Firebase vs AWS Cognito

Amazon Web Services Cognito and Firebase are popular tools used for user authentication. As both of them are amazing in one way and another, it gets difficult for new users to select between them.

So, if you are also confused about the selection part, all you need to know is which one fulfills your needs in the best regard. Make sure to stick with us until the end to know how you can make your final decision.

Firebase Overview

Although Firebase is a platform that takes care of all your digital and online needs by providing all products and services, one of its use cases is user authentication and management. As Google powers Firebase, these services maintain a high quality and provide a rich experience to developers and application users.

Moreover, these services also work for all the applications making integration seamless for multi-device applications as well.

Firebase Core features

Authentication

The Authentication feature from Firebase makes the backend development very productive and efficient for the developers. At the same time, things are very secure for users as well as there are several ways of authenticating their ID. Using the authentication feature, it becomes simple to add several sign-in options in the application.

Cloud Messaging

Firebase provides cloud messaging to a cross-platform service. It means that you, as a user, can independently send messages across different devices. That messaging being cloud-based also makes it free of cost. Moreover, this messaging comes with all the necessary features like notifications and other stuff.

Low code development

Firebase has this feature where it is not needed to write hundreds of code lines to add a simple feature to the applications. Firebase works on a no-code or a low code development methodology that makes things pretty simple for the developers regardless of their skill level.

Firebase Advantages

Seamless integration

Firebase makes integration between different products and services provided by Firebase pretty simple. Whether you want to include some features or enhance the security of your application, all of it will be very easy to do.

Fewer chances of having a fake profile

Firebase is connected to multiple providers. It means that if a user has all of them connected, it will not be simple for them to create fake profiles using different platforms for sign-up.

Reliability

Firebase comes with the reliability provided by Google. There are no performance and reliability issues about the servers, databases, and all other features of Firebase.

AWS Cognito Overview

AWS Cognito is the answer to all of your questions if you are looking for user management, authentication, and authorization services for your next application. These services from Amazon work on all mobile and web applications and bring a lot of convenience for both the users and the developers.

AWS Cognito is packed with many features, including useful things like Social login and usage of other Amazon Web Services. From starting to providing the best user experience, the whole thing here is easiest for everyone, and here are some of the best features provided by AWS Cognito.

AWS Cognito Core Features

User Pools

The User pool means that it is a user directory of users in AWS Cognito. It is a feature that enables you to provide several others like signing-up, logging-in, integrating third-party services, and many others like the following:

• Customizable web UI for sign-in.
• Managing users and their profiles
• Multi-factor authentication
• Takeover protection
• Phone and Email verification
• Compromised credentials and many more.

Identity Pools

Identity pool is a very different concept as compared to the User pools. While in user pools, users have their IDs. Here, users can obtain temporary AWS logging information. That can then be used to use any of the services provided by Amazon.

It means that most of the users over here are anonymous guests looking to use DynamoDB, Amazon S3, or other relevant services. For the developers, it provides the following features:

1. SAML identity providers
2. OIDC providers
3. Developer authenticated identities
4. AWS Cognito user pools
5. Social login

AWS Cognito Advantages

Consistency among devices and platforms

Most of the applications these days are needed to run on different devices and platforms. It is becoming difficult for developers to maintain that amazing experience overall for the devices and platforms. AWS Cognito ensures to provide consistency which will make all the devices and platforms perform seamlessly.

Marketing Analytics

Suppose you use AWS Cognito and AWS Pinpoint together. In that case, you can get access to all the information like user behavior and other analytics for better and efficient audience segmentation. It will make it possible and easy for you to keep your users engaged across all different platforms.

Better user security

AWS Cognito makes use of all the top-notch security techniques like multi-factor authentication, social logins, and several others, making the whole thing pretty secure for the users. It is also a way of winning the trust of your users.

Conclusion

This article compared Firebase and AWS Cognito. It explored the core features and advantages of each provider. The final decision will depend upon your project requirements and specific demands.

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