---
id: architecture
title: Architecture
description: 'Supabase design and architecture'
# hide_table_of_contents: true
---

Supabase is open source. Wherever possible, we use and support existing tools rather than developing from scratch.
We choose open source tools which are scalable and we make them simple to use.

![Supabase Architecture](/img/supabase-architecture.png)

Supabase is not a 1-to-1 mapping of Firebase. While we are building many of the features that Firebase offers, we are not going about it the same way.

Our technological choices are quite different from Firebase. Everything we use is open source. Wherever possible, we use and support existing tools rather than developing from scratch.

Most notably, we use Postgres rather than a NoSQL store. This choice was deliberate. We believe that no other database offers the scalability and functionality required to compete with Firebase.
