Firebase vs Supabase vs AWS vs Heroku. This is not a hot take. It’s a decision guide. Pick the backend that matches your risk profile, not your hype cycle.
Most teams don’t “choose wrong.” They choose early without admitting their constraints. This page helps you choose with eyes open.
| Backend | Best for | Hidden cost / failure mode | When to avoid | Tools |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Firebase Fastest MVP |
MVPs that need speed, realtime-ish features, and a managed experience. Great when you want to ship without building infra. | Cost surprises come from behavior, not traffic: realtime listeners, fan-out reads, leaky query patterns, background triggers. | Heavy SQL-style reporting, complex relational joins, strict compliance without careful architecture discipline. |
Kotlin + Firebase Cost SwiftUI + Firebase Cost |
| Supabase SQL-first MVP |
MVPs that want Postgres, relational modeling, and a modern dev experience. Strong when your data relationships matter early. | Cost shifts from “reads” to compute/storage/realtime. Teams underestimate operational edges and scaling tradeoffs. | If you need deep enterprise governance immediately, or if your team has zero SQL comfort and your model is very doc-like. |
Supabase Cost Reality Database Model Decision |
| AWS Max flexibility |
Teams with infra experience, compliance pressure, multiple environments, and long-term platform needs. Best for “this must survive” systems. | Operational overhead. You pay for flexibility with time: IAM, networking, environments, observability, deployment complexity. | If you’re lean and need to ship in weeks, or you don’t have capacity to operate what you build. |
AWS Backend Cost Reality Pilot vs Product |
| Heroku Simple deploy |
MVPs where you want “push to deploy” and predictable hosting patterns. Great for early internal tools and simple APIs. | Convenience premium. Costs rise linearly with always-on dynos + environments + add-ons. Teams drift into paying for comfort. | If you need fine-grained infra control or you’re already operating at scale with cost constraints. |
Heroku Cost Reality Document DB Stress Test |
If you want a clean, defensible choice, don’t argue about “best backend.” Define constraints first: timeline, compliance, data model, and team maturity.
Most conversations start when a project is already under pressure. If you want a second opinion before you commit, I can usually save you from the expensive version of “learning.”
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