GCP vs Firebase – Which is the best?

This article will compare the similarities and differences between GCP vs Firebase. It will cover the core features and pricing of each platform.

With a continuously evolving technology, users are expecting more and more in the applications. They want to attain more features and technology in the applications used.

Due to the increasing demand for feature-rich innovations, it was initially difficult for the app developers to meet the users’ expectations.

However, today, easier access to leading platforms has benefitted web apps, and developers, with feature-rich and innovative applications on the go.

Let us discuss the top two leading development solutions and how they differ from each other. Keep reading to discover the differences between Firebase vs GCP.

GCP Overview

GCP is a public cloud vendor, like Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure. Google Cloud is a suite of Cloud Computing services offered by Google.

It offers a platform for various services such as networking, computing, Big Data, and much more, which operate on a similar infrastructure as used by Google for the end users, such as YouTube and Google Search. 

Originally developed and launched in 2011 by Firebase Inc, Google later acquired it in 2014. What started as a realtime database now offers marketers and client-side developers a wide selection of products and tools to help develop better applications and market them efficiently. In addition, the platform allows hassle-free integration with Android, Web, iOS, and Unity products. 

Firebase is a part of GCP

Firebase is the mobile development platform of Google which empowers users to build apps quickly. It is built to enable easy pulling of Google Cloud products as the infrastructure and team need to grow. With an abundance of tools and features, Firebase is useful for both developers and marketers of today. 

Features of Google Cloud Platform

A strong infrastructure is a user-friendly, secure, global, cost-effective platform which is continually upgrading.

With the latest technical updates, Google keeps upgrading for the future, and you no longer need to worry about the frequent changes in the business market infrastructures. 

• Customizable machine types

It offers the flexibility to configure an apt combination of memory and virtual CPU for a particular workload. It is ideal for saving money from over-provisioning the machines to fit the vendor’s rate card. 

• Global load balancers

The built-in balancer of the platform is a part of a distributed system that delivers an infrastructure based on a similar system which supports major end-user Google products such as Gmail, Google Maps and Search. 

• Google Grade Security

This assures security across Google applications such as Gmail and Google Apps. The model is an end-to-end process managed by a team of experts. 

• Robust data and analytics

Offering advanced technology, the ‘Big Data’, it searches and finds answers in a single click and builds better products. 

• Big data service

With analysis and usage changing every day, the queries that used to be done in several hours or days are now being done in only a few minutes with special tools such as big Query. 

• Machine intelligence

Google’s deep learning systems can access fuel services such as Google Translate, Google Photos, and Voice Search in Google Apps. 

Pricing

The pricing of GCP is one of the most significant advantages. It follows a pay-as-you-go model wherein the prices are priced with the help of a set of parameters. As a result, users no longer need to pay an upfront fee without any termination fee. 

Google Cloud also offers free tier credits to new users for $300. The resources can be used until they run off the credit. Apart from this, individual services too can be used in a restricted limit. 

The monthly bill is calculated by adding the usage service and the resources consumed. Then, the billing is distributed based on projects. 

Overview of Firebase

Google Firebase is an application development platform allowing developers to create web, Android, and iOS apps.

Founded in 2011 as a chat API, Google Firebase was later acquired in 2014 by Google. It offers an active backend as a service and builds dynamic web and mobile application. 

When you build a client-side app using JavaScript or any of the other frameworks, Firebase can turn it into a serverless app. It does so by eliminating the need to manage databases on your own.

Hence, implementing Firebase offers the opportunity for a ready-made backend in the client code, further making it a lot more dynamic.

Features of Firebase

• Authentication

Firebase tracks and identifies the user log in and log out. It keeps a complete track of the logins and implements the process securely.

It further provides varied methods to login with Twitter, Facebook, Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft; however, stores all in a single account in Firebase Authentication. 

• Realtime database and Firestore

Cloud Firestore is scalable for web, mobile and server development. The SDK is added to the app, allowing direct access to data without any middle component.

This keeps data in sync through the application. This can be used alone or along with real-time database services.

It can update data in real-time and helps track it as soon as it displays and changes fresh feed every time. 

• Dynamic links

It launches a dynamic link, offering a customized user experience across all platforms. For example, when an app is not installed, it redirects to a marketplace page while installing an app. 

• Cloud storage

The user-generated content, such as pictures and videos, gets directly stored in cloud-storage SDKs. This client SDK allows users to upload and download the file directly from the location while sharing it further across the app. 

Pricing

Users can access the Firebase services with the help of a Google account. You can furthermore explore the plans and choose the one that fits your budget. These services are available in two distinct plans. 

• Spark

This is a free plan where each service can be accessed within free limits. Hence, you can book the Spark plan and attain advantages such as 1 GB data storage in Firestore and much more. 

• Blaze

The plan allows for calculating the average cost of using Firebase services as you slowly upscale the applications. 

Conclusion

The Google Cloud Platform is a major cloud provider that offers multiple products including virtual machines, storage, load balancers, etc. It incorporates also value-added services like PaaS and BaaS platforms.

Firebase is a BaaS platform that is part of the Google Cloud and integrate seamlessly with other Google Cloud products. It’s fully managed and great way to develop mobile and web applications quickly.

I hope this article helped you to understand the differences and similarities between Google Cloud vs Firebase.

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