Choosing the Right Backend Solution for a College Event Website: Supabase vs. MongoDB + Render + Hono

Planning a college festival website can be both exciting and challenging, especially when selecting the ideal backend infrastructure. If you’re aiming to serve around 1,000 to 2,000 users efficiently without a substantial budget, the decision might feel overwhelming. Let’s explore two popular options—Supabase and a custom stack comprising MongoDB Atlas, Render, and Hono—and weigh their advantages and potential drawbacks.

Evaluating Your Options

Option 1: Supabase (All-in-One Platform)

• Ease of Setup: Features native integration with Google Authentication, enabling quick deployment.
• Database: Utilizes a relational PostgreSQL database with automatic API generation and real-time capabilities.
• Pricing and Limits: The free tier supports up to 50,000 monthly users, 500MB database storage, 5GB of outbound bandwidth, and 1GB media storage.
• Developer Experience: Offers a streamlined development process with minimal backend maintenance, allowing you to focus on user experience and interface design.
• Considerations: Ideal for rapid development and simple API needs, with less manual configuration involved.

Option 2: MongoDB Atlas + Render + Hono (Custom Stack)

• Proven Track Record: This setup worked seamlessly in previous projects, providing familiarity and reliability.
• Bandwidth: Provides a generous 40GB of outbound bandwidth per month, reducing concerns about limits.
• Flexibility: The NoSQL data model allows easy nesting of data structures, ideal for complex or evolving data schemas.
• Backend Control: Building APIs with Hono gives you full control over logic and permissions, deployable on Render’s platform, with options for various authentication methods (NextAuth, JWT, etc.).
• Challenges: Requires managing keep-alive settings or scheduled “warm-up” routines to prevent cold starts, along with additional manual configuration.

Balancing the Pros and Cons

Why Opt for Supabase?

• Rapid and straightforward setup—perfect for quick deployment.
• Less backend complexity, reducing chances of deployment issues.
• User authentication via Google integrates seamlessly, offering a user-friendly dashboard.

Why Consider MongoDB + Render + Hono?

• Greater bandwidth capacity, reducing the risk of hitting limits during traffic spikes.
• Enhanced control over backend architecture, enabling tailored API endpoints and permissions.
• Better suited for future scalability, accommodating more complex data and feature