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Firebase Realtime Database vs Google Cloud Firestore

Firebase Realtime Database: Firebase's original JSON-tree database that syncs every change to connected clients in milliseconds. Google Cloud Firestore: Serverless document database with realtime listeners, offline SDKs and a new Enterprise edition.

key differences

  • Google Cloud Firestore is built for larger datasets (≤ 1 PB) than Firebase Realtime Database (≤ 100 GB).
  • Horizontal scaling is manual in Firebase Realtime Database and native in Google Cloud Firestore.
  • Transactions: Firebase Realtime Database offers limited ACID; Google Cloud Firestore offers full.
  • Only Google Cloud Firestore has joins, full-text search, vector search, geospatial, ttl / expiry.

choose firebase-realtime-database for

  • +Presence, typing indicators and live cursors
  • +Multiplayer game state and lobbies
  • +Small realtime dashboards and chat

best at · Mobile/offline, Pub/Sub, Sessions

choose google-cloud-firestore for

  • +Mobile and web apps built on Firebase
  • +Realtime collaborative features and chat
  • +User profiles and app state with offline support
  • +Serverless backends on Cloud Run or Cloud Functions

best at · OLTP, Mobile/offline, Content

Firebase Realtime DatabaseFirebase's original JSON-tree database that syncs every change to connected clients in milliseconds.
Google Cloud FirestoreServerless document database with realtime listeners, offline SDKs and a new Enterprise edition.
overview
Primary model
Document
Document
Also supports
Key-Value
Vector, Spatial, Search Engine
Type
Managed service
Managed service
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Google (Firebase)
Google
First release
2012
2017
Latest version
–
–
License
ProprietaryProprietary Firebase service
ProprietaryProprietary Google Cloud service
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
26.4
49.1
Rank
#113
#28
GitHub stars
–
–
Stack Overflow questions
40K
42.6K
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Small (≤ 100 GB)
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Horizontal scaling
Manual
Native
Multi-region
None
Active active
ACID
Limited
Full
Consistency
Strong, Eventual
Strong
Schema
Schemaless
Schemaless
Architecture
Serverless, Single node
Distributed, Serverless
deployment
Self-hosted
—
—
Vendor-managed cloud
✓
✓
Serverless
✓
✓
Embedded
—
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
Google Cloud
Google Cloud
capabilities
Transactions
✓
✓
Joins
—
✓
Secondary indexes
✓
✓
Full-text search
—
✓
Vector search
—
✓
Geospatial
—
✓
JSON
✓
✓
Change data capture
—
—
Triggers
✓
✓
Stored procedures
—
—
Materialized views
—
—
TTL / expiry
—
✓
Pub/Sub
✓
✓
Columnar storage
—
—
In-memory
—
—
Durable persistence
✓
✓
Compression
—
—
Encryption at rest
✓
✓
Role-based access
✓
✓
Time travel
—
✓
Branching
—
—
Online schema changes
✓
✓
Streaming ingest
—
—
Offline sync
✓
✓
Runs in WebAssembly
—
—
interfaces
Query languages
Firebase query API (orderBy/equalTo/limit)
Firestore query API, Pipeline operations (Enterprise), MongoDB Query API (Enterprise)
Client languages
JavaScript, Swift, Kotlin, Java, C++, Dart, Python, Go
JavaScript, Swift, Kotlin, Java, Python, Go, C#, Dart
Best for
Mobile/offline, Pub/Sub, Sessions, OLTP
OLTP, Mobile/offline, Content, Vector search
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

Firebase Realtime Database vs Google Cloud Firestore: FAQ

What is the difference between Firebase Realtime Database and Google Cloud Firestore?

Firebase Realtime Database: Firebase's original JSON-tree database that syncs every change to connected clients in milliseconds. Google Cloud Firestore: Serverless document database with realtime listeners, offline SDKs and a new Enterprise edition. Google Cloud Firestore is built for larger datasets (≤ 1 PB) than Firebase Realtime Database (≤ 100 GB). Horizontal scaling is manual in Firebase Realtime Database and native in Google Cloud Firestore. Transactions: Firebase Realtime Database offers limited ACID; Google Cloud Firestore offers full.

When should I choose Firebase Realtime Database over Google Cloud Firestore?

Choose Firebase Realtime Database for presence, typing indicators and live cursors; multiplayer game state and lobbies; and small realtime dashboards and chat. Choose Google Cloud Firestore for mobile and web apps built on Firebase; realtime collaborative features and chat; and user profiles and app state with offline support.

Is Firebase Realtime Database or Google Cloud Firestore more popular?

Google Cloud Firestore ranks #28 on the WhichDB Score (49.1/100) and Firebase Realtime Database ranks #113 (26.4/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are Firebase Realtime Database and Google Cloud Firestore open source?

No. Firebase Realtime Database is proprietary, closed-source software. No. Google Cloud Firestore is proprietary, closed-source software.