Pricing Overview
Key Insight: Firebase is cheapest for low-traffic MVPs (free tier covers 100K reads/day). PlanetScale is cheapest per-operation at scale ($10-50/mo for most apps). Supabase is middle ground (same pricing as Firebase, but open-source + Postgres advantage). For a typical SaaS: Firebase Free works until 100K DAU, then PlanetScale ($10/mo) is 4-5x cheaper than Firebase Blaze ($200-500/mo at scale).
| Platform |
Free Tier |
Entry Paid |
Scale Plan |
| Firebase |
Spark (100K reads/day, 10GB) |
Blaze (pay-as-you-go, $1/100K reads) |
Blaze (scales with usage) |
| Supabase |
Free (2GB, 2 concurrent connections) |
Pro ($25/mo, 8GB) |
Business ($250-1K/mo, custom) |
| PlanetScale |
Free (1 database, 5GB, no backups) |
Hobby ($10/mo, 100GB, daily backups) |
Pro ($50+/mo, unlimited scale) |
Real Cost Models by App Type
Typical SaaS MVP (1-5K DAU)
| Platform |
Database |
Reads/Writes |
Total Monthly Cost |
| Firebase |
Spark Free (10GB) |
~50K reads/day = 1.5M/month (within free) |
$0/mo |
| Supabase |
Pro (8GB) |
~50K reads/day included |
$25/mo |
| PlanetScale |
Free tier (5GB) |
~50K reads/day included |
$0/mo |
| Winner: 🏆 Firebase Free or PlanetScale Free ($0/mo) |
Growing SaaS (50K-500K DAU)
| Platform |
Database + Storage |
Read/Write Operations |
Total Monthly Cost |
| Firebase |
Blaze (50GB) |
1.5B reads/month = $150 |
$150-200/mo |
| Supabase |
Pro (8GB) → Business (25GB) = $250/mo |
Included in plan |
$250/mo |
| PlanetScale |
Pro (unlimited) |
Included in plan |
$50/mo |
| Winner: 🏆 PlanetScale Pro ($50/mo) is 3-5x cheaper than Firebase ($150-200/mo) |
Large SaaS / Production Scale (1M+ DAU)
| Platform |
Database + Storage |
API Requests |
Total Monthly Cost |
| Firebase |
Blaze (500GB+) |
30B reads/month = $3,000 |
$3,000-5,000+/mo |
| Supabase |
Business plan (custom) |
Included + overage fees |
$1,000-2,000/mo |
| PlanetScale |
Pro or Enterprise (unlimited) |
Included (no per-query billing) |
$100-500/mo |
| Winner: 🏆 PlanetScale ($100-500/mo) is 6-30x cheaper than Firebase ($3K-5K/mo) |
Cost Behavior at Scale: Firebase's per-operation billing ($1 per 100K reads) becomes expensive exponentially. PlanetScale's flat rate ($50-500/mo) doesn't change with traffic volume. Supabase is in between: flat monthly fee but with storage/user limits. For high-read apps (social networks, dashboards, analytics), PlanetScale wins decisively.
Feature Comparison
| Feature |
Firebase |
Supabase |
PlanetScale |
| Database type |
✓ NoSQL (Firestore) |
✓ SQL (PostgreSQL) |
✓ SQL (MySQL 8) |
| Real-time database |
✓ Built-in |
✓ Real-time subscriptions |
✗ Need external solution |
| Authentication |
✓ Built-in (Firebase Auth) |
✓ Built-in (Auth0 integration) |
✗ Bring your own |
| Hosting / Functions |
✓ Cloud Functions included |
⚠ Via Edge Functions (limited) |
✗ Separate service needed |
| File storage |
✓ Cloud Storage |
✓ Built-in (S3-compatible) |
✗ Use S3/Cloudinary |
| SDK / Client library |
✓ Firebase SDK |
✓ Supabase JS client |
⚠ Any MySQL driver |
| Query builder / ORM |
⚠ Limited (Firestore queries) |
✓ PostgREST + ORM support |
✓ Any ORM (Prisma, TypeORM) |
| Migration / data portability |
✗ Hard to migrate from |
✓ Standard PostgreSQL |
✓ Standard MySQL |
| Open source option |
✗ Proprietary |
✓ Open source |
⚠ Managed only |
Hidden Costs & Overage Traps
Firebase Hidden Costs
Read/write operations scale exponentially: Each document read = 1 read op. If you query 100 documents to find 1, that's 100 reads. Big surprise bills when inefficient queries run in production.
Index creation and deletion costs: Creating composite indexes can trigger unexpected billing. Deleting data also counts as write operations.
Egress bandwidth: $0.12/GB egress for data leaving Google Cloud. A viral product can hit $1K+ in egress alone.
Storage pricing is high: Firestore storage is $0.18/GB/month (after 1GB free). For 100GB, that's $18/mo just for storage.
Supabase Hidden Costs
Storage limits on lower tiers: Free = 2GB, Pro = 8GB. Upgrading to Business ($250+/mo) is expensive jump. No pay-as-you-go for overages.
Concurrent connection limits: Free = 2 connections (kills you in production). Pro = 20 connections (barely enough for a small team + API).
No unlimited reads/writes: Pro plan includes up to ~100K monthly API calls. Beyond that, you need Business plan or face overage pricing.
PlanetScale Hidden Costs
Free tier is dev-only (no backups): If you need automatic backups for even small production, you need Hobby ($10/mo).
Branching and deploy requests have limits: Free = 5 databases, 1 branch per database. Production environments may need upgrade for multiple branches/deploys.
Connection pools add complexity: PlanetScale's connection pooling can catch developers off guard (session/transaction mode has limits).
When to Choose Each Platform
Choose Firebase if:
- NoSQL document store is your model: Firebase Firestore is built for JSON documents, not relational data.
- Real-time features are critical: Firebase's real-time listeners are native and powerful (chat, collaborative editing, live dashboards).
- You want an all-in-one backend: Auth, database, storage, functions, hosting all in one Google ecosystem.
- Your app has low to medium read volume: Under 100K reads/day, Firebase Free tier works. Above that, costs explode.
- You're building for mobile (iOS/Android): Firebase SDK is optimized for mobile clients.
Choose Supabase if:
- You want PostgreSQL (relational data): Complex relationships, queries, and ACID transactions require SQL.
- Open-source and self-hosting matter: Supabase is open-source. You can self-host if needed.
- You need real-time + SQL: Supabase adds real-time subscriptions on top of PostgreSQL (unique advantage).
- You want Firebase-like DX with SQL power: Supabase's interface and SDKs feel similar to Firebase but you get SQL.
- Storage and auth must be included: File storage + authentication built-in.
Choose PlanetScale if:
- You're building a traditional SaaS: Relational data (users, transactions, products) fits MySQL perfectly.
- You want flat-rate pricing: $50-500/mo covers unlimited reads/writes. No surprise bills.
- Scalability without rearchitecting: PlanetScale uses MySQL's Vitess layer for horizontal scaling without sharding.
- You need existing ORM support: Prisma, TypeORM, Sequelize all work. Use any MySQL driver.
- Cost is a top priority: For high-traffic apps, PlanetScale is unbeatable ($50-500 vs Firebase $3K-5K).
Cost Optimization Tips
Firebase Cost Optimization
- Use Spark Free as long as possible: It covers 100K reads/day with no billing. Structure your app to stay within this limit.
- Query efficiently: Each document read = 1 operation. Batch queries. Use pagination. Avoid fetching entire collections.
- Add indexes strategically: Composite indexes cost to create/delete. Plan index structure upfront.
- Archive old data: Firestore storage costs $0.18/GB. Move old data to Cloud Storage ($0.020/GB) or delete.
Supabase Cost Optimization
- Stay on Pro ($25/mo) as long as possible: Only upgrade to Business if you exceed 8GB storage or need advanced features.
- Use connection pooling: Reduce connection overhead to avoid hitting the 20-connection Pro limit.
- Optimize API calls: Each API call counts toward monthly limit. Batch requests, use webhooks instead of polling.
PlanetScale Cost Optimization
- Start on Free tier: PlanetScale Free supports full app development (just no automatic backups).
- Use Hobby ($10/mo) for production: Automatic backups + larger scale. This is the lowest production-ready tier.
- Avoid excessive branching: Each branch uses resources. Pro plan ($50/mo) supports more branches for parallel development.
- Connection pooling is built-in: Use it to scale to 1000+ connections without increasing cost.
Firebase → Supabase Migration vs Firebase → PlanetScale
Firebase → Supabase
Difficulty: Medium (data structure change: NoSQL → SQL)
- Export Firestore as JSON
- Design PostgreSQL schema for your data
- Import data into Supabase (1-3 days for large datasets)
- Update client code to use PostgREST API instead of Firestore SDK
When to do it: Complex queries, relational data, or cost savings matter. Firebase is 2-3x more expensive at scale.
Firebase → PlanetScale
Difficulty: Medium (same as Supabase, plus you lose built-in auth/storage)
When to do it: You need ultra-low cost and can manage auth + storage separately (Auth0, Stripe, S3).
Supabase ↔ PlanetScale
Difficulty: Easy (both SQL, just different database engine)
When to do it: Low barrier. If Supabase's included features aren't used, PlanetScale + Auth0 might be cheaper.
Compare Your Actual Stack
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FAQ
What's the easiest migration from Firebase?
Supabase or PlanetScale both work. Supabase is easiest because it's "Firebase but with SQL" (same UI patterns). PlanetScale requires you to build your own auth/storage layer.
Should I use Firebase for a real-time chat app?
Yes, Firebase excels here. Real-time database is native and low-latency. Supabase can do it too (via real-time subscriptions), but Firebase's Firestore is more elegant for this use case.
Is PlanetScale production-ready for startups?
Yes, absolutely. PlanetScale Hobby ($10/mo) includes automatic backups, daily snapshots, and can handle millions of rows. Perfectly production-ready for early-stage startups.
Can I use PlanetScale with Django / Rails / PHP?
Yes, it's MySQL 8. Any ORM or database driver that speaks MySQL works. Prisma, Django ORM, Sequelize, etc. are all supported.
Does Firebase have a free tier for serious development?
Yes, Spark Free tier is generous: 100K reads/day, 10GB storage, 100 concurrent connections. This covers small-medium MVPs. But you can't predict when you'll hit limits, so don't rely on it for production.