What are the best open source MBaaS?

Would you like to use an open-source Mobile Backend as a Service (MBaaS) solution for your next app development project?

This article describes the various pricing models, core features you need, and the top ten open-source platforms today.

Since the advent of cloud computing, the industry has grown exponentially due to its many benefits.  Many businesses prefer to build, release, and maintain their web or mobile apps on the cloud.

Startups, small businesses, and large companies are using MBaaS solutions to host apps and other business needs. 

While Backend as a Service offers good solutions, the open-source options make it even better. The many open-source Backend as a Service providers out there makes the process of selecting one overwhelming. 

 To help make your research easier, this article describes the best 10 open-source MBaaS providers along with their pricing models and platform features. 

Introducing Mobile Backend as a Service

Mobile Backend as a Service provides cloud infrastructure and other resources you need to establish and manage backend development tasks.

They handle outsourced backend services by taking care of server maintenance while you, the developer can focus on the frontend development.

Besides the infrastructure, the MBaaS platform also provides tools that speed up development and simplifies backend code creation.  

For instance, many MBaaS providers offer APIs, Cloud Code functions, databases, file storage, social media integration, push notifications, and many other valuable services.  

MBaaS creates value for app development projects by lowering development costs, enhancing faster development, and empowering platform users to focus on their core business. 

MBaaS Core Features

The major features of MBaaS platforms are as follows:

Realtime Databases

The real-time database is arguable the most important feature that attracts developers and businesses to MBaaS platforms.  

This type of database receives and updates information instantly, they also store data on client devices when a device is offline and syncs with the database when the connection is restored.

User Authentication

The procedure for authentication and storing sensitive data on the cloud is complicated.  However, every MBaaS developer can implement top-notch security features for an app without advanced security expertise. 

MBaaS provides multiple authentication methods, such as social media apps, email, passwords, and phone numbers.

Notifications

Open-source mobile backend as a service platform allows app owners to actively engage their users through various types of notifications.

Developers can easily implement functions like push notifications, email notifications, in-app messaging, and much more. The procedure is simple, just enable the notification functions and you are good to go.

Integrations

With MBaaS platforms, third-party integrations through APIs and apps are straightforward.  These platforms also allow you to integrate SDKs and third-party libraries to add value to your development project.

Cloud Storage

Many MBaaS providers offer unlimited cloud storage. While most platforms that offer a free plan impose limits, the premium plans are based on server resources used, so you can scale your storage requirements are the need arises.

Advantages of a MBaaS

Secure & Scalable 

MBaaS offers developers a high level of flexibility. For instance, a developer can host a new app at minimal costs due to low resource usage.

However, as the app userbase grows, MBaaS handles vertical and horizontal scaling to accommodate server resource demands.  Integration of advanced security features such as custom permissions, 2FA, and other safety features are hassle-free. 

Cost-Efficient 

When compared with custom development, MBaaS can be a significant cost saver. Data from Glassdoor shows that the cost of hiring a backend developer ranges from $83,000 to $185,000 annually. On the other hand, MBaaS starts from $25/month and above. Many of the service providers also offer a free tier. 

Expedite Time to Market

Open-source MBaaS provides offers tools that make backend development faster. Therefore, you can create an MVP faster and expedite your app’s time to market.

Minimize Repeated Stack Development. 

With MBaaS, the development of a customized stack for every project becomes unnecessary. Developers can add functions to new apps by simply connecting APIs.

Advantages of Open-Source

Below are the major benefits of using open-source solutions.

One of the best advantages of open-source MBaaS platforms is that users enjoy community support.

For instance, there are several libraries you can use from online sources, you can also access help from community forums when the need arises.

It’s a great option for new developers as they can ask questions and get guidance from experienced programmers. 

The role that the open-source community plays in identifying and fixing security flaws and code bugs makes open-source platforms more reliable and secure.

Developers can migrate their codes from an open-source platform to another because they are not locked into any platform.

Faster Time to the Market:  Developers can deploy apps faster on open-source platforms. Other advantages include cost-efficiency, reliable code-base, and many more. 

Top 10 Open-Source MBaaS Providers

In this section, we shall be discussing the top ten reliable open-source MBaaS platforms today.

1. Back4App

Back4App is a MBaaS provider whose services are powered by open-source technologies. This platform offers a suite of tools and services that makes mobile app development straightforward.

They provide server infrastructure and management, security, and scaling when the need arises.  It’s an excellent choice for cross-platform and native app development. 

Developers that prefer to focus on building apps rather than managing servers love this BaaS provider. Back4apps empowers developers with unlimited cloud storage, media streaming, and offline synching of text and media content like pictures, videos, and audio.

App management is easy with the multi-purpose dashboard featuring analytics, user notifications, in-app purchases, and lots more. 

Features of Back4app

Multiple relational database schemas: This platform features several relational database schemas for managing app data storage. The best part s that a developer can change the schema without messing up existing data.  

Real-Time Query: It is an excellent platform for building real-time communication apps. Back4apps delivers results in milliseconds. 

Intuitive Interface: The Back4apps spreadsheet-like interface offers excellent performance.  You can increase app features and scale without experiencing performance issues.

Notifications: Developers on back4apps can send notifications to app users quickly and without technical hassles. The platform provides an easy-to-use interface for sending in-app messages, email notifications, push notifications, and lots more.

Pricing

Users can take advantage of the free plan of this quality open-source MBaaS provider to start a new project. The cost-efficient premium plans start at $25/month.

2. Parse

Parse is an excellent open-source solution that companies of all sizes use to build web and mobile apps. As an open-source solution, developers worldwide can contribute codes to improve the platform for all.

The open-source parse community on GitHub is massive; with 35+ stars and 16K+ ports, you are assured of a vibrant community.

Features

Parse Server: Parse mobile backend as a service evolved into an open-source project called Parse server. You can deploy the Parse server with the major SDK and libraries without much hassles.

Libraries & SDKs : With the Parse JavaScript SDK, you can integrate Parse with an app or website easily. It’s a lightweight package that functions on both the frontend and server-side.

Community Support: The Parse open-source community consists of several experienced and talented developers that are ready and willing to help. You can find several guides and get answers to your questions on the official forum.

Data Modeling: Although Parse supports most data types, relationship types like many-to-many between classes on different containers are not supported. 

Pricing

Parse is available as a free download. It costs nothing. 

3. Strapi.io

Strapi.io is another open-source server-side development platform designed to enhance the digital experience.

The primary objective of this platform is to empower developers with Feature-rich, Accessible and flexible API that makes development projects easier. It’s useful for developing mobile apps, static sites, editorial sites, and eCommerce.

Features like access rules,  authentication management and CSRF protection, and many others make Strapi.io an excellent choice for new and experienced developers. 

Features

Open-Source:  Strapi is an open-source application available for free. The community plan does not carry any charge.

REST and GraphQL Support: Strapi’s flexibility and plugin system allow developers to use both RESTful and GraphQL APIs.

Self Host: You do not need to pay for special cloud hosting or storage from third parties to use Strapi.  So, it’s an excellent self-host option.

Multi-Tenant:  Strapi allows the creation of multiple sites in a single instant. In essence, you can configure the same code to host a website for your company and another for a customer.

Pricing

Free Community Plan: The free community plan has several useful features, allowing you to build unlimited projects.

Bronze Plan: With this plan, you can access all the platform components besides scaling and custom domains. Costs $9/month.

Silver plan: Developers can use custom domains and scale seamlessly with the Silver plan. Costs $29/month.

4. AWS Amplify

AWS Amplify is another MBaaS open-source platform for building and deploying apps. Developers on Amplify leverage features like authentication, analytics, and data storage to work faster and efficiently, focusing on creating outstanding UX.

This platform offers multiple databases, including Oracle, SQL, PostgreSQL, and MySQL. You access high-performance servers that provide maximum uptime without worrying about server management.

Features

Authentication: Amplify offers developers a straightforward way of adding authentication features to their app with email, passwords, or social network accounts.

Data Store: Amplify offers an ORM layer that gives developers access to relational databases like PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, and many more. This layer interacts with your database directly just like you do with MySQL.

Extensible:  Amplify is extensible; it gives developers an interface to scale resources as the need arises.

Storage: Whether you are working with large files or performing live streams, AWS Amplify provides the local file storage so you don’t have to access files over a network connection.

Pricing

Amplify offers a free plan with server resource limits of 5GB storage and 1000 build minutes.  The premium static plan is charged based on the resource used ($0.01/build minutes) during the billing period. The cost of premium hosting is $0.023/GB stored.

5. Kuzzle

Kuzzle is one of the top open-source MBaaS platforms for backend development that is secure and scalable. With Kuzzle, developers can reduce application backend development to just minutes.

Companies in industries such as smart city, logistics, and construction depend on the Kuzzle suite of tools for fast and efficient management of web application development assignments.

Features

Database: Kuzzle developers have access to an intuitive interface for creating and managing databases on the cloud.

Realtime Query: With the in-built support for Pub/Sub model, Kuzzle developers can add a real-time data update feature to their apps.

Search Engine: Modern apps always have the search engine feature. The Kuzzle MBaaS makes it easy for developers to add a comprehensive search engine that works, even when the user is offline.

Security: With integrated support for authentication and encryption, Kuzzle empowers developers to build apps that secure user data.

Pricing

Kuzzle provides a free plan for customers. Their premium plan that goes with professional support costs 500€/month.

6. Supabase

The Supabase backend as a service platform that supports developers with infrastructure for storing, querying, and processing data. 

This open-source platform is an excellent choice for developers that intends to develop an application stack for integration with other systems.

Features

Database: Provides an easy-to-use graphical interface for adding multiple databases. Thanks to its scalable multitenant architecture.

Impressive Uptime: Supabase’s impressive technology autodetects and recovers from hardware failure, without downtime or data loss. It leverages synchronous and asynchronous replication to ensure no data is lost.

Self-Service Portal:  The platform users can initiate fully-configured database instances from the self-service portal.  They can create users and assign permission and roles as required.

Security and Audit: Besides providing specific roles and permission for every user to enhance security, Supabase also stores comprehensive audits that identify the user that performed any action on the system. The platform also implements group-based security to enhance data control.

Pricing

The service is free for developers that has two active projects or fewer.

The Pro version starts from $25/month and supports an unlimited number of projects.

7. Appwrite

Appwrite is an open-source mobile backend as a service provider that serves all kinds of businesses, from small scale to large enterprises. It provides tools for management and process automation that works perfectly for web, mobile, and Flutter. 

The permission functions of Appwrite allow you to grant users, teams, or public read/write access to collections or documents within a project.

Database: One of the core features of Appwrite is its high-performance and scalable database with impressive availability. Developers can use the database as storage for documents, graphs, or key values.

Storage:  Appwrite provides cloud storage that makes your file available globally around the clock. So you don’t have to bother about hosting and storage when using Appwrite.

Functions: The suite of functions in Appwrite allows developers to work more efficiently on app development projects. The platform provides data services, databases, storage, authentication, and much more. 

Geo Localization: This function uses geo coordinates to locate devices using the app on the map and show them on Open Street Map or Google Maps.

Console: The console feature provides a single interface for managing all aspects of an app. Developers con performs diverse tasks from the deployment of new versions to managing user accounts, viewing traffic, and reports, and sending push notifications. 

8. Hoodie

The Hoodie platform takes the form of a JavaScript framework packed with powerful features for routing, data management, authentication, and web app development.

Hoodie supports modules, helping you focus on the functions you need, yet extensible to cater to your new requirements. With this open-source MBaaS, you can build an app within minutes.

Features

Offline First: This design architecture allows users to access their data, even when the internet is disconnected.

Iron Router Integration: The Iron router that Hoodie uses has standard features and is widely used by modern Meteor projects.

PouchDB Offline Database Support: Hoodie uses the PouchDB database layer to handle offline data storage and synching when the connection is restored. That is why Hoodie can make apps that work perfectly offline and syncs data when the device comes back online.

9. Usergrid

Usergrid provides developers with tools that make the procedure for building, deploying and managing mobile and web apps straightforward.  

This open-source MBaaS offers notifications, analytics, in-app purchases, user management, and lots more.

Besides providing MBaaS functions, the platform also offers open-source SDKs for Java, Ruby, and Node.js. HTML5/JS. Android and iOS.  

This versatile SDK support makes Usergrid a viable development playground for a wide range of developers. 

Features

Reliable and Scalable: Usergrid developers can scale their apps as the userbase increases without downtime or service quality issues. It is designed to support redundancy and high availability.

Security: This platform is built with top-notch security right from the start. It supports SSL/TLS means that communication between users and Usergrid servers is passed through industry-standard encryption. The platform’s codebase goes through an audit by security experts regularly to ensure its integrity.

Persistence and Data Sync:  This platform supports synching crud CRUD data in real-time between devices and the server, allowing apps to always remain updated. Usergrid apps also support offline access. In essence, users can view data even when their device is offline.

Authorization and Authentication: Apps built on this platform can use multiple authentication methods such as email, password, and social login. Simply edit the Usergrid config file to enable authentication.

Based on Java: It has an integrated Java API for building apps. Developers can take advantage of this flexible API to create a database schema, define the data structure, query and carry out CRUD actions on data.

10. Deployd

Deployd is one of the top mobile backend as a service platforms that allow developers to focus on their core development tasks without bothering about managing or scaling server resources.

This platform makes the procedure for creating APIs simple through convention over configuration.  In essence, Deployd can automatically determine data storage and organization schema.

This approach saves you time and makes the procedure for adding endpoints straightforward since you can add the endpoints at any time during your deployment.

Features

Real-Time Metrics: Every Deployd function provides real-time metrics that give insight into the process performance. You can access vital data like latency, CPU usage, and memory usage.

Simplified Deployment: Since Deployed leverages Kubernetes technology, it can work on multiple cloud solution providers like Google Cloud Function, AWS Lambda, and many more.

Live Editing: Developers can make live edits on Deployd code within the browser, so they don’t have to redeploy functions after making changes. With this approach, a developer can play around with the code to test new features or upgrade existing ones without the risk of messing up the app when 

Conclusion

This article has briefly described the features and service costs of the top ten open-source MBaaS platforms. This guide will help you select the most suitable option for your app development project.

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