Backend-as-a-Service (BaaS)

Backend-as-a-Service (BaaS) platforms provide ready-made infrastructure that application developers would otherwise build themselves — databases, authentication, file storage, serverless functions, and real-time synchronization. Instead of managing servers and writing boilerplate backend code, teams consume these capabilities through SDKs and APIs. Firebase (Google) popularized the model, but proprietary BaaS creates vendor lock-in and limits data sovereignty.

Open-source BaaS platforms:

Supabase — PostgreSQL-based platform with auth, real-time subscriptions, storage, and edge functions. Self-hostable via Docker. The most complete Firebase alternative. Apache 2.0.

Appwrite — self-hosted backend server with database, auth, storage, functions, and messaging APIs. Docker-based deployment. SDKs for web, mobile, and Flutter. BSD 3-Clause.

PocketBase — entire backend in a single binary. Embedded SQLite database, auth, file storage, and admin dashboard. Zero dependencies, trivial to deploy. Written in Go. MIT.