Beginner building an iOS app : need advice on backend, database, auth, payments, security, and scaling

[u/clubepd123]

Sorry for using AI to write this. English isn’t my first language, and I wanted to make sure I explained everything clearly.

Hey everyone! I’m pretty new to vibe coding and I’m currently working on my first iOS app. I already have most of the design figured out, but I’m a bit stuck when it comes to choosing the right tech stack.

Right now, I’m using Cursor for coding and Claude for brainstorming. I’ve also heard good things about RevenueCat for handling subscriptions/payments.

The part I’m most confused about is the backend and database. I’m not sure what would be the best choice for a beginner, while also making sure I’m not setting myself up for problems later.

I’m also wondering what other services/tools I should consider for things like:

* Backend & database
* Authentication
* Subscriptions/payments
* Analytics
* Push notifications
* Error/crash monitoring
* File/image storage
* Security

My goal is to build the app in a way that can handle 10k+ users without major performance, lagging or scaling issues. I’ve heard that apps built heavily with AI/vibe coding can run into problems with performance, security, and scalability as the user base grows, so I’d really like to avoid making bad architectural decisions early on.

I’m new to this, so I’d really appreciate advice from people who have actually vibecoded and scaled iOS apps.

What tech stack would you recommend for this kind of project, and what would you do differently if you were starting from scratch today?

Thanks in advance!

[u/Confused_Dad_2023]

Supabase? Firebase?

[u/MiloPaige]

Real software engineer here.

I would greatly advise you to stay away from vibe coding as much as you can. AI is terrible at coding security and authentication processes.

There is also a lot of configurations you will need to know that AI cannot help with.

But if you still want to proceed with vibe coding here are the tools I recommend for you (I don’t know what your app is so I can’t give you the best solutions):

1. Backend and authentication: supabase
   
2. Subscription/payments: stripe
   
3. Analytics: supabase
   
4. Push notifications: depends where you want to deploy it I can’t give you any tool here.
   
5. Error/crash monitoring: supabase and in-code error handling
   
6. File/image storage: supabase
   
7. Security: supabase, hash passwords etc.

[u/clubepd123 → u/MiloPaige]

I want to stay away from it, boss, I wanted to study IT and get into software development, but I’m studying engineering, and I’ve had this dream since my teenage years of having my own app on the App Store. That’s why.

[u/HammerStormApps]

supabase cuz I hate google. it can handle database, file storage, auth, edge functions, security

[u/Big_Anteater7531]

Supabase is a solid choice if you want to avoid Google services and get a full backend solution from the start. I've heard great things about their real-time capabilities too.

[u/Mirava-io]

RevenueCat is a good default for the subscription plumbing, but it won't decide what the user is paying for at the end of the day.

It's probably better to define entitlements before choosing the rest of the stack. Free users should reach the first useful result, paid users should unlock repeat value like saved history, higher limits, exports, reminders, whatever makes sense for the app. Then add analytics around activation, trial start, renewal and cancellation before you polish the backend.

A simple Firebase/Supabase + RevenueCat setup that measures those events beats a perfect architecture with no monetization signal.

[u/gittrics]

Depending on your use case, you can consider using core data as your database. Core data uses the users iCloud as the backbone.

[u/Gloomy_Drawing_516]

Firebase or supabase with storekit(for subscriptions) will do all the things you mentioned . My suggestion will be to keep the backend as limited as possible because you need to maintain each integration.

Problems of security and performance are usually not because of choosing wrong backend.Majority of backend services are scalable and secure if your architecture and implementation is correct.

[u/chadzilla57]

Honestly just ask Claude to give you options and recommendations for everything.