Quick answer
Supabase - Supabase wins for most builders because its free tier is broader for real backend work and its paid path scales more naturally on usage, while 8base is better if you want a low-code app builder with a flatter upgrade path.
How the free tiers compare
8base and Supabase both give you a usable free tier, but they optimize for different builders. 8base is a backend-as-a-service with a built-in app builder, so the free plan is attractive if you want one project, one team member, GraphQL, custom functions, and hosting in a low-code workflow. Its limits are tight and explicit: 2,500 rows, 0.5 GB files, 1 GB-hour compute, and 100,000 API calls. Supabase is more backend-first and more generous where builders usually feel pain: unlimited database API requests, 50,000 MAUs, 500 MB database, 5 GB egress, 1 GB storage, 500,000 Edge Function invocations, and 2 active projects. After free, 8base is mostly flat or per-seat. Supabase Pro starts usage-based, so it can stay cheap for small apps and rise with traffic.
8base vs Supabase free tier, side by side
| 8baseFTV 45 | SupabaseFTV 50 | |
|---|---|---|
| Team members8base Free includes 1 team member. Supabase Free allows unlimited team members in the dashboard. | 1 | Unlimited |
| Active projectsSupabase explicitly caps free projects at 2 active projects. | 1 backend application per project | 2 active projects |
| Database rows / DB sizeThese are not directly equivalent, but they show the scale gap. | 2,500 database rows | 500 MB database size per project |
| File storageSupabase also lists a 50 MB max file upload size on Free. | 0.5 GB | 1 GB |
| API usage8base Free has an explicit API-call cap; Supabase Free does not list a database API request cap. | 100,000 GraphQL API calls per month | Unlimited API requests for database access and operations |
| Compute / functionsDifferent metering units, so treat this as directional. | 1 GB-hours of serverless computing | 500,000 Edge Function invocations |
| Bandwidth / egressSupabase also includes 5 GB cached egress. | 2 GB per month | 5 GB egress bandwidth |
| Realtime / subscriptionsBoth include realtime-style features on free tiers. | 100,000 GraphQL subscription events per month | Up to 2 million realtime messages per month |
| UsersSupabase’s MAU limit is much higher on Free. | Up to 5 client app users | Up to 50,000 monthly active users |
After you outgrow the free tier
8base’s paid path is simpler: Developer is a flat $25/month, then Professional and Enterprise move to per-seat pricing with minimum seat counts. Supabase starts at Pro from $25/month, but it is usage-based, so costs rise with MAUs, storage, egress, and Edge Function invocations. That means small apps can stay close to $25 on Supabase, while heavier traffic can grow the bill quickly. 8base is more predictable if you only need the first paid step, but Supabase is usually cheaper for low-to-moderate usage and more elastic as your app scales.
Cost at real usage
| Usage | 8base | Supabase |
|---|---|---|
| 50,000 MAUs, 5 GB egress, 1 GB storage, 500k Edge Function invocationsSupabase Pro includes 100,000 MAUs, 250 GB egress, 100 GB storage, and 2 million invocations before overages. | $25/mo | $25/mo |
| 100,000 MAUs, 8 GB disk, 8 GB file storage, 2 million Edge Function invocationsSupabase Pro starts at $25 and includes these amounts before overages in the listed quota units. | $25/mo | $25/mo |
| 200,000 MAUsSupabase Pro includes 100,000 MAUs, then $0.00325 per additional MAU, so 100,000 extra MAUs add about $325. | $25/mo | ~$350/mo |
| 300 GB egressSupabase Pro includes 250 GB egress, then $0.09 per GB. The extra 50 GB adds about $4.50. | $25/mo | ~$29.50/mo |
Estimates, not quotes. Usage-based rates change - verify with the vendor's pricing page before committing.
When to pick each one
Pick 8base when…
- You want a low-code backend plus frontend app builder in one place.
- You are building a small internal app or prototype with one team member and one project.
- You care about GraphQL-first APIs, custom functions, and project hosting together.
- Your app is small enough to fit within 2,500 rows and 100,000 API calls per month.
Pick Supabase when…
- You want a Postgres-backed backend with broader free usage limits.
- You need more than one active project on the free tier.
- You expect your early app to need many API reads but modest database size.
- You want a paid plan that can start at $25/month and then scale with usage rather than jumping straight to a seat-based model.
- You care about auth, realtime, storage, and edge functions in a more conventional backend stack.
Bottom line
For the most common builder case, Supabase is the better free-tier pick because it gives you more room to prototype a real backend before you pay, especially on API usage, MAUs, and project count. 8base is the better choice if you want the combined backend and frontend builder experience and you expect a smaller, tighter project footprint. Once you pay, 8base is simpler to predict. Supabase is cheaper at small scale, but its usage-based model matters more as traffic grows.
Read the full listings: 8base and Supabase. Scores use the FTV methodology at /ftv. Browse more head-to-heads on /compare, or see the top-ranked free tiers on /top.