# When to use Read Replicas vs. bigger compute

DevFeed: [When to use Read Replicas vs. bigger compute](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/when-to-use-read-replicas-vs-bigger-compute-535.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://supabase.com/blog/read-replicas-vs-bigger-compute>)

Author: Prashant Sridharan

Published: 2026-01-15T07:00:00Z

Content type: article

Language: en

Sources: [Supabase Blog](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/supabase-blog.md>)

Topics: [Database](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/database.md>), [cpu](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/cpu.md>)

Tags: [compute](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/compute.md>), [database](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/database.md>), [diagnostics](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/diagnostics.md>), [guide](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/guide.md>), [metrics](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/metrics.md>), [optimization](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/optimization.md>), [performance](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/performance.md>), [scale](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/scale.md>)

## AI overview

A practical guide to diagnosing database slowdowns and choosing between larger compute and read replicas based on workload, budget, and bottlenecks.

## Source excerpt

A practical guide to diagnosing database slowdowns and choosing between vertical scaling and Read Replicas based on your workload, budget, and performance bottlenecks.