Google's app platform with a NoSQL database, authentication, hosting, cloud functions, storage and push messaging, plus SDKs for web and mobile
Firebase bundles the backend pieces an app needs: Cloud Firestore and the Realtime Database, Authentication, Hosting, Cloud Functions, Cloud Storage, Cloud Messaging for push notifications and Crashlytics. The client SDKs talk to these services directly, guarded by security rules, so many apps need no server of their own.
It suits founders building mobile apps or prototypes on Google’s infrastructure. Firebase Authentication, its sign-in service, can also be used without the rest of Firebase.
Spark is free and covers a side project. Once you need functions or file storage you move to Blaze, which keeps the same free allowances and bills the usage beyond them. Set a budget when you upgrade, and know that it only warns you by email: services keep running unless you add a spend cap where one is available.
Pros
- The Spark plan needs no payment method and includes 1 GiB of Firestore storage and 50,000 document reads a day
- SDKs for Apple platforms, Android, the web, Flutter, Unity and C++
- Authentication is free up to 50,000 monthly active users
Cons
- Cloud Functions and Cloud Storage need the pay-as-you-go Blaze plan
- Firestore is a NoSQL document database, not a relational SQL database like the Postgres behind Supabase
- Budget alerts only send email; a hard spending cap exists for just a few services, such as Cloud Functions and App Hosting
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