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

Firebase

40.5K
34.3K
+ 1
2K
Parse

522
478
+ 1
600
Add tool

Firebase vs Parse: What are the differences?

Firebase and Parse are both mobile and web app development platforms that provide backend services. While they share similarities, there are several key differences between the two.

  1. Pricing Model: Firebase offers a flexible pricing model, where users can pay based on their usage. In contrast, Parse had a fixed pricing model but is now open source and free to use. Firebase's pricing structure allows for more scalability and cost-effectiveness, especially for smaller projects.

  2. Real-time Database: Firebase is known for its real-time database, which allows for synchronization across multiple devices in real-time. Parse, on the other hand, does not offer a native real-time database feature. This makes Firebase a better choice for applications that require real-time updates and collaborative features.

  3. Push Notifications: Firebase provides a robust and easy-to-use push notification service, Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM). Parse also offers push notifications, but Firebase's FCM has more advanced features and provides better overall performance and delivery.

  4. Analytics and Crash Reporting: Firebase includes a comprehensive analytics and crash reporting tool called Firebase Analytics and Firebase Crashlytics. Parse does not offer any built-in analytics or crash reporting functionalities. This makes Firebase a preferable choice for developers who prioritize data-driven optimization and bug tracking.

  5. Authentication: Firebase provides a wide range of authentication options, including email/password, Google, Facebook, and Twitter sign-in. Parse offers basic email/password authentication but lacks the plethora of authentication methods available in Firebase. This makes Firebase a better choice for applications that require diverse authentication options.

  6. Offline Support: Firebase's real-time database and Firestore have built-in offline support, allowing the app to function without an internet connection. Parse, on the other hand, does not have native offline support. This makes Firebase more suitable for applications that need to work seamlessly both online and offline.

In summary, Firebase offers a more flexible pricing model, a real-time database, advanced push notification services, extensive analytics and crash reporting tools, diverse authentication options, and built-in offline support compared to Parse.

Advice on Firebase and Parse
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.

See more
Replies (3)
Timothy Malstead
Junior Full Stack Developer at Freelance · | 7 upvotes · 461.1K 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.

See more
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

See more
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

See more
Get Advice from developers at your company using StackShare Enterprise. Sign up for StackShare Enterprise.
Learn More
Pros of Firebase
Pros of Parse
  • 371
    Realtime backend made easy
  • 270
    Fast and responsive
  • 242
    Easy setup
  • 215
    Real-time
  • 191
    JSON
  • 134
    Free
  • 128
    Backed by google
  • 83
    Angular adaptor
  • 68
    Reliable
  • 36
    Great customer support
  • 32
    Great documentation
  • 25
    Real-time synchronization
  • 21
    Mobile friendly
  • 18
    Rapid prototyping
  • 14
    Great security
  • 12
    Automatic scaling
  • 11
    Freakingly awesome
  • 8
    Super fast development
  • 8
    Angularfire is an amazing addition!
  • 8
    Chat
  • 6
    Built in user auth/oauth
  • 6
    Ios adaptor
  • 6
    Awesome next-gen backend
  • 6
    Firebase hosting
  • 4
    Speed of light
  • 4
    Very easy to use
  • 3
    Great
  • 3
    It's made development super fast
  • 3
    Brilliant for startups
  • 2
    The concurrent updates create a great experience
  • 2
    Push notification
  • 2
    .net
  • 2
    Cloud functions
  • 2
    Free hosting
  • 2
    Free authentication solution
  • 2
    JS Offline and Sync suport
  • 2
    Low battery consumption
  • 2
    I can quickly create static web apps with no backend
  • 2
    Great all-round functionality
  • 1
    Large
  • 1
    Easy to use
  • 1
    Free SSL
  • 1
    Faster workflow
  • 1
    Google's support
  • 1
    CDN & cache out of the box
  • 1
    Easy Reactjs integration
  • 1
    Simple and easy
  • 1
    Good Free Limits
  • 1
    Serverless
  • 118
    Easy setup
  • 78
    Free hosting
  • 62
    Well-documented
  • 52
    Cheap
  • 47
    Use push notifications in 3 lines of code
  • 41
    Fast
  • 39
    Cloud code
  • 32
    Good for prototypes
  • 31
    Cloud modules
  • 27
    Backed by facebook
  • 7
    Cross Platform
  • 7
    Parse Push
  • 6
    Parse Analytics
  • 6
    Multiplatform
  • 6
    Parse Core
  • 5
    Quick chat and profile capabilities
  • 5
    Free Tier
  • 5
    Cloud Based
  • 4
    Free
  • 4
    Nice security concept
  • 3
    Backbone Models
  • 3
    Local Datastore
  • 3
    Backend as a service
  • 3
    Geopoints
  • 2
    Easy to use
  • 2
    Anonymous Users
  • 2
    About to Die

Sign up to add or upvote prosMake informed product decisions

Cons of Firebase
Cons of Parse
  • 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 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.

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

    What companies use Firebase?
    What companies use Parse?
    See which teams inside your own company are using Firebase or Parse.
    Sign up for StackShare EnterpriseLearn More

    Sign up to get full access to all the companiesMake informed product decisions

    What tools integrate with Firebase?
    What tools integrate with Parse?

    Sign up to get full access to all the tool integrationsMake informed product decisions

    Blog Posts

    GitNode.jsFirebase+5
    7
    2343
    What are some alternatives to Firebase and Parse?
    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.
    Contentful
    With Contentful, you can bring your content anywhere using our APIs, completely customize your content structure all while using your preferred programming languages and frameworks.
    See all alternatives