Firebase vs AWS: Which Cloud Platform Is Right for You?
Find out which one is right for you, two leading cloud platforms, Firebase and AWS. Let us explore them.
Find out which one is right for you, two leading cloud platforms, Firebase and AWS. Let us explore them.
Choosing a cloud platform for your app is like choosing a car for your road trip. You want a sound, comfortable, and low-cost vehicle that can take you where you want to go, without any trouble or surprises. But how can you choose the right car for your journey? Do you need a fast and smooth sports car, a spacious and versatile SUV, or a simple and cost-effective hatchback? In this post, we will look at the two of the most popular cloud platforms, Firebase and AWS , and help you to choose the best one for you.
Firebase is a platform that offers backend as a service (BaaS) for web as well as mobile app development. It was founded in 2011 as a real-time database, and later acquired by Google in 2014. Firebase offers a set of ready-made solutions that can help you create high-quality apps faster and easier, without writing much server-side code.
Some of the Firebase services include:
A service that allows you to authenticate your users with various methods, such as email, password, phone number, social media, or custom providers.
A service that stores and syncs your data in real time across multiple devices, using a NoSQL cloud database.
A service that stores and syncs your data in the cloud, using a scalable and flexible NoSQL database. It works without internet connection and can answer even the most challenging questions.
A service that stores and serves your files, such as images, videos, or audio, in the cloud.
A service that lets you run serverless code in response to events, such as database changes, authentication triggers, or HTTP requests.
A service that hosts your static web files, such as HTML, CSS, or JavaScript, on a global CDN network.
A service that tracks and reports your app's performance, user behavior, and conversions, using Google Analytics.
A service that monitors and reports your app's crashes and errors, helping you fix them faster.
A service that measures and improves your app's performance, such as loading time, network latency, or battery usage.
A service that tests your app on various devices and configurations, helping you find and fix bugs before releasing your app.
A service that distributes your app to testers and stakeholders, helping you get feedback and iterate faster.
A service that provides various machine learning features, such as image labeling, text recognition, face detection, or custom models. Firebase is designed to be mostly independent from the rest of Google's cloud ecosystem, which makes it simpler to learn and use. Additionally, it works well with other Google services, such as Google Cloud Platform, Google Ads, or Google Play.
AWS (Amazon Web Services) is more than a tool. It provides everything you need to build and run web and mobile apps, for ex a variety of services and products such as infrastructure as a service (IaaS), software as a service (SaaS) and platform as a service (PaaS). Amazon started this service in 2006, and has more than 200 cloud services, such as computing, storage, database, networking, security, analytics, and other services.
Some of the AWS services include:
A service that provides scalable and secure virtual servers, or instances, in the cloud.
A service that provides durable and scalable object storage in the cloud.
A service that provides managed relational database engines, such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, or SQL Server, in the cloud.
A service that provides a managed NoSQL database, with high performance and scalability, in the cloud.
A service that lets you run serverless code in response to events, such as API requests, database changes, or SNS notifications.
A service that creates, manages, and secures RESTful and WebSocket APIs for your app.
A service that provides user authentication and identity management for your app, supporting various methods, such as email, password, social media, or custom providers.
A service that provides a set of tools and libraries to help you build, deploy, and manage your web and mobile app on AWS, using various AWS services.
A service that provides a pub/sub messaging system, allowing you to send and receive notifications, such as SMS, email, or push notifications, to your app users or devices.
A service that provides a reliable and cost-effective email sending and receiving service for your app.
A service that tracks and reports your app's performance, user behavior, and conversions, using AWS analytics.
A service that monitors and analyzes your app's performance, errors, and bottlenecks, using AWS tracing.
A service that checks your app on various devices and configurations, assisting you find and fix bugs before releasing your app.
A service that provides various machine learning features, such as data labeling, model training, model deployment, or custom models.
AWS is a complete cloud computing platform, with productive computing, scalability and robust security. It offers a lot of services that are designed for both enterprises and large-scale applications. It also offers different ways for flexibility and control over your cloud infrastructure, such as IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS services. This is great for experienced builders but complex for beginners.
Choosing between Firebase or AWS depends on lots of factors, such as the project requirements, your financial resources, team size and capabilities, and the preferred development approach.
Here are some of the main aspects to consider when comparing Firebase vs AWS:
Firebase is simpler to learn and use, as it provides ready-made solutions that can help you create high-quality apps faster and easier, without writing much server-side code. However, Firebase is less flexible, as it limits your choices and customization options, and may not support some complex or specific use cases. AWS is more flexible, as it provides a wide range of services that can be customized and integrated to suit your needs and preferences, and support any use case. However, AWS is more complex and difficult to learn and use, as it requires more configuration and management of your infrastructure, and more server-side code.
Firebase is more affordable, as it offers a free tier with limited resources, and only pays for what you use. However, Firebase is not as powerful as AWS especially for projects with high traffic or large data volumes. In firebase we also need to be sure about the plan we are using and price can also add up quickly if there is high traffic. AWS allows you to pay only for the resources you use, but the costs can add up quickly, especially if you use multiple services. Due to their higher speed, reliability, and availability, AWS services can handle high traffic or large data volumes, and are more powerful than Firebase services.
Firebase works on its own, as it is designed to be mostly independent from the rest of Google's cloud ecosystem. This makes it easier to use, but also limits your integration options with other Google services or third-party providers. Firebase mainly supports web, Android, and iOS platforms and is less useful for cross-platform development. AWS operates with lots of other Amazon tools and services, similar to Alexa, Prime, and Kindle, making it easy to connect everything together. It also supports building apps for a wide range of platforms such as web, Android, iOS, and other platforms, such as Unity, Flutter, or React Native.
Firebase is generally cheaper than AWS, as it offers a free tier with limited resources, and a pay-as-you-go model, where you only pay for what you use. According to the Firebase pricing page, the free tier includes:
10,000 phone verifications per month
1 GB stored, 10 GB downloaded per month
1 GB stored, 50,000 reads, 20,000 writes, 20,000 deletes per day
5 GB stored, 1 GB downloaded per day
2 million invocations, 400,000 GB-seconds, 200,000 CPU-seconds, 5 GB network egress per month
1 GB stored, 10 GB downloaded per month
Unlimited reporting
Unlimited reporting
Unlimited reporting
10 virtual device tests, 5 physical device tests per day
Unlimited testers and apps
1,000 image labeling requests, 1,000 text recognition requests, 1,000 face detection requests, 1,000 barcode scanning requests, 1,000 custom model requests per month Firebase charges you according to your usage of each service such as the number of users, the amount of data stored or transferred, the number of requests or invocations, or the duration of the service. You can take advantage of Firebase calculator to evaluate your monthly costs based on your expected usage. AWS also offers a free tier with limited resources, and allows you to only pay for what you use. However, the free tier is only available for 12 months, and the costs can rise quickly, especially if you use multiple services.
To build web and mobile apps, Firebase and AWS offer some great services for the cloud platforms. Both have different strengths and weaknesses and cater to different needs and preferences. Firebase is easy to use and good for simpler, smaller, or real-time apps, which require less server-side code, less customization, and less infrastructure management. It is good for projects with a short timeline and a budget. If you are building complex, larger, or enterprise-scale apps, then AWS is a good option. It requires more server-side code, more customization, and more infrastructure management, and that has a higher budget and a longer timeline. In the end, choosing the right platform between Firebase and AWS depends on your project goals, your team capabilities, and your preferred development approach.
