head to head · open source
Supabase vs postgres
Supabase has 109,930 GitHub stars, 14,175 forks, 1,128 open issues and last shipped today. postgres has 8,730 stars, 374 forks, 303 open issues and last shipped 16 days ago. Supabase leads on adoption by 1,159% (109,930 vs 8,730 stars). Supabase is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; postgres is written in JavaScript under Unlicense. Supabase has attracted 13% as many forks as stars, postgres 4%. Supabase was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (database, deno), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Supabase | postgres | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 110K | ★ 8.7K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Unlicense |
| Written in | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 14K | ⑂ 374 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Supabase if
- You weight community size — 110K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick postgres if
- You want the postgres feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Unlicense license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and postgres fits your workflow better
About Supabase
Supabase is an open source, Apache 2.0 licensed Postgres development platform that bundles a dedicated Postgres database with authentication, auto generated APIs, realtime subscriptions, file storage, and edge functions for developers building web, mobile, and AI applications.
read the full Supabase overview →
About postgres
Postgres.js is a full featured PostgreSQL client for JavaScript and TypeScript runtimes — Node.js, Deno, Bun and Cloudflare — published to npm as postgres , and it is aimed at developers who need to query a PostgreSQL database from application code without adopting a heavier ORM or query builder.
read the full postgres overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Supabase or postgres more popular?
Supabase has 109,930 GitHub stars and postgres has 8,730. Supabase has the larger community by that measure.
Are Supabase and postgres free?
Both are open source. Supabase is licensed under Apache-2.0 and postgres under Unlicense. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Supabase and postgres?
Supabase is written in TypeScript and postgres in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Supabase or postgres?
Choose Supabase if you want the larger community (109,930 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose postgres if its feature set, stack or Unlicense licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.