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Supabase OSS Alternative: Vela vs Supabase OSS

Same developer‑loved Postgres & Studio experience—delivered in your cloud with enterprise RBAC, instant cloning, and Git‑style branching.

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Looking for a Supabase OSS alternative? Vela keeps the same developer-friendly Postgres experience you love, but adds enterprise control and flexibility. With BYOC deployment, instant database cloning, and organization-wide RBAC, Vela is designed for platform engineers and QA teams who want fewer production mistakes and faster, safer releases.

At a Glance

What changes when you bring Supabase OSS‑style Postgres into your cloud

BYOC / On‑prem

Keep data in your account and region. Simplify residency and compliance.

Instant Branching

Copy‑on‑write clones let CI & QA test on production‑like data in seconds.

Enterprise RBAC

Org‑wide roles, SSO, quotas, and guardrails for large teams.

Feature‑by‑Feature Comparison

See how Vela compares across what matters

Hosting Model & Control

V

Vela (Supabase Alternative)

  • BYOC / on‑prem deployment
  • Self-hosted control plane (Kubernetes)
  • No vendor lock‑in; keep data in your account
  • Portable across hyperscalers and EU tier‑2 clouds
S

Supabase OSS

  • Self-hosted Supabase OSS
  • Runs in your account / infrastructure
  • Networking depends on your VPC setup
  • Standard Postgres export/migration

Developer & QA Workflows

V

Vela (Supabase Alternative)

  • Instant copy‑on‑write database cloning
  • Git‑style branching for feature environments
  • Spin up ephemeral DBs per PR / pipeline
  • Supabase Studio UX (enterprise‑modified)
S

Supabase OSS

  • Branching via migrations & separate projects
  • Staging refresh typically via backup/restore or seeds
  • Resource limits depend on your infrastructure
  • Standard Supabase Studio

Performance & Scaling

V

Vela (Supabase Alternative)

  • Serverless scaling of vCPU / RAM / IOPS independently
  • Low‑latency storage (Simplyblock) with fast snapshots
  • Live migration & rebalancing in the cluster
  • Optimized for heavy CI, QA and staging traffic
S

Supabase OSS

  • Scaling depends on your infra and tooling
  • Performance tied to your allocated resources
  • Storage engine depends on your stack
  • Great DX for typical OLTP workloads

Pricing & Cost Predictability

V

Vela (Supabase Alternative)

  • Flat $/vCPU model (no per‑seat fees)
  • No egress fees inside your cloud
  • Unlimited developer seats
  • Designed to encourage more test envs, not tax them
S

Supabase OSS

  • Infra costs based on your cloud/ops
  • Operational costs scale with usage
  • Seats are yours to manage
  • Great for small projects with light usage

Security, Compliance & Governance

V

Vela (Supabase Alternative)

  • Organization‑wide RBAC (multi‑tenant)
  • LDAP/SAML integration for enterprise SSO
  • Org‑level defaults for backups & limits
  • BYOC helps with data residency & compliance
S

Supabase OSS

  • Row Level Security, Auth, Policies
  • SSO depends on your IdP setup
  • Backups and PITR depend on your policy
  • Compliance posture depends on your infrastructure

Supabase Compatibility

V

Vela (Supabase Alternative)

  • Built on Supabase open source components
  • Supabase Studio fork with enterprise features
  • Postgres‑first; extensions supported
  • No official affiliation with Supabase
S

Supabase OSS

  • Supabase OSS core
  • Upstream OSS releases
  • Self-managed hosting & support
  • Tight integration across Supabase services

Cost Predictability for Growing Teams

Encourage more testing without surprise bills

Scenario Vela (BYOC) Supabase OSS Notes
5 developers, 10 test DBs Predictable $/vCPU (no seat tax) Infra costs based on your stack Vela encourages more ephemeral branches
20 developers, CI clones per PR Flat infra cost in your cloud Ops costs scale with usage Frequent clones favor BYOC economics
100+ developers, strict residency Keep data in‑region, in‑account Choose your own regions Compliance simplified with BYOC
Model Costs for Your Team

Which One Fits Your Situation?

A quick guide for choosing

Choose Vela if…

  • • You need BYOC or on‑prem with strict data residency.
  • • You run heavy QA/CI with many ephemeral database branches.
  • • You want enterprise RBAC, quotas, and guardrails for large orgs.
  • • You prefer predictable $/vCPU costs and unlimited developer seats.

Choose Supabase OSS if…

  • • You want a pure OSS stack you can self-host end-to-end.
  • • Your team is comfortable owning infra and updates.
  • • You want data fully controlled in your own account.
  • • You prefer upstream OSS releases and flexibility.

FAQ: Supabase Alternative

Clear answers for platform teams and developers

Is Vela a drop‑in replacement for Supabase?

Vela uses the open‑source Supabase stack and a Postgres core, with an enterprise wrapper for RBAC, cloning, and BYOC. Most Supabase‑native workflows and APIs feel familiar, but Vela is not affiliated with the Supabase OSS project.

Who should choose Vela over Supabase OSS?

Teams with platform engineers who need BYOC/on‑prem, strict data residency, enterprise RBAC, and heavy QA/CI cloning at scale usually pick Vela. Teams that want a pure OSS stack and are comfortable self‑hosting may prefer Supabase OSS.

How does database branching differ?

Vela emphasizes storage‑level, copy‑on‑write clones designed for very large, production‑like datasets so CI and QA can spin up branches instantly without long refresh jobs.

Can we migrate from Supabase OSS to Vela?

Yes. You can lift your Postgres data and Supabase services into your own cloud using Vela’s guided migration. Start in parallel, validate, then cut over.

More Reasons to Move to Vela

Beyond branching and BYOC, here’s what makes Vela stand out

Benefit Vela Supabase OSS Details
Commercial Support ✓ – Direct support from the Vela core team; no tier gating.
Enhanced Deployment Options ✓ – Deploy BYOC, on-prem, or hybrid; Supabase OSS is self-hosted.
Cloud-Native Design ✓ – Built for Kubernetes, CI/CD, observability, and scaling out.
Predictable Pricing ✓ – Flat $/vCPU pricing with unlimited seats; no hidden fees.
Live Migration & Resizing ✓ – Scale vCPU, RAM, IOPS online; migrate workloads without downtime.
Enterprise RBAC ✓ Limited Organization-wide RBAC, LDAP/SAML SSO; Supabase OSS requires you to implement these controls.

Bring Supabase‑style Postgres to Your Cloud

See how Vela’s BYOC model, instant cloning, and enterprise RBAC reduce production mistakes and speed up releases.

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Vela is built on the open‑source Supabase stack but is not affiliated with Supabase.