Serverpod for Startups

Startups need a backend at launch, not a platform team. Serverpod gives you the server, the database, and the deploy, and it grows as your users do.

Get Started

Launch without a backend team

Your first version does not need a platform team. It needs endpoints, a database, sign-in, and a way to deploy and scale as needed.

Serverpod gives you all of that. You describe your data in YAML, and Serverpod writes the code that moves it between the app and the server. Your first month goes to the product.

Your MVP backend is a model and an endpoint

class: Product
table: product
fields:
  name: String
  description: String

That model becomes a product table and a Product class. serverpod start rewrites the code when you save, then creates and runs the migration.

// on the server
class ProductEndpoint extends Endpoint {
  Future<List<Product>> list(Session session) =>
      Product.db.find(session);
}

That endpoint is the whole API. Serverpod writes the code your app calls.

// in the Flutter app
var products = await client.product.list();

That one call is all the app has to keep. Add a field to Product, and the call either compiles or fails in your editor.

The scalable backend is the one you launched with

The stack you launch on is the stack you grow on. Postgres is the database from day one, so you never move off a starter store.

When the traffic arrives, you turn on Redis caching and run more servers behind a load balancer. Your models and your Flutter code stay as they are.

A web app or a partner service calls the same endpoints over HTTP. A second kind of client does not need a second backend.

Costs you can reason about

Serverpod is open-source and free to self-host. Your early bill is one server and one Postgres instance. Serverpod Cloud runs the same project when you would rather spend the week on the product.

The entry plan is a fixed monthly cost for one developer. Team plans bill for the compute, database, network, and storage you use.

Everything included

A client generated from your endpoints, so nobody writes networking code

Postgres database, with queries written in Dart instead of SQL strings

Authentication with providers such as Google, Apple, Microsoft, GitHub, email, and passkeys

Schema changes handled for you, with no hand-written SQL

File uploads to your own cloud storage

Scheduled work, from a nightly job to a reminder sent in three days

Live updates pushed to the app, with no polling to build

A log viewer for finding what broke in production

Why Serverpod

Nothing breaks quietly when the product changes. Edit a model, and every call that no longer fits fails to compile before your users see it.

You own the backend. The code is open source and the database is yours, so the product is not a tenant in somebody else's platform.

Zero-configuration deployments. The backend you built ships to Serverpod Cloud with nothing extra to set up.

Frequently asked questions

How fast can we get a backend running?

Install Flutter and the Serverpod CLI, then follow the quickstart. It scaffolds the server, the app, and an embedded database.

Can other clients call the backend?

Yes. Endpoints answer over HTTP, so a web app, another mobile app, or a partner service can call them. Your data is a standard Postgres database you own, and you can take it anywhere.

What do we actually own?

The code, the database, and the schema. Serverpod is open source and the data is standard Postgres. The same project runs on Serverpod Cloud or on your own server.

What makes Serverpod different from Firebase or Supabase?

Both give you managed services. Serverpod provides a backend you own, with Postgres, a type-safe ORM, and generated clients. Compare with Firebase or with Supabase.

Which Serverpod version should we start on?

Serverpod 4.0 or later. Full-stack hot reload and serverpod start both landed in 4.0.