Firebase

Google's app development platform with real-time database and hosting

From $0/mo

About Firebase

Firebase provides two database products — Realtime Database (JSON tree, WebSocket-synced) and Cloud Firestore (document model, more scalable) — alongside authentication, cloud functions, hosting, remote config, and A/B testing. Its tight integration with Google Analytics and Google Cloud makes it a natural choice for teams already in the GCP ecosystem. The generous Spark free tier allows prototyping without cost, while the Blaze pay-as-you-go plan scales to millions of users. Firebase's client SDKs for web, iOS, Android, Flutter, and Unity are mature and well-documented. However, its NoSQL-only database approach and complex pricing at scale have led many teams to seek alternatives with SQL support.

Key Features

Cloud Firestore real-time document database

Firebase Realtime Database (legacy WebSocket JSON sync)

Authentication with email, phone, and 10+ OAuth providers

Cloud Functions for Firebase (Node.js, Python, Go)

Firebase Hosting with global CDN

Remote Config and A/B testing

Firebase Analytics integrated with Google Analytics

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Largest ecosystem and community of any BaaS platform
• Excellent mobile SDK maturity — battle-tested at scale
• Real-time sync out of the box is still best-in-class for Realtime DB
• Deep Google Cloud integration for teams in GCP ecosystem

Cons

• NoSQL-only — no SQL database option without adding Cloud SQL separately
• Pricing becomes unpredictable and expensive at scale with Blaze plan
• Strong vendor lock-in with Google — migrating is painful
• Firestore query limitations (no full-text search, limited joins)

Best For

Mobile app developers (iOS/Android/Flutter) Teams already invested in Google Cloud Startups needing proven infrastructure quickly Apps with heavy real-time requirements