The Best Database for Side Projects: Supabase, Firebase, Neon or Convex?

By Suraj Kamdev · 2026-10-16 · 3 min read

Choosing a database for a side project should take an hour, not a week. The four options in our Databases & backends rankings cover almost every case, all have free tiers, and all work well with AI coding tools. This guide gives you a quick decision path, then explains the reasoning.

The 30-second decision

• Building a web app with users and data, especially with an AI builder? Supabase.
• Building a mobile app, or need offline sync? Firebase.
• Just need a Postgres database for your own backend or ORM? Neon.
• Building a realtime, collaborative app in TypeScript? Convex.

Why Supabase is the default for most side projects

Supabase gives you Postgres plus authentication, file storage, realtime updates and auto-generated APIs. For a side project, that means one service covers your whole backend. AI app builders like Lovable integrate it directly, and coding agents write SQL and Supabase client code fluently. Because it is standard Postgres, your data is portable. The main thing to get right is row-level security; see our security checklist.

When Firebase is the better fit

Firebase is Google's mature backend platform with excellent mobile SDKs, offline support and realtime sync. If your side project is a mobile app, or users need it to work without a connection, Firebase is very strong. Its main databases are NoSQL document stores, which take some adjustment if you think in tables. Compare the two in Supabase vs Firebase.

When Neon is the better fit

If you already have authentication handled, for example through your framework or an auth service, and just want an excellent Postgres, Neon is a great choice. It is serverless, scales down when idle, and supports branching, which lets you test migrations or give each preview deployment its own database copy. See Neon vs Supabase.

When Convex is the better fit

Convex is a reactive backend where you write queries and mutations in TypeScript, and the UI updates automatically when data changes. It shines for realtime apps such as chat, collaborative tools and live dashboards, and AI agents tend to write it well because everything is TypeScript with clear patterns. The trade-off is that it is its own platform rather than standard SQL, so portability differs from Postgres.

Questions to ask about any database

1. How do my entities relate? Lots of relationships (users, teams, projects, tasks) favour SQL.
2. Do I need auth and storage too? Platforms that bundle them save setup time.
3. Does my builder or framework integrate with it natively? Native integrations save hours.
4. What does the free tier include, and what happens when I exceed it, such as pausing or charges? Check official pricing pages.
5. Can I export my data? Know how before you need to.
6. Is there local development support? It makes testing and AI experimentation safer.

AI-tool friendliness

All four work with AI coding tools, but a few things help: keep your schema in version-controlled migration files, give your agent the schema at the start of tasks, and ask it to explain any access rules it writes. Mainstream, well-documented choices like these get better AI help than obscure databases, simply because models have seen more examples.

Do not over-optimise

For a side project, the best database is the one that lets you ship this week. Every option here can handle a successful side project's early growth, and migration paths exist if you outgrow one. Pick, build, launch, then revisit if real usage demands it. When you are ready to go live, see how to deploy a vibe-coded app.

Example: the same app on each option

Imagine a simple project tracker with users, projects and tasks. On Supabase you would create three tables with foreign keys, turn on row-level security so users only see their own projects, and call it from the frontend. On Neon you would create the same tables, but write your own API routes and use a separate auth solution. On Firebase you would design collections, perhaps nesting tasks under projects, and write Security Rules. On Convex you would define a schema and TypeScript query and mutation functions, with the UI updating live. All four work; the difference is how much you build yourself and how you think about data.

FAQ

What is the best free database for a side project?

Supabase for most web apps, Firebase for mobile apps, Neon for a plain Postgres database, and Convex for realtime TypeScript apps. All have free tiers.

Should I use SQL or NoSQL for my side project?

If your data has clear relationships, SQL (Postgres via Supabase or Neon) is usually easier to work with, especially with AI tools.

Can I switch databases later?

Yes, though effort varies. Moving between Postgres providers is easiest; moving between SQL and NoSQL requires reshaping data.