Supabase Alternatives for Indian Developers: Keep Your Stack or Proxy It
Supabase is blocked on Jio, Airtel, and ACT Fibernet. Thousands of Indian developers are scrambling for a replacement. But before you rip out your entire backend, read this. Migration is rarely the right answer -- and there is a five-minute fix that keeps your existing codebase intact.
Why developers are searching for alternatives
Since February 2026, Indian ISPs have been DNS-blocking *.supabase.co. Every app that depends on Supabase for database queries, authentication, storage, or realtime subscriptions is broken for hundreds of millions of users. The panic is understandable.
Forums, Discord servers, and X threads are flooded with the same question: "What should I migrate to?" Developers are comparing Appwrite, Nhost, PocketBase, Firebase, and custom backends. Some are already mid-migration.
But here is the thing most of these threads get wrong: the problem is not Supabase. The problem is a DNS block on a specific domain. Switching backends does not guarantee you will avoid the same problem with a different domain. And migration introduces weeks of engineering work, new bugs, and new vendor risk. Before you commit to that, consider the alternatives below -- starting with the one that takes five minutes.
Option 1: Keep Supabase + add a proxy (Recommended)
The fastest, lowest-risk fix is to keep your entire Supabase codebase exactly as it is and route traffic through an unblocked domain. A reverse proxy sits between your app and Supabase, forwarding every request through a domain that Indian ISPs have not blocked. Your code stays the same. Your database stays the same. Your auth, storage, and realtime all keep working.
The only change is one line in your Supabase client initialization:
JioBase is a managed Supabase reverse proxy built on Cloudflare's edge network. Register, create a proxy app, swap the URL, and deploy. If you prefer to self-host, use the free Worker Generator Tool to create your own Cloudflare Worker.
Why this is the best option for most teams
- Zero migration -- keep your entire codebase, database, and auth exactly as they are
- Five-minute fix -- change one URL, deploy, done
- Full Supabase API support -- REST, Auth, Storage, Edge Functions, Realtime WebSockets
- No vendor lock-in risk -- you are still on Supabase, just routed through a different domain
- Minimal latency -- 1-5ms via Cloudflare's 300+ edge locations
Option 2: Self-host Supabase
Supabase is open source, so you can run the entire stack on your own infrastructure. This means hosting Postgres, GoTrue (auth), PostgREST, Realtime, Storage, and Kong (API gateway) on a VPS like AWS EC2, DigitalOcean, or Hetzner, pointed at your own domain.
Pros
- Full control over infrastructure and data
- Your own domain -- no ISP dependency on third-party domains
- Same Supabase client libraries work with minimal changes
Cons
- Complex setup -- 10+ Docker containers to orchestrate
- Ongoing maintenance -- backups, updates, security patches
- Requires DevOps expertise most small teams lack
- No free tier benefits -- VPS costs start at $20-50/month
- Data migration required from Supabase hosted to self-hosted
Self-hosting reference
Supabase provides an official docker-compose.yml in their GitHub repo. Expect to configure environment variables for Postgres, GoTrue, PostgREST, Realtime, Storage, Kong, and a Studio dashboard. Budget a day or two for initial setup and testing.
Option 3: Appwrite
Appwrite is an open-source Backend-as-a-Service that offers authentication, databases, storage, functions, and messaging. It has a growing community and solid documentation. However, it is a fundamentally different platform from Supabase.
Pros
- Self-hostable or use Appwrite Cloud
- Good documentation and active community
- SDKs for multiple languages and frameworks
- Free tier on Appwrite Cloud
Cons
- Completely different API -- full rewrite of data layer required
- Uses MariaDB, not Postgres -- no direct data migration path
- Smaller ecosystem than Supabase
- Appwrite Cloud uses
.iodomain -- could face similar ISP blocks
Appwrite is a solid platform, but migrating to it from Supabase is not trivial. You need to rewrite every database query, auth flow, and storage call. The underlying database engine is different (MariaDB vs Postgres), so there is no clean data export/import path. Budget weeks of engineering time for a full migration.
Option 4: Nhost
Nhost is a GraphQL-based backend platform built on Postgres and Hasura. It shares some philosophical DNA with Supabase -- both use Postgres under the hood -- but the query layer is completely different. Instead of PostgREST, Nhost uses Hasura's GraphQL engine.
Pros
- Postgres-based -- data migration is theoretically possible
- GraphQL with real-time subscriptions via Hasura
- Managed hosting available
Cons
- Different query patterns -- REST to GraphQL rewrite
- Smaller community and ecosystem than Supabase
- Significant migration effort for auth and storage layers
- Hosted on external domain -- same ISP block risk applies
If you already use GraphQL and want to stay on Postgres, Nhost is worth evaluating. But if you are migrating specifically because of the ISP block, keep in mind that Nhost's hosted domain could face the same blocking in the future. The root cause (ISP-level DNS blocking) is not specific to Supabase.
Option 5: PocketBase
PocketBase is a lightweight, open-source backend written in Go. It compiles to a single binary that includes a database (SQLite), auth, file storage, and a REST API. It is popular among solo developers and small projects for its simplicity.
Pros
- Dead simple -- single binary, no dependencies
- Self-hosted on your own domain
- Built-in admin UI
- Very fast for small-scale use cases
Cons
- Not production-ready at scale -- SQLite has concurrency limits
- No managed hosting option -- you run the server
- Limited real-time capabilities compared to Supabase
- Single-server architecture -- no horizontal scaling
PocketBase is excellent for prototyping, side projects, and internal tools. It is not a direct Supabase replacement for production apps with thousands of concurrent users. If you are running a serious product, the scaling limitations and lack of Postgres will become blockers quickly.
Option 6: Build a custom backend
The nuclear option: throw out your BaaS entirely and build a custom API from scratch. Use Express, Fastify, Django, Rails, or whatever framework you prefer, connect it to a Postgres database on your own infrastructure, and implement auth, storage, and realtime yourself.
Pros
- Total control over every layer of the stack
- Your own domain -- immune to third-party domain blocks
- Custom business logic without BaaS constraints
Cons
- Massive engineering effort -- weeks to months of work
- Rebuild auth, storage, and realtime from scratch
- Ongoing maintenance, security patches, scaling concerns
- Significant opportunity cost -- time spent on infra is not spent on product
Building a custom backend is the right long-term choice for some teams, but it is a terrible emergency response to an ISP block. If your app is down today and you start building a custom backend, your users will be waiting weeks or months. Fix the immediate problem with a proxy, then evaluate whether a custom backend makes sense for your roadmap.
Comparison table
Here is how each option stacks up across the factors that matter most when your app is broken and your users are waiting:
| Factor | Proxy | Self-host | Appwrite | Nhost | PocketBase | Custom |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Migration effort | None | Medium | High | High | High | Very high |
| Time to fix | 60 seconds | 1-2 days | 2-4 weeks | 2-4 weeks | 1-3 weeks | 1-3 months |
| ISP block risk | Low | Low | Medium | Medium | Low | Low |
| Cost | Free tier | $20-50/mo | Free tier | Free tier | VPS cost | VPS + time |
| Real-time support | Full | Full | Partial | Full | Limited | Build it |
| Postgres | Yes | Yes | No (MariaDB) | Yes | No (SQLite) | Your choice |
| Managed hosting | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No |
The bottom line
For 90% of developers affected by the Supabase block in India, the answer is not to switch backends. It is to add a proxy layer. Here is why:
Migration costs weeks or months.
Every alternative requires rewriting significant parts of your codebase. Even "similar" platforms have different APIs, different auth flows, and different database engines. That is weeks of engineering work, testing, and debugging.
Migration introduces new bugs.
Every rewrite introduces regression risk. Auth edge cases, data type mismatches, realtime subscription differences -- you will spend weeks fixing issues that did not exist before.
A proxy costs five minutes and changes one line of code.
Your database stays the same. Your auth stays the same. Your codebase stays the same. You just route requests through a domain that is not blocked. That is it.
Switching backends does not solve the root problem.
The block is an ISP-level DNS issue. Any hosted backend on any third-party domain could be next. A proxy layer gives you domain independence regardless of which backend you use.
Fix the immediate problem first. Get your app working again today. Then, if you still want to evaluate alternatives for other reasons -- cost, features, architecture -- do it on your own timeline, not under the pressure of a production outage. Read the JioBase documentation to get started.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it worth migrating away from Supabase just because of the block?
Will other backends get blocked too?
Can I use JioBase with self-hosted Supabase?
https://supabase.yourdomain.com) instead of a *.supabase.co address. This can be useful if you want the additional CORS handling, analytics, and monitoring that JioBase provides on top of your self-hosted setup.What if I need to proxy Firebase too?
Is Appwrite blocked in India?
cloud.appwrite.io) is not blocked in India. However, its .io domain means it is on a TLD that has seen blocks before. There is no guarantee it will remain accessible. If you self-host Appwrite on your own domain, the ISP block risk drops to zero -- but you take on the full infrastructure burden.Keep your Supabase stack. Just proxy it.
Do not waste weeks migrating to a new backend. Fix the ISP block in five minutes, keep your entire codebase intact, and get back to building your product.
Free tier includes 1 proxy app and 50,000 requests/month. No credit card required.
Suggested reading
More guides on Supabase, DNS blocks, and building resilient apps in India.
Supabase Blocked in India: What Happened and How to Fix It
Indian ISPs are DNS-blocking *.supabase.co. Here is everything you need to know and how to fix it.
Why Every Indian Developer Using Supabase Needs a Reverse Proxy
ISP-level blocks keep breaking developer tools. Here is why a proxy layer is essential infrastructure.
Fix Supabase on Jio in 60 Seconds
Ultra-short, action-focused guide. No theory, no backstory - just the fix.