DevVersus

Ably vs Supabase(2026)

Ably is better for teams that need message ordering guaranteed. Supabase is the stronger choice if full postgres with sql. Ably is freemium (from $0 (free 6M messages/month)) and Supabase is freemium (from $25/month).

Full feature breakdown, pricing details, and pros & cons below.

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Ably logo

Ably

freemium

Ably is a realtime messaging platform with guaranteed delivery, ordering, and a global edge network.

Starting at $0 (free 6M messages/month)

Visit Ably
Supabase logo

Supabase

freemium

Supabase is an open source Firebase alternative providing a Postgres database, Auth, realtime, storage, and edge functions.

Starting at $25/month

Visit Supabase

How Do Ably and Supabase Compare on Features?

FeatureAblySupabase
Pricing modelfreemiumfreemium
Starting price$0 (free 6M messages/month)$25/month
Pub/Sub
Presence
Message history
Push notifications
Server-sent events
MQTT support
PostgreSQL
Authentication
Realtime
Storage
Edge Functions
Auto-generated APIs

Ably Pros and Cons vs Supabase

A

Ably

+Message ordering guaranteed
+Generous free tier
+Global edge network
+Multiple protocols
More complex than Pusher
Pricing can be hard to predict
Docs could be clearer
S

Supabase

+Full Postgres with SQL
+Built-in auth and storage
+Open source
+Great free tier
Free tier pauses after 1 week inactive
Self-hosting is complex
Edge functions limited

Should You Use Ably or Supabase?

Choose Ably if…

  • Message ordering guaranteed
  • Generous free tier
  • Global edge network

Choose Supabase if…

  • Full Postgres with SQL
  • Built-in auth and storage
  • Open source

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