Convex vs Supabase: What should you choose in 2025

Convex vs Supabase: Picking the Right Full-Stack Platform for Your Project

When you’re evaluating backend platforms, you need clarity on features, pricing, ecosystem, and future-proofing. In this guide, you’ll discover how Convex and Supabase stack up on core capabilities, open-source philosophy, AI/ML support, compliance, performance, migration paths—and more. By the end, you’ll know which platform fits your next web or mobile app.

What Are Convex and Supabase?

Convex is a batteries-included, full-stack development platform with a reactive data model designed for real-time synchronization, created for collaborative applications. Supabase is an open-source Backend-as-a-Service built around PostgreSQL, focused on traditional web and mobile use cases.

If Convex is new to you, start with our introduction to Convex for its database, functions, and reactive queries. To examine how those pieces work together before deciding, read the Convex architecture deep dive.

Core Feature Comparison

Both platforms cover database, authentication, functions, and hosting—but they take different approaches.

Architecture & Data Model

• Supabase uses PostgreSQL at its core, so you write SQL and enjoy ACID guarantees on every query.

• Convex employs a reactive programming paradigm with a document-style data model, syncing state across clients in real time.

If real-time updates are central to your decision, read our closer look at how Convex handles reactive queries in real-time apps. It explores the Convex approach in more detail; use the comparison above to weigh it against Supabase’s other trade-offs.

Open Source vs. Closed Source

• Supabase is fully open source, encouraging community plugins and contributions.

• Convex publishes its backend, client libraries, dashboard, and CLI as open-source software and documents how to self-host its backend.

Open Source and Self-Hosting

1. Supabase charges per service usage (database row compute, storage, bandwidth)

2. Convex bills based on compute operations and storage volume

Extensibility & Integrations

Your platform should meet your framework and edge-computing needs.

• Supabase offers Edge Functions for low-latency, global serverless code.

• Convex provides first-class JavaScript/TypeScript SDKs on npm, with plans for Rust and Dart clients.

Advanced AI/ML Workflows

If you’re building AI-powered features, here’s how each stacks up:

• Convex documents a RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) component for preparing and retrieving content. Learn more about the Retrieval-Augmented Generation approach.

• Supabase documents AI tooling built on Postgres and pgvector, including hybrid search and a toolkit for generative Q&A. Compare the setup each approach requires for your application.

Schema Management & Migrations

How you evolve your database matters over time.

• Supabase uses SQL-based migrations you’re likely familiar with (Flyway schema migration guidelines) and a dashboard to track changes.

• Convex takes a code-centric approach: define your schema in code, and migrations run automatically on deploy, similar to Prisma’s code-first migration system.

Data Privacy & Compliance

Enterprises often need GDPR, SOC 2, or HIPAA compliance.

• GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is the EU’s framework for data protection (official text).

• SOC 2 (Service Organization Controls) standards are defined by the AICPA.

• HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) is enforced by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

Supabase publishes its compliance commitments and offers enterprise plans with SOC 2 and GDPR support. Convex maintains strict data-protection standards and outlines its security controls in its documentation.

Performance & Scalability

To compare performance, test representative reads, writes, and real-time updates at your expected concurrency. Record the deployment configuration, query shapes, indexes, and latency percentiles so you can interpret the results for your application.

Migration Paths from Firebase

Moving off Firebase? Both platforms offer guides:

1. Supabase provides a Firebase-to-PostgreSQL migration tool.

2. Convex has a step-by-step Firebase migration guide.

If you are deciding whether to leave Firebase for Convex, read our Convex vs Firebase comparison for a closer look at transactions, developer tooling and real-time updates before planning a migration.

The Final Verdict

Now that you’ve seen how Convex and Supabase compare across real-time sync, self-hosting, AI support, compliance, performance, and migrations, you’re ready to choose:

• Pick Convex if you need a turnkey, reactive backend with first-class collaboration and AI features.

• Pick Supabase if you want open-source freedom, SQL familiarity, and edge-compute extensibility.

Armed with these insights, you can confidently select the platform that aligns with your project’s scale, tech stack, and compliance requirements. Good luck building!

If you need to choose and implement the backend behind a new product, explore our backend development and product engineering services.