Why We Chose Supabase: The Database That Grows With You

Why We Chose Supabase: The Database That Grows With You

• 4 min read

When building Brandmine, we needed a database that wouldn’t slow us down. After evaluating several options, we chose Supabase—and 3 months in, it’s proven to be one of our best technical decisions.

The Problem: Database Complexity vs. Speed

Early-stage startups face a cruel paradox: you need to move fast, but traditional database setup means weeks spent on AWS IAM policies, VPCs, connection pooling, authentication, and boilerplate API code.

None of which I understand, frankly. And none of which your users care about.

Enter Supabase: PostgreSQL Without the Pain

Supabase gives you production-grade PostgreSQL with:

  • Authentication built-in: Email, OAuth, magic links (no Auth0 bill)
  • Auto-generated APIs: REST and GraphQL from your schema
  • Real-time subscriptions: Database changes without polling
  • Storage included: S3-compatible for images and files
  • Row-level security: PostgreSQL policies at the database level

Most importantly? Five minutes to production. No DevOps degree required.

Why Supabase Made Sense for Brandmine

1. Speed to Market

We went from idea to functional CRM in two weeks. Supabase handled auth, APIs, and storage—we focused on building our brand intelligence platform.

Traditional setup? We’d still be configuring IAM roles.

2. Real PostgreSQL, Not a Toy Database

Unlike some “quick start” databases, Supabase is real PostgreSQL—the same battle-tested RDBMS powering Netflix, Instagram, and Reddit.

This means:

  • ✅ Full SQL: Complex joins, CTEs, window functions, JSON operations
  • ✅ Mature ecosystem: pgvector for AI embeddings, PostGIS for geo data
  • ✅ No lock-in: Export your data anytime, host it anywhere
  • ✅ Proven at scale: PostgreSQL handles billions of rows in production

3. Generous Free Tier, Fair Pricing

The free tier gives you 500MB database, 1GB storage, 50K monthly active users, and unlimited API requests.

For a pre-revenue startup, that’s game-changing. We didn’t pay a cent until we hit traction. Pro tier? $25/month—less than a single AWS bill.

4. Developer Experience That Doesn’t Suck

The dashboard actually works: table editor, SQL editor with saved queries, real-time logs, auto-generated API docs.

No SSH-ing into production. No stale Postman collections. One clean interface.

5. You’re in Good Company

Over 30% of Y Combinator’s Winter 2024 batch uses Supabase. When you’re making tech choices, it helps to bet on the same stack as the world’s most promising startups.

Why? Investors fund growth, not infrastructure. Supabase lets you focus on product-market fit, not PostgreSQL tuning.

What We Built on Supabase

Brandmine’s entire platform runs on a single Supabase project:

  • Brand & founder profiles: PostgreSQL tables with full-text search
  • Images & media: Supabase Storage for hero images and galleries
  • Contact forms: Writing directly to database tables
  • Content sync: Bidirectional sync between static files and database
  • Internal CRM: Full-featured with real-time updates and row-level security

No microservices sprawl. No Kubernetes YAML. One project.

The Tradeoffs (Yes, There Are Some)

Real-time limits: Complex subscriptions can bottleneck. We batch heavy operations.

Storage fills fast: 1GB free tier disappears with high-res images. Compress aggressively or upgrade early.

RLS learning curve: Row-level security is powerful but requires a few days to master.

Regional latency: Global CDN-edge apps will see database lag. (We’re static-first, so it’s fine.)

When Supabase Is the Right Choice

Choose Supabase if you:

  • ✅ Need to launch fast (MVP in weeks, not months)
  • ✅ Want real PostgreSQL (not a proprietary format)
  • ✅ Value developer experience (clean dashboard, great docs)
  • ✅ Have unpredictable scale (generous free tier, fair pricing)
  • ✅ Need auth + database + storage in one place

Don’t choose Supabase if you:

  • ❌ Already have complex AWS infrastructure in place
  • ❌ Need multi-region active-active writes (use CockroachDB)
  • ❌ Require sub-10ms latency globally (use Cloudflare D1 or edge databases)

The Bottom Line

Three months in, Supabase has saved us hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars.

More importantly, we’ve stayed focused on building—not debugging IAM policies, optimizing connection pools, or writing auth code for the 47th time.

We’re now using Supabase for some of our public service projects too—like our rotary-club.app initiative. Why? We can start them off inexpensively, validate the idea, and scale only when there’s proven demand. That’s the sweet spot for any founder.

If you’re building an MVP, start with Supabase. You can always migrate later (though with Replicate and Vercel in production, you probably won’t need to).

Want to see Supabase in action? Browse the brand profiles and founder stories—every bit of it powered by PostgreSQL, delivered by Supabase.

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