Azure Cosmos DB vs Firebase Realtime Database

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Azure Cosmos DB

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Firebase Realtime Database

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Azure Cosmos DB vs Firebase Realtime Database: What are the differences?

Azure Cosmos DB and Firebase Realtime Database are both NoSQL databases that offer real-time data synchronization and global scalability. Let's explore the key differences between them.

  1. Data model: Azure Cosmos DB supports multiple data models, including SQL, MongoDB, Cassandra, Gremlin, and Table, allowing developers to choose the model that best fits their needs. On the other hand, Firebase Realtime Database uses a JSON-like data model, making it easier to work with for developers familiar with JavaScript's object notation.

  2. Scalability: Azure Cosmos DB can horizontally scale both reads and writes across multiple regions, offering high availability and low latency globally. It utilizes built-in partitioning and multi-master replication to achieve scale and fault tolerance. In contrast, Firebase Realtime Database scales vertically by increasing the machine size, but it doesn't support automatic partitioning or multi-region replication out of the box.

  3. Query capabilities: Azure Cosmos DB provides rich query capabilities, including support for SQL-like queries, stored procedures, and user-defined functions, making it a more powerful choice for complex queries and analytics. Firebase Realtime Database, on the other hand, offers limited querying capabilities with basic filtering and ordering options.

  4. Transactions and consistency: Azure Cosmos DB offers multi-document ACID transactions, providing strong consistency guarantees across multiple documents or collections. It also supports five levels of consistency, allowing developers to choose between strong, bounded staleness, session, consistent prefix, or eventual consistency. Firebase Realtime Database, in contrast, doesn't provide built-in support for ACID transactions or strong consistency guarantees.

  5. Integration with other Azure services: Azure Cosmos DB seamlessly integrates with other Azure services, such as Azure Functions, Azure Logic Apps, and Azure Event Grid, allowing developers to build serverless applications and leverage the full capabilities of the Azure ecosystem. Firebase Realtime Database, while it offers integration with Firebase Authentication and other Firebase services, doesn't have the same level of integration with external services.

  6. Pricing and cost: Azure Cosmos DB pricing is based on the consumed resources, such as storage, throughput, and data transfer, providing flexible options to optimize costs. Firebase Realtime Database has a simpler pricing model based on the number of concurrent connections, storage, and data transfer, making it easier to estimate costs for smaller applications.

In summary, Azure Cosmos DB offers a more flexible data model, superior scalability, advanced query capabilities, ACID transactions, and deeper integration with Azure services. Firebase Realtime Database, on the other hand, provides a simpler JSON-like data model, vertical scalability, basic querying options, and easier cost estimation.

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Pros of Azure Cosmos DB
Pros of Firebase Realtime Database
  • 28
    Best-of-breed NoSQL features
  • 22
    High scalability
  • 15
    Globally distributed
  • 14
    Automatic indexing over flexible json data model
  • 10
    Tunable consistency
  • 10
    Always on with 99.99% availability sla
  • 7
    Javascript language integrated transactions and queries
  • 6
    Predictable performance
  • 5
    High performance
  • 5
    Analytics Store
  • 2
    Rapid Development
  • 2
    No Sql
  • 2
    Auto Indexing
  • 2
    Ease of use
  • 7
    Very fast
  • 0
    Casandra

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Cons of Azure Cosmos DB
Cons of Firebase Realtime Database
  • 18
    Pricing
  • 4
    Poor No SQL query support
  • 2
    Poor query

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What is Azure Cosmos DB?

Azure DocumentDB is a fully managed NoSQL database service built for fast and predictable performance, high availability, elastic scaling, global distribution, and ease of development.

What is Firebase Realtime Database?

It is a cloud-hosted NoSQL database that lets you store and sync data between your users in realtime. Data is synced across all clients in realtime, and remains available when your app goes offline.

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What companies use Azure Cosmos DB?
What companies use Firebase Realtime Database?
See which teams inside your own company are using Azure Cosmos DB or Firebase Realtime Database.
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What tools integrate with Azure Cosmos DB?
What tools integrate with Firebase Realtime Database?

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What are some alternatives to Azure Cosmos DB and Firebase Realtime Database?
Azure SQL Database
It is the intelligent, scalable, cloud database service that provides the broadest SQL Server engine compatibility and up to a 212% return on investment. It is a database service that can quickly and efficiently scale to meet demand, is automatically highly available, and supports a variety of third party software.
MongoDB Atlas
MongoDB Atlas is a global cloud database service built and run by the team behind MongoDB. Enjoy the flexibility and scalability of a document database, with the ease and automation of a fully managed service on your preferred cloud.
MongoDB
MongoDB stores data in JSON-like documents that can vary in structure, offering a dynamic, flexible schema. MongoDB was also designed for high availability and scalability, with built-in replication and auto-sharding.
Neo4j
Neo4j stores data in nodes connected by directed, typed relationships with properties on both, also known as a Property Graph. It is a high performance graph store with all the features expected of a mature and robust database, like a friendly query language and ACID transactions.
MySQL
The MySQL software delivers a very fast, multi-threaded, multi-user, and robust SQL (Structured Query Language) database server. MySQL Server is intended for mission-critical, heavy-load production systems as well as for embedding into mass-deployed software.
See all alternatives