Database Selection Guide for Front-End Developers (2025)
The Databases Dominating 2025: What Developers Actually Use
I’ve been building front-end applications for more than a decade, and in that time I’ve worked with just about every kind of database you can imagine—SQL, NoSQL, in-memory stores, and even some niche solutions that never caught on. Each year, new approaches pop up. Just like React reshaped how we think about building interfaces, databases keep evolving and changing the way we structure and store our data.
Over the years, I’ve experimented with many options, but nowadays I find myself leaning most toward Supabase. It’s strike the right balance between performance, developer experience, and integration with modern front-end frameworks.
This guide highlights the most front-end–friendly databases, explains their sweet spots, and links directly to their documentation so you can dive deeper.
1. Supabase – PostgreSQL for the JavaScript Generation
📈 Popularity: Rising fast, especially in the React/Next.js ecosystem. Supabase is seen as the “open-source Firebase alternative” and already has a huge developer community.
Why front-end devs love it: SQL power, but with a JavaScript-first SDK, built-in authentication, storage, and real-time subscriptions.
Best use cases: SaaS dashboards, authentication-heavy apps, analytics.
Docs: Supabase Documentation
Example (React):
const { data: todos } = await supabase
.from(”todos”)
.select(”*”)
.eq(”user_id”, user.id);
2. Firebase Firestore – Real-Time Sync at Scale
📈 Popularity: Still one of the most widely used front-end databases, especially for startups, chat apps, and collaborative tools.
Why front-end devs love it: Zero setup, real-time sync, offline-first capabilities, and tight integration with Google Cloud.
Best use cases: Chat/messaging apps, collaborative editors, real-time feeds.
Docs: Firestore Documentation
Example (Next.js):
const q = query(collection(db, “messages”), orderBy(”createdAt”));
onSnapshot(q, (snapshot) => {
setMessages(snapshot.docs.map((doc) => doc.data()));
});
3. MongoDB Atlas – Flexible JSON Powerhouse
📈 Popularity: MongoDB has been around for more than a decade and still dominates when developers need schema-less iteration.
Why front-end devs love it: JSON documents feel natural when working with JavaScript/TypeScript, great for content-driven apps.
Best use cases: Catalogs, CMS-like content, evolving schemas.
Example (Node + React):
const user = await db.collection(”users”)
.findOne({ email: “test@example.com” });
4. PlanetScale – MySQL with Git-Style Workflows
📈 Popularity: Popular among modern SaaS companies. Developers love its branching model for schema changes without downtime.
Why front-end devs love it: Serverless MySQL, automatic scaling, schema changes feel like Git.
Best use cases: SaaS dashboards, multi-tenant applications, e-commerce.
Example (Next.js API route):
import { conn } from “@planetscale/database”;
const db = conn({ url: process.env.DATABASE_URL });
const users = await db.execute(”SELECT * FROM users LIMIT 10”);
Trends in 2025
Serverless-first: Supabase, PlanetScale, Firebase → scaling without managing servers.
Edge databases: Neon, Turso → bringing Postgres/SQLite closer to the user at the edge.
AI-ready databases: Vector databases (Pinecone, Weaviate, pgvector) power semantic search.
Polyglot persistence: Real-world apps mix & match: Firestore for chat, Postgres for analytics, Redis for cache.
My Quick Checklist
Need real-time sync? → Supabase
Need SQL + scale? → PlanetScale
Need flexible JSON schemas? → MongoDB or Firestore
Need blazing-fast cache? → Redis
Need offline-first? → IndexedDB
The best database isn’t the trendiest—it’s the one your team can use effectively and maintain at scale. Master one, then expand into polyglot persistence when your app demands it.
