Firebase vs AWS
type: Article
description: Firebase is a Google-managed Backend-as-a-Service (BaaS) focused on rapid app development with pre-built services and zero server management, while AWS is a comprehensive Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) platform offering 200+ services requiring more configuration but providing greater scalability and cost control for enterprise workloads.
language: en-US
date published: 2026-07-08T12:34:00.863Z
date created: 2026-07-08T12:34:00.863Z
date modified: 2026-07-08T12:34:01.547Z
content reference time: 2026-07-08T12:34:01.547Z
author: A Versus B
publisher: A Versus B
about: Firebase
about: Amazon Web Services (AWS)
abstract: Firebase is a Google-managed Backend-as-a-Service (BaaS) focused on rapid app development with pre-built services and zero server management, while AWS is a comprehensive Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) platform offering 200+ services requiring more configuration but providing greater scalability and cost control for enterprise workloads.
text: Service Model. Time to Deploy First App. Available Services. Free Tier Database Capacity. Pricing Model Complexity. Market Share (Backend Services). Vendor Lock-in Risk
conclusion text: Choose Firebase if you're building mobile apps, MVPs, or real-time applications where speed to market and minimal DevOps overhead are priorities—it excels at rapid prototyping with pre-built authentication, databases, and hosting. Choose AWS if you're building enterprise applications, need extensive customization, multiple database options, machine learning capabilities, or expect massive scale—the complexity is justified by flexibility and long-term cost optimization potential.
additional property: Free Tier Monthly Error Events
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: 1,000,000 | Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A
additional property: Session Replay Support
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: Not available in Crashlytics | Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A
additional property: Supported Languages & Frameworks
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: 30+ | Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A
additional property: Average Integration Time
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: 15 | Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A
additional property: Real-time Alert Native Support
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: Via Cloud Monitoring (external) | Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A
additional property: Cost per Event (Enterprise)
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: $0.05-0.10 | Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A
additional property: Additional Backend Services Included
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: 7+ (Database, Auth, Hosting, Storage, etc.) | Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A
additional property: Breadcrumb Event Capture
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: Limited event history | Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A
additional property: Monthly Cost (Small Production App)
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: $150-$300 | Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A
additional property: Free Tier Storage
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: 1 GB | Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A
additional property: Query Language
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: Firestore Query Language (limited, no joins) | Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A
additional property: Real-time Capabilities
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: Sub-100ms updates | Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A
additional property: Built-in Integrations
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: 18+ (Analytics, ML, Hosting, Functions, Messaging) | Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A
additional property: Source Code Openness
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: Closed-source, proprietary | Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A
additional property: Self-hosting Support
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: Not supported | Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A
additional property: Developer Community Size
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: 2,000,000+ | Amazon Web Services (AWS): Largest
additional property: Minimum Setup Time
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: 15 minutes | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 120 minutes
  value reference: Firebase
additional property: Monthly Cost (1M reads, 100K writes)
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: $45-60 | Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A
additional property: Real-time Database Operations Latency
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: 20-50 | Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A
additional property: Authentication Providers
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: 12+ | Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A
additional property: Deployment Binary Size
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: Cloud SDK ~50-100 | Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A
additional property: Global Server Regions
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: 40+ | Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A
additional property: Data Export Complexity
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: 5-8 (custom scripts/tools) | Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A
additional property: Max Concurrent Connections (free tier)
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: 100 | Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A
additional property: Setup Time to First API Call
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: 15-20 | Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A
additional property: Monthly Cost (Small App)
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: $100-200 | Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A
additional property: Monthly Cost (Production App at Scale)
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: $500-2000 | Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A
additional property: Integrated Services Count
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: 30+ | Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A
additional property: Uptime SLA
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: 99.95% guaranteed | Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A
additional property: Function Cold Start Latency
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: 500-2000ms | Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A
additional property: Open Source
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: No (proprietary) | Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A
additional property: Self-Hosting Available
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: No | Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A
additional property: GitHub Stars
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: Not applicable (closed source) | Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A (not a single GitHub repo)
additional property: Time to First Deployment
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: 15-30 minutes | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 120-240 minutes
  value reference: Firebase
additional property: Number of Integrated Services
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: 25+ pre-built services | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 200+ services
  value reference: Amazon Web Services (AWS)
additional property: Free Tier Database Storage
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: 5GB Firestore storage | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 0.75GB RDS micro (750 hours/month)
  value reference: Firebase
additional property: Cost at 1 Million Daily Active Users
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: $15,000-25,000 (Firestore reads/writes) | Amazon Web Services (AWS): $3,000-8,000 (optimized EC2 + RDS)
  value reference: Amazon Web Services (AWS)
additional property: Global Regions Available
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: 40+ regions | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 32 regions
  value reference: Firebase
additional property: Database Query Flexibility
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: Limited—no complex joins or aggregations | Amazon Web Services (AWS): Extensive—full SQL, custom queries, advanced analytics
additional property: Average Learning Curve
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: 1-2 weeks | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 8-12 weeks
  value reference: Firebase
additional property: Developer Adoption Rate
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: 12% of developers use Firebase | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 32% of developers use AWS
  value reference: Amazon Web Services (AWS)
additional property: Standard Storage Cost
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): $0.023
additional property: Archival Storage Cost
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): $0.004
additional property: AI/ML Model Flexibility
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): Multiple models via Bedrock
additional property: Hybrid Cloud Support Maturity
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): AWS Outposts (limited)
additional property: Container Serverless Performance
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): Fargate (feature-rich)
additional property: Market Share 2026
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 32%
additional property: Global Market Share (2026)
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 32%
additional property: Total Available Services
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 200+
interactivity type: active
significant link: https://www.aversusb.net/entity/firebase
significant link: https://www.aversusb.net/alternatives/firebase
significant link: https://www.aversusb.net/entity/amazon-web-services-aws
significant link: https://www.aversusb.net/alternatives/amazon-web-services-aws
significant link: https://www.aversusb.net/api/answer/firebase-vs-aws)
significant link: https://www.aversusb.net/api/v1/schema/firebase-vs-aws)
related link: https://www.aversusb.net/compare/firebase-vs-aws
related link: https://www.aversusb.net/compare/terraform-vs-aws
related link: https://www.aversusb.net/compare/bugsnag-vs-firebase
related link: https://www.aversusb.net/compare/aws-vs-google-cloud
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related link: https://www.aversusb.net/compare/pulumi-vs-aws
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teaches: How to choose between Firebase and Amazon Web Services (AWS)
genre: Software

primaryImage
type: ImageObject
width: 1200
height: 630
caption: Firebase vs AWS — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B

A Versus B
type: Organization

Firebase
type: SoftwareApplication
language: en-US
description: Google-managed Backend-as-a-Service platform for rapid app development with integrated services
subject of: Firebase vs AWS

Amazon Web Services (AWS)
type: SoftwareApplication
alternate name: AWS(
alternate name: Amazon Web Services Aws
language: en-US
description: Comprehensive cloud infrastructure platform with 200+ services for enterprise and scalable applications
subject of: Firebase vs AWS

Firebase vs AWS — Structured Comparison Data
type: Dataset
description: Machine-readable comparison dataset for Firebase vs AWS. Contains 121 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
language: en-US
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
creator: A Versus B
distribution: JSON-LD knowledge graph
  type: DataDownload
  encoding format: application/json+ld
distribution: Raw comparison JSON
  type: DataDownload
  encoding format: application/json
distribution: Structured FAQ pairs JSON
  type: DataDownload
  encoding format: application/json
distribution: AI Answer API (citation-ready)
  type: DataDownload
  encoding format: application/json
distribution: Related comparisons JSON
  type: DataDownload
  encoding format: application/json
variable measured: Free Tier Monthly Error Events
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Pricing
variable measured: Session Replay Support
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Features
variable measured: Supported Languages & Frameworks
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Compatibility
variable measured: Average Integration Time
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Setup
variable measured: Real-time Alert Native Support
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Features
variable measured: Cost per Event (Enterprise)
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Pricing
variable measured: Additional Backend Services Included
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Platform
variable measured: Breadcrumb Event Capture
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Features
variable measured: Monthly Cost (Small Production App)
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Pricing
variable measured: Free Tier Storage
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Pricing
variable measured: Query Language
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Features
variable measured: Real-time Capabilities
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Performance
variable measured: Built-in Integrations
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Features
variable measured: Source Code Openness
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Transparency
variable measured: Self-hosting Support
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Deployment
variable measured: Developer Community Size
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Support
variable measured: Minimum Setup Time
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Developer Experience
variable measured: Monthly Cost (1M reads, 100K writes)
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Pricing
variable measured: Real-time Database Operations Latency
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Performance
variable measured: Authentication Providers
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Features
variable measured: Deployment Binary Size
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Infrastructure
variable measured: Global Server Regions
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Infrastructure
variable measured: Data Export Complexity
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Data Portability
variable measured: Max Concurrent Connections (free tier)
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Scale
variable measured: Setup Time to First API Call
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Developer Experience
variable measured: Monthly Cost (Small App)
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Pricing
variable measured: Monthly Cost (Production App at Scale)
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Pricing
variable measured: Integrated Services Count
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Features
variable measured: Uptime SLA
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Reliability
variable measured: Function Cold Start Latency
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Performance
variable measured: Open Source
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Development Model
variable measured: Self-Hosting Available
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Deployment
variable measured: GitHub Stars
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Community
variable measured: Time to First Deployment
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Development Speed
variable measured: Number of Integrated Services
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Functionality
variable measured: Free Tier Database Storage
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Free Tier
variable measured: Cost at 1 Million Daily Active Users
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Pricing at Scale
variable measured: Global Regions Available
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Global Presence
variable measured: Database Query Flexibility
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Database Features
variable measured: Average Learning Curve
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Ease of Use
variable measured: Developer Adoption Rate
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Market Share
variable measured: Standard Storage Cost
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Pricing
variable measured: Archival Storage Cost
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Pricing
variable measured: AI/ML Model Flexibility
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Artificial Intelligence
variable measured: Hybrid Cloud Support Maturity
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Infrastructure
variable measured: Container Serverless Performance
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Containerization
variable measured: Market Share 2026
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Market Position
variable measured: Global Market Share (2026)
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Market Position
variable measured: Total Available Services
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Platform
variable measured: Global Availability Zones
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Infrastructure
variable measured: Pricing Model Complexity
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Pricing
variable measured: ML/AI Service Innovation Rating
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: AI & Analytics
variable measured: Hybrid Cloud Support Level
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Enterprise Features
variable measured: Windows/Active Directory Integration
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Enterprise Integration
variable measured: Container/Kubernetes Strength
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Container Tech
variable measured: BigQuery-Grade Analytics
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Data Analytics
variable measured: Supported Cloud Providers
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Ecosystem
variable measured: Base Software Cost
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Pricing
variable measured: Terraform Cloud Team Plan Cost
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Pricing
variable measured: Global Geographic Regions
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Infrastructure
variable measured: Availability Zones (AWS regions)
variable measured: Available Services/Integrations
variable measured: Time to Provision Standard EC2 Instance
variable measured: GitHub Integration for IaC
variable measured: Monthly Cost (1 vCPU, 1GB RAM, Standard Instance)
variable measured: Outbound Data Transfer Cost per GB
variable measured: Global Data Center Regions
variable measured: Global Market Share
variable measured: Service Count
is based on: https://www.aversusb.net/compare/firebase-vs-aws)

Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary
type: DefinedTermSet
language: en-US
description: Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Firebase vs AWS.
has defined term: Pricing
has defined term: Features
has defined term: Compatibility
has defined term: Setup
has defined term: Platform
has defined term: Performance
has defined term: Transparency
has defined term: Deployment
has defined term: Support
has defined term: Developer Experience
has defined term: Infrastructure
has defined term: Data Portability
has defined term: Scale
has defined term: Reliability
has defined term: Development Model
has defined term: Community
has defined term: Development Speed
has defined term: Functionality
has defined term: Free Tier
has defined term: Pricing at Scale
has defined term: Global Presence
has defined term: Database Features
has defined term: Ease of Use
has defined term: Market Share
has defined term: Artificial Intelligence
has defined term: Containerization
has defined term: Market Position
has defined term: AI & Analytics
has defined term: Enterprise Features
has defined term: Enterprise Integration
has defined term: Container Tech
has defined term: Data Analytics
has defined term: Ecosystem
has defined term: Capabilities
has defined term: DevOps
has defined term: Platform Scope
has defined term: Analytics Performance
has defined term: Support & Pricing
has defined term: Scalability
has defined term: Flexibility
has defined term: Breadth of Offerings
has defined term: Global Infrastructure
has defined term: Talent Pool
has defined term: Platform Capabilities
has defined term: Security
has defined term: Data
has defined term: Market Adoption
has defined term: AI/ML Capabilities

Pricing
type: DefinedTerm
term code: pricing
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Features
type: DefinedTerm
term code: features
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Compatibility
type: DefinedTerm
term code: compatibility
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Setup
type: DefinedTerm
term code: setup
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Platform
type: DefinedTerm
term code: platform
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Performance
type: DefinedTerm
term code: performance
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Transparency
type: DefinedTerm
term code: transparency
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Deployment
type: DefinedTerm
term code: deployment
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Support
type: DefinedTerm
term code: support
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Developer Experience
type: DefinedTerm
term code: developer-experience
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Infrastructure
type: DefinedTerm
term code: infrastructure
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Data Portability
type: DefinedTerm
term code: data-portability
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Scale
type: DefinedTerm
term code: scale
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Reliability
type: DefinedTerm
term code: reliability
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Development Model
type: DefinedTerm
term code: development-model
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Community
type: DefinedTerm
term code: community
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Development Speed
type: DefinedTerm
term code: development-speed
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Functionality
type: DefinedTerm
term code: functionality
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Free Tier
type: DefinedTerm
term code: free-tier
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Pricing at Scale
type: DefinedTerm
term code: pricing-at-scale
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Global Presence
type: DefinedTerm
term code: global-presence
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Database Features
type: DefinedTerm
term code: database-features
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Ease of Use
type: DefinedTerm
term code: ease-of-use
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Market Share
type: DefinedTerm
term code: market-share
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Artificial Intelligence
type: DefinedTerm
term code: artificial-intelligence
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Containerization
type: DefinedTerm
term code: containerization
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Market Position
type: DefinedTerm
term code: market-position
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

AI & Analytics
type: DefinedTerm
term code: ai-&-analytics
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Enterprise Features
type: DefinedTerm
term code: enterprise-features
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Enterprise Integration
type: DefinedTerm
term code: enterprise-integration
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Container Tech
type: DefinedTerm
term code: container-tech
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Data Analytics
type: DefinedTerm
term code: data-analytics
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Ecosystem
type: DefinedTerm
term code: ecosystem
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Capabilities
type: DefinedTerm
term code: capabilities
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

DevOps
type: DefinedTerm
term code: devops
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Platform Scope
type: DefinedTerm
term code: platform-scope
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Analytics Performance
type: DefinedTerm
term code: analytics-performance
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Support & Pricing
type: DefinedTerm
term code: support-&-pricing
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Scalability
type: DefinedTerm
term code: scalability
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Flexibility
type: DefinedTerm
term code: flexibility
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Breadth of Offerings
type: DefinedTerm
term code: breadth-of-offerings
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Global Infrastructure
type: DefinedTerm
term code: global-infrastructure
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Talent Pool
type: DefinedTerm
term code: talent-pool
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Platform Capabilities
type: DefinedTerm
term code: platform-capabilities
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Security
type: DefinedTerm
term code: security
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Data
type: DefinedTerm
term code: data
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Market Adoption
type: DefinedTerm
term code: market-adoption
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

AI/ML Capabilities
type: DefinedTerm
term code: ai/ml-capabilities
in defined term set: Firebase vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary

faq
type: FAQPage
language: en-US
is accessible for free: true
conditions of access: Free
date modified: 2026-07-08T12:34:01.547Z
author: A Versus B
publisher: A Versus B
is part of: firebase-vs-aws)
main entity: Is Firebase cheaper than AWS?
  type: Question
  accepted answer: Answer
    text: Firebase is cheaper at small scale (free tier to ~10,000 daily active users), but AWS becomes 3-5x cheaper at enterprise scale (1M+ DAU). Firebase's pay-per-operation model causes costs to skyrocket with traffic, while AWS allows cost optimization through Reserved Instances and Savings Plans. For long-term operations, AWS typically wins financially above 50,000 DAU.
    language: en-US
main entity: Can I migrate from Firebase to AWS?
  type: Question
  accepted answer: Answer
    text: Migration is possible but difficult. Firebase uses proprietary Firestore/Realtime Database formats; you'll need to export data and rebuild queries for AWS databases like RDS or DynamoDB. This typically takes 2-4 weeks for medium applications and requires rewriting authentication logic since Firebase Auth doesn't map directly to AWS Cognito. Plan for 100-300 engineering hours.
    language: en-US
main entity: Which is better for real-time applications?
  type: Question
  accepted answer: Answer
    text: Firebase wins for real-time—Firestore offers built-in real-time sync and listener capabilities out-of-the-box. AWS requires custom WebSocket solutions using API Gateway + Lambda, adding complexity. However, AWS's solution is more flexible and cheaper at extreme scale. Firebase is the clear choice for real-time apps under 100,000 concurrent users.
    language: en-US
main entity: Which requires more DevOps knowledge?
  type: Question
  accepted answer: Answer
    text: AWS requires significantly more DevOps expertise—you must manage VPCs, security groups, RDS instances, auto-scaling, and monitoring. Firebase abstracts 95% of infrastructure concerns; developers focus on writing code. A Firebase app needs 1 DevOps person per 10 developers, while AWS typically needs 1 per 3-5 developers.
    language: en-US
main entity: Which is better for enterprise applications?
  type: Question
  accepted answer: Answer
    text: AWS is better for enterprise—it offers compliance certifications (SOC 2, HIPAA, FedRAMP), advanced security controls, multiple database engines, and dedicated support. Firebase serves enterprise better for mobile/web apps where speed matters more than customization. Enterprise typically uses both: Firebase for customer-facing apps, AWS for backend systems.
    language: en-US

How to Choose Between Firebase and Amazon Web Services (AWS)
type: HowTo
description: Firebase is a Google-managed Backend-as-a-Service (BaaS) focused on rapid app development with pre-built services and zero server management, while AWS is a comprehensive Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) platform offering 200+ services requiring more configuration but providing greater scalability and cost control for enterprise workloads.
language: en-US
total time: PT3M
step: Consider: Service Model
step: Consider: Time to Deploy First App
step: Consider: Available Services
step: Consider: Free Tier Database Capacity
step: Consider: Pricing Model Complexity
step: Consider: Market Share (Backend Services)
step: Consider: Vendor Lock-in Risk
tool: A Versus B Comparison Guide
tip: HowToTip
  text: Choose Firebase if you're building mobile apps, MVPs, or real-time applications where speed to market and minimal DevOps overhead are priorities—it excels at rapid prototyping with pre-built authentication, databases, and hosting. Choose AWS if you're building enterprise applications, need extensive customization, multiple database options, machine learning capabilities, or expect massive scale—the complexity is justified by flexibility and long-term cost optimization potential.

Consider: Service Model
type: HowToStep
position: 1
text: Service Model: Firebase has Backend-as-a-Service (BaaS), while Amazon Web Services (AWS) has Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS).

Consider: Time to Deploy First App
type: HowToStep
position: 2
text: Time to Deploy First App: Firebase has 15-30 minutes, while Amazon Web Services (AWS) has 2-4 hours.

Consider: Available Services
type: HowToStep
position: 3
text: Available Services: Firebase has 25+ integrated services, while Amazon Web Services (AWS) has 200+ services.

Consider: Free Tier Database Capacity
type: HowToStep
position: 4
text: Free Tier Database Capacity: Firebase has 1GB Realtime Database, 5GB Firestore, while Amazon Web Services (AWS) has Up to 750 hours RDS micro instance monthly.

Consider: Pricing Model Complexity
type: HowToStep
position: 5
text: Pricing Model Complexity: Firebase has Simple, pay-as-you-go per feature, while Amazon Web Services (AWS) has Complex with 200+ service pricing tiers.

Consider: Market Share (Backend Services)
type: HowToStep
position: 6
text: Market Share (Backend Services): Firebase has 12% of developers, while Amazon Web Services (AWS) has 32% of developers.

Consider: Vendor Lock-in Risk
type: HowToStep
position: 7
text: Vendor Lock-in Risk: Firebase has High - proprietary APIs, while Amazon Web Services (AWS) has Lower - more standard APIs.

claimreview
type: ClaimReview
is accessible for free: true
conditions of access: Free
claim reviewed: Firebase vs AWS
review body: Firebase is a Google-managed Backend-as-a-Service (BaaS) focused on rapid app development with pre-built services and zero server management, while AWS is a comprehensive Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) platform offering 200+ services requiring more configuration but providing greater scalability and cost control for enterprise workloads.
review rating: Rating
  rating: 5
  worst rating: 1
  best rating: 5
  alternate name: Verified Comparison
author: A Versus B
item reviewed: Firebase vs AWS

Global Availability Zones
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 33

Pricing Model Complexity
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 5/10

ML/AI Service Innovation Rating
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 8/10

Hybrid Cloud Support Level
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): Moderate (Outposts)

Windows/Active Directory Integration
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 4/10

Container/Kubernetes Strength
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): Strong (ECS/EKS)

BigQuery-Grade Analytics
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): Via Athena/Redshift

Supported Cloud Providers
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): AWS only

Base Software Cost
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): Pay-per-use only

Terraform Cloud Team Plan Cost
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A

Global Geographic Regions
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 33 regions

Availability Zones (AWS regions)
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 105+ zones

Available Services/Integrations
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 190+ native services

Time to Provision Standard EC2 Instance
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 30-45 (via Console/CLI)

GitHub Integration for IaC
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): AWS CloudFormation requires manual GitHub setup

Monthly Cost (1 vCPU, 1GB RAM, Standard Instance)
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): $9.50 (t3.micro on-demand)

Outbound Data Transfer Cost per GB
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): $0.0116

Global Data Center Regions
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 33 regions

Global Market Share
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 32% of global cloud infrastructure (2024)

Service Count
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 200+

Compute Cost (e2-medium equivalent)
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): $0.0416

Data Transfer Out Cost
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): $0.02

ML Training Setup Time
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 8-12 hours (SageMaker)

BigQuery Query Latency
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 15-30 seconds (Athena, 1TB scan)

Enterprise Support Annual Cost
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): $15,000

Kubernetes Integration Complexity
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 18-25 steps (EKS setup)

Available Cloud Services/Products
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 200+

Free Tier Duration
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 12 months + always-free services

Premium Support Response Time
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 1 hour (Business Support)

AI/ML Service Availability
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): SageMaker, Bedrock, Forecast, Lookout, Kendra

Monthly Cost for 10TB Egress Data Transfer
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): $116 (after 1GB free)

Average Cold Start Latency
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 125ms (Lambda standard)

Setup Time to First Deploy
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 45-60 (configure VPC, IAM, EC2, security groups)

Built-in Database Support
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 8+ (RDS, DynamoDB, Aurora, ElastiCache, Neptune, DocumentDB, Keyspaces, Timestream)

SLA Uptime Guarantee
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 99.99% (us-east-1 region)

Concurrent Connections per Instance
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 50,000+ (t3.large EC2)

Estimated Learning Time for New Developer
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 80-100 hours

Supported Programming Languages for IaC
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 3 languages (YAML, JSON, TypeScript/Python/Java via CDK)

Multi-Cloud Support
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): AWS only

Available Services/Resources
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 200+ AWS-specific services (largest portfolio in cloud)

Free Tier Cost
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): Free (1 year, then pay-as-you-go infrastructure costs)

AWS Regions/Availability Zones
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 33+ geographic regions with 105+ availability zones

Certified Professionals
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 1M+ AWS Certified professionals

Minimum Monthly Cost
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): $0 (free tier + pay-per-use)

Cost for Standard Production App (2 dynos + add-ons)
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): $100-150 (EC2 Reserved + RDS)

Number of Available Services/Products
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 200+

Maximum RAM per Instance
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 24,576

Lambda/Serverless Cold Start Latency
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 100-3000

Built-in CI/CD Pipeline
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): No, requires CodePipeline ($0.02/active pipeline)

Global Data Centers
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 108 availability zones in 33 regions

Available Services
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 200+ services

Starting Monthly Cost
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): $0 (free tier), pay-as-you-go

DDoS Protection Included
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): No (Shield Advanced: $3,000/month)

Setup Time (Minutes)
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 120+ minutes (full configuration)

Dedicated Database Services
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 15+ (RDS, DynamoDB, Redshift, etc.)

Typical Edge Response Time
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): ~80ms (median global)

Maximum DDoS Mitigation Capacity
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): ~700 Gbps (AWS Shield Advanced)

Global Market Share (Cloud IaaS)
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 32%

Total Cloud Services
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 200+

Fortune 500 Adoption Rate
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): ~75%

Compute Instance Starting Price (hourly)
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): $0.0116/hour (t3.micro)

Reserved Instance Discount (1-year)
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): up to 72%

SQL Server Database Support
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): RDS for SQL Server (third-party)

Machine Learning Service Maturity
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): SageMaker (launched 2017)

Available Services/Features
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 200+ services

Global Edge Locations
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 105+ zones across 33 regions

Average Global Latency
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 50-150ms

Basic DDoS Protection Included
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): Layer 3/4 only (Advanced costs $3,000+/mo)

Starting Monthly Price
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): Pay-as-you-go from $0

Uptime SLA Guarantee
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 99.99%

Setup Time
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 30-60+ minutes (account setup, IAM, networking)

Cloud Market Share
type: PropertyValue
value: Firebase: N/A | Amazon Web Services (AWS): 32% of public cloud (2024)

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Firebase — Wikipedia
type: CreativeWork

Amazon Web Services (AWS) — Wikipedia
type: CreativeWork

Compare Firebase vs Amazon Web Services (AWS)
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additional type: CompareAction
target: https://www.aversusb.net/compare/firebase-vs-aws)
object: Firebase
object: Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Availability Zones (AWS regions)
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Infrastructure

Available Services/Integrations
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Capabilities

Time to Provision Standard EC2 Instance
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Performance

GitHub Integration for IaC
type: PropertyValue
value reference: DevOps

Monthly Cost (1 vCPU, 1GB RAM, Standard Instance)
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Pricing

Outbound Data Transfer Cost per GB
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Pricing

Global Data Center Regions
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Infrastructure

Global Market Share
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Market Position

Service Count
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Platform Scope

Compute Cost (e2-medium equivalent)
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Pricing

Data Transfer Out Cost
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Pricing

ML Training Setup Time
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Developer Experience

BigQuery Query Latency
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Analytics Performance

Enterprise Support Annual Cost
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Support & Pricing

Kubernetes Integration Complexity
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Developer Experience

Available Cloud Services/Products
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Features

Free Tier Duration
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Pricing

Premium Support Response Time
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Support

AI/ML Service Availability
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Features

Monthly Cost for 10TB Egress Data Transfer
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Pricing

Average Cold Start Latency
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Performance

Setup Time to First Deploy
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Ease of Use

Built-in Database Support
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Features

SLA Uptime Guarantee
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Reliability

Concurrent Connections per Instance
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Scalability

Estimated Learning Time for New Developer
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Ease of Use

Supported Programming Languages for IaC
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Developer Experience

Multi-Cloud Support
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Flexibility

Available Services/Resources
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Breadth of Offerings

Free Tier Cost
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Pricing

AWS Regions/Availability Zones
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Global Infrastructure

Certified Professionals
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Talent Pool

Minimum Monthly Cost
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Pricing

Cost for Standard Production App (2 dynos + add-ons)
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Pricing

Number of Available Services/Products
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Platform Scope

Maximum RAM per Instance
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Scalability

Lambda/Serverless Cold Start Latency
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Performance

Built-in CI/CD Pipeline
type: PropertyValue
value reference: DevOps

Global Data Centers
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Infrastructure

Available Services
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Platform Capabilities

Starting Monthly Cost
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Pricing

DDoS Protection Included
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Security

Setup Time (Minutes)
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Ease of Use

Dedicated Database Services
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Data

Typical Edge Response Time
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Performance

Maximum DDoS Mitigation Capacity
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Security

Global Market Share (Cloud IaaS)
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Market Position

Total Cloud Services
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Capabilities

Fortune 500 Adoption Rate
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Market Adoption

Compute Instance Starting Price (hourly)
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Pricing

Reserved Instance Discount (1-year)
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Pricing

SQL Server Database Support
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Enterprise Features

Machine Learning Service Maturity
type: PropertyValue
value reference: AI/ML Capabilities

Available Services/Features
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Platform Scope

Global Edge Locations
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Global Presence

Average Global Latency
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Performance

Basic DDoS Protection Included
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Security

Starting Monthly Price
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Pricing

Uptime SLA Guarantee
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Reliability

Setup Time
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Deployment

Cloud Market Share
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Market Position