Learn how Instant and Supabase differ in their key features, development activity, technology stack and community adoption, so you can decide which of these backend-as-a-service (baas) tools is best for you.
Last 30 days
Last commit
15 days agoRepository age
2 yearsLicense
Apache-2.0Repository
instantdb/instant
Last 30 days
Last commit
9 hours agoRepository age
7 yearsVersion
v1.26.08License
Apache-2.0Self-hosted
YesRepository
supabase/supabase
Supabase appears to have several advantages over Instant, particularly in popularity, growth, maturity and features. Consider your specific needs regarding popularity, growth, activity, technology, maturity, licensing and features when making your decision.
Supabase significantly outpaces Instant in community adoption with 114,446 stars compared to 10,564 stars on GitHub. This 10.8x difference suggests Supabase has a much larger and more active community. In terms of developer contributions, Supabase has 15,769 forks, indicating strong developer engagement.
Supabase is growing faster, adding 3,395 stars in the last 30 days (+3.1%) against adding 23 stars for Instant (+0.2%). Supabase is both larger and pulling further ahead.
Both projects show recent activity, with Instant last updated 15 days ago and Supabase 9 hours ago.
Both tools share common technology foundations, being built with JavaScript, CSS, Bash, Typescript, JSX, Next.js, Vue. However, they differ in their additional technology choices: Instant uses Java, Nuxt.js, Clojure while Supabase leverages Python, SCSS, Rust, C, Objective-C, Swift, Kotlin, SvelteKit, Elixir, Tanstack Start, Dart.
Supabase has been in development longer, starting 7 years ago, compared to Instant which began 2 years ago. This 4.9-year head start suggests Supabase may have more mature features and established processes.
Both projects use the Apache-2.0 license, providing identical terms for usage and distribution.
Both tools serve similar use cases in Backend-as-a-Service (BaaS). However, they also have distinct specializations: Instant also focuses on NoSQL & Document Databases.
Supabase provides self-hosting options for complete data control and customization, while Instant may be primarily cloud-based or require different deployment approaches.