PocketBase vs Firebase
Open-source backend in a single Go binary
vs. Google's mobile & web app development platform
Pricing tiers
PocketBase
Self-Hosted
MIT-licensed single binary. Run on any VPS / Docker / bare metal. No usage caps — only limited by your server.
$0 base (usage-based)
Firebase
Spark (No-cost)
Free tier with generous quotas. No credit card required. Cannot exceed free quotas.
Free
Blaze (Pay as you go)
Usage-based billing. Includes Spark quotas free, then pay Google Cloud rates. Required for Cloud Functions outbound networking, scheduled jobs, some extensions.
Custom
Free-tier quotas head-to-head
Comparing self-hosted on PocketBase vs spark on Firebase.
| Metric | PocketBase | Firebase |
|---|---|---|
| auth mau | — | 50000 users/month |
| firestore deletes per day | — | 20000 docs/day |
| firestore egress gib month | — | 10 GiB/month |
| firestore reads per day | — | 50000 docs/day |
| firestore storage gib | — | 1 GiB |
| firestore writes per day | — | 20000 docs/day |
| functions cpu seconds | — | 200000 CPU-sec/month |
| functions gb seconds | — | 400000 GB-sec/month |
| functions invocations | — | 2000000 invocations/mo |
| functions outbound gb | — | 5 GB/month |
| hosting storage gb | — | 10 GB |
| hosting transfer gb month | — | 10.8 GB/month |
| phone sms verifications day | — | 10 sms/day |
| rtdb connections | — | 100 connections |
| rtdb downloaded gb month | — | 10 GB/month |
| rtdb stored gb | — | 1 GB |
| storage downloaded gb day | — | 1 GB/day |
| storage gb | — | 5 GB |
| storage operations day | — | 50000 ops/day |
Features
PocketBase · 12 features
- Access Rules — Record-level access rules (filter expressions) referencing @request and @collect…
- Admin Dashboard — Built-in web UI for schema + data management.
- Auth — Email+password, OAuth2 (Google, GitHub, Facebook, Apple, Discord, Microsoft, etc…
- Backups — Built-in backup/restore with S3 upload option.
- Built-in Mailer — SMTP integration for verification, password reset, magic link emails.
- Collections — Schema-defined record types with fields, validations, and record/admin/auth acce…
- Embedded JS Engine — JavaScript VM (goja) lets you write hooks in JS without recompiling.
- Extend as Go Library — Embed PocketBase in a larger Go app, add custom routes and events.
- File Storage — Local filesystem or S3-compatible storage with access rules.
- Hooks — Server-side Go or JavaScript hooks that run on CRUD events (OnRecordBeforeCreate…
- Migrations — JS/Go migration scripts applied on startup.
- Realtime Subscriptions — SSE-based subscriptions to collection changes.
Firebase · 20 features
- A/B Testing — Experiments on Remote Config params, FCM notifications, and Analytics events. Ba…
- App Check — Attestation service: only requests from authentic, untampered app instances reac…
- App Hosting — Managed hosting for modern web apps (Next.js, Angular, SvelteKit). Git-based dep…
- Cloud Firestore — Serverless NoSQL document database. Real-time sync, ACID transactions, offline p…
- Cloud Functions — Serverless functions (Node.js/Python). Trigger on HTTP, Firestore, RTDB, Auth, S…
- Cloud Storage — Object storage for user files. Built on GCS. Security rules + signed URLs. Resum…
- Crashlytics — Real-time crash reporting for iOS/Android/Unity/Flutter. Stack traces, breadcrum…
- Data Connect — GraphQL API backed by Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL. Type-safe SDK generation. Previe…
- Dynamic Links — Deep links that survive app install. NOTE: deprecated, shutdown Aug 2025 — migra…
- FCM Topics — Publish/subscribe messaging: devices subscribe to topic names; backend sends one…
- Firebase AI Logic — Client-side SDK to call Gemini models directly from mobile/web. Formerly "Vertex…
- Firebase Authentication — Drop-in auth: email/password, phone, anonymous, 10+ federated providers, custom …
- Firebase Cloud Messaging — Push notifications for iOS, Android, Web (APNs/FCM transports). Topics, device g…
- Firebase Extensions — Pre-packaged Cloud Functions + config: Stripe, Algolia search, image resize, tra…
- Firebase Hosting — Static + dynamic hosting with global CDN. Preview channels, atomic deploys, rewr…
- Genkit — Open-source AI app framework. Unified API for Gemini, OpenAI, Ollama; tools, RAG…
- Google Analytics for Firebase — Free unlimited event tracking with audience building. BigQuery export on Blaze. …
- Performance Monitoring — App startup, HTTP network, and custom traces. Integrates with Google Analytics e…
- Realtime Database — Low-latency JSON tree database with WebSocket sync. Best for high-frequency pres…
- Remote Config — Feature flags / parameterized config with conditional targeting (user property, …
Developer interfaces
| Kind | PocketBase | Firebase |
|---|---|---|
| CLI | — | Firebase CLI |
| SDK | Go API (extend as library), pocketbase (Dart), pocketbase (JS SDK) | Admin SDK (Go), Admin SDK (Java), Admin SDK (Node.js), Admin SDK (Python), Android SDK, Apple Platforms SDK, Flutter SDK (FlutterFire), JavaScript SDK, Unity SDK |
| REST | REST API | Auth REST API, Cloud Storage REST, Firebase Management API, Firestore REST API, Realtime Database REST |
| MCP | — | Firebase MCP Server |
| OTHER | Admin Dashboard, Realtime SSE | Firestore gRPC, Realtime Database WebSocket |
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