StackShareStackShare
Follow on
StackShare

Discover and share technology stacks from companies around the world.

Follow on

© 2025 StackShare. All rights reserved.

Product

  • Stacks
  • Tools
  • Feed

Company

  • About
  • Contact

Legal

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  1. Stackups
  2. Application & Data
  3. Platform as a Service
  4. Realtime Backend API
  5. Firebase vs Realm React Native

Firebase vs Realm React Native

OverviewDecisionsComparisonAlternatives

Overview

Firebase
Firebase
Stacks42.5K
Followers36.0K
Votes2.0K
Realm React Native
Realm React Native
Stacks45
Followers167
Votes1
GitHub Stars6.0K
Forks607

Firebase vs Realm React Native: What are the differences?

  1. Scalability: Firebase is a cloud-based platform that offers scalable infrastructure for building and scaling mobile and web applications. It provides real-time database and cloud storage services, making it suitable for applications with high scalability requirements. On the other hand, Realm React Native is a mobile database solution that is embedded within the application itself, allowing for better performance and control over data management. However, its scalability is limited as it relies on the device's storage capacity.
  2. Real-time synchronization: Firebase provides real-time synchronization out of the box, allowing multiple users to collaborate and see updates in real-time. It uses the Firebase Realtime Database, which updates data on all connected devices in milliseconds. In contrast, Realm React Native also supports real-time synchronization but requires additional implementation. It provides features like event-based notifications for data changes, but the implementation requires more manual effort.
  3. Data modeling: Firebase uses a NoSQL data modeling approach, supporting flexible and schema-less data structures. It allows you to store and retrieve complex data structures with ease. On the other hand, Realm React Native uses a schema-based data modeling approach, where you define the schema upfront. This provides better data consistency and validation, but may require more effort for complex data relationships.
  4. Offline capabilities: Firebase offers robust offline capabilities, allowing applications to continue functioning even without an internet connection. It provides features like offline data synchronization and local caching. Realm React Native also supports offline capabilities and provides an offline-first approach. It can handle local data storage and synchronization with the server when the device is back online.
  5. Authentication and security: Firebase provides a comprehensive authentication system, supporting various authentication providers like email/password, Google, Facebook, etc. It also offers built-in security rules that allow fine-grained access control to data. Realm React Native, on the other hand, does not provide built-in authentication and security mechanisms. You would need to implement your own authentication system and manage data access control manually.
  6. Integration and ecosystem: Firebase has a vast integration ecosystem with various other services like Cloud Functions, Cloud Storage, Machine Learning, etc. It provides a complete suite of tools for developing, deploying, and scaling applications. Realm React Native, although has a smaller ecosystem, provides integration with popular third-party tools and frameworks like Redux, GraphQL, etc. It allows developers to leverage their existing knowledge and tools.

In Summary, Firebase and Realm React Native differ in terms of scalability, real-time synchronization, data modeling, offline capabilities, authentication and security, and integration ecosystem. Firebase offers a scalable infrastructure with real-time synchronization, NoSQL data modeling, robust offline capabilities, built-in authentication and security, and a comprehensive integration ecosystem. Realm React Native, on the other hand, offers better performance and control with its embedded database, real-time synchronization with additional implementation, schema-based data modeling, offline-first approach, requirement of custom authentication and security implementation, and integration with popular third-party tools.

Share your Stack

Help developers discover the tools you use. Get visibility for your team's tech choices and contribute to the community's knowledge.

View Docs
CLI (Node.js)
or
Manual

Advice on Firebase, Realm React Native

Jared
Jared

Contractor at Insight Global

Aug 9, 2019

ReviewonFirebaseFirebase

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
Noam

Jul 16, 2020

Needs adviceonNode.jsNode.jsExpressJSExpressJSReactReact

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
Firebase
Realm React Native
Realm React Native

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.

Realm JavaScript enables you to efficiently write your app’s model layer in a safe, persisted and fast way. It’s designed to work with React Native and Node.js.

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.
-
Statistics
GitHub Stars
-
GitHub Stars
6.0K
GitHub Forks
-
GitHub Forks
607
Stacks
42.5K
Stacks
45
Followers
36.0K
Followers
167
Votes
2.0K
Votes
1
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
  • 1
    Reactive Database
Integrations
Trigger.io
Trigger.io
Famo.us
Famo.us
Backbone.js
Backbone.js
Ember.js
Ember.js
AngularJS
AngularJS
React
React
React Native
React Native

What are some alternatives to Firebase, Realm React Native?

Socket.IO

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

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

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

SignalR

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Related Comparisons

Bootstrap
Materialize

Bootstrap vs Materialize

Laravel
Django

Django vs Laravel vs Node.js

Bootstrap
Foundation

Bootstrap vs Foundation vs Material UI

Node.js
Spring Boot

Node.js vs Spring-Boot

Liquibase
Flyway

Flyway vs Liquibase