Firebase vs Realm: What are the differences?

Introduction

Firebase and Realm are both popular tools for building and managing databases in mobile and web applications. While they serve similar purposes, there are key differences between the two.

1. Integrations and Data Sources: Firebase supports a wide range of integrations with other Google products, as well as various data sources such as Cloud Firestore and Realtime Database. On the other hand, Realm primarily focuses on mobile platforms and offers easy integration with mobile operating systems like iOS and Android, with support for offline capabilities.

2. Data Synchronization: Firebase provides real-time data synchronization out of the box, allowing multiple users to simultaneously access and update the same data. Realm also offers real-time synchronization, but it utilizes its own synchronization protocol called Realm Sync, which provides a more seamless and efficient experience, especially with large datasets.

3. Query Capabilities: Firebase offers a flexible and powerful querying system with its Firestore, allowing developers to filter, sort, and paginate data effortlessly. Realm, on the other hand, provides efficient query capabilities, particularly when working with large amounts of data on mobile devices. Its queries are based on its own query language called Realm Query Language (RQL), which is easy to use and highly performant.

4. Data Modeling and Schema: Firebase provides a schema-less structure, allowing developers to store and retrieve data without predefined schemas. This provides more flexibility but may also result in less control over data consistency and validation. Realm, on the other hand, utilizes an object-oriented approach and enforces a predefined schema, allowing for stronger data consistency and integrity.

5. Deployment and Pricing: Firebase offers a robust infrastructure and easy deployment options through Google Cloud Platform. It provides both free and paid plans, with pricing based on usage and additional features. Realm, on the other hand, can be deployed on-premises or on any cloud provider. It offers a Community Edition for free, as well as a paid Enterprise Edition with additional features and support.

6. Developer Community and Ecosystem: Firebase has a large and active developer community, offering extensive documentation, tutorials, and support resources. It integrates well with other Google services and has a wide range of third-party libraries and tools. Realm also has a growing developer community, with comprehensive documentation and support resources. It offers a rich ecosystem of open-source libraries and frameworks for various platforms.

In summary, Firebase provides extensive integrations, real-time synchronization, powerful querying capabilities, flexible data modeling, easy deployment options, and a large developer community. Realm, on the other hand, focuses on mobile platforms, offers efficient synchronization and querying, enforces a predefined schema, provides flexible deployment options, and has a growing developer community.