Firebase vs Parse: What are the differences?

Firebase: 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; Parse: The complete mobile app platform. 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.

Firebase can be classified as a tool in the "Realtime Backend / API" category, while Parse is grouped under "Mobile Backend".

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, Parse provides the following key features:

• Store basic data types, locations, photos
• Update over the air
• Data browser lets you manage, search, and update content without writing a single line of code

"Realtime backend made easy", "Fast and responsive" and "Easy setup" are the key factors why developers consider Firebase; whereas "Easy setup", "Free hosting" and "Well-documented" are the primary reasons why Parse is favored.

Instacart, 9GAG, and Twitch are some of the popular companies that use Firebase, whereas Parse is used by 500px, Movielala, and Weebly. Firebase has a broader approval, being mentioned in 859 company stacks & 992 developers stacks; compared to Parse, which is listed in 92 company stacks and 44 developer stacks.