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Do Supabase backups count as egress?

By ReviveDB

Yes. A Supabase CLI backup or remote pg_dump sends database data from Supabase to the machine running the export. Downloading Storage files does the same through the Storage service. Both consume the organization’s egress quota. Extra charges apply only when total eligible usage exceeds the included quota and the organization permits paid overage.

Count every transfer that leaves Supabase

Backup activitySupabase usage categoryWhat to budget
Database export over a direct connectionDatabase egressBytes sent to the external pg_dump or CLI process
Database export through the shared poolerShared Pooler egressThe outbound transfer is counted once, not again as Database egress
Storage object downloadStorage egressObject bytes sent to the backup process; cached usage applies only to an actual CDN cache hit
Upload from the backup process to another providerNot a second Supabase transferCheck the backup host and destination provider for their own charges

The categories and double-counting rule come from Supabase’s current egress usage documentation. A database dump does not contain the actual Storage object bytes, so a complete project backup must budget those downloads separately.

Calculate the monthly backup share

backup egress = (database transfer per run × runs)
              + (Storage transfer per run × runs)

paid overage = max(0, total organization egress - included quota) × rate

Use measured transfer, not provisioned database disk size or the final compressed archive. Disk size includes structures that a logical dump may represent differently. The archive is compressed by the client and can be smaller than the data Supabase sent. Measure the organization’s usage before and after representative runs, then leave headroom for normal application traffic and failed attempts that already transferred bytes.

Example: suppose daily database exports transfer 8 GB and four monthly Storage copies each transfer 30 GB. Backup traffic is 8 × 30 + 30 × 4 = 360 GB. If the organization uses another 90 GB, total uncached egress is 450 GB. With 250 GB included, 200 GB is over quota. At $0.09 per GB, the estimated egress overage is $18, provided paid overage is enabled. Plan fees and other usage remain separate.

Supabase currently lists 5 GB of uncached egress for Free and 250 GB for Pro and Team. Eligible Pro and Team overage is $0.09 per GB; Enterprise terms are custom. Confirm these values on the official pricing page before committing to a budget. The quota belongs to the organization, so all projects and supported services draw from it.

Measure a backup instead of estimating from the archive

  • Open the Supabase organization Usage page and record Total Egress.
  • Filter to the project and note Database, Shared Pooler and Storage usage when the breakdown is available.
  • Run one normal backup while avoiding another large export in the same window.
  • Wait for usage reporting to update, record the difference and repeat on a second representative day.
  • Multiply the observed transfer by the planned cadence, then add normal organization traffic and a failure margin.

A single measurement is not a permanent forecast. Database growth, new Storage objects, duplicate jobs and retries change the result. Alert on both unexpected egress growth and a missing recovery point.

Reduce transfer without weakening recovery

  • Choose cadence from RPO, then price that cadence. Do not silently accept more data loss to stay below quota.
  • Prevent overlapping runs and make retries resume or reuse completed work where the backup format permits it.
  • Avoid repeatedly downloading unchanged Storage objects. Keep a versioned manifest and verify reused bytes instead.
  • Exclude only reproducible data, such as a documented cache. Restore-test the exclusions before relying on them.
  • Retain recovery points at the destination. Longer retention should not require another download from Supabase.

How we treat egress

We read the database over the configured connection and Storage files through the Storage API, so those source transfers may count toward your Supabase egress. We do not add usage-based overage charges of our own. A run that would exceed your plan's processing allowance is stopped and reported instead of generating an automatic overage. See pricing and limits for the separate product allowance.

The important distinction is billing ownership: Supabase meters data leaving the project, while the backup service controls its own subscription limits. Neither fee proves that the resulting recovery point works. Review the Supabase backup coverage and keep restore verification in the recovery plan.

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