Supabase Custom Domains vs Proxy: Which Fixes the India Block?

March 31, 2026 · 8 min read

Two real fixes keep coming up in every "Supabase blocked in India" discussion: Custom Domains (a Supabase feature) and a reverse proxy (Cloudflare Worker or similar). Both work. But they're very different in cost, setup time, and what they require from you.

Here's the honest comparison.

Quick Comparison

Option 1: Supabase Custom Domains

Supabase lets you map your own domain (e.g., api.yourapp.com) to your Supabase project. Instead of your app calling abc123.supabase.co, it calls api.yourapp.com — which resolves to Supabase's infrastructure but isn't on the blocked domain.

How to Set It Up

1. Go to your Supabase dashboard → Settings → Custom Domains
2. Enter your desired domain (e.g., api.yourapp.com)
3. Add the CNAME record Supabase gives you to your DNS provider
4. Add the TXT verification record
5. Wait for DNS propagation (minutes to hours)
6. Update your app's Supabase URL to use the custom domain

// Before
const supabase = createClient(
  'https://abc123.supabase.co',
  'your-anon-key'
);

// After (Custom Domain)
const supabase = createClient(
  'https://api.yourapp.com',
  'your-anon-key'
);

Pros

• Zero latency added — traffic goes directly to Supabase, just via your domain
• Supabase manages SSL and routing — no infrastructure for you to maintain
• Official, supported solution — Supabase recommends this
• Professional appearance — your API is on your domain

Cons

• Requires Pro plan ($25/month minimum) — if you're on the free tier, you need to upgrade just to use this feature
• DNS setup required — you need a domain and access to its DNS settings. If you're using a free subdomain or don't own a domain, this doesn't work
• Propagation delay — DNS changes can take minutes to hours to propagate globally
• One domain per project — if you have multiple Supabase projects, each needs its own custom domain

Option 2: Reverse Proxy (Cloudflare Worker / Vercel Edge)

A lightweight serverless function sits between your app and Supabase. Your app calls the proxy, the proxy forwards to Supabase, Supabase responds through the proxy. The ISP sees your proxy domain, not *.supabase.co.

How to Set It Up

Self-hosted (Cloudflare Worker — free):

export default {
  async fetch(request) {
    const url = new URL(request.url);
    const match = url.pathname.match(/^\/v1\/([^/]+)(\/.*)/);
    if (!match) return new Response('Invalid path', { status: 400 });
    
    const [, projectRef, apiPath] = match;
    const target = `https://${projectRef}.supabase.co${apiPath}${url.search}`;
    
    return fetch(target, {
      method: request.method,
      headers: request.headers,
      body: request.body
    });
  }
}

Then in your app:

const supabase = createClient(
  'https://your-proxy.workers.dev/v1/abc123',
  'your-anon-key'
);

Pros

• Works with any Supabase plan — including free tier
• 5-minute setup — deploy one function, change one URL
• $0 cost — Cloudflare Workers free tier handles 100K requests/day
• No DNS changes required — the proxy has its own domain
• Works for multiple projects — one proxy can handle any project ref

Cons

• 20-50ms added latency — every request takes an extra hop through the proxy
• You maintain it — uptime, rate limiting, CORS headers are your responsibility (unless you use a managed proxy)
• Security surface area — the proxy sees your requests in transit (it doesn't store them, but it's an additional trust point)

What About Other Workarounds?

VPN / DNS Change (1.1.1.1, 8.8.8.8)

Works for you during development. Doesn't work for your users. You can't ask every Indian user to install a VPN or change their DNS. This is a developer workaround, not a production fix.

SupaDNS

An open-source project that uses DNS-over-HTTPS to resolve Supabase domains. Clever approach, but it requires the JS library to be included in your client-side code, adding complexity. It also only works for DNS-level blocking — if ISPs are doing deep packet inspection, it may not help.

Move Server Outside India

If your backend is on an Indian VPS, moving it to Singapore or Frankfurt fixes server-to-Supabase connectivity. But it doesn't fix client-side calls from Indian browsers directly to Supabase. Only helps if all Supabase calls go through your backend.

Decision Matrix

Related

• Supabase Blocked in India? Here's How to Fix It in 60 Seconds
• 7 Supabase Alternatives for Indian Developers (2026)
• How to Migrate From Supabase — Complete Guide
• Free Migration Complexity Assessment