# Back4App vs Firebase

| Attribute | Back4App | Firebase |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 73.7 (55% (medium)) | 78.2 (26% (low)) |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"hybrid":true,"on_prem":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true}` |
| description.long | A backend-as-a-service platform that hosts MongoDB databases, authentication, cloud functions, and real-time subscriptions accessible via REST and GraphQL APIs. Supports cloud hosting on AWS or DigitalOcean, plus self-hosted deployments for enterprise customers. | A managed development platform providing databases, authentication, hosting, analytics, and other services for app development. Includes a free tier with usage limits and a pay-as-you-go tier with metered pricing for higher volumes. |
| features.capabilities | `{"api_style":"both","file_storage":true,"built_in_auth":true,"pricing_model":"tiered-subscription","self_hostable":true,"database_model":"mongodb-document","deployment_model":"both","row_level_security":true,"serverless_functions":true,"realtime_subscriptions":true}` | - |
| integrations.count | 4 | 11 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Stripe"},{"name":"AWS"},{"name":"DigitalOcean"},{"name":"MongoDB Atlas"}]` | `[{"name":"Flutter"},{"name":"Google Ads"},{"name":"AdMob"},{"name":"Google Marketing Platform"},{"name":"Google Play"},{"name":"Looker Studio"},{"name":"BigQuery"},{"name":"Slack"},{"name":"Jira"},{"name":"Android Studio"},{"name":"Stripe"}]` |
| market.availability | `{"hqCountry":"US","primaryMarkets":["US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"hqCountry":"US","primaryMarkets":["US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"ios":true,"web":true,"android":true}` | `{"cli":true,"ios":true,"mac":true,"web":true,"android":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"subscription","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Free","summary":"Free","features":["REST API","GraphQL API","Cloud Functions","1 day access log retention","Custom domain"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":0,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Development and learning tier","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"apps":"up to 5 projects","requests":"25K/mo","transfer":"1GB","data_storage":"250MB","file_storage":"N/A"}},{"free":false,"name":"MVP","summary":"$15/app/mo (save 40% annually)","features":["REST API","GraphQL API","Cloud Functions","7 collaborators","Daily backups","7 day access log retention","Custom domain","NPM packages"],"minSeats":1,"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":15,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Validate ideas quickly, launch fast","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"requests":"500K/mo","transfer":"250GB","data_storage":"1GB","file_storage":"50GB"}},{"free":false,"name":"Pay As You Go","summary":"$80/app/mo (save 20% annually)","features":["REST API","GraphQL API","Cloud Functions","Unlimited collaborators","28 day access log retention","Custom domain","Priority support","Monitoring"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":80,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Run and scale applications on serverless infrastructure","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"requests":"5M/mo","transfer":"1TB","data_storage":"3GB","file_storage":"N/A"}},{"free":false,"name":"Dedicated","summary":"$400/app/mo","features":["REST API","GraphQL API","Cloud Functions","Point-in-time backups","Custom domain","HIPAA after BAA","Dedicated engineer","SLA support"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":400,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Production-grade speed, isolation, and flexibility","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"requests":"Unlimited (hardware-constrained)","transfer":"2TB","resources":"10 CPUs / 14GB RAM","data_storage":"8GB","file_storage":"Unlimited"}},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise","summary":"Contact for custom pricing","features":["Custom infrastructure","Custom SLAs","On-premises deployment","Multi-region","Pro services","Monitoring","Training","Dedicated engineer"],"description":"Custom solution for unique infrastructure needs","contactSales":true}],"addOns":[{"name":"Extra data storage","components":[{"kind":"fixed","unit":"GB","amount":15,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Extra requests (MVP plan)","components":[{"per":{"qty":100000,"unit":"requests"},"kind":"fixed","amount":5,"currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Extra requests (Pay-as-you-go plan)","components":[{"per":{"qty":100000,"unit":"requests"},"kind":"fixed","amount":2,"currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Extra file storage","components":[{"per":{"qty":10,"unit":"GB"},"kind":"fixed","amount":1,"currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Extra data transfer","components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"GB"},"kind":"fixed","amount":0.1,"currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Point-in-time backups (add-on)","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":100,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]}],"summary":"From $15/app/month for MVP tier, free tier available","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.back4app.com/pricing/backend-as-a-service","retrievedAt":"2026-08-25T08:36:27.977Z","startingPrice":{"amount":15,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month","year"]}` | `{"type":"freemium","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Spark","summary":"Free tier with generous no-cost usage limits","description":"No-cost plan with daily usage limits across all services","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"hosting_storage_gb":"10","authentication_maus":"50000","cloud_firestore_storage_gb":"1","realtime_database_storage_gb":"1","cloud_firestore_reads_per_day":"50000","cloud_firestore_writes_per_day":"20000","cloud_firestore_deletes_per_day":"20000","hosting_data_transfer_mb_per_day":"360","cloud_sql_postgresql_trial_months":"3","cloud_storage_download_gb_per_day":"1","cloud_functions_gb_seconds_per_month":"400000","cloud_functions_cpu_seconds_per_month":"200000","cloud_functions_invocations_per_month":"2000000","cloud_functions_outbound_gb_per_month":"5","cloud_storage_upload_operations_per_day":"20000","realtime_database_concurrent_connections":"100","cloud_storage_download_operations_per_day":"50000"}},{"free":false,"name":"Blaze","summary":"Pay-as-you-go with $300 credit on signup; rates vary by service and region","components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"GB"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.026,"currency":"USD"},{"per":{"qty":1000000,"unit":"invocations"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.4,"currency":"USD"},{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"GB"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.12,"currency":"USD"},{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"minute"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.003,"currency":"USD"},{"kind":"fixed","amount":9.37,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Pay-as-you-go plan with $300 credit and access to all services","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"welcome_credit_usd":"300"}}],"summary":"Free tier (Spark) with usage limits, or pay-as-you-go (Blaze) starting with $300 credit","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://firebase.google.com/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-08-18T22:07:59.537Z","freeTrialDays":90,"startingPrice":{"amount":9.37,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | freemium | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | mid | low |
| pricing.starting_price | `{"amount":15,"currency":"USD"}` | `{"amount":9.37,"currency":"USD"}` |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | - |
| security.gdpr | yes | - |
| security.hipaa | yes | - |
| security.iso27001 | yes | - |
| security.soc2 | yes | - |

## Capabilities (Backend As A Service)

| Capability | Back4App | Firebase |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Capabilities** |  |  |
| Database model | Mongodb document | - |
| Built in auth | ✓ | - |
| Row level security | ✓ | - |
| File storage | ✓ | - |
| Serverless functions | ✓ | - |
| Edge functions | - | - |
| Realtime subscriptions | ✓ | - |
| API style | Both | - |
| Offline sync | - | - |
| Vector AI support | - | - |
| Self hostable | ✓ | - |
| Deployment model | Both | - |
| Pricing model | Tiered subscription | - |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T14:24:35.821Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*