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  1. Stackups
  2. Application & Data
  3. Platform as a Service
  4. Realtime Backend API
  5. Ably vs Supabase

Ably vs Supabase

OverviewComparisonAlternatives

Overview

Ably
Ably
Stacks63
Followers98
Votes96
GitHub Stars351
Forks63
Supabase
Supabase
Stacks529
Followers455
Votes29
GitHub Stars91.8K
Forks10.5K

Ably vs Supabase: What are the differences?

Introduction:

Ably and Supabase are two platforms that provide real-time functionalities and data management solutions for developers. While both offer similar services, there are key differences between them that can influence developers' choice when selecting a platform for their projects.

  1. Real-time Functionality: Ably specializes in providing real-time messaging and data streaming services with a focus on high reliability, low latency, and scalability. On the other hand, Supabase offers real-time capabilities as well, but it is more oriented towards providing a full-stack platform with real-time database features, authentication, and storage.

  2. Database Management: Supabase places a strong emphasis on database management, offering a Postgres database that developers can use for their applications. In contrast, Ably does not provide a database service and is more focused on real-time communication and data streaming features.

  3. Authentication and Authorization: Supabase includes built-in authentication and authorization features for user management and access control. Ably, on the other hand, integrates with various authentication services but does not offer a comprehensive solution for authentication and authorization out of the box.

  4. Community and Support: Ably has a strong community and offers comprehensive documentation, SDKs for various programming languages, and dedicated support options for developers. In comparison, Supabase, being a newer platform, is rapidly growing its community but may have limited support options compared to Ably.

  5. Serverless Functions: Supabase includes support for serverless functions, allowing developers to run server-side logic without managing servers. Ably does not have built-in support for serverless functions and requires developers to use external services for server-side logic.

  6. Scalability and Pricing: Ably is known for its highly scalable infrastructure that can handle millions of connections and messages per second, with a pricing model based on usage. Supabase offers generous free tiers for developers but may have limitations in terms of scalability compared to Ably's infrastructure.

In Summary, Ably stands out with its focus on real-time messaging and streaming, while Supabase offers a full-stack platform with a strong emphasis on database management and serverless functions.

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Detailed Comparison

Ably
Ably
Supabase
Supabase

Ably offers WebSockets, stream resume, history, presence, and managed third-party integrations to make it simple to build, extend, and deliver digital realtime experiences at scale.

Supabase is currently in early-Alpha .It is an open-source Firebase alternative. It adds realtime and RESTful APIs to your PostgreSQL database without a single line of code.

Pub/Sub Channels API: built-in user presence, message history, token auth, guaranteed message ordering, stream continuity; Protocol Adapters API: stream data over open protocols like WebSockets, MQTT, SSE, and more; Reactor API: link your other systems to Ably so you can use your existing compute to queue and consume high volumes of realtime messages in bulk, transform or filter messages by executing functions on them, or pass messages on to other systems for onward processing; A unified API to provide native push notifications using APNS and GCM; Data Stream Network: Ably's cloud network of 16+ datacenters and 175+ PoPs.
Full Postgres database; Instant RESTful API; Realtime notifications via websockets; APIs always in sync with your schema; Custom API docs for your schema; Built-in security & monitoring
Statistics
GitHub Stars
351
GitHub Stars
91.8K
GitHub Forks
63
GitHub Forks
10.5K
Stacks
63
Stacks
529
Followers
98
Followers
455
Votes
96
Votes
29
Pros & Cons
Pros
  • 10
    WebSockets
  • 9
    Highly reliable
  • 8
    Great technical support
  • 8
    Massive scalability
  • 8
    SSE
Pros
  • 7
    Relational Database
  • 6
    Self hosting
  • 3
    Free
  • 3
    Postgres hosting
  • 3
    Open source
Cons
  • 0
    No cons
Integrations
PHP
PHP
Java
Java
Objective-C
Objective-C
React Native
React Native
Swift
Swift
Unity
Unity
Ruby
Ruby
Node.js
Node.js
JavaScript
JavaScript
.NET
.NET
Streamlit
Streamlit
CodeSandbox
CodeSandbox
PostgreSQL
PostgreSQL
Arengu
Arengu
Stream
Stream
PostgREST
PostgREST
Replibyte
Replibyte
Directus
Directus
Trevor.io
Trevor.io
Prisma
Prisma

What are some alternatives to Ably, Supabase?

Firebase

Firebase

Firebase is a cloud service designed to power real-time, collaborative applications. Simply add the Firebase library to your application to gain access to a shared data structure; any changes you make to that data are automatically synchronized with the Firebase cloud and with other clients within milliseconds.

Socket.IO

Socket.IO

It enables real-time bidirectional event-based communication. It works on every platform, browser or device, focusing equally on reliability and speed.

PubNub

PubNub

PubNub makes it easy for you to add real-time capabilities to your apps, without worrying about the infrastructure. Build apps that allow your users to engage in real-time across mobile, browser, desktop and server.

Pusher

Pusher

Pusher is the category leader in delightful APIs for app developers building communication and collaboration features.

SignalR

SignalR

SignalR allows bi-directional communication between server and client. Servers can now push content to connected clients instantly as it becomes available. SignalR supports Web Sockets, and falls back to other compatible techniques for older browsers. SignalR includes APIs for connection management (for instance, connect and disconnect events), grouping connections, and authorization.

Syncano

Syncano

Syncano is a backend platform to build powerful real-time apps more efficiently. Integrate with any API, minimize boilerplate code and control your data - all from one place.

NATS

NATS

Unlike traditional enterprise messaging systems, NATS has an always-on dial tone that does whatever it takes to remain available. This forms a great base for building modern, reliable, and scalable cloud and distributed systems.

SocketCluster

SocketCluster

SocketCluster is a fast, highly scalable HTTP + realtime server engine which lets you build multi-process realtime servers that make use of all CPU cores on a machine/instance. It removes the limitations of having to run your Node.js server as a single thread and makes your backend resilient by automatically recovering from worker crashes and aggregating errors into a central log.

deepstream.io

deepstream.io

Scalable Server for Realtime Web Apps with JSON structures that can be read, manipulated and listened to, messages that can be sent to one or more subscribers, and request response workflows, between two clients or servers.

8base

8base

A cloud service designed to power enterprise-grade web and mobile applications that require support for large numbers of users, complex data and transactional requirements, comprehensive role-based security and a modern look-and-feel.

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