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PeerSpot user
Android Mobile & Software Developer Engineer & TI Manager at Nova Palma Energia Ltda.
Real User
We use this technology to build mobile applications and to communicate with our back-end infrastructure.
Pros and Cons
  • "Allows us to create functions without any infrastructure apart from the Google App Engine."
  • "Google Cloud Functions (which is still a BETA version) needs to have more control over the uploaded functions. That is, it needs more options for controlling the functions itself."

How has it helped my organization?

We already use this technology in our company to build our Android and iOS mobile applications and to communicate with our back-end infrastructure.

What is most valuable?

Google Cloud Functions: Allows us to create functions without any infrastructure apart from the Google App Engine. These functions can have several kinds of triggers:

  • Realtime Database Triggers
  • Firebase Authentication Triggers
  • Firebase Analytics Triggers
  • Cloud Storage Triggers
  • Cloud Pub/Sub Triggers
  • HTTP Triggers

Google Cloud Auth: Allows our Android and iOS mobile applications and JavaScript codes to make authentication with almost no effort. The reason is because the Auth has already implemented it for us.

Google Cloud Real-time Database: Allows our Android and iOS mobile applications and JavaScript codes to record and retrieve data with persistence and minimum effort.

What needs improvement?

In my humble opinion, Google Cloud Functions (which is still a BETA version) needs to have more control over the uploaded functions. That is, it needs more options for controlling the functions itself. I might think about some characteristics that can improve a lot this:

- A START button to start the function. This button should be
incorporated in each one of the functions that the developer created and
deployed in Google Cloud Functions;
- A STOP button to stop the function. This button should be incorporated
in each one of the functions that the developer created and
deployed in Google Cloud Functions;
- A RESTART button following the save behavior as above buttons with
RESTART capability.
- A better and improved log view. The actual LOG view has a Slow
performance to show the log items and also it doesn't allow fast searching
for past log items. For example, whenever we need to look for a block of
log items that happened in the past, it's very difficult to access that
block of code.
- Capability to save the log to an external tool.


What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I did not find any stability issues yet.

Buyer's Guide
Google Firebase
December 2024
Learn what your peers think about Google Firebase. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.
824,067 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Our actual phase in development (MVP), doesn't allow me to give my opinion on this point.

How are customer service and support?

Currently, it has not been necessary to contact technical support, due to the vast and informative documentation with Google Standard.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We tried to use the AWS cloud. They have a very good solution, although the documentation is a little verbose, in my humble opinion.

How was the initial setup?

The setup is very easy and straightforward. You just need to follow the documentation from the Google App Engine.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

They have a free tier that will cover most projects. For more intensive use, you pay as you use it, but the price is very cheap.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We evaluated Amazon AWS, but due to the reasons explained above, especially the flowery documentation, we decided to go through Google App Engine and Google Firebase. We have no regrets at all.

What other advice do I have?

I would say that they should go ahead with Google App Engine and Google Firebase.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Manager at Tathir
Real User
Top 5
Provides an efficient integration feature and good stability
Pros and Cons
  • "The product’s most valuable features are integration and hosting."
  • "The platform's bandwidth is quite expensive. Its price could be better."

What is our primary use case?

We use Google Firebase for static hosting and identity connection for applications.

What is most valuable?

The product’s most valuable features are integration and hosting.

What needs improvement?

The platform's bandwidth is quite expensive. Its price could be better.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using Google Firebase for a few years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The product has good stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is a scalable product. We have around 100 Google Firebase users in our organization and, further, we plan to increase the usage.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support services are excellent.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup process is good. It takes approximately an hour to complete and requires three executives for maintenance.

What about the implementation team?

We implement the solution with the help of our in-house team.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Google Firebase’s pricing needs improvement.

What other advice do I have?

I rate Google Firebase a nine out of ten. I recommend it for enterprise businesses.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Google Firebase
December 2024
Learn what your peers think about Google Firebase. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.
824,067 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Shaunak Jagtap - PeerSpot reviewer
Developer at Dyte
Real User
App development software that is suitable for smaller business but requires different infrastructure for scale
Pros and Cons
  • "This solution supports our real time database. We also use it for AB testing and for its Google Cloud functions. We make use of Crashlytics and reporting on details."
  • "The UI for the realtime database could be simplified."

What is our primary use case?

This solution supports our real time database. We also use it for AB testing and for its Google Cloud functions. We make use of Crashlytics and reporting on details.

What is most valuable?

The best features are the cloud functions.

What needs improvement?

We have experienced many challenges with the realtime database. Every time we need to retrieve chat history that has multiple observers, it will execute multiple times. The UI for the realtime database could be simplified.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used this solution for three years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This is a stable solution but requires some improvement. 

How are customer service and support?

The technical support for this solution is good.

What other advice do I have?

You can use this solution for lightweight use but I would not recommend being dependant on it. When you want to scale, you will need to have your own server, services and infrastructure.

I would rate this solution a six out of ten. 

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Sivakumar Rathinavelu - PeerSpot reviewer
Lead/Specialist Engineer Software at Signify
Real User
Low maintenance, high performance, and simple implementation
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable features of Google Firebase have been Analytics, Remote Config, and Crashlytics. Additionally, a lot of companies have used push notifications which is important. There is little maintenance required."
  • "Google Firebase could improve the ability to create our own reports, other than what's available on the dashboard. For example, if we want to customize the report or export the data, this is a large task."

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features of Google Firebase have been Analytics, Remote Config, and Crashlytics. Additionally, a lot of companies have used push notifications which is important. There is little maintenance required.

What needs improvement?

Google Firebase could improve the ability to create our own reports, other than what's available on the dashboard. For example, if we want to customize the report or export the data, this is a large task. 

Crashlytics was not very helpful, it doesn't give enough information to narrow down the problem.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Google Firebase for approximately one and a half years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Google Firebase is stable and we don't have any performance issues.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability of Google Firebase is good, but there are some limitations. For example, once you are set up, there's no way you can delete the data or change the settings. It's durable, handles many loads, and pushes the data when the user is not aware.

How are customer service and support?

I have not used technical support.

How was the initial setup?

The setup of Google Firebase was an easy process.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We are using the free version of Google Firebase.

What other advice do I have?

Google Firebase is a very good solution.

I rate Google Firebase an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Roche De Kock - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Developer at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
Real User
Gives more power and accessibility to quickly publish apps
Pros and Cons
  • "Google Firebase is one I like a lot because it gives us a little bit more power and accessibility when it comes to publishing apps a lot quicker and for the needs that we have."
  • "The only thing that I won't do on Firebase is the hosting side of things for a progressive web app because it feels like you actually still need to download the app first before you can actually get into the functionality of the app."

What is most valuable?

Google Firebase is one I like a lot because it gives us a little bit more power and accessibility when it comes to publishing apps a lot quicker and for the needs that we have.

The documentation for Google Firebase is great. Also, what I like about it is the integration to Android, which is the reason I went with Firebase. Android is the biggest mobile platform out there currently, bigger than IOS, especially in South Africa.

What needs improvement?

The only thing that I won't do on Firebase is the hosting side of things for a progressive web app because it feels like you actually still need to download the app first before you can actually get into the functionality of the app.

So, it's not really a website, but it's web-based, and the app needs to be like a downloadable app. In that sense, I'm using normal Linux hosting and PHP for normal websites. I still have to split my software into a web app. If there's something that needs to be improved, it is that if you publish an app as web-based that you don't have to physically download the app or that the app doesn't download in the background. 

I would rather not publish as a progressive web app. Initially, on first opening up, the app seems very slow. After that it's quick, but it feels like the app needs to be downloaded first before you can actually get into the functionality of the app.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using it for about six or seven months.

How was the initial setup?

In the case of your first setup, if you're not sure what you want to do, it can become a bit of a problem. If you've done something wrong, it's very difficult to get rid of your project. There are some unique IDs that are left behind. So, the initial stages were a little bit difficult in that sense because if you make a mistake, you can't reuse what you have done.

However, once I got used to working with Firebase, it was nice and easy. Firebase is a Google product, but in the beginning, it didn't seem like one. Google is making a lot of changes, which makes us developers make other changes a lot as well.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The moment you go into volumes, then you work on a pay-per-volume basis.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend it if you're experimenting and starting off because of the way Google gives you a lot of free options when the project is still small. However, if you're thinking of a big project where there's going to be costs and a lot of traffic, then I would recommend that you decide on Firebase, Azure, or AWS from the beginning before you actually do something. For the experimental side, Firebase is fantastic.

If you're going to do mobile apps and need to publish to play store and have functionalities such as push notifications, analytics, AdMob, and monetization, then Firebase definitely is the way to go.

I would rate Google Firsebase at eight on a scale from one to ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Technical Team Lead at AuthentiCode
Real User
Drastically reduces processing time, good record keeping, and regularly updated
Pros and Cons
  • "If there's data added to the solution, there's a good record of it so it's easy to track everything."
  • "The solution needs to offer capabilities to work offline. Like Firestore, we should be able to do insertion, updating, and deletion offline."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the platform to manage our apps. For example, in one instance, we get data from the Australian government regarding the cost of fuel via an API. Then we store the data in Firestore and then we use it in our app, according to the state and according to the cities to show the price of fuel within them.

How has it helped my organization?

The processing time has been drastically reduced. We have it down to a few minutes from 45 minutes. It's made everything so much faster.

What is most valuable?

Using the batch, it takes mere minutes to update the server. Normally, if we have a task, such as 12,000 records to be updated, it used to take 45 minutes to update. Now, after changing the code to a batch query it takes around one minute or less than one minute to update the records to Firestore.

If there's data added to the solution, there's a good record of it so it's easy to track everything.

Everything is updated automatically, which is very helpful.

The solution has a lot of features related to notifications and analytics. You can see information about how many users are on the app and from which country they are using the app.

What needs improvement?

Earlier I was using Firebase, however, now I am using Firestore. Firestore is much better than Firebase as it is the advanced version of Firebase and also it reduces the developer's time even more. It provides for queries. In Firebase you don't have that many queries to implement, get, or sort data. Firestore provides a lot of queries including MySQL. We find it much better. Firebase should offer some more of the features that exist in Firestore.

The solution needs to offer capabilities to work offline. Like Firestore, we should be able to do insertion, updating, and deletion offline. 

When we connect to the internet, it should automatically update data to the server.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for the last two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is very stable and very reliable. There aren't bugs or glitches. They have a Crashlytic feature as well, where you can see on which line of code the app has crashed if you need to. It's very transparent.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable and easy to use. As a developer, when I'm working on it, I know what I want out of my database. We can add the APIs and WAP services that we use with ease. We can build both a front end and back end with it. It's also fast. It can be used for both apps and web development as well. It's flexible.

We have five people at our organization that use it. There are two developers on iOS and two on Android and then we have a developer for the backend tool.

How are customer service and technical support?

The solution offers very good documentation of everything. They also provide demos regarding the Firestore or Firebase or any feature you want to implement. It's not very tough to use anything due to the proper documentation. Therefore, we don't really need to reach out to technical support to do any troubleshooting.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We currently use Firestore and we like it much better due to the fact that you can work offline and there are many excellent features that just aren't available in Firebase.

We previously used Back4App. It has similar functionality to Firebase. We switched, however, due to the fact that Firebase is easy to handle and they have great documentation available. 

I'm also still actually using Back4App, however, I don't find that great. I found Firebase easier in comparison to Back4App. There just isn't the same level of documentation. I really have to search for information. 

Also, unlike Firebase, you have to buy a plan for it, no matter the number of users whereas Firebase is free for the first few users.

How was the initial setup?

The solution is not complex. It's very straightforward. It is very easy to import or add. It is a very easy process.

During the first week, we arranged pre-requisites on the Firebase console. We added a package name, and an app name and updated the server file. After that, we downloaded it and add it to our project then ran the project. Everything is automatic. There are also files that we added and are updated. 

The deployment is very fast. It is about five minutes in total. It depends upon the internet speed, of course. Initially, we had to run the app on our device.

We have one or two people that handle maintenance.

A developer has to maintain the upgrades of the libraries and Cadency versions. Whenever we add any feature or something, or if then we have to upgrade the version for different dependencies, we'll have to do some maintenance. The maintenance part involves looking for cracks in the apps. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Right now, we're using the free version. The solution allows for a specific number of users that can use it for free. Then, then the plan can be upgraded according to the number of users, or according to the storage that we need on Firebase. Pricing, therefore, depends upon the client or the number of users coming to the app.

Typically, we start with the free option, and if we need to, we'll ask the client to upgrade the plan.

Under the free plan, they offer authentication, and have a Firestore Cloud Function, hosting, and a real-time database as well as storage, therefore you do get a lot of things included and you don't have to pay for any of it until you add too many users or need more storage.

What other advice do I have?

I'd advise users actually go to Firestore instead of Firebase, as there are just a lot more features that you have access to.

Overall, I would rate the solution eight out of ten. If it offered the same features as Firestore, I'd rate it higher.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Director Private Sector Software Solutions at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Great interface, easy to use, but needs consistent pricing and cost estimation is difficult
Pros and Cons
  • "The main feature for us is that the tools are all in one place and that you don't need to bother with the backend system and the infrastructure."
  • "There was no way of knowing how the rise in traffic would impact the price."

What is our primary use case?

The primary use case for this solution is the backend for the mobile app.

How has it helped my organization?

We tried to save costs by cutting some unnecessary operational things in the infrastructure and in the backend.

What is most valuable?

The main feature for us is that the tools are all in one place and that you don't have to bother with the backend system and the infrastructure.

What needs improvement?

As we were not able to calculate the amount of traffic and the bandwidth, we were not able to calculate the pricing accurately. There was no way of knowing how the rise in traffic would impact the price.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using this solution for three months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

While we used this solution, it was quite stable and it worked. We have had five people trying and working with this platform.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We haven't tested the scalability performance of this platform. We did not do any stress or any other load tests. Although I have not tested this myself, I have read that there are some problems with the scalability.

How are customer service and technical support?

We did not have a need to contact the technical support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We are using Mircosoft Azure in parallel with Google Firebase.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was easy to install and it is easy to use, very friendly. 

What about the implementation team?

We implemented ourselves. We did not use any third party.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It is not easy to calculate the cost per copy, use or if the load rose dramatically we did not know how that would impact the final price.

The pricing for the authentication is based on SMS rates and is not consistent all over the world. For example, the cost in the US and Canada is one cent, but six cents in Serbia and the rest of the world. This should be adjusted. 

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We did evaluate other options, including AWS, and one more platform based in Python. 

What other advice do I have?

It's a good product for prototyping, with a nice interface and is easy to work with, but difficult to predict the cost.

I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Daniel OlivierBaptiste - PeerSpot reviewer
Android developer at Sensibill
Real User
The notifications, bug tracking and crash analytics are helpful
Pros and Cons
  • "I love Firebase's notifications, crash analytics, and bug tracking. It gives you detailed reporting about app usage and users."
  • "Firebase's real-time information isn't technically real-time. It takes a while to upload user activity into the app. It's not as fast as Datadog, the other solution we use."

What is our primary use case?

Firebase has multiple uses. My team uses it for the mobile app, while the audit team uses Firebase for the web app. We are also using Firebase to handle notifications into the mobile and web app.

What is most valuable?

I love Firebase's notifications, crash analytics, and bug tracking. It gives you detailed reporting about app usage and users.

What needs improvement?

Firebase's real-time information isn't technically real-time. It takes a while to upload user activity into the app. It's not as fast as Datadog, the other solution we use. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using Firebase for two years at my current company, but they were using it before I was hired. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Firebase is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I believe Firebase is scalable. 

How was the initial setup?

Firebase was already set up when I started, but I know that the integration steps are explained well in detailed documentation.

What other advice do I have?

I rate Google Firebase eight out of 10. Firebase is a good product. The free version is decent, so you can start with that and pay for more features as your needs grow. I think it's a fantastic product to start with.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Google Firebase Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: December 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Google Firebase Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.