Firebase
Google · 🔧 BaaS
Firebase is Google's mobile and web application development platform that helps you build, improve, and grow your app.
Free-tier constraints
- Offer type
- Perpetual
- When idle
- Stays active
- Credit card
- Not required
- Commercial use
- Allowed
- At the limit
- Service stops
- Data expiry
- Not published
Free-tier compatibility
- ✓Static hosting
- —Serverless
- —Long-running processes
- —Docker
- ✓WebSockets
- —Cron
- —Background workers
- —Persistent disk
- ✓Custom domains
Overview
Firebase is Google’s app-development platform: a NoSQL realtime store (Cloud Firestore and the original Realtime Database), authentication, cloud functions, hosting, file storage and analytics — all wired together and reachable from client SDKs for web, iOS and Android. It is a fast way to build an app back end without managing servers.
The free Spark plan includes 1 GiB of Firestore data, 50,000 reads per day, 10 GB of Hosting storage and 10 GB of monthly Hosting transfer, plus 50,000 authentication MAUs. Cloud Storage for Firebase and Cloud Functions require the pay-as-you-go Blaze plan, even though some usage can remain within no-cost quotas after billing is enabled.
Firebase fits mobile and web apps that want auth, a synced NoSQL store and serverless functions with minimal setup — particularly when you are already in the Google ecosystem. Confirm the current free-tier limits on the provider’s site.
Sources and verification
Checked 2026-08-18Pros
- ✓Tight client SDKs for web, iOS and Android
- ✓Realtime sync with Firestore and Realtime Database
- ✓Auth, functions, hosting and storage in one place
- ✓Generous free Spark plan for prototypes
- ✓Backed by Google's infrastructure
Cons
- ✕NoSQL data model can constrain complex queries
- ✕Pay-as-you-go (Blaze) costs can be hard to predict
- ✕Vendor lock-in to Google's ecosystem
- ✕Cloud Storage and Cloud Functions require the pay-as-you-go Blaze plan
Best for
- →Mobile and web apps that need realtime sync
- →Rapid prototypes and MVPs
- →Teams already invested in Google Cloud
Compare with
Getting started
- 1 Create a project in the Firebase console
- 2 Register your web or mobile app and copy the config
- 3 Add the Firebase SDK and initialize it
- 4 Enable the products you need (Auth, Firestore, Hosting)
- 5 Deploy hosting with the Firebase CLI
Related guides
Features
- ✓Realtime Database
- ✓Cloud Firestore
- ✓Authentication
- ✓Cloud Functions
- ✓Hosting
- ✓Cloud Storage
- ✓Analytics
FAQ
Both are NoSQL. Firestore is the newer, more scalable document database with richer queries; Realtime Database is the original JSON tree, good for simple low-latency sync.
For small apps it can be. Heavier usage moves you to the pay-as-you-go Blaze plan, so monitor usage to keep costs predictable.
Firebase is proprietary. If portability matters, consider an open alternative such as Supabase.
Deploy these projects to Firebase
Open-source projects and templates that run on Firebase's free tier.