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Database & Data Management · head to head

Firestore vs Netlify

Firestore logo

Firestore

Database & Data Management

Flexible, scalable NoSQL cloud database from Firebase

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Netlify logo

Netlify

Technology

The fastest way to build the fastest sites

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Firestore the no-cost Spark plan caps Standard edition at 50,000 document reads, 20,000 writes and 20,000 deletes per day; Netlify the free tier is an individual account with 300 credits; team members require the Pro plan at $20 a month
  • They diverge on capability: Firestore covers Document Model, Netlify covers Continuous deployment.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Firestore and Netlify actually diverge.

Attributes where Firestore and Netlify differ
AttributeFirestoreNetlify
PlatformsWeb, Ios, Android, FlutterWeb
CategoryDatabase & Data ManagementTechnology
Founded20112014

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Firestore

  • Document Model
  • Real-time Updates
  • Offline Support
  • ACID Transactions
  • Expressive Queries
  • Multi-region
  • Security Rules
  • Firebase Auth

Only in Netlify

  • Continuous deployment
  • Instant rollbacks
  • Deploy previews
  • Split testing
  • Forms handling
  • Identity/Auth
  • Serverless functions
  • Edge handlers

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Firestore

  • Storing structured application data with realtime listenersnot Netlify
  • Backing mobile and web apps with a serverless document databasenot Netlify
  • Building offline first apps that sync when connectivity returnsnot Netlify

Netlify

  • Hosting static sites and frontend frameworks with global CDN deliverynot Firestore
  • Deploy previews on every pull requestnot Firestore
  • Serverless functions alongside a static sitenot Firestore
  • Netlify Database and Blob storage for small application statenot Firestore

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Firestore

  • The no-cost Spark plan caps Standard edition at 50,000 document reads, 20,000 writes and 20,000 deletes per day
  • The Spark plan caps storage at 1 GiB and network egress at 10 GiB per month
  • Charging is per document read, so a query returning many documents bills for every one of them
  • Going beyond the free thresholds requires the pay as you go Blaze plan billed at Google Cloud rates with no fixed monthly ceiling

Netlify

  • The free tier is an individual account with 300 credits; team members require the Pro plan at $20 a month
  • Everything is metered in credits, so bandwidth at 20 credits per GB and production deploys at 15 credits each consume the allowance in ways a bandwidth figure alone would not show
  • Compute is billed at 10 credits per GB-hour, so server-rendered work costs more than static hosting
  • Running past the allowance means buying credit packs, at $5 for 500 on Personal and $10 for 1,500 on Pro
  • AI inference is priced by model rather than at a flat credit rate

Pricing, plan by plan

Firestore

Free
  • SparkFree
    • 1GB storage
    • 50K reads/day
    • 20K writes/day
  • BlazeFree
    • Pay as you go
    • Unlimited operations
    • Multi-region

Netlify

Free
  • StarterFree
    • 100GB bandwidth
    • 300 build minutes
    • 1 concurrent build
  • Pro$19/month
    • 400GB bandwidth
    • 25,000 build minutes
    • 3 concurrent builds
  • Business$99/month
    • 600GB bandwidth
    • 35,000 build minutes
    • 5 concurrent builds
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Custom bandwidth
    • Custom build minutes
    • Unlimited concurrent builds

Which should you pick?

Choose Firestore if

  • You need document model.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Flutter.
  • You also want real-time updates.
Firestore review

Choose Netlify if

  • You need continuous deployment.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want instant rollbacks.
Netlify review

Questions people ask

Is Firestore or Netlify better?
Neither clearly leads. Firestore starts at Free and Netlify at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Firestore or Netlify?
Firestore starts at Free and Netlify at Free.
Does Firestore or Netlify run on more platforms?
Firestore runs on Web, Ios, Android, Flutter. Netlify runs on Web.
Can I use Firestore for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Firestore best used for?
Firestore is most often used for storing structured application data with realtime listeners, backing mobile and web apps with a serverless document database, building offline first apps that sync when connectivity returns. Of those, storing structured application data with realtime listeners and backing mobile and web apps with a serverless document database are not what Netlify is typically brought in for.
What can Firestore do that Netlify cannot?
Firestore covers Document Model, Real-time Updates, Offline Support, ACID Transactions. Netlify covers Continuous deployment, Instant rollbacks, Deploy previews, Split testing.
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Related pages

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