Supabase Use Cases and Pricing

The Supabase Dashboard#

Supabase gives you a really nice dashboard, and here's what you can do in it.

• Table Editor. View and edit your data like a spreadsheet
• SQL Editor. Run database queries directly
• Authentication. Manage users (if you're using Supabase auth)
• Storage. Upload and manage files
• Logs. See what's going on with your database

You don't even need to know SQL to use Supabase. The table editor lets you point and click your way around.

Common Use Cases#

So what do people actually build with Supabase? A LOT of stuff, but these come up the most.

Chat Applications#

Real-time messaging where messages show up instantly.

Social Apps#

Posts, comments and likes that update live.

Collaborative Tools#

Think Google Docs, where a bunch of people can see changes as they happen.

Dashboards#

Show data that updates without anyone refreshing the page.

Game Leaderboards#

Scores that update live while players compete.

Pricing#

Supabase has a generous free tier. As of October 2026 it looks like this.

• Free. 2 active projects, 500 MB database per project, 1 GB file storage
• Pro. From $25/month for more resources and features

For learning and small projects, free is plenty (your wallet can relax). Two catches though. Free projects get paused after a week with no activity, so if your side project goes quiet you'll have to go into the dashboard and restore it. And the free plan doesn't include automatic backups, which start on Pro. Prices and limits move around, so check supabase.com/pricing before you count on them.

TL;DR#

• Databases store your app's data in organized tables
• Supabase is PostgreSQL with extra features built in
• Real-time updates let your app react instantly when data changes
• Supabase gives you an easy API so you can skip complicated database code
• Use Supabase for real-time apps, and Railway for simpler database needs
• The free tier is generous enough for learning and small projects, but free projects pause after a week of inactivity