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  1. Stackups
  2. Application & Data
  3. Platform as a Service
  4. Realtime Backend API
  5. Firebase vs Firebase Hosting

Firebase vs Firebase Hosting

OverviewDecisionsComparisonAlternatives

Overview

Firebase
Firebase
Stacks42.5K
Followers36.0K
Votes2.0K
Firebase Hosting
Firebase Hosting
Stacks181
Followers180
Votes10

Firebase vs Firebase Hosting: What are the differences?

Introduction

Firebase and Firebase Hosting are both powerful tools provided by Google for web and mobile app development. However, there are key differences between the two that developers should be aware of.

  1. Scalability and Backend Services: Firebase is a comprehensive backend solution that offers various services such as a realtime database, authentication, cloud storage, and cloud functions. It allows developers to build scalable apps with ease. On the other hand, Firebase Hosting focuses solely on hosting static web content and does not provide backend services. It is designed specifically for hosting and serving web pages, making it ideal for static websites or single-page applications.

  2. Static Content vs Dynamic Content: Firebase Hosting is best suited for hosting and serving static content, such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files. It handles content caching and CDNs to ensure fast and efficient delivery of the web pages to the users. In contrast, Firebase provides a wide range of backend services that enable developers to build apps with dynamic content, where data can be updated in real-time.

  3. Project Configuration: Firebase requires developers to create a project and configure it with Firebase-specific settings, such as API keys and SDKs, to use its backend services. Additionally, developers need to set up user authentication, define security rules, and manage database access. On the other hand, Firebase Hosting involves a much simpler configuration process. Developers can easily deploy their web content to Firebase Hosting by linking it to their project without the need for extensive configuration.

  4. Deployment Process: Firebase provides a command-line tool, Firebase CLI, that allows developers to deploy their apps to Firebase Hosting using a single command. It automatically handles tasks such as asset minification and compression, making the deployment process seamless. In contrast, to deploy an app built using Firebase backend services, developers need to configure and deploy the backend services separately from the web content.

  5. Custom Domain and SSL Certificate: Firebase Hosting provides developers with the ability to use a custom domain for their website, allowing them to have a personalized URL. It also offers automatic SSL certificate provisioning and renewal, ensuring secure communication between the users and the website. Firebase, on the other hand, does not provide these features by default, as it focuses on backend services rather than hosting a complete website.

  6. Pricing: Firebase Hosting offers a generous free plan with certain limitations, including storage and bandwidth restrictions. It also provides paid plans for greater scalability and additional features. In contrast, Firebase backend services have their own pricing structure based on usage, including features such as database storage, authentication, and cloud functions.

In Summary, Firebase is a comprehensive backend solution providing various services for building scalable apps with dynamic content, while Firebase Hosting focuses solely on hosting and delivering static web content, offering simplicity and speed for static websites.

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Advice on Firebase, Firebase Hosting

Jared
Jared

Contractor at Insight Global

Aug 9, 2019

ReviewonFirebaseFirebase

I started using Firebase over 5 years ago because of the 'real-time' nature. I originally used to use Real Time Database, but now I use Cloud Firestore. I recommend using the Google Firebase PaaS to quickly develop or prototype small to enterprise level web/mobile applications. Since Google purchased Firebase, it has exploded and it growing rapidly. I also find some level of comfort that it is Backed by Google.

272k views272k
Comments
Noam
Noam

Jul 16, 2020

Needs adviceonNode.jsNode.jsExpressJSExpressJSReactReact

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.

1.15M views1.15M
Comments

Detailed Comparison

Firebase
Firebase
Firebase Hosting
Firebase Hosting

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.

It is production-grade web content hosting for developers. With a single command, you can quickly deploy web apps and serve both static and dynamic content to a global CDN (content delivery network). You can also pair it with Cloud Functions or Cloud Run to build and host microservices.

Add the Firebase library to your app and get access to a shared data structure. Any changes made to that data are automatically synchronized with the Firebase cloud and with other clients within milliseconds.;Firebase apps can be written entirely with client-side code, update in real-time out-of-the-box, interoperate well with existing services, scale automatically, and provide strong data security.;Data Accessibility- Data is stored as JSON in Firebase. Every piece of data has its own URL which can be used in Firebase's client libraries and as a REST endpoint. These URLs can also be entered into a browser to view the data and watch it update in real-time.;Real-time Synchronization- Firebase takes a new approach to the way data is moved around an app. Rather than using a traditional request & response model, it works by synchronizing data between devices. Whenever your data changes, all clients are immediately notified within milliseconds. The synchronized data is also persisted, allowing new clients to be immediately updated.;First-class Data Security- Traditional applications intermix security code with application code, whereas Firebase treats security as a first-class feature. You define your security policies in one place using a flexible rules language, and Firebase ensures that they are consistently enforced across all parts of your application. Having all your security logic in one place allows for easy auditing and helps you avoid security mistakes. The safety and security of your data is our top priority.;Automatic Scaling- The Firebase API is built from the ground up for performance and scale. Whenever your data changes, Firebase calculates the minimum set of updates required to keep all your clients in sync. In addition, all Firebase API functions are designed to scale linearly with the size of the data being synchronized. More importantly, Firebase handles all of the scaling and operations for you. Your app will scale from its first user to its first million without any code changes.;Servers are Optional- Firebase can provide all of the data storage, control, and transmission needs of most apps. In many cases, Firebase can completely replace your server and server-side code. This means you no longer need to build complicated backend software and can instead focus on your application logic and your customers.
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Statistics
Stacks
42.5K
Stacks
181
Followers
36.0K
Followers
180
Votes
2.0K
Votes
10
Pros & Cons
Pros
  • 371
    Realtime backend made easy
  • 270
    Fast and responsive
  • 242
    Easy setup
  • 215
    Real-time
  • 191
    JSON
Cons
  • 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
Pros
  • 4
    Integration with firebase
  • 1
    Multi-site hosting support
  • 1
    Easy deployment
  • 1
    Super simple deploys
  • 1
    Analytics
Cons
  • 1
    .env complexity
Integrations
Trigger.io
Trigger.io
Famo.us
Famo.us
Backbone.js
Backbone.js
Ember.js
Ember.js
AngularJS
AngularJS
React
React
No integrations available

What are some alternatives to Firebase, Firebase Hosting?

GitHub Pages

GitHub Pages

Public webpages hosted directly from your GitHub repository. Just edit, push, and your changes are live.

Socket.IO

Socket.IO

It enables real-time bidirectional event-based communication. It works on every platform, browser or device, focusing equally on reliability and speed.

PubNub

PubNub

PubNub makes it easy for you to add real-time capabilities to your apps, without worrying about the infrastructure. Build apps that allow your users to engage in real-time across mobile, browser, desktop and server.

DomainRacer

DomainRacer

It is a blazing fast hosting solution that provides Customer Satisfaction driven Web Hosting services since 2016.

Pusher

Pusher

Pusher is the category leader in delightful APIs for app developers building communication and collaboration features.

Netlify

Netlify

Netlify is smart enough to process your site and make sure all assets gets optimized and served with perfect caching-headers from a cookie-less domain. We make sure your HTML is served straight from our CDN edge nodes without any round-trip to our backend servers and are the only ones to give you instant cache invalidation when you push a new deploy. Netlify is also the only static hosting service with integrated continuous deployment.

SignalR

SignalR

SignalR allows bi-directional communication between server and client. Servers can now push content to connected clients instantly as it becomes available. SignalR supports Web Sockets, and falls back to other compatible techniques for older browsers. SignalR includes APIs for connection management (for instance, connect and disconnect events), grouping connections, and authorization.

Ably

Ably

Ably offers WebSockets, stream resume, history, presence, and managed third-party integrations to make it simple to build, extend, and deliver digital realtime experiences at scale.

Vercel

Vercel

A cloud platform for serverless deployment. It enables developers to host websites and web services that deploy instantly, scale automatically, and require no supervision, all with minimal configuration.

Syncano

Syncano

Syncano is a backend platform to build powerful real-time apps more efficiently. Integrate with any API, minimize boilerplate code and control your data - all from one place.

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