Firebase enables developers to address issues such as app development speed, app release and monitoring confidence, and app user engagement. However, it is not completely free. As a result, we've reviewed a list of open-source, self-hosted Google Firebase alternatives for developers and businesses in this blog.

What is Firebase?

Firebase is a cloud platform for creating real-time, collaborative apps. To access a shared data structure, include the Firebase library in your app; any changes to the data are instantly synchronized with the Firebase cloud and other clients. A set of powerful tools for developing, managing, and improving demand-driven apps is included in the platform. Google Firebase can be used to create mobile, web, and desktop applications. It includes, among other things, a NoSQL database backend, an API, authentication, monitoring, user permissions, and a file and attachment store. It provides a variety of tools and services to help developers create high-quality apps, expand their user base, and make money. It is built on Google technology. Firebase is a NoSQL database service that stores data in JSON-like documents.

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Why would you want to use something other than Firebase?

Backend-as-a-Service (Baas) solutions can help with any software program that requires a backend. Launched in 2011, and later acquired by Google in 2014, Firebase is one of the most well-known Baas solutions. This real-time database now offers 18 services and is one of the market leaders. Firebase enables developers to address issues such as app development speed, app release and monitoring confidence, and app user engagement. Furthermore, because the services are hosted in the cloud, developers have access to services that they would otherwise have to develop; developers can scale up and down as needed. However, there are some advantages to open-source software over proprietary software, and it is not completely free. As a result, we've compiled a list of Google Firebase alternatives that are open-source and self-hosted for developers and businesses.

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Downsides of using Firebase

Firebase, like any other program, has its limitations and drawbacks. Without a user's consent, Firebase always verifies a user's identity and stores the necessary information. Let's take a closer look at why you might require a Firebase alternative. Some of the reasons why you should use an open-source alternative to Firebase are as follows:

1) Authentication and Authorization Issues

The application's standard authentication is well-known: the user enters his email address, password, and so on. These data are then compared to those that have already been saved. When the data matches, the user is granted access. Fortunately, many other methods with current authentication capabilities are now available. We will only discuss the most important and modern authentication methods, not all of them.

2) High Pricing

Spark Plan and Blaze Plan are the two versions of Firebase. The Spark Plan is completely free, and it's ideal for people who are just starting out with Firebase. For large-scale apps, the Blaze Plan is a pay-as-you-go option. Here's where things get complicated: there's no way of knowing how the increased traffic will affect pricing in the end. As your product's popularity grows, Firebase becomes more expensive. Because the Blaze Plan has no set price, expanding your business can be both beneficial and detrimental.

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3) Limitations of Real-Time Databases

You'll use a Real-time Database as key storage for the majority of your complex tasks. One of Firebase's biggest flaws is how limited its querying capabilities are. There is no way to filter competencies in Real-time DB because it is a large JSON file. With such a file, typing complex queries becomes more difficult. Aside from that, you'll need to consider the database's and data modeling's issues. Implementing relationships between data items is impossible due to its ‘database as a single file’ format.

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4) Vendor Lock-in

When you use the Firebase backend service, there is no link between Firebase as an app development platform and vendor lock-in, which is a significant challenge. Furthermore, this technology limitation is a significant Firebase disadvantage because it does not provide migration tools for moving data to another platform. ‍

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5) Problems with Data Migration

The more your product grows, the more data migration issues you'll have to deal with. As previously stated, Firebase is based on JSON and has limited SQL functionality, making conversion from a database difficult. You must handle data similarly to how this BaaS does.

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Top 10 Firebase alternatives

During setup and support, Firebase saves developers a lot of time and effort. It takes care of server maintenance, upgrades, security, and DevOps costs. It also comes with a slew of developer libraries, SDKs, and extensions that make creating apps a breeze. Here's a list of some of the best Firebase alternatives; continue reading to learn more about these alternatives if you'd rather not use Firebase:

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1) Back4App

Back4App is a Parse Open Source-powered backend-as-a-service platform that lets you build apps faster, host them easily, and keep complete control over your backend. With cross-platform compatibility, scalable servers, and pre-built samples, Back4App makes it simple to create, host, and maintain apps using the open-source Parse Server.

Back4App's main features

Here are some of the essential aspects of back4app that you should be aware of:

• Database that looks like a spreadsheet
• REST and GraphQL APIs
• Queries in Real-Time
• Hosting that is scalable
• Authentication

Pricing overview

You can take advantage of a free account with Back4App when it comes to pricing. You don't need a credit card to get started. Making and using a free account could make trying out a product or working on a personal project easier. Back4App is a highly adaptable and scalable solution that lets you scale up or down your resources as needed. There is also a plan that is completely free. Back4App also offers shared and dedicated resources, which you can choose from depending on the needs of your app. Dedicated plans start at $250 per month, while shared services start at $5 per month.

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2) Parse

Parse Server is an open-source backend server that enables developers to deploy Node-based apps. Facebook created it and offers many services alongside it, including database services such as MongoDB and PostGre. It involves the use of a deployment infrastructure such as Heroku or AWS. Parse has no connection limits and allows for local testing and development. It's a fantastic tool for developing apps rapidly and on a budget.

Features of Parse

• Modeling of data
• Create GraphQL APIs and REST APIs
• Real-time notifications
• Push notifications
• Email notifications
  

Pricing overview

Parse is available as a free download and does not require a license. Meanwhile, the paid plan starts at $4.99 a month per user.

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3) AWS Amplify

AWS Amplify is a set of purpose-built tools and capabilities that allow front-end web and mobile developers to rapidly and easily build full-stack applications on AWS. It offers the flexibility to use the full range of AWS services as your use cases change.

AWS Amplify comes with a number of open-source libraries and drag-and-drop UI components that developers can utilize to create their apps. It also comes with a command-line interface (CLI) that you may use to create your backend. AWS Amplify Console also provides web-hosting services for your app at a cost.

Features of AWS Amplify

• Analytics
• Data Storage
• Push notifications
• File Storage
• Quick Response

Pricing overview

The Amplify framework, which includes libraries, components, and more, is completely free! You only have to pay for the services you use to build or deploy your app; for example, if you use S3 for storage and add an Amplify storage module, you'll have to pay the standard S3 fees.

AWS Amplify has a free tier for building or deploying and web hosting lasting 12 months (with certain limitations). After that, it's $0.01 per build minute, $0.023 per GB of storage per month, and $0.15 for every GB served for build/deploy.

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4) Backendless

Backendless is a fantastic, efficient application development platform that was created for both individual app developers and agencies. The codeless logic builder or manually written code can be used to customize a Backendless application. Developers can use the solution to send emails and push notifications and use real-time chat and geolocation features. Backendless has a UI builder, private server hosting, different client-side environments, external database connectivity, an intuitive interface, real-time connectivity, and many other useful features.

Features of Backendless

• Codeless
• Backendless Core
• UI Builder
• API Services
• Backend Management

Pricing overview

Backendless pricing starts at $25.00 per month as a flat fee. A free version and trial are available from Backendless.

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5) Kuzzle

Kuzzle is a development tool that helps developers create mobile, web, and IoT applications. An application has various components, including data storage on the database, data security, speedier results, and real-time inquiries. All of this must be managed, including the proper interaction of your backend with the front end.

Kuzzle is open source, but it also comes with optional, expensive membership plans that include additional features and premium support for thousands of dollars each month. Also, it appears that quite a few individuals have already started following the project on GitHub.

Features of Kuzzle

• Real-Time Query Response
• Database
• Search engine
• Security layer
• plugins

Pricing overview

Customers of Kuzzle have the option of using their services for free. Premium packages start at $1200 per month and go up from there.

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6) Supabase

Supabase is a set of tools that helps developers build projects faster by handling most behind-the-scenes work and wiring for them. Supabase is a free and open-source Firebase alternative. It includes all of the backend services you'll require to create a product. It's designed to make it easy for developers to set up their backend in a matter of minutes.

Supabase currently provides database, authentication, and storage functionalities. They also have serverless capabilities; however, this feature is currently in the works.

Features of Supabase

• You can spin up and manage your database in less than one minute with this dashboard/UI.
• To sign up users and update access restrictions on your database, you'll need to employ user authentication.
• Database listeners in real-time
• APIs and a JavaScript library
• Functions

Pricing overview

Supabase is completely free ( when you want to tinker with it). The pricing is $25 per month once you need more extensive databases or data backups.

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7) Appwrite

Appwrite is a self-hosted solution that gives developers a set of REST APIs that are simple to use and integrate when managing their fundamental backend needs. Its purpose is to enable developers to build complex apps faster by abstracting and simplifying typical development activities behind REST APIs and tools.

It's essentially a new open-source, end-to-end, back-end server for front-end and mobile developers, which allows them to create apps significantly faster.

Features of Appwrite

• Database
• Authentication
• Storage
• Functions
• Real-time

Pricing overview

Appwrite is available for free of cost and does not require a license to use.

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Other Alternatives (Bonus)

11) Hasura

Hasura is a GraphQL APIs engine that runs in real-time. It gives quick access to your data via a real-time GraphQL API, allowing you to design and ship modern apps and APIs considerably faster. Hasura integrates to all of your data sources, including databases, REST servers, GraphQL servers, and third-party APIs, to deliver a single, real-time GraphQL API. Hasura takes the well-known Postgres database and transforms it into a magical GraphQL endpoint locked down by default. Both Postgres and GraphQL are well-known technologies. GraphQL is a lesser-known entity, although it is growing in prominence.

Features of Hasura

• Subscriptions and Live Queries
• Dynamic Access Control
• Write business logic backed by REST APIs
• Remote Schemas
• Event Triggers for serverless

Pricing overview

Hasura is free of cost for personal use and basic sites; however, it is available at $99 per month for enterprises.

12) Nhost

Nhost software is a platform that allows you to create apps in minutes using PostgreSQL, GraphQL, Hasura, and other technologies. Manage projects with a layer of sophisticated authorization rules and fully integrated authentication. The program is used by developers, as well as small and medium businesses. Developers can create dynamic mobile apps and websites without worrying about infrastructure, data storage, data access, or user management.

Features of Nhost

• Database
• GraphQL API
• Authentication
• Storage
• Functions
  

Pricing overview

Nhost, with complete transparency and high reliability, is available free of cost and does not require a license.

13) Deployd

It's an open-source tool for creating, designing and scaling APIs. Both online and mobile apps can benefit from this. Using this program, the entire procedure takes only a few hours or minutes rather than days.

The best aspect is that you can design and test your API locally and then distribute it using the option to deploy your API. This developer-friendly alternative streamlines the process of creating and deploying APIs. Custom resources and event scripts are also possible.

Features of Deployd

• User-friendly interface
• File support
• Validation flexibility

Pricing overview

Deployd is an open-source software application; all of its services are free to all its users and no registration is required. You don't need an account to access their site. Start your installation for free.

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When should you use Firebase?

If you're planning to create a new app or rewrite an existing one from the ground up, Firebase is a smart option. Furthermore, Firebase facilitates the storage and retrieval of dynamic content. If you want to construct the app without doing any specific code on the backend, Firebase makes it simple. For example, in the case of a chat app or a video conference app, the backend is not necessary to manage the items.

When your apps only need a basic level of interaction with legacy systems or third-party services, Firebase is the way to go. When your application does not require substantial data processing or any complex user verification, Firebase becomes an excellent solution.

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When should you not use Firebase?

If you're working on a larger project, though, you should think twice because it gets expensive, and there's a limit to how many backend processes or database queries you can run. If your desired operation is to execute deep and complicated querying, it is strongly advised that you do not use Firebase for Android. With Firebase as the backend, queries like reversing the order of elements in a collection are not possible.

When dealing with sophisticated queries, there's a good chance you'll run across the inconsistency problem. Even though Firebase enables offline operations, the concurrency that occurs during this time frequently results in inconsistencies.

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Conclusion

Firebase is a great place to start for a new, speedy MVP with a robust database. However, if you begin using Firebase, you will most certainly have to stick with it to the finish. Because of the issues outlined in the article, many people do not recommend Firebase for expanding projects or projects with complex data. Firebase has many features that need investigating before you can decide whether it is the perfect answer for your product, just like any other technology.

First and foremost, it is critical to comprehend your application and examine the necessary functionalities thoroughly. The amount of scaling required, the types of queries required, and the number and frequency of update operations to be conducted should all need thoughtful consideration. Only after a thorough examination can one decide whether to use Firebase as the backend provider for their app or make use of any of the excellent alternatives listed above.

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