Need advice about which tool to choose?Ask the StackShare community!

Chatkit

19
45
+ 1
0
Firebase

40.1K
34.4K
+ 1
2K
Add tool
Advice on Chatkit and Firebase
Needs advice
on
ApolloApolloFirebaseFirebase
and
Socket.IOSocket.IO

We are starting to work on a web-based platform aiming to connect artists (clients) and professional freelancers (service providers). In-app, timeline-based, real-time communication between users (& storing it), file transfers, and push notifications are essential core features. We are considering using Node.js, ExpressJS, React, MongoDB stack with Socket.IO & Apollo, or maybe using Real-Time Database and functionalities of Firebase.

See more
Replies (3)
Timothy Malstead
Junior Full Stack Developer at Freelance · | 7 upvotes · 465.2K views
Recommends
on
FirebaseFirebase

I would recommend looking hard into Firebase for this project, especially if you do not have dedicated full-stack or backend members on your team.

The real time database, as you mentioned, is a great option, but I would also look into Firestore. Similar to RTDB, it adds more functions and some cool methods as well. Also, another great thing about Firebase is you have easy access to storage and dead simple auth as well.

Node.js Express MongoDB Socket.IO and Apollo are great technologies as well, and may be the better option if you do not wish to cede as much control to third parties in your application.

Overall, I say if you wish to focus more time developing your React application instead of other parts of your stack, Firebase is a great way to do that.

See more
Recommends
on
AblyAbly

Hello Noam 👋,

I suggest taking a look at Ably, it has all the realtime features you need and the platform is designed to guarantee critical functionality at scale.

Here is an in depth comparison between Ably and Firebase

See more
Recommends
on
8base8base

Hey Noam,

I would recommend you to take a look into 8base. It has features you've requested, also relation database and GraphQL API which will help you to develop rapidly.

Thanks, Ilya

See more
Get Advice from developers at your company using StackShare Enterprise. Sign up for StackShare Enterprise.
Learn More
Pros of Chatkit
Pros of Firebase
    Be the first to leave a pro
    • 371
      Realtime backend made easy
    • 270
      Fast and responsive
    • 242
      Easy setup
    • 215
      Real-time
    • 191
      JSON
    • 134
      Free
    • 128
      Backed by google
    • 83
      Angular adaptor
    • 68
      Reliable
    • 36
      Great customer support
    • 32
      Great documentation
    • 25
      Real-time synchronization
    • 21
      Mobile friendly
    • 18
      Rapid prototyping
    • 14
      Great security
    • 12
      Automatic scaling
    • 11
      Freakingly awesome
    • 8
      Chat
    • 8
      Angularfire is an amazing addition!
    • 8
      Super fast development
    • 6
      Built in user auth/oauth
    • 6
      Firebase hosting
    • 6
      Ios adaptor
    • 6
      Awesome next-gen backend
    • 4
      Speed of light
    • 4
      Very easy to use
    • 3
      Great
    • 3
      It's made development super fast
    • 3
      Brilliant for startups
    • 2
      Free hosting
    • 2
      Cloud functions
    • 2
      JS Offline and Sync suport
    • 2
      Low battery consumption
    • 2
      .net
    • 2
      The concurrent updates create a great experience
    • 2
      Push notification
    • 2
      I can quickly create static web apps with no backend
    • 2
      Great all-round functionality
    • 2
      Free authentication solution
    • 1
      Easy Reactjs integration
    • 1
      Google's support
    • 1
      Free SSL
    • 1
      CDN & cache out of the box
    • 1
      Easy to use
    • 1
      Large
    • 1
      Faster workflow
    • 1
      Serverless
    • 1
      Good Free Limits
    • 1
      Simple and easy

    Sign up to add or upvote prosMake informed product decisions

    Cons of Chatkit
    Cons of Firebase
      Be the first to leave a con
      • 31
        Can become expensive
      • 16
        No open source, you depend on external company
      • 15
        Scalability is not infinite
      • 9
        Not Flexible Enough
      • 7
        Cant filter queries
      • 3
        Very unstable server
      • 3
        No Relational Data
      • 2
        Too many errors
      • 2
        No offline sync

      Sign up to add or upvote consMake informed product decisions

      What is Chatkit?

      Chatkit is designed to make it as simple as possible to add chat to your app. It lets you add 1-1 and group chat to your app, along with typing indicators, file attachments and storage, user online presence and a flexible permissions system.

      What is Firebase?

      Firebase is a cloud service designed to power real-time, collaborative applications. Simply add the Firebase library to your application to gain access to a shared data structure; any changes you make to that data are automatically synchronized with the Firebase cloud and with other clients within milliseconds.

      Need advice about which tool to choose?Ask the StackShare community!

      Jobs that mention Chatkit and Firebase as a desired skillset
      What companies use Chatkit?
      What companies use Firebase?
        No companies found
        See which teams inside your own company are using Chatkit or Firebase.
        Sign up for StackShare EnterpriseLearn More

        Sign up to get full access to all the companiesMake informed product decisions

        What tools integrate with Chatkit?
        What tools integrate with Firebase?

        Sign up to get full access to all the tool integrationsMake informed product decisions

        Blog Posts

        GitNode.jsFirebase+5
        7
        2356
        What are some alternatives to Chatkit and Firebase?
        SendBird
        SendBird is a Messaging SDK, Chat API, and fully managed chat infrastructure for your mobile apps and websites. Embeddable chat for iOS, Android, JavaScript, Unity, .NET.
        LINE
        Use the Messaging API to build bots that provide personalized experiences for your users on LINE. You associate your bot with a channel on the LINE Platform. The bot works behind the LINE Official Account that is generated when you create the channel if you operate the account in bot mode.
        Agora
        Agora.io provides building blocks for you to add real-time voice and video communications through a simple and powerful SDK. You can integrate the Agora SDK to enable real-time communications in your own application quickly.
        OpenTok
        It adds the clarity and emotion of face-to-face communication to your brand whether you're developing for the web, iOS, or Android. We make the integration of high-quality live video a breeze so that you can focus on building a great product.
        Twilio API for WhatsApp
        The Twilio API for WhatsApp provides developers all over the world with a simple, reliable, and officially supported way to use the WhatsApp Business API. They can now easily build messaging experiences that combine the ease of use of the Programmable SMS API with the global reach of WhatsApp.
        See all alternatives