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Firebase

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OneSignal

328
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126
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Firebase vs OneSignal: What are the differences?

Developers describe Firebase as "The Realtime App Platform". 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. On the other hand, OneSignal is detailed as "Free Mobile and Web Push Notifications". Free mobile and web push notification service.

Firebase and OneSignal are primarily classified as "Realtime Backend / API" and "Mobile Push Messaging" tools respectively.

Some of the features offered by Firebase are:

  • 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.

On the other hand, OneSignal provides the following key features:

  • Multiplatform notifications
  • Web Push Support
  • Safari Push Notifications

"Realtime backend made easy" is the top reason why over 318 developers like Firebase, while over 18 developers mention "More parametrable" as the leading cause for choosing OneSignal.

According to the StackShare community, Firebase has a broader approval, being mentioned in 859 company stacks & 997 developers stacks; compared to OneSignal, which is listed in 55 company stacks and 15 developer stacks.

Advice on Firebase and OneSignal
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 · 422.6K 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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Pros of Firebase
Pros of OneSignal
  • 369
    Realtime backend made easy
  • 268
    Fast and responsive
  • 240
    Easy setup
  • 213
    Real-time
  • 190
    JSON
  • 133
    Free
  • 126
    Backed by google
  • 82
    Angular adaptor
  • 67
    Reliable
  • 35
    Great customer support
  • 31
    Great documentation
  • 25
    Real-time synchronization
  • 21
    Mobile friendly
  • 18
    Rapid prototyping
  • 14
    Great security
  • 12
    Automatic scaling
  • 11
    Freakingly awesome
  • 8
    Chat
  • 8
    Super fast development
  • 8
    Angularfire is an amazing addition!
  • 6
    Built in user auth/oauth
  • 6
    Firebase hosting
  • 6
    Awesome next-gen backend
  • 6
    Ios adaptor
  • 4
    Speed of light
  • 4
    Very easy to use
  • 3
    It's made development super fast
  • 3
    Brilliant for startups
  • 3
    Great
  • 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
    I can quickly create static web apps with no backend
  • 2
    Great all-round functionality
  • 2
    Push notification
  • 2
    Free authentication solution
  • 1
    Simple and easy
  • 1
    Free SSL
  • 1
    Faster workflow
  • 1
    Easy Reactjs integration
  • 1
    Easy to use
  • 1
    Large
  • 1
    Google's support
  • 1
    Serverless
  • 1
    Good Free Limits
  • 1
    CDN & cache out of the box
  • 28
    Free of cost
  • 22
    More parametrable
  • 17
    Simple and Easy To Use. Well Documented :)
  • 13
    Device to device
  • 12
    Simple
  • 9
    Many Platforms
  • 9
    Great support
  • 8
    Free
  • 4
    Flexibility in working with web, android and iOS
  • 4
    Phonegap / Cordova / Ionic starters

Sign up to add or upvote prosMake informed product decisions

Cons of Firebase
Cons of OneSignal
  • 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
    Be the first to leave a con

    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 OneSignal?

    OneSignal is a high volume push notification service for websites and mobile applications. OneSignal supports all major native and mobile platforms by providing dedicated SDKs for each platform, a RESTful server API, and a dashboard.

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

    What companies use Firebase?
    What companies use OneSignal?
    See which teams inside your own company are using Firebase or OneSignal.
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    What tools integrate with Firebase?
    What tools integrate with OneSignal?

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    Blog Posts

    Nov 20 2019 at 3:38AM

    OneSignal

    PostgreSQLRedisRuby+8
    9
    4474
    GitNode.jsFirebase+5
    7
    2245
    What are some alternatives to Firebase and OneSignal?
    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.
    See all alternatives