PocketBase Hosting: The Supabase Alternative for $8/month
PocketBase gives you user authentication, a realtime database, file storage, and an admin dashboard in a single binary — and CM Cloud’s App Hosting lets you run it for $7.99/month (XAF 5,000 / €7.40). No Supabase subscription, no DigitalOcean managed database bill, no Railway usage-based surprises.
If you are building a SaaS, mobile app, or internal tool and you need a backend that just works without a $25–$50/month cloud database tab, this is the setup worth knowing about.
What Is PocketBase and Why Does It Replace Supabase?
Supabase is popular because it bundles Postgres, auth, storage, and realtime subscriptions into one hosted product. The problem: the free tier is limited, and the Pro plan starts at $25/month — before you factor in compute add-ons.
PocketBase delivers the same four pillars:
- User auth — email/password and OAuth (Google, GitHub, etc.) out of the box
- Realtime subscriptions — push updates to connected clients instantly
- File storage — upload and serve files directly through the PocketBase API
- Visual admin dashboard — manage collections, rules, and users via a browser UI
The difference is that PocketBase is a single self-hostable binary. You own the infrastructure, you own the data, and you pay a flat hosting fee — not a usage bill that grows with your user count.
How CM Cloud App Hosting Runs PocketBase
CM Cloud’s App Hosting treats PocketBase as a first-class runtime alongside Node.js, Python, Laravel, and PHP. You do not manage servers, configure nginx, or write systemd unit files. CM Cloud handles the full runtime layer — process supervision, reverse proxy, and uptime monitoring.
Here is how a PocketBase deploy works:
- Push your code to GitHub (or any Git remote).
- Generate a CI/CD deploy hook in the CM Cloud portal — a secret URL unique to your app.
- Add a GitHub Actions step that POSTs to that URL on every push.
- CM Cloud pulls the latest build and restarts PocketBase automatically.
There is no customer SSH access, which keeps the surface area simple. Your PocketBase admin dashboard is available over HTTPS at your subdomain or custom domain the moment the app is live.
Important: App Hosting does not include a bundled database engine. PocketBase is self-contained — it stores its own SQLite data file internally — so for most PocketBase use cases you do not need a separate database at all. If your project later needs Postgres or MySQL, connect an external database provider.
The Full-Stack Pattern: PocketBase + Frontend on CM Cloud
A common architecture that replaces a Vercel + Supabase stack entirely within CM Cloud:
- PocketBase on App Hosting → handles auth, data, storage, and realtime
- Next.js or static frontend on App Hosting (Node.js runtime) → consumes PocketBase’s REST and realtime APIs
Both services run under separate App Hosting instances. You get the same developer experience as Vercel + Supabase — CI/CD on git push, HTTPS, custom domains — at a fraction of the combined cost.
PocketBase Hosting Price Comparison
Below is an honest side-by-side of what you pay to run a PocketBase-equivalent backend on each platform. All prices are published rates as of this writing.
| Provider | Starter Price (USD) | XAF | EUR | Key Feature |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CM Cloud App Hosting | $7.99/mo | XAF 5,000 | €7.40 | Flat rate, PocketBase runtime included, CI/CD hook |
| Railway | $1/mo + usage | — | — | Usage-based billing; credit card now required after 30-day trial |
| DigitalOcean Droplet | $6/mo (512 MB) | — | — | Unmanaged VPS; you configure nginx, systemd, SSL yourself |
| Supabase Pro | $25/mo | — | — | Managed Postgres + auth; no self-hosted option on this tier |
| Hostinger VPS | €4.99/mo intro | — | €4.99 intro / €9.99 renewal | Intro rate; renewal nearly doubles; unmanaged |
Railway’s pricing model changed: the free tier now requires a credit card and a $1/month minimum after a 30-day trial, with all usage billed on top. For a PocketBase app with steady traffic, your Railway bill is unpredictable. CM Cloud App Hosting at $7.99/month flat removes that uncertainty entirely.
Hostinger’s intro pricing looks attractive at €2.99/month, but that rate applies to shared hosting on a 48-month lock-in, not a runtime environment for PocketBase. The renewal rate is €9.99/month, and shared hosting does not give you the process control PocketBase requires.
AI Credits: Accelerate Your PocketBase Project
CM Cloud includes AI credits on every plan — free to start, with affordable top-ups. Use them for code generation, schema design help, or drafting API documentation.
| Pack | USD | XAF | EUR | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter top-up | $1.00 | XAF 500 | €0.93 | 25 credits |
| All hosting plans | Free credits included | — | — | On signup |
Why African Developers and Startups Should Care
Most backend-as-a-service pricing is designed around USD credit cards and US/EU latency assumptions. CM Cloud prices in XAF, USD, and EUR simultaneously — the only hosting provider on the market that does this — making budgeting straightforward for businesses in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, and across West Africa.
At XAF 5,000/month, running a production PocketBase backend costs less than a standard mobile data bundle. For a startup validating an idea or an agency building client apps, that cost floor matters.
CM Cloud also offers the cheapest domain registration prices on the market, so you can register your .com, .africa, or country-code domain alongside your App Hosting plan without padding a third-party domain bill.
What PocketBase Hosting on CM Cloud Includes
- ✅ PocketBase runtime — fully managed by CM Cloud
- ✅ CI/CD deploy hook — auto-redeploy on git push
- ✅ HTTPS / custom domain support
- ✅ nginx + process supervision managed for you
- ✅ Email/password and OAuth auth via PocketBase
- ✅ Realtime subscriptions
- ✅ File storage through PocketBase’s native API
- ✅ Visual PocketBase admin dashboard over HTTPS
- ✅ AI credits included
- ❌ No customer SSH (managed environment)
- ❌ No rollback feature
- ❌ No bundled external database (PocketBase uses its own SQLite internally)
Add Business Email Separately
If your project needs professional email ([email protected]), CM Cloud’s Business Email is sold as a separate product — it is not bundled with App Hosting or any other plan.
- Per mailbox: $1.99/user/month (XAF 1,250 / €1.85)
- Bundle: $4.99/month (XAF 3,000 / €4.60) for 5 mailboxes
This keeps hosting costs clean and lets you add email only when you need it.
See Full Pricing at CM Cloud
All App Hosting, Shared Hosting, Managed WordPress, Cloud VPS, Business Email, and Domain pricing is listed at cmcloudhosting.com/pricing in USD, XAF, and EUR. No hidden renewal hikes, no 48-month lock-in required to see the real price.
For a direct comparison of App Hosting tiers and what is included, visit cmcloudhosting.com/pricing.
Start Your PocketBase Backend Today
Stop paying $25/month for a managed Supabase tier when a self-hosted PocketBase backend on CM Cloud costs $7.99/month flat (XAF 5,000 / €7.40). Push your code, point your domain, and your backend is live.