Appwrite

What it does

A complete backend: database, authentication, file storage, cloud functions, and real-time messaging. Build web and mobile apps without managing servers. 13+ official SDKs including web, Flutter, React Native, Swift, Kotlin.

Why we like it

Firebase's free tier is generous but the paid tier scales brutally - 1GB database reads cost $0.18, and a moderately popular app can rack up $100+/month. Appwrite self-hosted gives you unlimited everything for $10/month. The trade-off: you manage the infrastructure, but Appwrite's Docker setup is well-documented.

What it replaces

Firebase, Supabase Cloud, Appwrite Cloud, AWS Amplify

Setup guide

Here's the setup, step by step. A complete backend: database, authentication, file storage, cloud functions, and real-time messaging. Build web and mobile apps without managing servers. 13+ official SDKs including web, Flutter, React Native, Swift, Kotlin.

The code

This is the actual configuration you'll use. Lines you need to edit are highlighted.

# Run the installerdocker run -it --rm \  --volume /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \  --volume "$(pwd)"/appwrite:/usr/src-code/appwrite:rw \  appwrite/appwrite:1.5.0  ← check latest version# The installer asks for your domain and generates# a full docker-compose.yml with all services

Resource cost

Needs a $10-12/month VPS (2GB RAM minimum, 4GB recommended).