Budibase vs Supabase
| Tagline | Open-source low-code platform for internal apps, automations, and its own database | Open-source Firebase alternative built on PostgreSQL with realtime and auth |
| Category | Databases & Spreadsheets | Databases & Spreadsheets |
| Replaces | Retool, Airtable | Airtable, Google Sheets, Retool |
| GitHub stars | 28k | 107k |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| License | GPL-3.0 | 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 | 2 days ago | 2 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.
Budibase
- Some enterprise features (SSO, enforced RBAC, audit) are behind paid Business Source License tiers.
- Built-in database is more limited than a dedicated Airtable for complex relations.
- Fewer connectors and a smaller ecosystem than Retool.
- Custom-component and theming flexibility is more constrained than hand-built apps.
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. Open each guide below for deploy steps and the full feature gap.