Supabase vs Turso
Supabase gives each project a dedicated Postgres database plus authentication, storage, realtime subscriptions and auto-generated APIs, aimed at teams wanting a full backend platform. Turso is built on libSQL, an open source fork of SQLite, and is designed for creating many small, embeddable databases replicated close to users for low-latency reads at the edge. Choose Supabase if you want one full-featured Postgres backend with built-in auth and storage; choose Turso if your architecture calls for many lightweight SQLite-compatible databases distributed globally.
Facts checked on against the official sources listed at the end. Usage numbers update daily.
Best for
A full backend platform built around one Postgres database per project
Free plan. Paid from $25 a month (Pro), plus usage above the included limits.
Best for
Many small SQLite-compatible databases replicated globally for edge apps
Free plan. Paid from $4.99 a month for the Developer plan.
Supabase vs Turso at a glance
| Compared on | Supabase | Turso |
|---|---|---|
| Database engine | Postgres | libSQL, an open source fork of SQLite |
| Typical database count | One database per project, scaled vertically | Often many databases (e.g. per user or tenant), scaled horizontally |
| Built-in auth and storage | Yes, included as part of the platform | No; Turso is a database service only |
| Edge replication | Not a core feature; primarily single-region per project | Core feature; databases replicate close to users automatically |
| Free tier limits | 500 MB database, 2 active projects, pauses after 1 week idle | 100 databases, 5 GB storage, 500M rows read/month |
| Paid entry price | $25 a month (Pro) | $4.99 a month (Developer) |
| Open source | Yes, Apache-2.0 | No, MIT (libSQL, the open source engine Turso is built on) |
| Free plan | Yes: 2 active projects, 500 MB database, 50,000 monthly active users, 1 GB file storage. Projects pause after 1 week of inactivity. | Yes: 100 databases, 5 GB storage, 500 million rows read and 10 million rows written a month |
| Paid plans from | $25 a month (Pro), plus usage above the included limits | $4.99 a month for the Developer plan |
| Made by | Supabase Inc. | Turso (Chiselstrike, Inc.) |
| Launched | 2020 | Not listed |
What's the difference between Supabase and Turso?
Supabase is architected around one Postgres database per project with built-in auth,
Supabase is architected around one Postgres database per project with built-in auth, storage and realtime; Turso is architected around many small, cheap-to-create SQLite-compatible databases, often one per user or tenant, replicated globally.
Turso's core selling point is edge replication, keeping read latency low by
Turso's core selling point is edge replication, keeping read latency low by placing copies of a database near users; Supabase doesn't offer built-in multi-region replication of this kind.
Supabase bundles a full backend platform (auth, storage, realtime, edge functions)
Supabase bundles a full backend platform (auth, storage, realtime, edge functions); Turso is focused purely on the database layer, so auth and storage need separate services.
Turso's free tier allows up to 100 separate databases, fitting a per-tenant
Turso's free tier allows up to 100 separate databases, fitting a per-tenant database pattern; Supabase's free tier is capped at 2 active projects, fitting a single-app pattern instead.
Supabase vs Turso pricing
Supabase's free plan covers 2 projects and 500 MB, with Pro from $25 a month. Turso's free plan covers 100 databases and 5 GB storage, with paid plans starting at $4.99 a month.
Supabase
Free plan: 2 active projects, 500 MB database, 50,000 monthly active users, pauses after 1 week idle. Pro from $25 a month: 8 GB database, no pausing.
- Free
- $0
- Pro
- From $25 a month
- Team
- From $599 a month
- Enterprise
- Custom
Turso
Free: 100 databases, 5 GB storage, 500M rows read and 10M rows written a month. Developer at $4.99/month: unlimited databases, 9 GB storage, 2.5B rows read a month.
- Free
- $0 a month
- Developer
- $4.99 a month
- Scaler
- $24.92 a month
- Pro
- $416.58 a month
- Enterprise
- Custom pricing
Prices in USD from the official pricing pages on 30 September 2026. They change often, so confirm on supabase.com and turso.tech before you commit.
Usage and activity
Supabase has 6.5 times as many GitHub stars as Turso (112k against 17.3k). Weekly npm downloads: 35M for @supabase/supabase-js and 4.1M for @libsql/client.
| Measure | Supabase | Turso |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | 111,618 | 17,276 |
| npm downloads a week | 35M (@supabase/supabase-js) | 4.1M (@libsql/client) |
| Latest release | v1.26.08, 2 months ago | libsql-server-v0…, 1 year ago |
| Releases in 90 days | 1 | 0 |
From the public GitHub and npm APIs, updated daily. Stars and downloads show developer interest, not product quality.
Should you choose Supabase or Turso?
Choose Supabase if
- You want one full-featured Postgres database with auth, storage and realtime built in
- Your app follows a traditional single-database-per-project structure
- You need relational features like complex joins and Postgres extensions
- You want a single platform rather than assembling a database plus separate auth service
Choose Turso if
- Your architecture benefits from many small, cheaply created databases (e.g. per-tenant or per-user)
- You want database reads replicated close to users worldwide for low latency
- SQLite's simplicity fits your data model better than a full Postgres server
- You're building for edge or serverless environments where lightweight databases matter
Switching between Supabase and Turso
Moving from Supabase to Turso means restructuring around SQLite's simpler data model and typically splitting a single Postgres database into many smaller per-tenant SQLite-compatible databases, while replacing Supabase's built-in auth and storage with separate services. Moving from Turso to Supabase usually means consolidating many small databases into fewer Postgres databases and gaining built-in auth, storage and realtime in the process.
Supabase vs Turso: common questions
Is Turso a replacement for Postgres?
Not directly. Turso is built on libSQL, a SQLite fork, which is a simpler embedded-style database rather than a full Postgres server. It suits different patterns, particularly many small databases rather than one large relational one.
Does Turso include authentication like Supabase?
No. Turso is a database service only; you'd need to add a separate authentication provider, whereas Supabase includes auth as part of its platform.
Why would I want many small databases instead of one?
A per-tenant or per-user database pattern, which Turso is designed for, can simplify data isolation and let you replicate just the data a given user needs close to them, reducing latency compared to one large centralized database.
Can I self-host either of these?
Supabase can be self-hosted since its code is Apache-2.0 licensed. Turso's underlying libSQL engine is open source (MIT), though Turso the managed platform itself is a proprietary service.
Which is cheaper to start with?
Turso's paid tier starts lower, at $4.99 a month, compared to Supabase's Pro plan at $25 a month, though both have usable free tiers for small projects.
Other options to consider
All databases tools
Redis
In-memory data store used as a cache, database and message broker, available self-hosted or as Redis Cloud.
MongoDB Atlas
MongoDB's fully managed cloud database service, with a free tier and usage-based paid tiers.
Firebase
Google's backend-as-a-service platform for mobile and web apps: database, auth, hosting and functions.
Neon
Serverless Postgres platform with autoscaling and instant branching, owned by Databricks.
Sources
More sources for each tool are on the Supabase and Turso pages.
Related comparisons
ConvexvsSupabase
Supabase is an open source platform built around a dedicated Postgres database, with auth, storage and auto-generated APIs, so you work in SQL.
SupabasevsFirebase
Supabase is an open source backend built around a dedicated Postgres database, with auth, storage and auto-generated APIs, so you work in SQL.
NeonvsTurso
Neon is a serverless Postgres platform, now owned by Databricks, that separates storage and compute so databases scale to zero and support instant, copy-on-write branching.
SupabasevsAppwrite
Supabase gives every project a dedicated Postgres database alongside auth, storage and auto-generated APIs, with plans priced per organization.
PocketbasevsSupabase
PocketBase is a free, open source backend that ships as a single executable file with an embedded SQLite database, meant to be self-hosted with no official managed cloud.
NeonvsSupabase
Neon is a serverless Postgres platform, now owned by Databricks, focused on scale-to-zero compute and instant, copy-on-write database branching.
PlanetScalevsSupabase
PlanetScale is a managed database platform built by the creators of Vitess, offering pay-as-you-go MySQL and Postgres with no free plan, starting around $5 a month.
SupabasevsMongoDB Atlas
Supabase gives every project a dedicated Postgres database bundled with authentication, auto-generated APIs, realtime subscriptions and file storage, aimed at teams that want a full backend platform.