DbGate vs Supabase
| Tagline | Cross-platform database manager for MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, SQLite and more | Open-source Firebase alternative built on PostgreSQL with realtime and auth |
| Category | Databases & Spreadsheets | Databases & Spreadsheets |
| Replaces | Retool, Smartsheet | Airtable, Google Sheets, Retool |
| GitHub stars | 6.1k | 78k |
| Language | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Self-host difficulty | 2/5 Easy | 3/5 Moderate |
| Deploy options | Docker Manual | Docker Docker Compose Kubernetes |
| Managed hosting | ||
| Last updated | 1 month 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.
DbGate
- No spreadsheet-style formula engine; it is a database manager, not a spreadsheet replacement
- Multi-user team collaboration features are limited; primarily designed for individual use
- BI/visualization capabilities are basic compared to dedicated tools like Metabase
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
Choose DbGate if you want the lower-effort setup; choose Supabase for the larger community and ecosystem. Supabase has seen more recent development. Open each guide below for deploy steps and the full feature gap.