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Most buyers should pick Supabase.
Pick Supabase if you want a managed Postgres backend with auth, storage, REST APIs and edge functions in one platform: its Pro plan is $25/month, with 100,000 monthly active users and 250 GB egress included. Pick MySQL if your app needs MySQL or you want its Community Edition, which is free under GPL. Paid MySQL Standard starts at $2,140 per server per year for 1–4 socket servers; monthly pricing isn't published. These aren't like-for-like offers: Supabase bundles backend services, while MySQL prices paid editions per server.
01Side by side
| Supabase | MySQL | |
|---|---|---|
| Paid starting price | $25/month for Pro; annual price not published | Standard: $2,140/server/year; monthly price not published |
| Free plan | Free plan; 50,000 monthly active users | Community Edition is free under GPL |
| Best for | Managed Postgres backend with bundled services | MySQL workloads, analytics, and embedded products |
| Core strength | Postgres, auth, storage, APIs, and edge functions | MySQL editions, including HeatWave analytics |
| Learning curve | Not stated on the vendor's site | Not stated on the vendor's site |
| Integrations / data | Portable Postgres with ready-to-use REST APIs | MySQL database platform; specific integration limits not published |
| Team / seat costs | $599/month Team plan; seat pricing not published | Licensed per server; seat pricing not published |
| Support | Enterprise lists 24×7×365 premium support | Enterprise Edition includes technical support |
Supabase Choose Supabase if
- Choose Supabase if you want Postgres plus auth, storage, and APIs.
- Choose Supabase if $25/month Pro fits your production limits.
- Choose Supabase if you need edge functions and realtime features.
MySQL Choose MySQL if
- Choose MySQL if your application depends on MySQL.
- Choose MySQL if free GPL Community Edition meets your needs.
- Choose MySQL if you need Enterprise support or embedded licensing.
02Pricing compared
Supabase and MySQL are not priced on the same basis: Supabase charges for a hosted backend plan, while paid MySQL editions are licensed per server. Supabase Free costs $0 and includes 50,000 monthly active users, 500 MB of database per project and 5 GB of egress; projects pause after a week of inactivity. Pro is $25 per month, with 100,000 monthly active users, 8 GB of disk per project and 250 GB of egress.
MySQL Community Edition is free under GPL. Paid Standard Edition for a 1–4 socket server lists at $2,140 per year; the pricing page does not publish monthly billing. Enterprise for that server size lists at $5,350 per year. Supabase add-ons and overages can increase its bill, while MySQL’s price depends on edition and server sockets. Compare your actual deployment, not just the entry prices.
03Features and depth
Supabase is the closer fit if you want a backend assembled around a database. Each project has a portable Postgres database, with Auth, Row Level Security, file storage, Edge Functions, realtime features and ready-to-use REST APIs. The platform also lists tools for vectors, scheduled jobs and message queues. That bundle can cover several backend needs, but it also means checking Supabase’s access model and usage limits against your app.
MySQL is a database platform with Community, Enterprise, Cluster and HeatWave offerings. Its homepage highlights transaction processing, analytics, machine learning, generative AI and embedded database options. HeatWave combines transactions with lakehouse-scale analytics in a cloud service; Enterprise Edition includes advanced features, management tools and technical support. MySQL does not present the same bundled Auth, file storage and REST API package described for Supabase. Choose it for MySQL compatibility, its specific editions or embedded use—not as a direct substitute for every Supabase service.
04Ease of use and learning curve
The learning curve depends on what you need to build. Supabase gives you a Postgres database alongside Auth, storage, APIs and functions, so there are more platform components to understand than the database alone. Its Free plan is suitable for experiments, but note the 500 MB database cap, 5 GB egress limit and pause after a week inactive.
MySQL Community Edition is a narrower starting point if your goal is learning or using MySQL itself; it is free under GPL. Paid editions add server licensing and socket-count considerations. If you are choosing what to learn, follow the database your target application or role requires. The published pricing and product information does not establish that one database is easier to learn or more valuable for hiring.
Questions people ask
Is there anything better than Supabase?
There is no universal winner in the information we compared. Supabase suits projects that need managed Postgres plus Auth, storage, APIs and functions; MySQL suits applications that require MySQL or its specific editions. Compare the required features, access model and total bill before switching.
Is it better to learn MySQL or PostgreSQL?
Choose based on the systems you need to work with. Supabase uses Postgres, while MySQL offers Community and paid editions. The published information does not establish which database is easier to learn or more widely requested by employers, so check the requirements of your target role or project.
What are the top 3 relational databases?
These sources do not support a ranked top-three list. They describe MySQL and PostgreSQL, which underpins Supabase, but provide no market-share, adoption or performance comparison. Also, Supabase is a backend platform built around Postgres, not a separate database engine to count as a third.
Is MySQL enough to get a job?
The published information does not include hiring data, so it cannot show whether MySQL alone is enough for a particular job. Check the database requirements in listings for your target roles. MySQL offers a free Community Edition; Supabase uses Postgres, so those skills are not interchangeable.