supabase vs compose
Two of the top projects in Backends, databases and hosting, side by side: who leads on each score part and who each one suits, then setup, license, activity and what each review found.
supabase
Postgres backend with auth, storage, realtime and edge functions
compose
CLI plugin that runs multi-container apps from a compose.yaml file
Verdict
Both score 90; supabase ranks higher on stars, 114,399 to 38,555. Of the 4 score parts we measure for both, supabase leads on 2, compose on 1 and 1 is even.
- Adoptionsupabase leads by 13 points, 99 to 86.
- FreshnessEven at 100.
- Maintenancecompose leads by 17 points, 91 to 74: a wide gap.
- Agent-readysupabase leads by 15 points, 85 to 70: a wide gap.
Pick supabase if you are
Developers needing a Postgres backend with auth, storage and vectors
- Built on Postgres, PostgREST, GoTrue and Realtime, so the data layer is plain SQL
- Official clients for JavaScript/TypeScript, Flutter, Swift and Python
Pick compose if you are
Developers and self-hosters running multi-container stacks on Docker
- One command, `docker compose up`, builds and starts all services in a file
- Implements the open Compose specification, so files are portable between tools
| What we compare | supabase | compose |
|---|---|---|
| Score parts, out of 100 | ||
| Adoption | 99, widely used | 86, widely used |
| Freshness | 100, active | 100, active |
| Maintenance | 74, fair | 91, healthy |
| Agent-ready | 85, ready | 70, partly |
| Facts from GitHub and the README | ||
| Stars | 114.4k | 38.6k |
| License | Apache-2.0 (permissive) | Apache-2.0 (permissive) |
| Last commit | Oct 2026 | Oct 2026 |
| Last release | Aug 2026 | Oct 2026 |
| Language | TypeScript | Go |
| Docker | Yes | Yes |
| GPU | Not needed | Not needed |
| arm64 or Apple Silicon | Not stated | Mentioned |
supabase
Supabase bundles a Postgres database with generated REST and GraphQL APIs, JWT-based auth, S3-backed file storage, realtime change feeds over websockets, and edge functions. It also includes a vector and embeddings toolkit for AI workloads. It runs as a hosted platform, can be self-hosted, or run locally, and has official clients for JavaScript, Flutter, Swift and Python.
Who it is for: Developers needing a Postgres backend with auth, storage and vectors
Strengths
- Built on Postgres, PostgREST, GoTrue and Realtime, so the data layer is plain SQL
- Official clients for JavaScript/TypeScript, Flutter, Swift and Python
- Hosted, self-hosted and local development options
- Apache-2.0 license; vector and embeddings toolkit included
Weaknesses
- Many separate services to run when self-hosting; README gives no resource requirements
- Go, Java, Rust, Ruby and C# clients are community-maintained, some partial
- Repo has no Docker or compose files; self-hosting is documented elsewhere
- no GPU
- Compose
- Needs PostgreSQL, S3-compatible storage, Envoy
compose
Docker Compose is a Go-based Docker CLI plugin that reads a compose.yaml, following the Compose specification, and starts the defined services with `docker compose up`. It is not AI-specific; it is the general tool many self-hosted AI projects use to run their stacks. It ships bundled with Docker Desktop on Windows and macOS, and as release binaries for Linux.
Who it is for: Developers and self-hosters running multi-container stacks on Docker
Strengths
- One command, `docker compose up`, builds and starts all services in a file
- Implements the open Compose specification, so files are portable between tools
- Included in Docker Desktop; Linux install is a single binary in cli-plugins
- Written in Go, with CI, Codecov and OpenSSF Scorecard badges in the README
Weaknesses
- Not an AI project; no model, GPU or LLM features described in the README
- Requires a Docker engine to run containers
- Some Compose features are unavailable to Docker Swarm users, per the README
- README gives little detail beyond install and a short example; features are in external docs
- no GPU
- Docker
- Needs Docker Engine or Docker Desktop
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