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Firebase vs GitHub Pages: What are the differences?

Introduction:

Firebase and GitHub Pages are both popular web hosting platforms that offer different features and functionalities. While Firebase is primarily used for hosting web applications and providing a backend infrastructure, GitHub Pages is focused on hosting static websites and documentation. In this article, we will compare the key differences between Firebase and GitHub Pages.

  1. Deployment Process: Firebase provides a seamless deployment process where developers can deploy their web applications with just a few simple commands. It automatically handles the build process, configuration, and deployment, making it convenient for developers. On the other hand, GitHub Pages requires developers to manually push their code to a specific repository branch for deployment. This manual process can be time-consuming and may require additional configurations.

  2. Backend Functionality: Firebase offers a robust backend infrastructure with features like real-time database, authentication, cloud storage, and cloud functions. These backend functionalities make it easy for developers to build and scale their web applications. In contrast, GitHub Pages only supports static websites and does not provide backend services. Developers need to rely on other services or APIs to handle backend functionality.

  3. Custom Domain Support: Firebase allows users to easily configure and use custom domains for their web applications. It provides clear instructions and automated SSL certificate management, making it straightforward for developers to set up custom domains. On the other hand, GitHub Pages also supports custom domains but requires manual configuration and SSL certificate management, which can be more complex for some users.

  4. Hosting Limitations: Firebase has more flexible hosting capabilities as it allows developers to host web applications, static websites, and even single-page applications (SPAs). It supports multiple frameworks and provides more control over the hosting environment. GitHub Pages, on the other hand, is specifically designed for hosting static websites and has limitations when it comes to hosting other types of web applications or SPAs.

  5. Collaboration and Version Control: GitHub Pages seamlessly integrates with Git, which allows for easy collaboration among developers. It provides version control capabilities and enables developers to easily track changes, collaborate on code, and rollback changes if needed. Firebase, on the other hand, does not offer the same level of version control and collaboration features.

  6. Pricing Model: Firebase offers a flexible pricing model where users are charged based on their usage of specific services like storage, database, and functions. This pay-as-you-go model allows users to scale their applications according to their needs. GitHub Pages, on the other hand, is free for public repositories, but users may need to subscribe to a paid plan for private repositories or for additional features like custom domains.

In Summary, Firebase and GitHub Pages differ in terms of their deployment process, backend functionality, custom domain support, hosting limitations, collaboration and version control features, and pricing model.

Advice on Firebase and GitHub Pages
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.

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Replies (3)
Timothy Malstead
Junior Full Stack Developer at Freelance · | 7 upvotes · 486.9K 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.

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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

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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

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Decisions about Firebase and GitHub Pages
Howie Zhao
Full Stack Engineer at yintrust · | 7 upvotes · 227.3K views

We use Netlify to host static websites.

The reasons for choosing Netlify over GitHub Pages are as follows:

  • Netfily can bind multiple domain names, while GitHub Pages can only bind one domain name
  • With Netfily, the original repository can be private, while GitHub Pages free tier requires the original repository to be public

In addition, in order to use CDN, we use Netlify DNS.

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Pros of Firebase
Pros of GitHub Pages
  • 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
  • 19
    Rapid prototyping
  • 14
    Great security
  • 12
    Automatic scaling
  • 11
    Freakingly awesome
  • 8
    Super fast development
  • 8
    Angularfire is an amazing addition!
  • 8
    Chat
  • 6
    Firebase hosting
  • 6
    Built in user auth/oauth
  • 6
    Awesome next-gen backend
  • 6
    Ios adaptor
  • 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
  • 290
    Free
  • 217
    Right out of github
  • 185
    Quick to set up
  • 108
    Instant
  • 107
    Easy to learn
  • 58
    Great way of setting up your project's website
  • 47
    Widely used
  • 41
    Quick and easy
  • 37
    Great documentation
  • 4
    Super easy
  • 3
    Easy setup
  • 2
    Instant and fast Jekyll builds
  • 2
    Great customer support
  • 2
    Great integration

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Cons of Firebase
Cons of GitHub Pages
  • 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
  • 4
    Not possible to perform HTTP redirects
  • 3
    Supports only Jekyll
  • 3
    Limited Jekyll plugins
  • 1
    Jekyll is bloated

Sign up to add or upvote consMake informed product decisions

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.

What is GitHub Pages?

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

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What companies use Firebase?
What companies use GitHub Pages?
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Blog Posts

What are some alternatives to Firebase and GitHub Pages?
Parse
With Parse, you can add a scalable and powerful backend in minutes and launch a full-featured app in record time without ever worrying about server management. We offer push notifications, social integration, data storage, and the ability to add rich custom logic to your app’s backend with Cloud Code.
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.
Heroku
Heroku is a cloud application platform – a new way of building and deploying web apps. Heroku lets app developers spend 100% of their time on their application code, not managing servers, deployment, ongoing operations, or scaling.
Auth0
A set of unified APIs and tools that instantly enables Single Sign On and user management to all your applications.
Realm
The Realm Mobile Platform is a next-generation data layer for applications. Realm is reactive, concurrent, and lightweight, allowing you to work with live, native objects.
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