Databases and backend · ranked 04
Firebase
Google's backend platform: Auth, Firestore, storage, and hosting.
Best for A document backend with Google's SDKs
Firebase is Google's backend platform. Common pieces are Authentication, Firestore, Cloud Storage, and Hosting, with a generous-looking free tier that is still Google Cloud underneath. Use it when you want a document database and mobile-friendly SDKs. Use Supabase when you want Postgres.
Best use cases
- Mobile and web apps that need auth and a document store
- Apps already heading toward Google Cloud
- Realtime clients without running a server
Pros
- + Client SDKs cover auth and data without a custom API
- + A free Spark plan has long been part of the offer
- + Fits Firebase Studio and the rest of Google's builder tools
Cons
- − Firestore is not SQL, and exporting your mental model later is the tax
- − Billing surprises live in the Blaze plan. Current prices: check site
Pricing
Spark free tier and pay-as-you-go Blaze. Current quotas and prices: check site.
Alternatives
Databases and backend
8.5
Supabase
Postgres, auth, storage, and realtime in one project.
Best for Postgres plus auth for an indie app
Databases and backend
7.9
Convex
A reactive backend: queries, mutations, and functions in TypeScript.
Best for A TypeScript backend with realtime built in
Databases and backend
8.0
Neon
Serverless Postgres that branches like a git repo.
Best for Serverless Postgres, including a database per preview