8 Best ElectricSQL Alternatives (2026)
The closest alternatives to ElectricSQL are Appwrite, Convex, Firebase and InstantDB, with 4 more below. Each shares a comparison category with it, so every rationale here names both tools' real values. ElectricSQL is 8th of 11 on Auth (bring-your-own), usually where a switch starts.
Why do people look for ElectricSQL alternatives?
- Most people searching for ElectricSQL alternatives are not shopping, they already run it and something has stopped fitting.
- That something is usually a specific number rather than a feeling.
- This page starts from the fields where ElectricSQL genuinely trails the rosters it appears in, and only then covers the reasons that never show up in a table.
The measured reasons.
- Auth, bring-your-own, 8th of 11. Supabase
records built-in. - MCP server, No. Convex
records Yes. - File storage, No. Convex records Yes.
- GitHub stars, 8,000, 6th of 10. Supabase records 90,000.
- Agent fit, 2, 10th of 11. Convex records 5.
- Any one of those is enough on its own if you sized your architecture around it.
- None of them is enough if you didn't, which is why the list is short and specific rather than a general case against ElectricSQL.
The reasons that never make it into a table.
- A price rise after a funding round.
- A licence change that turns a self-host into a subscription.
- A region you now need and they do not have.
- An acquisition.
- A support experience that quietly degrades.
- None of those are fields, and all of them move teams, which is why every entry below links back to Convex alternatives, where the full field set and its sources live.
- The ones we catch get logged on the ElectricSQL timeline.
How the shortlist is ordered.
- Every tool below shares at least one comparison category with ElectricSQL, sorted by how many categories the two overlap in.
- There is no editorial ranking, no sponsorship and no affiliate link, the order is the overlap count.
- The rationale under each is generated from the two tools' own cells, so it names real values rather than adjectives.
1.
Appwrite
- Appwrite, Open-source backend platform: databases, auth, storage, functions, self-hostable.
- It meets ElectricSQL in Convex alternatives.
- It is ahead on Cron & scheduling (Yes against No), Auth (built-in against bring-your-own) and MCP server (Yes against No).
- What you give up: Transactions (none, where ElectricSQL records mvcc) and Raw SQL (No, where ElectricSQL records Yes).
- Best for teams that must run the whole backend on their own infrastructure.
- The most complete self-hostable option, held back by console-first schema and the weakest transaction story here.
Where Appwrite and ElectricSQL actually differ
Appwrite profileCompare in Convex alternatives- Transactions
- noneElectricSQL: mvcc Inferred
- Raw SQL
- NoElectricSQL: Yes Inferred
2.Convex
- Convex, Reactive TypeScript backend: database, functions and live queries in one project.
- It meets ElectricSQL in Convex alternatives.
- It is ahead on Cron & scheduling (Yes against No), MCP server (Yes against No) and File storage (Yes against No).
- What you give up: Raw SQL (No, where ElectricSQL records Yes) and Exit cost (4, where ElectricSQL records 2).
- Best for small teams shipping realtime-shaped product fast.
- Fastest empty-repo-to-realtime path here, but a 4 on exit cost with no SQL escape hatch.
Where Convex and ElectricSQL actually differ
Convex profileCompare in Convex alternatives- Agent fit
- 5ElectricSQL: 2 Inferred
- Exit cost
- 4ElectricSQL: 2 Inferred
3.
Firebase
- Firebase, Google's app platform: Firestore documents, auth, functions, deep mobile SDKs.
- It meets ElectricSQL in Convex alternatives.
- It is ahead on Cron & scheduling (Yes against No), Auth (built-in against bring-your-own) and MCP server (Yes against No).
- What you give up: Self-hostable (No, where ElectricSQL records Yes) and Exit cost (5, where ElectricSQL records 2).
- Best for consumer mobile apps where offline behaviour is the product.
- Best offline story and mobile SDKs, worst exit on the page; fine only if you never migrate.
Where Firebase and ElectricSQL actually differ
Firebase profileCompare in Convex alternatives- Exit cost
- 5ElectricSQL: 2 Inferred
- Raw SQL
- NoElectricSQL: Yes Inferred
4.
InstantDB
- InstantDB, Client-side reactive database with a relational graph model and instant sync.
- It meets ElectricSQL in Convex alternatives.
- It is ahead on Auth (built-in against bring-your-own), MCP server (Yes against No) and File storage (Yes against No).
- What you give up: Raw SQL (No, where ElectricSQL records Yes) and Exit cost (4, where ElectricSQL records 2).
- Best for multiplayer or collaborative UIs where every interaction must feel local.
- The most pleasant DX for instant collaborative UIs; the missing server-side runtime is the constraint people hit.
Where InstantDB and ElectricSQL actually differ
InstantDB profileCompare in Convex alternatives- Raw SQL
- NoElectricSQL: Yes Inferred
- MCP server
- YesElectricSQL: No Inferred
- Exit cost
- 4ElectricSQL: 2 Inferred
- Full-text search
- NoElectricSQL: Partial Inferred
5.
Neon + Drizzle
- Neon + Drizzle, The DIY baseline: serverless Postgres
, a typed SQL query builder, nothing else. - It meets ElectricSQL in Convex alternatives.
- It is ahead on MCP server (Yes against No), Agent fit (4 against 2) and TS inference (Yes against Partial).
- What you give up: Reactivity (manual, where ElectricSQL records push) and Local-first sync (No, where ElectricSQL records Partial).
- Best for teams that already know what backend they want to build.
- Not a competitor, the yardstick: you build everything yourself, but nothing you build is owned by anyone else.
- Note that we carry Neon + Drizzle as the do-it-yourself baseline in that roster, the "what if we just ran this ourselves" reference point.
- The honest answer is usually that it is cheaper and considerably more work.
Where Neon + Drizzle and ElectricSQL actually differ
Neon + Drizzle profileCompare in Convex alternatives- Reactivity
- manualElectricSQL: push Inferred
- Local-first sync
- NoElectricSQL: Partial Inferred
- Optimistic writes
- NoElectricSQL: Partial Inferred
- Agent fit
- 4ElectricSQL: 2 Inferred
6.
Nhost
- Nhost, Postgres plus Hasura GraphQL, auth, storage and serverless functions.
- It meets ElectricSQL in Convex alternatives.
- It is ahead on Cron & scheduling (Yes against No), Auth (built-in against bring-your-own) and MCP server (Yes against No).
- What you give up: Local-first sync (No, where ElectricSQL records Partial) and Optimistic writes (No, where ElectricSQL records Partial).
- Best for teams already committed to GraphQL and Hasura.
- An underrated exit: Postgres plus open-source Hasura both survive leaving, if you like GraphQL and quiet projects.
Where Nhost and ElectricSQL actually differ
Nhost profileCompare in Convex alternatives- Cron & scheduling
- YesElectricSQL: No Inferred
- MCP server
- YesElectricSQL: No Inferred
- Local-first sync
- NoElectricSQL: Partial Inferred
- Optimistic writes
- NoElectricSQL: Partial Inferred
7.
PocketBase
- PocketBase, One Go binary: SQLite
database, auth, file storage, realtime and an admin UI. - It meets ElectricSQL in Convex alternatives.
- It is ahead on Auth (built-in against bring-your-own), File storage (Yes against No) and Cron & scheduling (Partial against No).
- What you give up: Local-first sync (No, where ElectricSQL records Partial) and Optimistic writes (No, where ElectricSQL records Partial).
- Best for internal tools and side projects where one VPS is plenty.
- Absurd value for single-machine workloads with the easiest extraction here; the ceiling is one writer, one box.
Where PocketBase and ElectricSQL actually differ
PocketBase profileCompare in Convex alternatives- Local-first sync
- NoElectricSQL: Partial Inferred
- Optimistic writes
- NoElectricSQL: Partial Inferred
- Cron & scheduling
- PartialElectricSQL: No Inferred
- Backing
- solo-maintainerElectricSQL: venture-backed Community-reported
8.
Zero
- Zero, Sync engine that puts a queryable client cache in front of your own Postgres.
- It meets ElectricSQL in Convex alternatives.
- It is ahead on TS inference (Yes against Partial), Local-first sync (Yes against Partial) and Optimistic writes (Yes against Partial).
- What you give up: Egress metered (No, where ElectricSQL records Partial) and Exit cost (3, where ElectricSQL records 2).
- Best for teams with an existing Postgres who want a UI that feels local.
- Instant local reads without surrendering the database; a layer, not a platform, that you operate yourself.
Where Zero and ElectricSQL actually differ
Zero profileCompare in Convex alternatives- Egress metered
- NoElectricSQL: Partial Inferred
- Exit cost
- 3ElectricSQL: 2 Inferred
- Agent fit
- 3ElectricSQL: 2 Inferred
How this list was built
There is no editorial ranking on this page and no sponsorship behind it. The order is mechanical: every tool that shares a comparison category with ElectricSQL, sorted by how many categories the two overlap in. A tool that meets ElectricSQL in three rosters sits above one that meets it in a single roster, because more overlap means the comparison is more like-for-like.
The rationale under each entry is composed from the two tools' own cells. Where they differ on a field we score, the sentence names both values and the unit. Where they don't differ, it says so instead of manufacturing a distinction, which is why some entries are short.
Values, sources and verification dates all live on the category tables: Convex alternatives. If a figure here disagrees with a vendor's current pricing page, the vendor is right and we are stale.
Still deciding whether to move at all? The ElectricSQL profile has the when-to-use and when-not-to-use blocks, and the ElectricSQL timeline has the dated changes that usually trigger a migration.