whichdb
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Nile vs Supabase

Nile: Serverless Postgres that makes tenants a first-class primitive, with per-tenant isolation and placement. Supabase: Open-source Postgres backend platform: database, auth, storage, realtime and edge functions in one project.

key differences

  • Licensing: Nile is proprietary (Proprietary (managed service; SDKs Apache-2.0)); Supabase is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0).
  • Horizontal scaling is native in Nile and none in Supabase.
  • Only Supabase has change data capture, materialized views, pub/sub, branching.
  • Nile has a serverless option; Supabase does not.

choose nile for

  • +B2B SaaS with many customer organizations
  • +Per-tenant AI features using pgvector
  • +Moving large customers to isolated infrastructure
  • +Compliance-driven tenant data placement

best at · OLTP, Vector search, RAG

choose supabase for

  • +MVPs and startups needing a complete backend quickly
  • +AI-generated apps from Lovable, Bolt and similar builders
  • +Mobile and web apps with auth and file uploads
  • +Realtime collaborative features via Postgres changes

best at · OLTP, Vector search, RAG

NileServerless Postgres that makes tenants a first-class primitive, with per-tenant isolation and placement.
SupabaseOpen-source Postgres backend platform: database, auth, storage, realtime and edge functions in one project.
overview
Primary model
Relational
Relational
Also supports
Document, Vector
Document, Vector, Spatial
Type
Managed service
Backend platform
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Nile
Supabase, Inc.
First release
2023
2020
Latest version
–
v1.26.08 (self-hosted) (Aug 7, 2026)
License
ProprietaryProprietary (managed service; SDKs Apache-2.0)
Open source (permissive)Apache License 2.0
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
9.2
54.3
Rank
#316
#23
GitHub stars
1.1K
114.1K
Stack Overflow questions
–
2.1K
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Medium (≤ 10 TB)
Medium (≤ 10 TB)
Horizontal scaling
Native
None
Multi-region
None
Read replicas
ACID
Full
Full
Consistency
Strong
Strong
Schema
Strict
Strict
Architecture
Serverless, Distributed, Shared storage
Primary replica, Client server
deployment
Self-hosted
—
✓
Vendor-managed cloud
✓
✓
Serverless
✓
—
Embedded
—
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
AWS
AWS, Vercel
capabilities
Transactions
✓
✓
Joins
✓
✓
Secondary indexes
✓
✓
Full-text search
✓
✓
Vector search
✓
✓
Geospatial
✓
✓
JSON
✓
✓
Change data capture
—
✓
Triggers
✓
✓
Stored procedures
✓
✓
Materialized views
—
✓
TTL / expiry
—
—
Pub/Sub
—
✓
Columnar storage
—
—
In-memory
—
—
Durable persistence
✓
✓
Compression
—
—
Encryption at rest
✓
✓
Role-based access
✓
✓
Time travel
—
—
Branching
—
✓
Online schema changes
—
—
Streaming ingest
—
—
Offline sync
—
—
Runs in WebAssembly
—
—
interfaces
Query languages
SQL, PL/pgSQL
SQL, PL/pgSQL, GraphQL
Client languages
JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, Go, Java
JavaScript, Python, Dart, Swift, Kotlin, C#, Go, Rust
Best for
OLTP, Vector search, RAG
OLTP, Vector search, RAG, Content
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

Nile vs Supabase: FAQ

What is the difference between Nile and Supabase?

Nile: Serverless Postgres that makes tenants a first-class primitive, with per-tenant isolation and placement. Supabase: Open-source Postgres backend platform: database, auth, storage, realtime and edge functions in one project. Licensing: Nile is proprietary (Proprietary (managed service; SDKs Apache-2.0)); Supabase is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0). Horizontal scaling is native in Nile and none in Supabase. Only Supabase has change data capture, materialized views, pub/sub, branching.

When should I choose Nile over Supabase?

Choose Nile for B2B SaaS with many customer organizations, per-tenant AI features using pgvector and moving large customers to isolated infrastructure. Choose Supabase for MVPs and startups needing a complete backend quickly; AI-generated apps from Lovable, Bolt and similar builders; and mobile and web apps with auth and file uploads.

Is Nile or Supabase more popular?

Supabase ranks #23 on the WhichDB Score (54.3/100) and Nile ranks #316 (9.2/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are Nile and Supabase open source?

No. Nile is proprietary, closed-source software. Yes. Supabase is open source. License: Apache License 2.0.