If I were starting a new SaaS today, I’d do this.

A faster way to build your next product — without drowning in boilerplate.

Most SaaS projects stall not because the idea was bad — but because the foundation took forever to build.

You start with good intentions: spin up a database, set up auth, wire the API routes, add file uploads, maybe a simple admin panel. Then you realize you’ve spent two weeks just scaffolding. You haven’t written a single feature your users actually care about.

That’s where Supabase shines. It gives you all the “boring but essential” pieces — database, authentication, storage, realtime updates, and even serverless functions — in one coherent platform. But it never hides the underlying tech. It’s still just PostgreSQL, SQL policies, and RESTful endpoints underneath. Which means no lock-in, no black boxes.

Postgres, but friendlier

Supabase doesn’t reinvent the wheel. It takes PostgreSQL — the same database that powers most production SaaS apps — and layers developer-friendly tooling on top. Tables automatically get REST and GraphQL APIs. You can query them directly from your frontend without writing a backend service.

It’s like having your database whisper: “Here, I’ve already made your API for you.”

You can still go deep when needed — triggers, extensions, stored procedures, all work exactly as they would in native Postgres. It’s the best of both worlds: familiar, powerful, and accessible.

Auth that just works

Authentication is usually the part where indie devs lose a week to boilerplate. Setting up JWTs, refresh tokens, email verification, password reset flows — it’s all tedious and security-sensitive.

Supabase ships that out of the box. You get magic links, OTPs, OAuth with Google or GitHub, even custom SSO setups. The API feels like Firebase Auth, but everything is stored in your own Postgres schema. No external service, no vendor lock.

When a user signs up, you can literally see their record in the auth.users table. Need custom fields? Add them. Need to link it to your profiles table? One foreign key away.

Realtime, without Redis

If you’ve ever tried building live dashboards or collaborative UIs, you know how painful setting up realtime can be. You start reaching for Kafka, Redis Pub/Sub, or WebSocket gateways — and suddenly you’re managing infra again.

Supabase gives you realtime updates on any table, instantly. Insert a new row in your messages table? All connected clients receive it through websockets. No config, no message brokers.

It’s perfect for dashboards, notifications — all the “wow” moments that make your SaaS feel alive.

Row-Level Security — underrated superpower

This is where Supabase goes from “nice tool” to “serious platform.” Row-Level Security (RLS) lets you define who can see what data right inside the database.

Let’s say each user should only access their own projects:

CREATE POLICY “Users can access their own projects”

on projects FOR SELECT USING (auth.uid() = owner_id);

That one line replaces entire layers of backend authorization logic.

It’s safer, simpler, and composable. You can combine it with JWT claims, roles, or organizations for complex multi-tenant apps — without spaghetti code.

What ties all of this together is the developer experience.

The CLI, dashboard, SQL editor, and APIs feel consistent. You can jump between your schema, auth rules, and edge functions without friction. It feels like someone actually used the tool before shipping it.

Every time I switch back to raw Postgres, I miss how fluid Supabase feels.

Built-in storage

Every SaaS eventually needs file uploads — profile pictures, PDFs, exports, images. Instead of wiring up S3, IAM policies, and presigned URLs, Supabase gives you a native storage API.

You can define buckets, apply access rules (like RLS for files), and serve them directly via CDN. It’s not trying to compete with S3 — it’s making S3-like capabilities approachable for small teams.

Edge Functions

For logic that doesn’t belong in SQL — think webhook handlers, scheduled jobs, or AI integrations — Supabase offers edge functions. They’re TypeScript-based, deploy in seconds, and run close to your users.

You could, for example, write:

Then deploy it with supabase functions deploy. Done. No need for a separate server, Dockerfile, or CI pipeline.

It’s a perfect fit for indie SaaS apps where speed matters more than microservice purity.

Open source and portable

Unlike Firebase, you can run Supabase yourself.

When you grow beyond their hosted limits or need compliance, it’s just a Docker Compose away from running on your own VPS or Kubernetes cluster.

This makes it future-proof. You’re not locked into any vendor, but you get the same developer experience from local dev to enterprise scale.

That’s rare. And it’s what makes Supabase especially appealing to indie developers who value control.

The indie mindset fit

Supabase embodies the same ethos as small SaaS builders — ship fast, own your stack, avoid unnecessary complexity.

It’s the sweet spot between “roll your own backend” and “get locked into a proprietary black box.”

You start small — one table, one auth flow, one function — and grow naturally without changing platforms.

The result? You spend less time wiring, more time building. You get to MVP faster, but on a foundation that can actually scale.

If your goal is to ship your SaaS without drowning in boilerplate, Supabase is the fastest way to go from idea to something people can pay for.

You can feel the care that went into the developer experience — from the CLI to the dashboard, everything just works and gets out of your way.

And they really mean it when they say:

“Build in a weekend.

Scale to millions.”

That’s not marketing fluff. It’s what it actually feels like to use Supabase when you’re building your indie SaaS.