Firebase
Google's backend-as-a-service: Firestore/RTDB, auth, hosting, functions
What it does
Firebase is Google's Backend-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform. Bundles a NoSQL document database (Firestore), a real-time NoSQL database (Realtime Database), authentication (email, OAuth providers, phone), file storage (Cloud Storage), serverless functions (Cloud Functions), hosting (static site + CDN), analytics, crash reporting, remote config, and A/B testing. Popular for mobile apps and quick full-stack MVPs where you do not want to run a backend.
Free tier
Yes
Starts at
$25/mo
Setup
medium
Key features
Integrates with
Android, iOS, React Native, Flutter
Who this fits
- Mobile app developers (iOS/Android) needing auth, database, push notifications in one SDK
- Solo founders and small teams shipping MVPs quickly
- Real-time apps (chat, presence, collaborative tools) where Realtime Database or Firestore listeners fit
- Startups on a budget (generous free tier for early stage)
- Consumer apps needing quick OAuth (Google, Apple, Facebook sign-in)
Who it does NOT fit
- Teams needing relational SQL databases (use Postgres via Neon, Supabase, PlanetScale)
- Apps with complex queries or joins (Firestore's query model is limited)
- Cost-sensitive teams at scale (Firestore reads/writes and Cloud Functions invocations get expensive)
- Teams needing on-prem or fully open-source stack (use Supabase for a Firebase-alike with Postgres)
Pricing
Real gotchas
- Firestore security rules are code-in-a-config. Misconfigured rules leak your entire database publicly. Every Firestore breach story is a missing rule [source: firebase.google.com/docs/rules and multiple public incident writeups on HackerNews].
- Firestore query model does NOT support joins, aggregations, or full-text search natively. You denormalize data or add Algolia/Meilisearch for search.
- Egress bandwidth from Cloud Functions is billed at Google Cloud rates (~$0.12/GB), which surprises apps serving large payloads.
- Firebase Analytics is free but sends data to Google for ad targeting (opt-out available). GDPR concerns apply.
- Realtime Database and Firestore are different products with different pricing and query models. Choosing the wrong one for the use case is a common early mistake.
Integrations that matter
Otto’s take on this tool
Recommend Firebase for mobile app builders, real-time apps, and MVP teams that want auth + database + storage in one SDK without running a backend. Recommend Supabase when the client wants the same benefits but on Postgres with SQL and open-source. Recommend traditional Postgres (Neon, PlanetScale, AWS RDS) when the client needs relational modeling. Warn about scaling costs on Blaze for high-traffic apps.
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