# Supabase vs AWS: Database Pricing Comparison in 2026 > We compare Supabase vs AWS (RDS and Aurora) across free, entry-level, and production tiers Adela | 2026-02-06 | Source: https://www.bytebase.com/blog/supabase-vs-aws-database-pricing/ --- When choosing a PostgreSQL database platform, whether for a side project or a production app, you need to look beyond features and assess the **total cost of ownership** — including compute, storage, backups, and bandwidth. In this guide, we compare **Supabase vs AWS (RDS and Aurora)** across **free, entry-level, and production tiers**. We focus strictly on database-related costs and explain **on-demand vs reserved pricing** where applicable. ## 0. Free Plans: What Do You Get for \$0? Both platforms offer free tiers, but they differ significantly in **duration**, **compute power**, and **resource isolation**. | Feature | Supabase Free Tier | AWS Free Tier (12 months) | | ---------------- | ---------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ | | Duration | Forever | 12 months from signup | | Compute | Shared CPU / 500MB RAM | 2 vCPU (burstable) / 1GB RAM (t4g.micro, 750 hrs/mo)\* | | Compute Type | Shared container environment | Dedicated EC2 instance (Graviton2, burstable) | | CPU Architecture | x86 | ARM (AWS Graviton2) | | Storage (DB) | 500MB | 20GB gp3\* | | Backup | 7-day snapshot | 20GB snapshot | | Bandwidth | 5GB outbound | 15GB outbound | | OS / Isolation | Serverless (no OS access) | Full OS-level isolation | - **Supabase Free** is ideal for hobby projects, quick MVPs, or internal tools with light traffic. It requires no setup and stays free forever. - **AWS Free Tier** gives you significantly more power and isolation but is limited to the first 12 months after signup. ## 1. Entry-Level (Low Cost) When you outgrow the free tier but don’t need production-grade resources, these plans offer low-cost paths. Supabase simplifies everything with a flat rate. AWS offers more control and deeper savings through reserved pricing. | Feature | Supabase Pro Tier | RDS t4g.micro (On-Demand) | RDS t4g.micro (1yr Reserved) | RDS t4g.micro (3yr Reserved) | | ---------------- | -------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------- | ----------------------------------- | | Monthly Price | \$25 (includes \$10 compute)\* | \$11.68 | \$6.69 | \$4.76 | | Compute | 2-core ARM (shared) / 1GB RAM | 2 vCPU (burstable) / 1GB RAM | 2 vCPU (burstable) / 1GB RAM | 2 vCPU (burstable) / 1GB RAM | | Compute Type | Shared container environment | Dedicated ARM instance (Graviton2) | Dedicated ARM instance (Graviton2) | Dedicated ARM instance (Graviton2) | | OS Access | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Storage Included | 8GB | 20GB gp3 | 20GB gp3 | 20GB gp3 | | Extra Storage | \$0.125/GB | \$0.115/GB | \$0.115/GB | \$0.115/GB | | Backups | 7-day snapshot | Free up to DB size, then \$0.095/GB\* | Free up to DB size, then \$0.095/GB | Free up to DB size, then \$0.095/GB | | Bandwidth | 250GB outbound included, then $0.09/GB | \$0.09/GB outbound | \$0.09/GB outbound | \$0.09/GB outbound | - **Supabase Pro** is great if you want simple, predictable pricing without dealing with EC2, storage classes, or IOPS tuning. - **RDS On-Demand** offers low-cost dedicated compute with more configurability. - **Reserved instances** (1yr and 3yr) reduce costs dramatically, but require long-term commitment. ## 2. Mid-Tier Production (100GB Storage + Moderate Usage) For established applications with real user traffic and non-trivial data volumes, cost differences and platform flexibility become more significant. | Feature | Supabase (Large) | RDS m5.large (On-Demand) | RDS m5.large (1yr Reserved) | RDS m5.large (3yr Reserved) | Aurora r5.large (On-Demand) | Aurora r5.large (1yr Reserved) | Aurora r5.large (3yr Reserved) | | ----------------- | ----------------------------------- | ------------------------ | --------------------------- | --------------------------- | -------------------------------- | ------------------------------ | ------------------------------ | | Monthly Price | \$110 (flat)\* | \$130 | \$81 | \$56 | \$211 | \$138 | \$96 | | Compute | 2-core ARM (dedicated) / 8GB RAM | 2 vCPU / 8GB RAM | 2 vCPU / 8GB RAM | 2 vCPU / 8GB RAM | 2 vCPU / 16GB RAM | 2 vCPU / 16GB RAM | 2 vCPU / 16GB RAM | | Compute Type | Dedicated ARM instance | Dedicated EC2 (x86) | Dedicated EC2 (x86) | Dedicated EC2 (x86) | Aurora cluster (I/O-Optimized)\* | Aurora cluster (I/O-Optimized) | Aurora cluster (I/O-Optimized) | | OS Access | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Storage (100GB) | Included | \$11.50 (gp3) | \$11.50 (gp3) | \$11.50 (gp3) | \$10 (I/O-Optimized) | \$10 (I/O-Optimized) | \$10 (I/O-Optimized) | | Backup | Included | Free up to DB size\* | Free up to DB size | Free up to DB size | \$0.021/GB\* | \$0.021/GB | \$0.021/GB | | Bandwidth (500GB) | \$22.50 (250GB included + $0.09/GB) | \$45 (\$0.09/GB) | \$45 (\$0.09/GB) | \$45 (\$0.09/GB) | \$45 (\$0.09/GB) | \$45 (\$0.09/GB) | \$45 (\$0.09/GB) | | **Total/Month** | **\$145** | **\$186** | **\$138** | **\$112.50** | **\$266** | **\$193** | **\$161** | - **Supabase (Large)** bundles all costs and removes infrastructure complexity — ideal for fast-moving teams. - **RDS Reserved** (especially 3-year) cuts monthly bills by over 50%. - **Aurora Reserved** costs more, but adds built-in high availability, multi-AZ replication, and better scaling. ## 3. Heavy Workload (500GB+ Storage, High Throughput) For mission-critical workloads with large storage, high concurrency, and peak traffic, this tier shows how pricing stacks up across platforms. | Feature | Supabase 2XL | RDS r5.xlarge (On-Demand) | RDS r5.xlarge (1yr Reserved) | RDS r5.xlarge (3yr Reserved) | Aurora r5.xlarge (On-Demand) | Aurora r5.xlarge (1yr Reserved) | Aurora r5.xlarge (3yr Reserved) | | -------------------- | ----------------------------------- | ------------------------- | ---------------------------- | ---------------------------- | -------------------------------- | ------------------------------- | ------------------------------- | | Monthly Price | \$410 (flat)\* | \$422 | \$246 | \$170 | \$422 | \$287 | \$210 | | Compute | 8-core ARM (dedicated) / 32GB RAM | 4 vCPU / 32GB RAM | 4 vCPU / 32GB RAM | 4 vCPU / 32GB RAM | 4 vCPU / 32GB RAM | 4 vCPU / 32GB RAM | 4 vCPU / 32GB RAM | | Compute Type | Dedicated ARM instance | Dedicated EC2 (x86) | Dedicated EC2 (x86) | Dedicated EC2 (x86) | Aurora cluster (I/O-Optimized)\* | Aurora cluster (I/O-Optimized) | Aurora cluster (I/O-Optimized) | | OS Access | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Storage (500GB) | Included | \$57.50 (gp3) | \$57.50 (gp3) | \$57.50 (gp3) | \$50 (I/O-Optimized) | \$50 (I/O-Optimized) | \$50 (I/O-Optimized) | | IOPS / Throughput | Included (abstracted)\* | \$100+ (io1 estimated)\* | \$100+ (io1 estimated) | \$100+ (io1 estimated) | Included | Included | Included | | Backup (500GB extra) | Included | \$47.50\* | \$47.50 | \$47.50 | \$10.50 | \$10.50 | \$10.50 | | Bandwidth (1TB) | \$67.50 (250GB included + $0.09/GB) | \$90 (\$0.09/GB) | \$90 (\$0.09/GB) | \$90 (\$0.09/GB) | \$90 (\$0.09/GB) | \$90 (\$0.09/GB) | \$90 (\$0.09/GB) | | **Total/Month** | **\$477.5** | **\$717** | **\$541** | **\$465** | **\$572** | **\$437** | **\$361** | - **Supabase 2XL** is an all-inclusive bundle that scales without requiring DBAs or infra tuning. - **RDS Reserved** (3yr) delivers maximum cost-efficiency if your workload is stable. - **Aurora Reserved** is ideal for high-volume, multi-region, or high-availability requirements. ## Cost Reference for Storage & Compute | Metric | Supabase | AWS RDS (On-Demand) | AWS RDS (Reserved)\* | Aurora (I/O-Optimized)\* | | ------------- | ----------------------- | ------------------- | -------------------- | ------------------------ | | **Storage** | \$0.125/GB | \$0.115/GB (gp3)\* | \$0.115/GB (gp3) | \$0.10–\$0.225/GB\* | | **Backup** | Included | \$0.095/GB\* | \$0.095/GB | \$0.021/GB (snapshot)\* | | **Bandwidth** | 250GB outbound included | \$0.09/GB outbound | \$0.09/GB outbound | \$0.09/GB outbound | | **Compute** | \$10–\$3,730 (flat) | \$11–\$1,688 | \$6–\$1,080 | \$67–\$3,376 | - **Reserved pricing** can reduce compute cost by 30–60%, especially for year-long or 3-year commitments. - Aurora charges **by I/O operations**, unless you're on their newer I/O-optimized pricing model. ## 📝 Explanatory Notes - **t4g.micro (burstable)**: AWS uses burstable instances like `t4g.micro` for its Free and entry-level RDS tiers. These provide 2 ARM-based vCPUs with a CPU credit system — ideal for low-to-moderate workloads with occasional spikes. - **gp3 Storage (AWS)**: gp3 is now the default storage type for new RDS instances. It provides a **baseline of 3,000 IOPS and 125 MB/s throughput** at no extra cost — a significant improvement over the older gp2 type. The per-GB price remains the same at \$0.115/GB-month. - **Supabase Flat Pricing**: Supabase’s pricing includes compute, storage, backups, and bandwidth in a **single monthly rate** — simplifying cost tracking and reducing surprise bills. - **Backup Costs (AWS)**: RDS provides **free backup storage up to the size of your DB**. Additional snapshot storage is charged at: - \$0.095/GB for RDS - \$0.021/GB for Aurora - **Aurora I/O-Optimized**: This newer Aurora pricing tier eliminates per-I/O charges and instead bills a flat rate per GB stored. Ideal for write-heavy or high-throughput workloads with unpredictable I/O. - **IOPS Costs (RDS)**: For high-performance needs beyond gp3's 3,000 IOPS baseline, RDS users may provision additional IOPS on gp3 or upgrade to `io1`/`io2` storage — typically adding \$100+ per month for workloads requiring consistent low-latency throughput. - **Reserved Pricing (AWS)**: RDS and Aurora support **1-year and 3-year reservations**, reducing monthly compute costs by 30–60%. These are billed upfront or monthly and require workload stability. ## Conclusion | Use Case | Best Choice | Price Range (Monthly) | Why | | ---------------------------------- | --------------- | --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Free hobby project | Supabase Free | \$0 | No time limit, zero config | | Low-cost dev/test DB | Supabase Pro | \$25 | Simple flat rate, includes compute, storage, and bandwidth | | AWS trial or AWS-focused team | AWS Free Tier | \$0 (12 mo) | Best value compute & storage for teams already using AWS | | Cost-sensitive production workload | RDS Reserved | \$4.76–\$96 | Long-term commitment cuts RDS compute cost by up to 60% | | Simple mid-sized app | Supabase or RDS | \$110–\$186 | Supabase for ease, RDS for control & cost tuning | | High write/read throughput | Aurora Reserved | \$96–\$437 | Built-in performance, replication, and I/O-optimized pricing | | Multi-region / enterprise scale | Aurora or RDS | \$161–\$717 | Supports replication, multi-AZ, and enterprise-grade configurations | - **Supabase** offers **simple pricing and easy setup**, ideal for fast-moving projects. - **AWS RDS Reserved** is best for **long-term, cost-optimized workloads** with more control. - **Aurora** suits **high-performance, high-availability needs**, but at a higher cost. Choose based on your need for **simplicity vs control**, and how stable your usage will be. Supabase works well for early-stage apps; AWS shines for scaled, mature systems. Need more than a database? Our next post will compare [Supabase vs AWS pricing across auth, messaging, and more](/blog/supabase-vs-aws-pricing/).