Appsmith vs Supabase
| Tagline | Open-source low-code platform to build internal apps and admin panels fast | Open-source Firebase alternative built on PostgreSQL with realtime and auth |
| Category | Databases & Spreadsheets | Databases & Spreadsheets |
| Replaces | Retool | Airtable, Google Sheets, Retool |
| GitHub stars | 40k | 78k |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Self-host difficulty | 3/5 Moderate | 3/5 Moderate |
| Deploy options | One-Click Docker Docker Compose Kubernetes Manual | Docker Docker Compose Kubernetes |
| Managed hosting | ||
| Last updated | 5 days ago | 17 days ago |
| View repo | View repo |
Where each falls short
The honest trade-offs — what you give up with each, versus the proprietary tools they replace.
Appsmith
- Self-hosted stack is resource-heavy (MongoDB, Redis) and can be memory-hungry.
- Some advanced features (SSO, audit logs, custom branding) require a paid plan.
- Editor can feel sluggish on very large or complex apps.
- Mobile/responsive layout support is weaker than desktop app building.
Supabase
- Self-hosted Docker Compose stack is complex: 8+ services including Kong, GoTrue, PostgREST, Realtime
- Studio table editor is less polished than Airtable UX for non-technical users
- Edge Functions are limited to Deno; no Node.js runtime in the self-hosted edition
Bottom line
Both are a similar lift to self-host; choose Supabase for the larger community and ecosystem. Appsmith has seen more recent development. Open each guide below for deploy steps and the full feature gap.