Overview

Firebase

Stacks42.2K

Followers36.0K

Votes2.0K

React Native Firebase

Stacks85

Followers118

Votes4

GitHub Stars12.1K

Forks2.3K

Firebase vs React Native Firebase: What are the differences?

Introduction

Firebase and React Native Firebase are both popular platforms for building mobile and web applications. While they share some similarities, there are key differences between the two.

Features: Firebase provides a comprehensive set of features, including authentication, real-time database, storage, hosting, and analytics. React Native Firebase, on the other hand, is a set of libraries specifically designed for working with Firebase in a React Native environment. It provides a simplified interface and focuses on the key Firebase features commonly used in React Native projects.
Integration: Firebase requires integration with various platforms and frameworks, such as Android, iOS, and web. It provides specific SDKs for each platform, making it versatile but also requiring additional setup. React Native Firebase, as the name suggests, is primarily designed for integration with React Native applications. It offers a more streamlined integration process, providing a unified API across platforms.
Performance: Firebase has been around for a longer time and has a proven track record in terms of performance and scalability. It has been widely adopted by developers globally, and its infrastructure is designed to handle high loads and ensure real-time updates. React Native Firebase benefits from Firebase's performance capabilities, but it also leverages React Native's performance optimizations, such as native module integration and asynchronous rendering.
Development Experience: Firebase offers a web-based console that allows developers to manage their projects, set up authentication rules, and perform various tasks without writing code. It provides a visual interface for testing and debugging. React Native Firebase, on the other hand, focuses on providing a developer-friendly experience through its React Native libraries. It leverages the familiar React Native development workflow, allowing developers to use JavaScript to interact with Firebase services.
Community Support: Firebase has a large and active community of developers due to its popularity and extensive documentation. It has been extensively used in a wide range of applications and has comprehensive documentation, tutorials, and sample projects available. React Native Firebase, although relatively newer, also has a growing community. However, the breadth and depth of community support may not be on par with the larger Firebase community.
Extensibility: Firebase offers the ability to extend its functionality through Cloud Functions and Cloud Firestore triggers. It allows developers to add server-side logic and respond to events within the Firebase ecosystem. React Native Firebase, being a set of React Native libraries, also allows extensibility. However, the options may be more limited compared to using Firebase directly.

In summary, Firebase is a comprehensive platform with a wide range of features and extensive community support. React Native Firebase, on the other hand, provides a focused set of libraries specifically designed for working with Firebase in a React Native environment, offering simplified integration and a more streamlined development experience.

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Advice on Firebase, React Native Firebase

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.

271k views271k

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

Detailed Comparison

Firebase	React Native 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.	RNFirebase is a light-weight layer sitting on-top of the native Firebase libraries for both iOS and Android which mirrors the Firebase Web SDK as closely as possible.
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.	firebase; analytics; push-notifications; firebase-cloud-messaging; authentication; realtime-database; storage; transactions; remote-config; crash-reporting; performance-monitoring;
Statistics
GitHub Stars -	GitHub Stars 12.1K
GitHub Forks -	GitHub Forks 2.3K
Stacks 42.2K	Stacks 85
Followers 36.0K	Followers 118
Votes 2.0K	Votes 4
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 2 Feature-rich 2 Well supported
Integrations
Trigger.io Famo.us Backbone.js Ember.js AngularJS React	React Native

What are some alternatives to Firebase, React Native Firebase?

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 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.

Pusher

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

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 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.

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.

NATS

Unlike traditional enterprise messaging systems, NATS has an always-on dial tone that does whatever it takes to remain available. This forms a great base for building modern, reliable, and scalable cloud and distributed systems.

SocketCluster

SocketCluster is a fast, highly scalable HTTP + realtime server engine which lets you build multi-process realtime servers that make use of all CPU cores on a machine/instance. It removes the limitations of having to run your Node.js server as a single thread and makes your backend resilient by automatically recovering from worker crashes and aggregating errors into a central log.

deepstream.io

Scalable Server for Realtime Web Apps with JSON structures that can be read, manipulated and listened to, messages that can be sent to one or more subscribers, and request response workflows, between two clients or servers.

8base

A cloud service designed to power enterprise-grade web and mobile applications that require support for large numbers of users, complex data and transactional requirements, comprehensive role-based security and a modern look-and-feel.