Guide · Updated
Best database for vibe coders
For most beginners, start with Supabase. You get Postgres, login, and files, and you can read the data as rows. Use Firebase when you want Google's no-cost Spark quotas and you are fine with documents. Use Neon when the app code already lives in a repo and you only need Postgres that sleeps when you are not using it.
Honest pick: Supabase. Leave the database inside your app builder until you actually need to pick one.
Supabase and Firebase, side by side, are on https://buildstackweekly.com/supabase-vs-firebase. That page pairs with the database decision after the waitlist in issue 0.
Prices checked October 15, 2026 on the official pages linked in the table. A rate that is not printed as a number stays TBD. That includes Firebase's Firestore overage and any flat monthly price for Firebase Blaze or Neon.
Comparison
Prices checked on the official pages linked in the cells.
| Tool | Best for | Free | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supabase (opens in a new tab) | The default when you want rows and login | $0. 500 MB database per project, 50,000 monthly active users, 5 GB egress, 1 GB file storage, and 2 active projects. Free projects pause after 1 week of inactivity. Checked October 15, 2026 on https://supabase.com/pricing (opens in a new tab). | Pro starts at $25 a month, including $10 in compute credits for one Micro project, 8 GB disk per project, and 100,000 monthly active users. Team starts at $599 a month. Checked October 15, 2026 on https://supabase.com/pricing (opens in a new tab). |
| Firebase (opens in a new tab) | No card, if documents are fine | Spark is $0 with no payment method. Firestore standard edition: 1 GiB stored, 10 GiB egress a month, 50,000 reads a day, 20,000 writes a day, 20,000 deletes a day. Non-phone auth is included. Hosting includes a custom domain and SSL. Cloud Functions are not included. Checked October 15, 2026 on https://firebase.google.com/pricing (opens in a new tab). | Blaze is pay as you go, with no flat monthly price on the page, so that number is TBD. No-cost Spark quotas stay included. Firestore overage is Google Cloud pricing and the per-unit rate stays TBD. Cloud Functions include 2 million invocations a month, then $0.40 per million. Checked October 15, 2026 on https://firebase.google.com/pricing (opens in a new tab). |
| Neon (opens in a new tab) | Postgres only, and it sleeps when idle | $0, and no credit card. 1 GB of Postgres per project, 20 GB across the account, 100 CU-hours of compute per project, 5 GB egress per project, and up to 60,000 monthly active users. Compute scales to zero after 5 minutes. Checked October 15, 2026 on https://neon.com/pricing (opens in a new tab). | Launch and Scale are pay for what you use, with no monthly minimum. A flat monthly price is not listed, so that number is TBD. Launch compute is $0.106 per CU-hour. Storage is $0.35 per GB-month. Invoices under $0.50 are not collected. Checked October 15, 2026 on https://neon.com/pricing (opens in a new tab). |
Free tier, domains, and badges
- Supabase. Free is 500 MB and 2 active projects. Idle for a week and the project pauses.
- Firebase. Spark needs no card. Firestore free quotas are daily for reads and writes. Cloud Functions are not on Spark. A custom domain is included on hosting.
- Neon. Free is 1 GB per project and 100 CU-hours. It sleeps after 5 minutes. There is no flat paid price.
Who each tool is for
Supabase
A first real backend: rows, login, and files, and you want to look at the data.
Firebase
You want to ship without a card, and documents are an acceptable shape.
Neon
The app is already in a repo and the missing piece is Postgres.
Honest downsides
- Supabase. Free pauses after a week of inactivity. A second project on Pro is not covered by the single $10 compute credit.
- Firebase. You are not looking at SQL tables. Server functions need Blaze. The price past the free Firestore quotas is TBD.
- Neon. Free compute stops for the rest of the period if you hit 100 CU-hours or 5 GB of egress. Writes stop past 1 GB in a project. Paid is metered, so a busy database has no flat cap on the pricing page.
Who it is not for
Supabase
Not the first step if your builder already stores the data and you have not hit a limit.
Firebase
Not for a SQL table, and not for Cloud Functions on the free plan.
Neon
Not the simplest all-in-one if you also need a dashboard full of files and auth on day one and you do not want to wire them up.
Questions
What database should a vibe coder start with?
Supabase, once you are ready to pick one. Until then, let the app builder store the data. The Supabase and Firebase comparison is on https://buildstackweekly.com/supabase-vs-firebase (opens in a new tab).
Can I stay on a free plan?
Yes, with limits. Supabase Free pauses after a week idle and caps the database at 500 MB. Firebase Spark does not need a card, and Cloud Functions are not included. Neon Free includes 100 CU-hours and 1 GB per project, then compute or writes stop until you upgrade or the period resets. Checked October 15, 2026 on https://supabase.com/pricing (opens in a new tab), https://firebase.google.com/pricing (opens in a new tab), and https://neon.com/pricing (opens in a new tab).
Which one has a simple monthly price?
Supabase Pro, at $25 a month for one Micro project. Firebase Blaze and Neon Launch do not list a flat monthly price, so those numbers are TBD. Neon Launch compute is $0.106 per CU-hour and storage is $0.35 per GB-month.
What about other databases?
Anything not in this table is TBD until it is checked on that product's official pricing page. The waitlist build that skips this choice is https://buildstackweekly.com/issues/0 (opens in a new tab).
Keep reading
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