Firebase
Firebase is Google's backend-as-a-service platform, offering a NoSQL database (Firestore and Realtime Database), authentication, static hosting, serverless functions and analytics for mobile and web apps. It started as a real-time sync startup called Envolve in 2011, was relaunched as Firebase in 2012, and Google acquired it in October 2014. Firebase runs on a free Spark plan and a pay-as-you-go Blaze plan billed through Google Cloud.
Facts checked on against the sources listed at the end of this page.
- Pricing
- FreemiumPaid from Blaze plan is pay-as-you-go on top of the same free limits, billed through Google Cloud
- Open source
- NoProprietary
- GitHub stars
- 5,148
- npm downloads a week
- 12Mup 13% on the week before
- Latest release
- [email protected]…4 weeks ago
- Releases in 90 days
- 4about 1 a month
A good fit for
- Mobile apps that need authentication, push notifications and a real-time database quickly
- Small teams that want a managed backend without running their own servers
- Apps that will grow into the wider Google Cloud ecosystem
- Prototypes and MVPs on the free Spark plan before committing to Blaze
Not a good fit for
- Apps that need a relational (SQL) database as the primary data store
- Teams that want an open source or self-hostable backend
- Workloads with unpredictable Cloud Functions or Firestore usage where Blaze costs are hard to forecast
Firebase pricing
The Spark plan is free with fixed no-cost usage limits and no payment method needed. The Blaze plan keeps those free limits but bills for usage beyond them at Google Cloud rates, and includes $300 in free credit for new eligible users.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Spark (free) | $0 | 1 GiB Firestore storage, 50,000 daily reads and 20,000 daily writes, 10 GB hosting storage, 360 MB a day transfer, auth for up to 50,000 monthly active users. No Cloud Functions or Cloud Storage. |
| Blaze (pay as you go) | Usage-based, e.g. Cloud Functions $0.40 per million invocations beyond 2M free | All Spark limits included free, then billed per use for Firestore, Hosting, Functions, Storage and other services. |
Prices in USD, checked on 27 September 2026. Current prices on firebase.google.com.
Main features
- Firestore
- Document-based NoSQL database with real-time listeners and offline support.
- Firebase Authentication
- Sign-in with email, phone, Google, Apple and other providers, with up to 50,000 monthly active users free.
- Cloud Functions
- Serverless functions that respond to events from Firebase products or HTTPS requests, with 2 million invocations a month free.
- Firebase Hosting
- Static and single-page app hosting with a global CDN, 10 GB storage and 360 MB a day transfer free.
- Cloud Storage for Firebase
- File storage for user-generated content backed by Google Cloud Storage.
- Remote Config and A/B Testing
- Change app behavior and appearance without a new release, and test variants with real users.
- Crashlytics
- Real-time crash reporting for mobile apps.
About Firebase
Firebase evolved out of Envolve, a real-time chat API startup founded by James Tamplin and Andrew Lee in 2011. After noticing developers using the chat API to sync app data rather than chat messages, the founders split off the real-time database as its own company, Firebase, which launched publicly in April 2012. Google acquired Firebase in October 2014.
The platform now bundles Firestore (a document database), the older Realtime Database, Firebase Authentication, Cloud Storage, Cloud Functions, Firebase Hosting, Remote Config, Crashlytics and Google Analytics, all managed from one console and billed together.
Firebase is commonly used to build mobile and web apps quickly without managing servers, particularly for authentication, real-time data sync and push notifications, with the option to scale into other Google Cloud services as an app grows.
- Made by
- Launched
- 2012
- Free plan
- Yes: the Spark plan, with no-cost usage limits and no payment method required
- Available on
- Android, iOS, Web (JavaScript), Unity, Flutter, C++
Usage and activity
Weekly npm downloads of firebase, last 12 months.
Recent releases
- [email protected]4 weeks ago
- [email protected]1 month ago
- [email protected]2 months ago
- [email protected]2 months ago
- [email protected]3 months ago
Firebase alternatives
Firebase compared
FirebasevsSupabase
Supabase is an open source backend built around a dedicated Postgres database, with auth, storage and auto-generated APIs, so you work in SQL.
FirebasevsAppwrite
Firebase is Google's proprietary backend-as-a-service, built around the NoSQL Firestore and Realtime Database, with deep native mobile SDK support.
FirebasevsMongoDB Atlas
MongoDB Atlas is MongoDB Inc's managed cloud database service for the MongoDB document database, running on AWS, Azure or Google Cloud, with a permanently free M0 tier.
FirebasevsNeon
Firebase is Google's backend-as-a-service platform, offering a NoSQL database (Firestore and Realtime Database) alongside authentication, hosting, serverless functions and analytics in one product.
FirebasevsPlanetScale
Firebase is Google's backend-as-a-service platform, combining a NoSQL database with authentication, hosting, serverless functions and analytics in one product with a free tier.
FirebasevsRedis
Firebase is Google's backend-as-a-service platform, holding an application's primary NoSQL data (Firestore or Realtime Database) alongside authentication, hosting and serverless functions.
FirebasevsTurso
Firebase is Google's backend-as-a-service platform, combining a NoSQL database (Firestore or Realtime Database) with authentication, hosting, serverless functions and analytics.
FirebasevsConvex
Firebase is Google's backend-as-a-service platform, offering a NoSQL database (Firestore or Realtime Database) alongside authentication, hosting, serverless functions and analytics.
FirebasevsPocketbase
Firebase is Google's fully managed backend-as-a-service platform, combining a NoSQL database (Firestore or Realtime Database) with authentication, hosting, serverless functions and analytics, billed on a free-then-usage-based model.
Questions about Firebase
Is Firebase free?
Yes. The Spark plan is free with fixed usage limits and needs no payment method. The Blaze plan keeps those free limits and charges for usage beyond them.
Who owns Firebase?
Google, which acquired Firebase in October 2014. Firebase started in 2011 as Envolve before relaunching as Firebase in 2012.
What database does Firebase use?
Firestore, a document-based NoSQL database, is the main option. The original Realtime Database is still available for apps that already use it.
Is Firebase open source?
No, Firebase is a proprietary Google product, though some of its client SDKs are open source.
Sources and links
Work on Firebase? Claim this listing. Something wrong or out of date? Suggest a correction. Stats come from the public GitHub and npm APIs and update every day.