Parse Servervs
Appwrite
Appwrite: Open-source backend platform with 8 services (auth, DB, storage, functions, messaging, realtime, sites, imagine) in one; fully self-hosted with no vendor lock-in.
Parse Server
Open-source Backend as a Service platform with REST and GraphQL APIs
As of 30 August 2026, Parse Server is free to use. Parse Server is an open-source Backend as a Service platform that provides REST and GraphQL APIs, authentication, database, file storage, and cloud code functio. Softwr lists it under APIs. Parse Server is made by Parse Foundation, launched in 2013, available on API.
Overview
What Parse Server does
Parse Server is an open-source Backend as a Service platform that provides REST and GraphQL APIs, authentication, database, file storage, and cloud code functions. It's the open-source version of Parse.
What people use it for
- API Development
- API Gateway
- API Testing
- API Documentation
- Microservices
Related searches
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 Parse Server.
- Deployment complexity and scaling challenges require operational expertise
- Requires database management skills for MongoDB or PostgreSQL administration
- Smaller community and ecosystem compared to Firebase or cloud alternatives
- Query depth bypass vulnerability allowing denial-of-service attacks via complex REST/GraphQL queries
- Stored XSS vulnerability through SVG file uploads requires patching
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of Parse Server
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.
- Parse ServervsHasura
Hasura: Open-source GraphQL backend that auto-generates complete APIs from PostgreSQL, SQL Server, or BigQuery; managed cloud option at $99/month Pro tier.
- Parse ServervsFirebase
Firebase: Google's managed backend-as-service with free Spark tier and pay-as-you-go Blaze plan; includes auth, database, storage, functions, and hosting with much larger ecosystem.
Pricing
What Parse Server costs
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
Open Source
Free
- Self-hosted Parse Server
- Community support
Capabilities
Features
REST API
GraphQL API
Authentication
Node.js
Integration with Node.js
Cloud functions
Integration with Cloud functions
File storage
Integration with File storage
Webhooks
Integration with Webhooks
Node.js support
Available on Node.js
Self-hosted support
Available on Self-hosted
Docker support
Available on Docker
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.
Is Parse Server self-hosted or cloud-managed?
Parse Server is entirely self-hosted and open-source, running on your own infrastructure with no monthly subscription required; you manage the MongoDB or PostgreSQL database and deployment.
What databases does Parse Server support?
Parse Server works with MongoDB and PostgreSQL as data stores, giving you flexibility to choose your preferred database system for your application.
What APIs does Parse Server provide?
Parse Server automatically generates both REST and GraphQL APIs based on your application schema, and you can extend these with custom queries, mutations, and remote schemas.
SourceWhat SDKs are available for Parse Server?
Parse provides native SDKs for iOS (Swift/Objective-C), Android, JavaScript/Node.js, PHP, and .NET, plus REST and GraphQL access for any other platform.
SourceDoes Parse Server include user authentication?
Yes. Parse Server includes out-of-the-box user management with support for email/password authentication, OAuth providers (Facebook, Twitter, Google, GitHub, LDAP), push notifications, and campaigns.
Behind it
Who makes Parse Server
- Company
- Parse Foundation
- Based in
- Global
- Founders
- Kevin Lacker, Tikhon Bernstam, James Yu, Ilya Sukhar
Timeline
Parse Server over time
- Launch2016-01-28
Parse Server open-sourced under MIT license when Facebook announced Parse shutdown by January 2017; gained 4,700 GitHub stars within one week
Source
Keep looking
Where to go from Parse Server
- Parse Server alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- Parse Server pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- Parse Server badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All APIs softwareThe full category
- Best APIs softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
Best APIs software for
Compare Parse Server with
- Appwrite
- Hasura
- PocketBase
- Directus
- Strapi
- KeystoneJS
- Backendless
- Gravitee
- Tyk
- GraphQL Apollo
- Hoppscotch
- Janus Gateway
- WSO2 API Manager
- Zimpler
- 3scale
- Aiia
- Akana
- Akoya
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Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Parse Server, 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 Parse Server
Parse Server alternatives
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Parse Server pricing
Every tier, and where the cost actually lands
Compare Parse Server
Put it head to head with anything we hold
Parse Server badge
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