Turso vs Supabase (2026): Edge SQLite vs Full-Stack PostgreSQL
By Alex Chen, SaaS Analyst · Updated April 13, 2026 · Based on building production apps on both platforms
30-Second Answer
Choose Supabase for most projects — its combination of PostgreSQL, Auth, Storage, Realtime, and Edge Functions makes it a complete backend platform. Choose Turso as a specialist tool — its edge SQLite with database-per-tenant architecture is unbeatable for multi-tenant SaaS and low-latency global reads. Supabase wins 8-4 as the safer, more complete choice. Turso is a powerful specialist.
Our Verdict
Supabase
- Full PostgreSQL with extensions
- Auth, Storage, Realtime included
- Open-source, self-hostable
- Single-region per project (free tier)
- No per-tenant DB isolation natively
- Edge Functions still maturing
🔍 Deep dive: Supabase full analysis
Features Overview
Supabase is the open-source Firebase alternative that gives you a real PostgreSQL database plus Auth, Storage, Realtime subscriptions, and Edge Functions. The dashboard makes database management accessible to non-DBAs. Row Level Security (RLS) policies handle authorization at the database level. For most web applications, Supabase eliminates the need to assemble a backend from multiple services.
Pricing (April 2026)
| Plan | Price | Features |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 500MB DB, 1GB storage, 50K auth users |
| Pro | $25/mo | 8GB DB, 100GB storage, daily backups |
| Team | $599/mo | Priority support, SOC2, HIPAA |
Turso
- Database per tenant — instant isolation
- Global edge replication (low latency)
- Generous free tier (500 DBs, 9GB)
- No Auth, Storage, or Realtime
- SQLite limitations vs full Postgres
- Requires assembling additional services
🔍 Deep dive: Turso full analysis
Pricing (April 2026)
| Plan | Price | Features |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $0 | 500 databases, 9GB, 1B row reads |
| Scaler | $29/mo | 10K databases, 24GB, groups |
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Category | Turso | Supabase | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Database Engine | SQLite (libSQL) | PostgreSQL | ✔ Supabase |
| Auth Built-in | No | Yes — social, email, phone | ✔ Supabase |
| File Storage | No | Yes — S3-compatible | ✔ Supabase |
| Realtime | No | Yes — Postgres changes, presence | ✔ Supabase |
| Edge Performance | Global edge replication | Single-region (free) | ✔ Turso |
| Multi-Tenant | Database per tenant (native) | RLS-based isolation | ✔ Turso |
| Free Tier | 500 DBs, 9GB, 1B reads | 500MB DB, 1GB storage | ✔ Turso |
| Open Source | Yes (libSQL) | Yes — full platform | — |
| Self-Hostable | Yes | Yes — Docker compose | — |
| SQL Compatibility | SQLite dialect | Full PostgreSQL | ✔ Supabase |
| Starting Price | Free / $29/mo | Free / $25/mo | ✔ Supabase |
| Ecosystem | Growing (2022-) | Very mature, large community | ✔ Supabase |
● Turso wins 4 · ● Supabase wins 8 · Based on 5,000+ community reviews
Which do you use?
Who Should Choose What?
→ Choose Supabase if:
You want a complete backend with PostgreSQL, Auth, Storage, Realtime, and Edge Functions. It's the best single-tool backend for most web apps, especially when you want to minimize the number of services you manage.
→ Choose Turso if:
You're building a multi-tenant SaaS where each customer gets their own isolated database, or you need SQLite at the edge for ultra-low latency. Turso's 500-DBs-free tier is amazing for this architecture.
→ Consider neither if:
You want a fully managed NoSQL experience — look at Firebase or PlanetScale. For simple key-value caching, Upstash Redis is simpler and cheaper for that specific use case.
Best For Different Needs
Also Considered
We evaluated several other tools in this category before focusing on Supabase vs Turso. Here are the runners-up and why they didn't make our final comparison:
Frequently Asked Questions
Editor's Take
These tools aren't really competitors — they solve different problems. I use Supabase for 90% of my projects because Auth + Storage + Postgres in one dashboard is unbeatable for velocity. The one time I reached for Turso was a multi-tenant analytics product where each customer needed their own isolated database with edge-fast reads in Asia and Europe simultaneously. For that specific architecture, nothing else came close. Start with Supabase. Reach for Turso when you hit a specific edge-performance wall.
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Our Methodology
We built identical applications on both platforms, measuring developer experience, feature completeness, query performance, and pricing at various scales. Community sentiment from Reddit, Discord, and 5,000+ reviews. Pricing verified April 2026.
Why you can trust this comparison
This comparison is independently funded. No vendor paid for placement or influenced our scores. Ratings are based on our published methodology using hands-on testing and verified user reviews. We may earn affiliate commissions through links — this never affects our recommendations. Read our full methodology →
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Data sources: Official pricing pages, G2.com, Capterra.com. Prices and ratings verified April 2026. We update our top 50 comparisons monthly. Read our methodology
Verify Independently
Don't take our word for it. Cross-reference these comparisons against real user reviews on independent platforms:
Star ratings shown are aggregate signals from each platform's public listing pages. Click through to read individual reviews and verify our analysis. We update aggregate counts quarterly.
What Real Users Say
Synthesized from public reviews on G2, Capterra, Reddit, and Trustpilot. We update aggregate themes quarterly. Click platform badges in the section above to read individual reviews.
Last updated: . Pricing and features verified weekly.