No-coder’s guide to Supabase (2025)

You may have noticed that Supabase has been blowing up. In case you’ve been living under a rock, Supabase is a low-code database used by millions of developers (and now non-developers). Recently, its become popular as the backend of choice for vibe-coding tools like Lovable and Bolt.

As someone more comfortable with Airtable and Notion, I was initially intimidated by Supabase. Their site throws around developer terms like “Postgres”, “functions”, and “Vector embeddings”.  But, once you get the hang of it, Supabase is incredibly powerful and a key part of building real apps with AI.

This short guide provides an intro to Supabase for non-developers. In a few minutes, you’ll understand what Supabase is, how it fits into AI app building, and how you can set it up yourself. By the end, Supabase will be an extremely useful part of your no-code toolkit 😉.

What is Supabase?

Fundamentally, Supabase is a database. In other words, it’s place to store data for your application. 

In the no-code world, you’ll often see apps built with the following stack:

• Webflow (frontend)
• Airtable (database)
• Whalesync (connects frontend to database)

In the developer world, you’ll see a similar setup with:

• React (frontend)
• Postgres (database)

While Supabase provides a ton of useful features for developers, at its core, it’s a place to store data in tables that can power your applications. 

Supabase is “Postgres”? What does that mean?

You might have heard that Supabase is a “Postgres” database. While that can be confusing if you’re not a developer, the distinction is useful to understand.

PostgreSQL (aka “Postgres”) is a type of database used by millions of people, including some of the world’s biggest companies. It’s open source, meaning that anyone can start building with a Postgres database for free. That being said, there are a handful of services that offer Postgres, alongside a handful of other features, at a cost. 

Supabase is one of those managed services. A few other popular ones you might know are:

• Amazon RDS
• Google Cloud SQL
• Neon

So why does this matter? Just know that Supabase is a Postgres a database and don’t get confused if someone uses “Supabase” or “Postgres” interchangeably in a sentence.

How is Supabase different than Airtable?

Ok, so Supabase has tables and fields and I can store my data there… so how is it different from Airtable?

The key difference is that Supabase was built specifically to be a database whereas Airtable was built to be a database/spreadsheet hybrid.

In practice, this means that Airtable is simpler, easier to use, and more flexible. You truly don’t need to know anything about code to use Airtable and it’s chock full of operational features like kanban views, automations, and extensions.  

Since Supabase is meant more for developers, you’ll notice more technical language all over the app. It doesn’t have no-code features like forms and interfaces BUT it does come full of key tools for building real applications. The two big ones in the context of building apps with AI are authentication and scalability. In other words, Supabase can be your database even if you have millions of real users.

In short:

• Airtable: no-code spreadsheet/database hybrid
• Supabase: low-code database

Why has Supabase become so popular?

Supabase has skyrocketed in popularity since launching in January of 2020. While certainly not the first Postgres database on the market, it has quickly become the database of choice for millions of people.

A big reason for Supabase’s success has been how easy they’ve made it to create a scalable Postgres database. As their tagline says, you can “build in a weekend, scale to millions”. 

Since it’s a Postgres database under-the-hood, Supabase can handle millions of users. Yet, unlike other Postgres databases, you don’t actually need to know code to use it. Normally, setting up a Postgres database involves a handful of technical steps. Supabase, on the otherhand, will create a database for you in just a few clicks.

While this ease of use is appreciated by many developers, it’s also why Supabase has become the database of choice for non-developers. If you’re building an app with AI tools like Bolt or Lovable, you need a backend to store your data. The low-code nature of Supabase has made it a natural choice for the AI vibe-coder.

How do I use Supabase in my AI app or no-code project?

Now you know what Supabase is, how it’s different from Airtable, and why people love it. Of course the next question is, “how do I actually use it?”.

Luckily, if you’re building with Bolt or Lovable, it’s never been easier to get started with Supabase! Both of these tools now have a “Connect to Supabase” button built right into their editor. As you’re building your AI app, all you have to do is click that button and AI will both spin up a database and connect your app to it.

In practice, we generally recommend following these steps when building an AI app:

1. Pick your AI app builder of choice (e.g. Bolt or Lovable).
2. Chat with the AI to build the frontend of your app (e.g. the screens your users will click).
3. Once you’ve got the basic frontend, ask AI what type of database schema would be best for your app.
4. Once you land on a data schema, click “Connect to Supabase” and ask the AI to build your database for you.
5. Now that you have a database, ask the AI to add “Supabase auth” to your app so that users can create accounts.
6. Finally, jump into your new Supabase database to view how all your data is stored.

Adding a backend like Supabase to your AI app is a critical piece in making your app functional and scalable. With the power of AI, it’s now easier than ever to build fully functional apps end-to-end. If you want to see this in action, check out the 20 minute video below.

How can I edit the data in Supabase?

Once you’ve used AI to build your Supabase database, you’re well on your way to building a real web app! The only problem is that Supabase is a database a not a flexible data editor like Airtable. So how do you solve that?

Luckily, with Whalesync, it’s super easy! Whalesync lets you connect Supabase to Airtable so you can take advantage of both tools. Supabase remains as the backend of your AI-app and Airtable becomes your admin panel for making edits in Supabase.

To set this up, you can follow the steps outlined 5-minute guide for connecting Supabase and Airtable.

Supabase vs. the competition

As a non-developer, the landscape of database tools can feel like a sea of jargon. You've heard of Airtable, and maybe you've heard of other Postgres providers like Neon. Let's break down how Supabase fits in.

Supabase vs. Airtable: the classic no-code showdown

We've touched on this, but let's make it crystal clear. This is the most important comparison for anyone coming from a no-code background.

The bottom line:

• Choose Airtable when you need a flexible, easy-to-use tool for managing internal data, running a project, or creating a simple database without writing code. It's an operational hub.
• Choose Supabase when you are building a real application that needs to scale, have user accounts, and serve data to a public-facing frontend. It's an application backend.

The beauty, as the article mentions, is that you don't always have to choose. Using Whalesync to connect both gives you the best of both worlds: a scalable Supabase backend and an easy-to-use Airtable admin panel.

Supabase vs. Neon: the postgres battle

This is a more technical comparison, but it's important for understanding Supabase's value. You might see Neon mentioned as another great "serverless Postgres" option.

What's the difference?

The single most important distinction for a non-developer is what comes with the database.

• Neon is a fantastic, modern, serverless Postgres database. It focuses on being the best possible database it can be, with features like branching for development. But that's where its focus ends: it's just the database.
• Supabase is also a fantastic, modern, managed Postgres database. But it's also much more. It's a Backend-as-a-Service (BaaS). It bundles the core database with all the other services you need to build an app:
  • Authentication: A complete system for user sign-ups and logins.
  • Storage: A place to put user-generated files like profile pictures.
  • Edge Functions: A way to run server-side code without managing a server.

The bottom line:

If you choose Neon, you are only getting a database. You would then need to find, integrate, and manage separate services for user authentication and file storage.

For the no-coder or "vibe-coder," Supabase's all-in-one platform is its killer feature. It provides the entire backend toolkit in one easy-to-use package. This is why it has become the default choice for AI app builders like Lovable and Bolt; you can get a complete, scalable backend up and running from a single tool.

Supabase + Airtable = 🤩

Supabase is an amazing, low-code database and should be a part of your toolkit if you’re building apps with AI. At its core, it provides you with editable tables of data that can power your app as you scale to millions of users.

While Supabase is not as flexible as Airtable, you can use Whalesync to connect Supabase to Airtable and get the best of both worlds. Infinite scalability with Supabase and infinite flexibility with Airtable.

Supabase FAQ for no-coders

It's natural to have questions when stepping into a new tool. Here are answers to some common queries from the perspective of a non-developer.

Do I need to know how to code to use Supabase?

No, but it helps to be "code-aware." You don't need to write SQL queries to create a table, but you should understand the concept of what a database table is. Tools like Lovable and Bolt handle the heavy lifting of setting up your database. And for managing the data day-to-day, you can sync Supabase with Airtable via Whalesync and never touch the Supabase dashboard again if you don't want to.

Is Supabase free?

Yes, Supabase has a generous free tier that is more than enough for most side projects and initial app builds. You get two free projects, a database, authentication for up to 50,000 monthly active users, and file storage. You only need to pay when your project grows significantly, making it perfect for starting out.

You keep saying Supabase is "scalable." what does that mean for me?

Imagine your app gets featured on a popular blog. "Scalable" means you don't have to worry about your app crashing if thousands of new users sign up overnight. Airtable has limits on the number of records per base (e.g., 50,000 on the Pro plan). A Postgres database like Supabase is designed to handle millions of records and users without breaking a sweat.

Can I use Supabase with my Webflow site?

Absolutely. This is a very common and powerful combination. You can use Webflow for your marketing site or app frontend and have it pull data from Supabase. For example, a directory website might have its list of businesses stored in Supabase and displayed on a Webflow page. The best part? You can use Whalesync to sync your Webflow CMS with your Supabase data, creating a seamless bridge between the two.

You mentioned "authentication." is that hard to set up?

For a developer building from scratch, it can be. For you, it's incredibly simple. Supabase provides a pre-built, secure login system. When you use a tool like Lovable, you can literally just ask the AI, "add user logins to my app," and it will hook into Supabase Auth to create the entire flow for you.

If I use Whalesync to connect Airtable and Supabase, where is my data "really" living?

Your data lives in both places, and that's the magic of two-way sync. Supabase acts as your "source of truth" or production database—this is what your live application is connected to. Airtable acts as your admin panel—a user-friendly interface for viewing and editing that same data. When you change a record in Airtable, Whalesync instantly updates it in Supabase, and vice-versa.

Can I mess things up badly in Supabase?

It’s more difficult to "mess up" than you might think, but it is a professional tool. A good rule of thumb is to not delete or edit things if you don't know what they do, especially in the pre-configured sections like auth. The safest way to work is by connecting Supabase to Airtable with Whalesync. This allows you to manage all your app's data from the familiar, friendly interface of Airtable, minimizing your risk of breaking something in the more sensitive Supabase environment.

Next steps: putting your knowledge into action

Feeling inspired? Here are some practical steps you can take to dive deeper into the world of Supabase and Whalesync.

• Explore the connectors: See firsthand how Whalesync bridges the gap between different apps. Check out the official pages for the Supabase Connector and the Airtable Connector to understand the technical details.
• Read a step-by-step tutorial: Ready to get your hands dirty? This blog post walks you through the exact process of connecting an Airtable base to a Supabase project: How to Connect and Sync Airtable to Supabase.
• Browse use cases: Wondering what else you can do? See how other people are using these tools to build amazing things. Explore use cases like building internal tools or leveraging reverse ETL to get ideas for your next project.
• Watch how-to videos on YouTube: For more visual deep-dives, check out this tutorial on our YouTube channel:
  • How to integrate Airtable and Supabase (2025)