Comparison
nlqdb vs Supabase
Pick Supabase if you want a full BaaS — auth, storage, edge functions, and a SQL Studio you'll write queries in yourself. Pick nlqdb if you want to ship data features by writing English, with the schema, engine, and indexes invisible.
Persona this comparison serves: P1 solo builder. Supabase's positioning: Open-source Firebase alternative — Postgres, auth, storage, edge functions.
When to choose nlqdb
- Your product is data-feature heavy and you don't want to write SQL or migrations.
- You want one HTML element (`<nlq-data>`) that answers questions over your data.
- An AI agent or LLM needs to query a database it can also provision.
- You want destructive operations diff-previewed before they apply.
When to choose Supabase
- You need auth, storage, realtime, and edge functions in one product.
- Your team is fluent in SQL and prefers a Studio over a chat box.
- You're already on the Supabase free tier and don't want to migrate.
- Row-level security policies are central to your data model.
In your HTML
The query Supabase users write by hand in Studio is the one nlqdb answers from the English goal.
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top 5 customers by revenue this month <nlq-data goal="top 5 customers by revenue this month"></nlq-data>Feature parity, honest
| Feature | nlqdb | Supabase | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Managed Postgres | |||
| Natural-language queries | Studio is a SQL IDE; English queries aren't part of the product. | ||
| Auto-migration via NL ('add a column for tags') | |||
| Destructive-op diff preview before apply | Supabase has SQL Editor + RLS; the diff/preview before destructive NL is unique to nlqdb. | ||
| MCP server with provisioning verbs | Supabase MCP queries an existing DB; nlqdb's MCP can also create the DB. | ||
| HTML embed element | |||
| Anonymous mode (try before sign-in) | |||
| Auth (email, OAuth, SSO) | |||
| File / blob storage | |||
| Edge functions | |||
| Realtime websockets |
shipped · partial · not shipped
Questions buyers ask
- Can I keep my Supabase database and use nlqdb just for the NL queries?
- Not yet — nlqdb provisions and owns the database it queries. Bring-your-own-Postgres is on the roadmap but not shipped. For NL-over-existing-Supabase, see Vanna AI or AskYourDatabase.
- Does nlqdb support row-level security like Supabase?
- Per-DB API keys (`pk_live_*`) scope reads to a single database, and writes require a session bearer. Postgres RLS policies aren't surfaced yet; if you need policy-level control, Supabase wins today.
- Is nlqdb open source like Supabase?
- The source is private during pre-alpha. The SDKs, CLI, framework wrappers, and the `<nlq-data>` web component will be open source at general availability; the platform itself is hosted-only for now.
- What's the pricing model vs Supabase's $25/mo Pro?
- Free chain forever (BYO-LLM at 0% markup); hosted premium adds a flat sub with an included request allowance and soft-meter overage. Exact tiers ship with monetization; until then everything is free.
- Can my AI agent create a Supabase project the way it can create an nlqdb database?
- Supabase's MCP server queries an existing project but doesn't provision one. nlqdb's MCP exposes `create_database` so an autonomous agent can stand up its own data layer end-to-end.
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