Firebase Was the Backend in a Box Before Supabase Made It Cool
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Google shipped the Supabase idea more than a decade ago, and it is called Firebase. In 35 seconds, Corbin Braunlich makes the case that the backend-as-a-service pattern everyone associates with Supabase has been running at scale on Google's infrastructure since before Supabase existed. His framing lands on a single trade: Firebase gives you Google's kitchen, Supabase lets you cook from your own recipe.
The Pitch: Same Deal, Different Landlord
Braunlich opens with the hook "Before Supabase was cool, Google already built the same thing." The feature list he rattles off matches what developers reach for Supabase to get: a database, authentication, and file storage, all provisioned within minutes. The one structural difference he calls out is where it runs. Firebase lives on Google's computers, while Supabase's hosted offering runs on Amazon's. For a beginner choosing a backend, the day-one experience is close to identical.
Ten Years of Battle Testing
The strongest argument in the video is maturity. Firebase has been around for over 10 years, and Braunlich claims half the apps on your phone use it, adding that "your favorite app probably launched on it." The specific numbers are creator shorthand rather than sourced statistics, but the underlying point holds: Firebase predates the current backend-as-a-service wave by a full product generation, and its auth, database, and storage services have been exercised by a massive install base. That history is a real consideration when you are betting a product on managed infrastructure.
Where Supabase Wins: Open Source and Real Databases
Braunlich gives Supabase two concrete advantages. It is open source, and it "uses real databases you can walk away with." That second phrase is the portability argument: Supabase is built on Postgres, so your data and schema transfer to any Postgres host if you leave. Firebase's Firestore and Realtime Database are proprietary document stores, and migrating off them means rewriting your data layer. He does not use the words vendor lock-in, but that is the trade he is describing.
The Kitchen or Your Own Recipe
The closing metaphor compresses the whole decision: "Google is the kitchen, or your own recipe." Renting Google's kitchen means the appliances work, someone else handles maintenance, and you start cooking immediately, but you cook their way. Bringing your own recipe means owning the stack, standard SQL, and an exit path, with more responsibility for the pieces. He labels Firebase "backend in a box by Google," which is a fair one-line summary of the product.
Key Takeaways
- Firebase and Supabase solve the same problem: database, auth, and storage provisioned in minutes without building a backend.
- Firebase runs on Google's infrastructure; Supabase's hosted product runs on AWS.
- Firebase's edge is age and polish, with over 10 years in production and a huge base of shipped apps.
- Supabase's edge is open source and portability, since it is built on Postgres you can take anywhere.
- The decision reduces to convenience versus ownership: rent Google's kitchen or keep your own recipe.
Resources
Published August 13, 2026. Writeup generated from a favorited TikTok.