Firebase Realtime Databasevs
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Firebase Realtime Database
Store and sync data in real-time across all clients
As of 30 August 2026, Firebase Realtime Database is free to use. Firebase Realtime Database is a cloud-hosted NoSQL database that stores data as JSON and synchronizes it in real-time to every connected client. Softwr lists it under Databases. Firebase Realtime Database is made by Google, launched in 2011, available on Web, iOS, Android.
Overview
What Firebase Realtime Database does
Firebase Realtime Database is a cloud-hosted NoSQL database that stores data as JSON and synchronizes it in real-time to every connected client. When building cross-platform apps, all clients share one Realtime Database instance and receive updates with the newest data.
What people use it for
- Syncing JSON application state between clients in real time
- Backing mobile and web apps with offline capable data storage
- Prototyping realtime features such as presence and chat
The honest half
Where it falls short
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about Firebase Realtime Database.
- The no-cost Spark plan caps storage at 1 GB, downloads at 10 GB per month and simultaneous connections at 100
- The Spark plan does not support multiple databases in a project
- Even on the paid Blaze plan simultaneous connections are capped at 200,000 per database
- Billing is by data transferred out at $1 per GB plus $5 per GB stored, so chatty clients cost more than the data volume suggests
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of Firebase Realtime Database
Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.
- Firebase Realtime DatabasevsPostgreSQL
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- Firebase Realtime DatabasevsAirtable
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- Firebase Realtime DatabasevsAmazon Aurora
Amazon Aurora: MySQL and PostgreSQL-compatible relational database built for the cloud
Pricing
What Firebase Realtime Database costs
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
Spark
Free
- 1 GB data storage included
- 10 GB per month data downloads included
- No charges for usage within limits
Blaze
$5 /per_GB_per_month
- Maintains Spark free allowances
- Pay-as-you-go for usage exceeding limits
- Billing applies to data stored and outbound network traffic
- Budget alerts available (do not cap usage)
Capabilities
Features
Real-time Sync
Offline Support
JSON Storage
Security Rules
Data Validation
Multi-platform SDKs
Scalable
Firebase Auth
Integration with Firebase Auth
Cloud Functions
Integration with Cloud Functions
Analytics
Integration with Analytics
Crashlytics
Integration with Crashlytics
AdMob
Integration with AdMob
Answered, with sources
Questions people ask
Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
How much does Firebase Realtime Database cost?
Firebase Realtime Database offers a free Spark plan (1 GB storage, 10 GB/month downloads) and a pay-as-you-go Blaze plan. On Blaze, storage costs $5 per GB per month, evaluated daily, with no monthly minimum charges.
SourceWhat is included in Firebase Realtime Database free tier?
The Spark plan includes 1 GB of data storage and 10 GB per month of data downloads at no cost. Usage within these limits incurs no charges, making it suitable for small projects and testing.
SourceDoes Firebase Realtime Database charge for denied or rejected operations?
Yes. Firebase charges for all traffic to and from the database on the Blaze plan, including operations denied by security rules, outbound network traffic at the session layer, and connection and encryption overhead from all operations.
SourceCan I set a spending limit on Firebase Realtime Database?
Firebase offers budget alerts but does not cap spending automatically. Users must monitor their usage dashboard in the Firebase console to track connections, storage, downloads, and load metrics; a calculator is available for cost estimation.
SourceBehind it
Who makes Firebase Realtime Database
- Company
- Based in
- Mountain View, California
Keep looking
Where to go from Firebase Realtime Database
- Firebase Realtime Database alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- Firebase Realtime Database pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- Firebase Realtime Database badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All Databases softwareThe full category
- Best Databases softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
Best Databases software for
Compare Firebase Realtime Database with
- Cassandra
- Airtable
- Cockroach Labs
- PostgreSQL
- Amazon Aurora
- Estuary
- ScyllaDB
- ClickHouse
- Materialize
- dbt
- EMQX
- FaunaDB
- Memcached
- MotherDuck
- Neo4j
- CouchDB
- Apache Druid
- Apache Pinot
Other Databases software
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Free plan14 researched notes
Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Firebase Realtime Database, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
More on Firebase Realtime Database
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Every tier, and where the cost actually lands
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Firebase Realtime Database badge
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