Supabase has established itself as the default open-source backend for indie developers. It packages Postgres, Auth, Row Level Security, Storage, and Realtime into a single cohesive SDK. But as your SaaS transitions from MVP to production, you must understand where the database billing thresholds lie.
How Supabase Pricing Works
The base Supabase Pro plan ($25/mo) provides an extraordinary amount of value. It includes unified daily backups, 250GB file storage, and unlimited API requests. The hidden cliff is not storageβit is CPU and RAM.
The Compute Add-on Scaling Curve
The default Pro plan runs on a shared Micro compute instance (2-core ARM, 1GB RAM). If your Next.js app runs complex analytical queries or joins across tens of thousands of rows, the Micro instance will spike to 100% CPU utilization:
- Micro Instance (Default): $0/mo (Included in Pro) Β· Suitable for 1,000β5,000 MAU.
- Small Compute (2-core, 2GB RAM): +$10/mo Β· Suitable for 5,000β15,000 MAU.
- Medium Compute (2-core, 4GB RAM): +$50/mo Β· Suitable for 15,000β35,000 MAU.
- Large Compute (2-core, 8GB RAM): +$110/mo Β· Suitable for 35,000β75,000 MAU.