Realtime or Pipelines? How to choose the right tool

Both Supabase Realtime and Supabase Pipelines read changes from your Postgres database. They both use logical replication under the hood. They even look similar when you squint. But they solve very different problems, and choosing the wrong one will frustrate you. This post explains what each product does, how they differ, and when you should pick one over the other. Realtime sends database changes to your users' browsers and apps, right now, as they happen. It is built for live experiences. Pipelines sends database changes in near real time to supported analytical destinations. It is built for reliable data movement. Realtime answers the question: "How do I show my users what just happened?" Pipelines answers the question: "How do I get my production data into my analytics warehouse?" If you mix these up, you will run into problems. We see it happen regularly, and the rest of this post will help you…