How to Migrate from Firebase to Supabase (Step-by-Step Guide)

Thinking about moving from Firebase to Supabase? You’re not alone. More and more developers are making the switch to save money, get SQL, and avoid vendor lock-in.

The good news? Migrating isn’t as scary as it sounds — if you follow the right steps. Here’s a practical guide to moving your project from Firebase to Supabase without breaking everything.

💡 Why Migrate to Supabase?

Firebase is great, but Supabase offers some clear advantages:

• SQL + Postgres – Say goodbye to Firestore’s NoSQL quirks.

• Cheaper at scale – Self-host or use Pro plans starting at $25/month.

• Open-source – No vendor lock-in, you can self-host whenever you want.

• Real-time + Auth – Works out of the box, just like Firebase.

“I switched my side project to Supabase because Firestore queries were killing me. Postgres feels like cheating after years of NoSQL workarounds.”
— user @arcticdev on Twitter

🛠 Migration Overview

Here’s the big picture:

1. Export your data from Firebase

2. Set up your Supabase project

3. Import your data into Postgres

4. Replace Auth and Storage

5. Update your client-side code

We’ll break these down step by step.

✅ 1. Export Your Firebase Data

The easiest way to export is via the Firebase Admin SDK or the Firestore export tool.

For Firestore:

bashCopiarEditargcloud firestore export gs://your-bucket-name

For Realtime Database:

bashCopiarEditarfirebase database:get / > backup.json

This gives you a full JSON or Firestore export to work with.

✅ 2. Set Up a Supabase Project

Sign in at Supabase.com and create a new project.

• Choose your database region close to your users.

• Copy your anon and service_role keys — you’ll need them later.

(If you’re self-hosting, you can follow our self-hosting guide to run it on a VPS.)

✅ 3. Import Your Data into Supabase (Postgres)

Since Supabase uses Postgres, you’ll need to convert your JSON/Firestore export into SQL or CSV.

A simple way:

• Use a tool like FireSQL or node-firestore-import-export to convert JSON to CSV.

• Then use psql or Supabase Studio to import:

bashCopiarEditar\copy your_table FROM 'data.csv' DELIMITER ',' CSV HEADER;

Make sure to normalize your schema (you’re going from NoSQL to SQL, so design proper tables and relationships).

✅ 4. Migrate Auth and Storage

Auth:

• Export your users from Firebase with:

bashCopiarEditarfirebase auth:export users.json

• Then use Supabase Admin API to import (or manually add users if it’s a new app).

Storage:

• Download files from Firebase Storage and upload them to Supabase Storage.

• A simple Node.js script or even gsutil cp works for bulk transfers.

✅ 5. Update Your Client Code

This is where most of the work happens:

• Replace Firebase SDK with Supabase JS.

• Update all your queries to SQL-based equivalents.

• Swap Firebase Auth calls for Supabase Auth (supabase.auth.signInWithPassword, etc.).

📊 Firebase vs Supabase Feature Comparison

🧪 Final Tips for a Smooth Migration

• Start small: Migrate one feature or module first.

• Keep Firebase running temporarily: Run both backends in parallel during testing.

• Use Row Level Security (RLS): Supabase’s RLS is powerful but needs careful setup.

• Test thoroughly: Especially Auth and Realtime before fully switching.

🎯 Final Thoughts

Migrating from Firebase to Supabase takes some work, but the benefits are worth it: SQL, lower costs, and full control.

If you’re running a big app, take it step by step. But for small-to-medium projects, you can realistically switch in a weekend.

And once you do? You’ll probably wonder why you didn’t leave Firebase sooner.