless you're building something specifically on AWS Lambda with well-defined key-value access patterns, DynamoDB adds complexity that doesn't serve you. Supabase lets you focus on what matters: building something people want to use.