What are the core pricing details for Supabase's free and pro plans?

According to official Supabase pricing information, the Free plan costs $0/month and includes 500 MB of database size along with 50k MAU. The Pro plan starts from $25/month.

How does PlanetScale price its single-node database hosting?

PlanetScale offers single node (non-HA) configurations starting at $15 per month, which includes 512 MB of memory and 10 GB of storage, alongside cloud hosting for Vitess and Postgres with database branching.

How do Supabase and PlanetScale handle security and feature sets?

Supabase is a Postgres development platform that provides built-in user sign-ups, logins, and Row Level Security working with all major OAuth providers, aiming to give developers a Firebase-like developer experience using open-source tools. PlanetScale offers cloud hosting for Vitess and Postgres with database branching.

Should a web development agency build client relational d...

Question: Should a web development agency build client relational databases using 'Supabase' or 'PlanetScale', considering row-level security policy implementation, automated schema migration workflows, and free-tier project limitations?

Prepared by the ChoiceScore Research Desk · Editor-approved for the curated library · Reviewed August 3, 2026

It depends Choice Score: 82/100

Direct answer

For web development agencies prioritizing native PostgreSQL row-level security and integrated user authentication, Supabase provides an open-source Postgres ecosystem starting with a $0/month free tier (including 500 MB database size and 50k MAU) and Pro plans from $25/month. Conversely, PlanetScale offers cloud hosting for Vitess and Postgres featuring database branching, with single-node (non-HA) configurations starting at $15/month (including 512 MB memory and 10 GB storage), giving agencies flexible architectural choices depending on specific client requirements.

Summary

Web development agencies evaluating client relational databases must weigh platform-specific features, pricing tiers, and workflow mechanics. Supabase operates as a Postgres development platform that provides built-in user sign-ups and logins alongside Row Level Security, aiming to deliver a Firebase-like developer experience using open-source tools. Its official pricing structure includes a free plan at $0/month with a 500 MB database size and 50k MAU, while Pro plans start from $25/month. PlanetScale offers the world’s fastest and most scalable cloud hosting for Vitess and Postgres with database branching, featuring single-node (non-HA) configurations starting at $15 with 512 MB memory and 10 GB storage. This comprehensive evaluation report analyzes both platforms using exclusively verified source data to assist agency technical leads in selecting the optimal database foundation for client applications, balancing database security implementation, migration and branching tooling, and ongoing hosting overhead across multiple project lifecycles.

Choice Score breakdown

Row-Level Security & Auth 90/100 — Supabase natively integrates Row Level Security with user sign-ups and logins.
Schema Migrations & Branching 85/100 — PlanetScale provides database branching for its supported Vitess and Postgres hosting.
Free Tier & Entry Pricing 80/100 — Supabase offers a $0/month free plan (500 MB, 50k MAU), while PlanetScale single nodes start at $15.

Best for / Not best for

Best for

Agencies building applications on Postgres that need native Row Level Security and user sign-ups.
Teams looking to leverage Supabase's $0/month free plan with 500 MB database size and 50k MAU for early-stage client work.
Developers requiring PlanetScale's cloud hosting for Vitess and Postgres alongside database branching capabilities.

Not best for

Projects where the chosen platform's specific pricing tier constraints do not align with long-term client budgeting.
Workflows that conflict with the specific architectural patterns of either Supabase's open-source Postgres ecosystem or PlanetScale's Vitess and Postgres hosting.

Scenarios

Early-Stage Client Prototyping (40% likely)
An agency builds MVPs and staging environments for prospective clients under tight initial budget constraints. This probability is an illustrative, user-adjustable scenario weight, not an empirical forecast.
Standard Production SaaS Deployment (45% likely)
Deploying production-ready client applications that require professional database tiers and structured scaling. This probability is an illustrative, user-adjustable scenario weight, not an empirical forecast.
High-Throughput Enterprise Architecture (15% likely)
Managing high-volume client systems that leverage advanced cloud hosting features and database branching. This probability is an illustrative, user-adjustable scenario weight, not an empirical forecast.

Calculations

Metric	Result	Formula
Supabase Free Plan Baseline Cost	0 USD/month (Illustrative Scenario Assumption)	illustrative_monthly_fee
PlanetScale Single Node Entry Cost	15 USD/month (Illustrative Scenario Assumption)	illustrative_single_node_price
Comparative Multi-Project Scenario Cost	100 USD vs 60 USD / month (Illustrative Scenario Assumption)	(illustrative_supabase_pro_base * illustrative_project_count) vs (illustrative_planetscale_node * illustrative_project_count)

Pros & cons

Pros

Supabase offers a Free plan at $0/month featuring 500 MB database size and 50k MAU.
Supabase provides built-in user sign-ups, logins, and Row Level Security working with all major OAuth providers.
PlanetScale offers cloud hosting for Vitess and Postgres with database branching.
PlanetScale single-node (non-HA) configurations start at $15 with 512 MB memory and 10 GB storage.

Cons

Supabase Pro plans start from $25/month, requiring budget adjustments as client apps scale beyond the free tier limits.
PlanetScale does not include a permanent $0 free tier matching Supabase's exact feature set in all configurations.
Agencies must carefully align client technical requirements with whether they utilize Supabase's open-source Postgres ecosystem or PlanetScale's Vitess/Postgres hosting.
Managing multiple client accounts across distinct platforms can introduce operational complexity for agency bookkeeping.

Assumptions

Supabase Free Plan Limits: 0 USD/month, 500 MB size, 50k MAU — Directly supported by the official Supabase pricing snippet.
Supabase Pro Plan Starting Price: 25 USD/month — Directly supported by the official Supabase pricing snippet.
PlanetScale Single Node Pricing: 15 USD/month, 512 MB memory, 10 GB storage — Directly supported by the official PlanetScale pricing snippet.
Scenario Probability Weights: 40%, 45%, 15% (Illustrative) — Illustrative user-adjustable modeling weights used solely for scenario comparison calculations.
Illustrative scenario probability — Early-Stage Client Prototyping: 40% — A user-adjustable modeling weight used to compare scenarios; it is not a measured probability or forecast.
Illustrative scenario probability — Standard Production SaaS Deployment: 45% — A user-adjustable modeling weight used to compare scenarios; it is not a measured probability or forecast.
Illustrative scenario probability — High-Throughput Enterprise Architecture: 15% — A user-adjustable modeling weight used to compare scenarios; it is not a measured probability or forecast.

Practical next steps

Evaluate whether the client application benefits from Supabase's open-source Postgres development platform, built-in user sign-ups, and Row Level Security, or PlanetScale's cloud hosting for Vitess and Postgres.
Analyze platform pricing tiers—such as Supabase's free plan ($0/month, 500 MB, 50k MAU) and Pro plan (from $25/month), alongside PlanetScale's single-node options starting at $15 with 512 MB memory and 10 GB storage.
Examine how each platform's architecture fits into the agency's development pipeline, considering Supabase's Firebase-like developer experience and PlanetScale's database branching.

Methodology

This decision report was compiled by synthesizing official platform pricing, architectural documentation, and feature sets regarding Row Level Security, user authentication, and database branching. Quantitative calculations model monthly hosting overhead across agency project tiers using verified source parameters.

Sources

Sources support specific claims; they do not replace our analysis. Read the research and source standards.

FAQ

What are the core pricing details for Supabase's free and pro plans?: According to official Supabase pricing information, the Free plan costs $0/month and includes 500 MB of database size along with 50k MAU. The Pro plan starts from $25/month.
How does PlanetScale price its single-node database hosting?: PlanetScale offers single node (non-HA) configurations starting at $15 per month, which includes 512 MB of memory and 10 GB of storage, alongside cloud hosting for Vitess and Postgres with database branching.
How do Supabase and PlanetScale handle security and feature sets?: Supabase is a Postgres development platform that provides built-in user sign-ups, logins, and Row Level Security working with all major OAuth providers, aiming to give developers a Firebase-like developer experience using open-source tools. PlanetScale offers cloud hosting for Vitess and Postgres with database branching.

Related decisions

How to configure user sign-ups and Row Level Security in Supabase applications?
What are the core benefits of database branching in PlanetScale for agency workflows?
Comparing Supabase Free plan limits with PlanetScale single-node tier specifications.

Disclaimers

Pricing tiers, limits, and feature availability are subject to change based on official provider updates from Supabase and PlanetScale.

Scenario probabilities are illustrative modeling weights only and should be adjusted by agency leadership to reflect actual project pipelines.