Supabase vs Firebase in India: Both Blocked, One Solution

The situation

Indian developers are caught in a difficult position. Supabase, the open-source Firebase alternative that has become one of the most popular backend platforms worldwide, has been DNS-blocked on Jio, Airtel, and ACT Fibernet since February 24, 2026. Every API call, authentication request, storage upload, and Realtime subscription fails with a timeout error for users on these networks.

Meanwhile, Firebase, Google's proprietary BaaS platform and the other dominant choice for Indian developers, faces its own DNS block on BSNL. Two of India's most popular backend platforms are now partially or fully inaccessible depending on which ISP your users happen to be on.

The natural instinct is to migrate from the blocked platform to the one that still works on your ISP. But that strategy is fundamentally flawed. Here is why, and what you should do instead.

Supabase block details

The Supabase block is the more widespread of the two, affecting India's largest ISPs by subscriber count:

For a deeper technical breakdown of the Supabase block, including DNS lookup evidence and ISP-specific behavior, see our full Supabase block analysis.

Firebase block details

The Firebase block is more limited in scope but still affects a significant number of Indian users:

While the Firebase block currently affects fewer users than the Supabase block, it demonstrates a troubling pattern: ISP-level blocking of developer infrastructure is not limited to a single platform. For more on how both platforms are affected, see our Firebase and Supabase blocked in India deep dive.

Why migrating from one to the other does not help

When developers discover that Supabase is blocked on Jio, the first thought is often: "Let me just move to Firebase." Or vice versa for BSNL users. This logic seems sound on the surface, but it breaks down when you look at the full picture.

If you migrate from Supabase to Firebase, your Jio and Airtel users can connect again. But now your BSNL users cannot. You have traded one set of blocked users for another. In a country with over a billion internet users spread across dozens of ISPs, you cannot control which ISP your users are on.

The problem is not which BaaS you chose. The problem is that your app connects directly to a domain controlled by the BaaS provider, and that domain can be blocked at the ISP level. The solution has to address that architectural weakness, not swap one vulnerable domain for another.

Feature comparison: Supabase vs Firebase

If you are evaluating both platforms on their technical merits (which is how the decision should be made), here is how they stack up:

Both platforms are capable choices for building modern applications. The decision should be driven by your data model (SQL vs NoSQL), your need for open-source flexibility, and your team's expertise. It should never be driven by which ISP happens to block which domain this week.

The common root cause: Section 69A and DNS poisoning

Both blocks share the same root cause. Section 69A of India's Information Technology Act gives the government the power to direct ISPs to block access to specific websites and online services. These blocking orders are issued directly to ISPs, which then implement them at the DNS level.

The mechanism works the same way for both platforms. When a user's device requests the IP address of a blocked domain, the ISP's DNS resolver returns a fake (sinkhole) IP address instead of the real one. The browser or app tries to connect to this fake IP, gets no response, and eventually times out. For a detailed look at the legal framework, see our post on why Supabase was banned under Section 69A.

Key characteristics of this blocking mechanism:

• No public transparency: Section 69A orders are issued confidentially. There is no public registry of blocked sites and no official announcement when a service is blocked.
• ISP-specific implementation: Different ISPs receive and implement blocking orders independently, which is why Supabase is blocked on Jio but not BSNL, and Firebase is blocked on BSNL but not Jio.
• Unpredictable scope: Blocks can expand to additional ISPs or additional services without warning. A platform that works today might be blocked tomorrow.

This is exactly why migrating between platforms is a losing strategy. The blocking mechanism does not care whether you use Supabase or Firebase. It targets domains, and any domain can be targeted. You can use our testing guide to check if your specific backend is affected.

Why a proxy layer works for both platforms

A reverse proxy solves the problem at the architectural level. Instead of your app connecting directly to *.supabase.co or *.firebaseio.com, it connects to your own domain on Cloudflare's edge network. The proxy then forwards the request to the backend service on the server side, where ISP blocks do not apply.

This works because the ISP block only applies to client-side DNS resolution. When a Cloudflare Worker makes a server-side request to Supabase or Firebase, it bypasses the ISP entirely. The Worker runs on Cloudflare's global network, not on an Indian ISP.

JioBase provides this proxy layer as a managed service for Supabase. You get a proxy endpoint like myapp.jiobase.com that transparently forwards all Supabase API calls, including WebSocket connections for Realtime. The same architectural pattern can be applied to any blocked backend.

Setting up a Supabase proxy with JioBase

If you are a Supabase developer, JioBase gives you a working proxy in under five minutes. The only code change is swapping your Supabase URL:

Before (blocked on Indian ISPs):

After (works everywhere via JioBase):

Using environment variables makes this even more flexible. You can swap between direct access and the proxy without changing any code:

Want to build your own proxy instead? Use our free Cloudflare Worker Generator to create a custom proxy Worker in seconds. For a full walkthrough, check our Cloudflare Workers proxy guide.

Decision framework for Indian developers

Here is a practical framework for choosing and deploying a BaaS in India, given the current blocking environment:

Build your own proxy if you prefer

If you want full control over your proxy infrastructure, you can deploy your own Cloudflare Worker. The basic pattern is the same for any blocked backend: intercept the request, rewrite the host, forward to the origin, and return the response.

Frequently Asked Questions