Overview

Firebase

Stacks42.2K

Followers36.0K

Votes2.0K

Microsoft Azure

Stacks25.2K

Followers17.6K

Votes768

Firebase vs Microsoft Azure: What are the differences?

Firebase is known for its simplicity, real-time database, and seamless integration with mobile and web applications, while Microsoft Azure provides a robust and scalable cloud ecosystem with extensive support for various programming languages and services, making it suitable for enterprise-level solutions.

Integration with Other Services: One key difference between Firebase and Microsoft Azure is their level of integration with other services. Firebase is tightly integrated with other Google services such as Google Cloud Platform, Google Analytics, and Google AdMob, making it easier to incorporate these services into your app. Microsoft Azure, on the other hand, offers integration with various Microsoft products and services, including Azure Active Directory, Office 365, and Dynamics 365.
Pricing Model: Another important difference is the pricing model of Firebase and Microsoft Azure. Firebase provides a pay-as-you-go pricing model, where you pay for the resources your app consumes. It offers a free tier with limited usage and additional paid plans based on your app's requirements. Microsoft Azure, on the other hand, offers a more complex pricing structure with different pricing options for various services. It provides both pay-as-you-go and subscription-based models, allowing you to choose the most suitable option based on your app's needs.
Support for Different Platforms: Firebase is primarily focused on mobile and web applications. It provides a comprehensive set of tools and services specifically designed for developing apps for iOS, Android, and the web. Microsoft Azure, on the other hand, offers a wider range of services that cater to various platforms including mobile, web, desktop, and even IoT. It provides extensive support for different programming languages and frameworks, making it suitable for a diverse range of application development scenarios.
Database Options: Firebase primarily offers a NoSQL database called Cloud Firestore, which is designed for scalable, real-time applications. It provides real-time synchronization and offline support out of the box. Microsoft Azure, on the other hand, provides various database options including Azure Cosmos DB, Azure SQL Database, and Azure Database for PostgreSQL.
Serverless Computing: Firebase offers a serverless computing platform called Firebase Cloud Functions. With Cloud Functions, developers can write small pieces of code that execute in response to events, such as changes to data in the Firestore database. Microsoft Azure provides a similar serverless computing platform called Azure Functions, which allows developers to execute code in a serverless environment.

In summary, Firebase is tightly integrated with Google services, offers a simpler pricing model, and focuses on mobile and web applications. Microsoft Azure provides a wider range of services, supports various platforms, offers different database options, and provides a comprehensive serverless computing platform.

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Advice on Firebase, Microsoft Azure

Jared

Contractor at Insight Global

Aug 9, 2019

Reviewon

Firebase

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

Jul 16, 2020

Needs adviceon

Node.js

ExpressJS

React

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

Eric

Owner at The Richner Group

Sep 24, 2020

Needs adviceon

React

Elasticsearch

Firebase

We are starting to work on a web-based platform aiming to connect investors/wholesalers (clients) and buyers (service providers). A third service provider, lenders, will be added in the future.

The ability to create profiles of buyers w/ their buying criteria, to create saved records of properties for sale (provided by client) to be cross-referenced against the buyers' criteria is our core functionality.

In-app, timeline-based, real-time communication between users (& storing it), file transfers, and push notifications are post MVP features we would like as well.

We are considering using React, Elasticsearch / App Search w/ their Search UI, and using Real-Time Database and functionalities of Firebase.

30k views30k

Comments

Detailed Comparison

Firebase	Microsoft Azure
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.	Azure is an open and flexible cloud platform that enables you to quickly build, deploy and manage applications across a global network of Microsoft-managed datacenters. You can build applications using any language, tool or framework. And you can integrate your public cloud applications with your existing IT environment.
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.	Use your OS, language, database, tool;Global datacenter footprint;Enterprise Grade with up to a 99.95% monthly SLA;Web Sites- Get started for free and scale up as your traffic grows. Build with ASP.NET, PHP or Node.js and deploy in seconds with FTP, Git or TFS.;Infrastructure Services- Access scalable, on-demand infrastructure using Virtual Machines and Virtual Networks. Take advantage of what you already know to achieve new capabilities in the cloud.;Mobile Services- App development with a scalable and secure backend hosted in Windows Azure. Incorporate structured storage, user authentication and push notifications in minutes.;Cloud Services- Create highly-available, infinitely scalable applications and services using a rich Platform as a Service (PaaS) environment. Support multi-tier scenarios, automated deployments and elastic scale.;Big Data- Process, analyze, and gain new insights from big data using the power of Apache Hadoop.;Media- Create, manage and distribute media in the cloud. This PaaS offering provides everything from encoding to content protection to streaming and analytics support.
Statistics
Stacks 42.2K	Stacks 25.2K
Followers 36.0K	Followers 17.6K
Votes 2.0K	Votes 768
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 114 Scales well and quite easy 96 Can use .Net or open source tools 81 Startup friendly 73 Startup plans via BizSpark 62 High performance Cons 7 Confusing UI 2 Expensive plesk on Azure
Integrations
Trigger.io Famo.us Backbone.js Ember.js AngularJS React	New Relic Twilio SendGrid Cloudinary Redis Cloud Bitnami AWS Cloud9 MongoLab AppDynamics Cloudant CopperEgg

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