When comparing Supabase and AWS, the key question isn't just about raw features, it's about how much functionality you get per dollar and how easily you can scale from a free plan to enterprise-grade infrastructure.
In this guide, we break down the pricing and functionality for each of Supabase’s core features and compare them to their closest AWS counterparts:
- Supabase Database → AWS RDS PostgreSQL
- Supabase Auth → AWS Cognito
- Supabase Storage → AWS S3
- Supabase Edge Functions → AWS Lambda
- Supabase Realtime (Messages) → AWS SQS/SNS
We’ll go feature by feature, then compare total costs at different usage tiers, and conclude with final recommendations.
Feature by Feature
🗄️ Database: Supabase DB vs AWS RDS
Supabase: Built-in PostgreSQL with real-time, REST API, and simple pricing.
AWS RDS/Aurora: Fully managed PostgreSQL with high configurability, performance tuning, and multi-AZ support.
🧬 Supabase is easier and more predictable. RDS gives more control and is better for compliance-heavy or complex workloads.
See our full comparison here: Supabase vs AWS Database Pricing (2025)
- Supabase bundles compute, storage, backup, and bandwidth into flat tiers.
- AWS RDS offers cheaper options if you commit to Reserved Instances, but requires piecing together compute, storage, backup, and bandwidth costs.
➡️ If you want more predictable cost and fast setup, choose Supabase. If you need performance tuning or compliance, go with RDS.
🔐 Auth: Supabase Auth vs AWS Cognito
Supabase: Easy-to-use auth system with social login, magic links, phone support, and DB integration.
AWS Cognito: Feature-rich identity management with SSO, federation, and enterprise IAM support.
🧬 Supabase Auth is simpler and developer-friendly, great for fast setup and apps with straightforward auth needs. Cognito is better for enterprises that require SSO, security compliance, and deep AWS integration.
| Feature | Supabase Auth | AWS Cognito |
|---|---|---|
| Free Tier | 50,000 MAUs | 50,000 MAUs |
| Paid Pricing | $0.0015/MAU | $0.0055/MAU |
| SSO Support | Enterprise plan only | Included (OIDC, SAML) |
| MFA / Passwords | Included | Included |
| Rate Limits | Generous | Strict (especially SAML) |
➡️ Choose Supabase if you want fast, simple auth for your apps. However, as your business grows, your team will likely need a more sophisticated auth solution. Cognito is one option, but many teams also consider Okta, Azure Entra, or WorkOS.
📦 Storage: Supabase Storage vs AWS S3
Supabase: S3-compatible storage with built-in access control, REST API, and CDN.
AWS S3: Scalable object store with advanced features and global durability.
🧬 Supabase is easier to use for app developers. S3 is more powerful and flexible for enterprise-scale needs.
| Feature | Supabase Storage | AWS S3 |
|---|---|---|
| Free Tier | 1GB | 5GB (12 months only) |
| Paid Pricing | $0.021/GB | $0.023/GB (Standard) |
| API | Simple REST | REST/S3 SDKs |
| Permissions | Built-in (row-level) | IAM Policies |
| CDN | Included | Optional (CloudFront) |
➡️ It seems that Supabase Storage is built on top of AWS S3, providing an easy-to-use interface and lower pricing—likely due to volume discounts they can secure. The tradeoff is reduced flexibility in managing the underlying S3 buckets directly.
⚙️ Edge Functions: Supabase vs AWS Lambda
Supabase: Deno-based edge functions with tight database integration and minimal cold starts.
AWS Lambda: Flexible, multi-runtime functions with deep AWS service integration.
🧬 Supabase is simpler for edge APIs. Lambda is better for complex logic, language flexibility, and AWS ecosystem workflows.
| Feature | Supabase Edge Functions | AWS Lambda |
|---|---|---|
| Free Tier | 500,000 invocations | 1 million requests/month |
| Runtime | Deno | Node.js, Python, etc. |
| Cold Starts | Minimal | Varies by region |
| Region | Global edge | Region-based |
| Request Cost | $2 per million (includes compute) | $0.20 per million (requests only) |
| Compute Cost | Included in flat price | Additional: $0.00001667 per GB-s |
- Supabase charges a flat fee per call — simpler but may appear higher at first glance.
- AWS Lambda splits billing into two parts:
- Requests (cheap)
- Compute (based on memory x execution time), which can add up.
➡️ Supabase Edge charges only an invocation fee, while AWS Lambda has separate charges for invocations and compute time, measured in GB-seconds. Additionally, AWS Lambda supports a wider range of runtimes.
📡 Realtime: Supabase Messages vs AWS SQS/SNS
Supabase: WebSocket-based realtime updates triggered by PostgreSQL changes. Great for simple in-app messaging and live UIs.
AWS SQS/SNS: Scalable, fully managed messaging services. Ideal for decoupled, event-driven architectures and backend pipelines.
🧬 Supabase is great for realtime UX. AWS is better for complex, distributed systems.
| Feature | Supabase Realtime | AWS SQS / SNS |
|---|---|---|
| Free Tier | 500,000 messages/month | 1 million requests/month |
| Pub/Sub | Built-in | SNS only |
| Queueing | Limited | SQS provides advanced queueing |
| Integration | PostgreSQL triggers | Broad: Lambda, S3, EC2, etc. |
| Pricing | $2 per million messages (flat) | $0.40–$0.50 per million requests + delivery & data transfer costs |
- Supabase charges a flat fee per message, making pricing simple and predictable.
- AWS SQS/SNS charges separately for requests, message delivery, and data transfer, offering greater flexibility and scalability for complex event-driven systems.
- SQS Standard: ~$0.40 per million requests
- SNS: ~$0.50 per million publishes
- Additional charges: Message delivery (e.g., to Lambda, HTTP endpoints, or SQS) and Data transfer if messages cross regions
➡️ Supabase Realtime charges a flat fee per message, making pricing simple and predictable. AWS SQS/SNS charges separately for requests, message delivery, and data transfer, offering greater flexibility and scalability for complex event-driven systems.
💰 Pricing Comparison by Tier
💡 About AWS Reserved Pricing
The AWS prices shown below are based on on-demand usage, which is flexible but more expensive. If you commit to 1-year or 3-year Reserved Instances (RIs), you can cut costs by 30–70% — especially for RDS and Lambda.
For example:
- RDS db.m5.large (Multi-AZ) drops from $250+/mo to ~$145/mo (1-year RI, no upfront)
- Lambda and compute costs can be reduced via Compute Savings Plans
✅ Use on-demand for flexibility. 🔐 Use Reserved pricing for long-term, cost-optimized workloads — but it comes with lock-in.
🧪 0. Free Tier
| Feature | Supabase | AWS |
|---|---|---|
| Database | ✅ Shared CPU /500MB PostgreSQL | ⚠️ 2 vCPU (burstable) / 1GB RAM for t4g.micro (12 months) |
| Auth | ✅ 50K MAUs | ✅ 50K MAUs (Cognito) |
| Storage | ✅ 1GB w/ CDN | ⚠️ 5GB (12 months, no CDN) |
| Functions | ✅ 500K Edge calls | ✅ 1M Lambda calls |
| Messaging | ✅ 500K Realtime messages | ✅ 1M SQS/SNS messages |
🔍 Supabase offers a complete full-stack platform for free, with no expiration. AWS has generous limits — but database and storage expire after 12 months.
🚀 1. Startup (10K MAUs, 20GB DB, 50GB Storage, 500GB bandwidth)
Supabase – $26.50/month
| Included Service | Details |
|---|---|
| Pro Plan | 8GB DB, 100GB storage, 250GB bandwidth |
| DB Storage Overage | 12GB extra @ $0.125/GB = $1.50 |
| Auth, Functions, Messaging | Included in plan |
| Bandwidth | Still within free 250GB – no charge |
✅ Flat, all-inclusive plan with tiny storage add-on.
AWS
- On-Demand – $75.00/month
- 1-Year RI Estimate: ~$67.73/month
- 3-Year RI Estimate: ~$59.47/month
| Service | Cost (On-Demand) | 1-Year RI (est. -30%) | 3-Year RI (est. -60%) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RDS (db.t3.small) | $24.82 | $17.37 | $9.93 | 1 vCPU, 2GB RAM |
| RDS Storage (20GB) | $2.30 | — | — | General-purpose SSD |
| Cognito (10K MAUs) | $0.00 | — | — | Within free tier |
| S3 (50GB) | $1.15 | — | — | $0.023/GB |
| Bandwidth (500GB) | $45.00 | — | — | $0.09/GB |
| Lambda (1M execs) | $2.73 | $1.91 | $1.09 | 512MB, 200ms duration |
| SQS (1M requests) | $0.50 | — | — | SNS publish cost |
⚠️ Most cost comes from bandwidth. Setup involves configuring 5+ services.
📈 2. Growing Business (100K MAUs, 200GB DB, 1TB Storage, 5TB bandwidth)
Supabase – $630.40/month
| Service | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Pro Plan Base | $25.00 | Includes basic DB, auth, 100GB storage |
| Extra DB Storage (192GB) | $24.00 | $0.125/GB beyond included 8GB |
| Compute Upgrade | $60.00 | 4-core, 2GB RAM |
| Extra Storage (900GB) | $18.90 | $0.021/GB beyond included 100GB |
| Bandwidth (4.75TB) | $427.50 | $0.09/GB beyond 250GB included |
| Edge Functions | $50.00 | Estimate for high usage |
| Messaging | $25.00 | Estimate for 10M events |
✅ Integrated platform; all services billed under one umbrella.
AWS
- On-Demand – $2,325.59/month
- 1-Year RI Estimate: ~$2,000.69/month
- 3-Year RI Estimate: ~$1,675.79/month
| Service | Cost (On-Demand) | 1-Year RI (est. -30%) | 3-Year RI (est. -60%) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RDS (db.m5.large Multi-AZ) | $249.66 | $174.76 | $99.86 | 2 vCPU, 8GB RAM |
| RDS Storage (200GB) | $46.00 | — | — | SSD, replicated |
| Cognito (90K MAUs) | $495.00 | — | — | $0.0055/MAU |
| Lambda (50M execs) | $833.33 | $583.33 | $333.33 | 1GB, 500ms execs |
| S3 (1TB) | $23.00 | — | — | $0.023/GB |
| Bandwidth (5TB) | $450.00 | — | — | Tiered pricing |
| API Gateway | $175.00 | — | — | 50M HTTP requests |
| CloudWatch | $50.00 | — | — | Monitoring |
| SQS (10M requests) | $3.60 | — | — | $0.40 per million |
⚠️ More expensive due to metered pricing across services. Complex to manage.
🏢 3. Enterprise (1.5M MAUs, 2TB DB, 50TB Storage, 100TB bandwidth)
Supabase – $19,383.40/month
| Service | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Team Plan | $599.00 | Enterprise features + support |
| DB Storage (2TB) | $249.00 | Extra beyond base plan |
| Compute (4XL) | $960.00 | 16-core, 32GB RAM |
| Auth (1.5M MAUs) | $4,550.00 | $0.00325 per MAU beyond 100K included |
| Storage (50TB) | $1,047.90 | $0.021/GB beyond 100GB |
| Bandwidth (100TB) | $8,977.50 | $0.09/GB beyond 250GB |
| Edge Functions | $2,000.00 | Custom pricing |
| Messaging | $1,000.00 | Custom pricing |
✅ Predictable, transparent billing; all services built-in.
AWS
- On-Demand – $73,122.81/month
- 1-Year RI Estimate: ~$62,330.91/month
- 3-Year RI Estimate: ~$51,539.00/month
| Service | Cost (On-Demand) | 1-Year RI (est. -30%) | 3-Year RI (est. -60%) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RDS (r5.4xlarge Multi-AZ) | $2,639.68 | $1,847.78 | $1,055.87 | 16 vCPU, 128GB RAM |
| RDS Storage (2TB IOPS) | $2,500.00 | — | — | High-performance SSD |
| Cognito (1.5M MAUs) | $22,350.00 | — | — | $0.015 per MAU (Essential plan) |
| Lambda (1B execs) | $33,333.33 | $23,333.33 | $13,333.33 | 2GB RAM, 1s duration |
| S3 (50TB) | $1,100.00 | — | — | Tiered pricing |
| Bandwidth (100TB) | $7,000.00 | — | — | Tiered egress |
| API Gateway | $3,500.00 | — | — | 1B HTTP requests |
| CloudWatch | $500.00 | — | — | Logging + monitoring |
| SQS (500M messages) | $199.80 | — | — | $0.40 per million messages |
⚠️ Enterprise-grade everything — but costs are 3–4x higher.
🧠 4. Hyperscale (10M MAUs, 10TB DB, 200TB Storage, 500TB Bandwidth)
At this scale, you're operating at a level that most platforms — including Supabase — aren't built to serve out of the box.
Supabase – ❌ Not Recommended at This Scale
Supabase’s architecture is optimized for small to mid-sized applications. While enterprise plans exist, the platform:
- Does not offer horizontal scalability for PostgreSQL (no native sharding or clustering).
- Becomes cost-prohibitive with 10M+ MAUs due to flat per-user pricing.
- Lacks fine-grained controls over networking, observability, and infrastructure.
- May require custom support contracts and offloading core services (e.g., auth to WorkOS, storage to S3) to be viable.
⚠️ Supabase is a great tool for rapid product development, but most teams at this scale migrate to cloud-native stacks like AWS, GCP, or Azure for performance, reliability, and cost control.
✅ If you're approaching hyperscale, you can still start with Supabase — but architect with portability in mind.
AWS – $246,392.81/month (on-demand)
| Service | On-Demand | 1-Year RI (est. -30%) | 3-Year RI (est. -60%) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RDS (r6i.8xlarge Multi-AZ) | $10,560.00 | $7,392.00 | $4,224.00 | 32 vCPU, 256GB RAM x2 |
| RDS Storage (10TB IOPS) | $12,500.00 | — | — | High IOPS SSD |
| Cognito (9.9M MAUs) | $148,500.00 | — | — | $0.015 per MAU |
| Lambda (10B execs) | $33,333.33 | $23,333.33 | $13,333.33 | 2GB, 1s exec duration |
| S3 (200TB) | $4,000.00 | — | — | Tiered pricing |
| Bandwidth (500TB) | $35,000.00 | — | — | Tiered egress |
| API Gateway (10B reqs) | $6,000.00 | — | — | $3.50/million HTTP requests |
| CloudWatch | $1,000.00 | — | — | Extended logs and metrics |
| SQS (1B messages) | $499.48 | — | — | $0.40 per million messages |
✅ AWS is built for hyperscale: global infra, granular optimization, and predictable cost control through Reserved Instances and architectural tuning.
🧠 Final Thoughts
Supabase is a fantastic platform for startups and growing teams — offering a unified experience, generous free tier, and simple pricing across auth, database, storage, edge functions, and realtime.
It’s ideal for:
- Prototypes and MVPs
- Small-to-mid-scale production apps
- Teams that want to move fast without managing infrastructure
But as your product reaches hyperscale — millions of users, terabytes of data, and high-throughput compute — Supabase starts to hit architectural and economic limits:
- PostgreSQL isn’t horizontally scalable in their setup
- Auth and bandwidth costs grow steeply
- Fine-grained performance tuning and compliance become difficult
🛣️ Scale Path
➡️ Many teams start with Supabase to move quickly, then gradually offload services (auth, compute, storage) to cloud-native infrastructure like AWS, GCP, or Azure as scale and complexity grow.
✅ Choose Supabase if you want a fast, simple way to build and scale to your first million users. ✅ Choose AWS if you need performance at scale, deep customization, or global enterprise-grade infrastructure.
👉 For a deep dive into database-specific pricing, see: Supabase vs AWS Database Pricing
