Google Compute Engine vs Google Firebase comparison

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Google Compute Engine and Google Firebase based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.
To learn more, read our detailed Google Compute Engine vs. Google Firebase Report (Updated: March 2024).
765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"One of GCE's best features is the managed instance groups.""Google is managing all hardware. You don't need to provision or pre-provision your computer engine.""The solution helps to direct SSH into the machine at the click of a button. It also helps to deploy container images right from the UI. There is no need to manage the containers on the machine. I also like the tool’s Spot provision model.""The support for ephemeral instances has been particularly valuable for me. It allows me to significantly reduce costs for temporary virtual machines by automatically destroying them once they are no longer needed, which can result in cost savings of up to 90 percent. Additionally, the solution is easy to use.""The solution is readily available, and software engineers can provision it. It is scalable and allows self-service.""Everything is simple and useful. The initial setup is not challenging.""The most valuable feature is auto-scaling.""It's the most engineer-friendly product compared to Amazon AWS or Azure."

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"Google Analytics for Firebase is the best feature of the solution.""The most valuable feature I like is about the realtime. Updates are also very fast.""The main feature for us is that the tools are all in one place and that you don't need to bother with the backend system and the infrastructure.""The most valuable features of Google Firebase are its database, noSQL database, file storage, authentication, and notifications.""The Realtime Database feature is the most important for us since we are able to see changes in the database the moment they are happening.""Google Firebase has a lot of services like storage, Firestore, and push notifications.""Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.""The product’s most valuable features are integration and hosting."

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Cons
"It has some limitations. For example, you don't get through layer two connectivity. So I've had some difficulty deploying custom VMs. For example, you can't deploy a KVM file to file directly on GCP.""There have been instances when a customer has tried to deploy a certain number of VMs inside a project, and they come across quota issues.""It is not very user-friendly for non-experienced users""The licensing process is not a very straightforward process.""It would be better if there was an option to change the background. Like in Gmail, there's an option to change your theme.""The biggest problem is that it's got a very archaean and complex security environment that has to be very carefully set up and is easy to break.""I would like to improve the solution’s UI while deploying a container. It is sometimes hard to figure out the container’s details and format that you want to deploy. The tool does not give you a guide to find out the error and why the container is not starting up which could be because you have configured it wrong. This is always a hit on the setup.""Google Compute Engine does not have many options at a lower tier level. If they had more options it will be better. For example, Amazon AWS or Microsoft Azure, have more options and different types of instances, of VMs we can select."

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"I would like to have a facility for testing possible scenarios by writing dummy data and then doing different queries.""I rate the support from Google Firebase a four out of five.""One of the challenges I was facing when I was using it was the library called Google Dialogflow which allows you to connect your chatbot with an intent. So there is so much adding when you are trying to connect it with your service because you have to do a lot of repetition writing a new intent, putting it step by set so it is good to escape. I believe it should be flexible and dedicate the intents based on the relating and to write a lesser code when doing that.""The UI for the realtime database could be simplified.""Firebase's real-time information isn't technically real-time. It takes a while to upload user activity into the app. It's not as fast as Datadog, the other solution we use.""There was no way of knowing how the rise in traffic would impact the price.""The solution needs to offer capabilities to work offline. Like Firestore, we should be able to do insertion, updating, and deletion offline.""The product must support more complex queries."

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Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "It's $60,000 to $70,000 a month to replace about $10,000 a month in data center costs."
  • "Google Compute Engine is not the least expensive solution. Microsoft Azure, and Microsoft One, are offering a less expensive solution. The price is based on usage. Whenever we use it, we have to pay for only usage. It is a pay-as-you-go model."
  • "Google Compute Engine's pricing is flexible and the best of all other alternatives."
  • "In terms of improvement, one is definitely the licensing piece. So there is a feature, the BYOL (Bring Your Own License) licensing piece, to bring your own license. It is not that straightforward. It requires some support from Google to get it sorted, access those licenses, and configure those licenses."
  • "I rate GCE's pricing a five out of ten since it's affordable."
  • "Google is providing money for learning Google Compute Engine. They offer a $300 free trial to new customers. Any beginner can easily get started."
  • More Google Compute Engine Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "They have a free tier that will cover most projects. For more intensive use, you pay as you use it, but the price is very cheap."
  • "It is not easy to calculate the cost per copy, use or if the load rose dramatically we did not know how that would impact the final price."
  • "The monthly cost is based on writing data and queries to the database."
  • "The pricing component is a bit confusing when it comes to what exactly you'll pay for, but I wouldn't say it's expensive."
  • "The moment you go into volumes, then you work on a pay-per-volume basis."
  • "The price of Google Firebase is very good."
  • "We are using the free version of Google Firebase."
  • "Pricing for Google Firebase is not so expensive, and if you're a start-up with a small amount of data, it will be quite cheap, and there's even a free tier that you can use. If you're doing a pilot with a reasonable amount of data, for example, just a few gigabytes, it's still on the free tier. If you increase the amount of data, Google Firebase pricing is still reasonable."
  • More Google Firebase Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:Everything is simple and useful. The initial setup is not challenging.
    Top Answer:The pricing is comparable to the competitors. I haven't noticed any difference.
    Top Answer:It would be better if there was an option to change the background. Like in Gmail, there's an option to change your theme. That's my recommendation.
    Top Answer:I would recommend Google Firebase instead of Microsoft Azure, simply for the array of features that it has to offer. In particular, the Firebase library grants you access to a shared data structure… more »
    Top Answer:We like Google Firebase hosting and authentication and also the excellent cloud functionality. Our team found the flexibility of handling and dealing with the database through EDL to be very useful… more »
    Ranking
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    484
    Comparisons
    264
    Reviews
    9
    Average Words per Review
    713
    Rating
    8.9
    Views
    13,622
    Comparisons
    8,368
    Reviews
    19
    Average Words per Review
    391
    Rating
    8.3
    Comparisons
    Learn More
    Overview

    Google Compute Engine delivers virtual machines running in Google's innovative data centers and worldwide fiber network. Compute Engine's tooling and workflow support enable scaling from single instances to global, load-balanced cloud computing.

    Compute Engine's VMs boot quickly, come with persistent disk storage, and deliver consistent performance. Our virtual servers are available in many configurations including predefined sizes or the option to create Custom Machine Types optimized for your specific needs. Flexible pricing and automatic sustained use discounts make Compute Engine the leader in price/performance.

    Google Firebase is a stable, reliable, and scalable mobile platform that enables you to quickly develop apps, accelerate them, and monitor their performance.

    With Google Firebase You Can

    • Build and run successful apps
    • Scale globally
    • Monitor app quality and performance with little effort
    • Boost user engagement

    Google Firebase Features:

    • Crashlytic
    • Automatic updates
    • Fast and easy deployment
    • Access to Cloud Firestore
    • Multi-platform sign-in authentication
    • Flexible drop-in UI
    • Real-time database
    • Remote configuration
    • Firebase machine learning
    • Cloud messaging
    • Advanced message targeting
    • Push messages
    • Error monitoring

    SDKs supported by Google Firebase:

    • Web SDK
    • iOS SDK
    • Android SDK
    • Admin SDK

    Benefits of Google Firebase:

    • Fast implementation: Google Firebase makes it possible for you to set up your authentication system quickly, using minimal code.
    • Comprehensive security: With Google Firebase, your systems remain secured; It is backed by Google Sign-in, Chrome Password Manager, and also Smart Lock.
    • Machine learning capabilities: Firebase offers machine learning capabilities that help you deploy and train custom models.
    • Eliminate the need to manage servers: Because Google Firebase offers cloud functions, it enables you to run your mobile backend code without having to also manage your servers.
    • Authentication for any platform: Google’s Firebase authentication makes the sign-in process easier by providing an end-to-end identity solution that works with any platform.
    • Customized notifications: With cloud messaging, you can customize alerts, defining how and when they are sent, what sounds they should make, and can also select the expiration date for each message. In addition, it gives you the ability to track custom conversion events.
    • Fast and secure web hosting: Firebase makes it possible for you to have easy and secure web hosting with fast content delivery. Firebase hosting also provides free SSL certificates.
    • Cloud storage: With Google Firebase you have access to cloud storage that supports robust uploads and downloads, can handle user-generated content, and provides simple and intuitive access control.
    • Developer-friendly: Developers prefer to use Firebase because it lets them focus on creating frontend code for mobile applications rather than having to concentrate on backend code.

    Reviews from Real Users

    PeerSpot user Nilakshi S., technical team lead at AuthentiCode says, “The solution is very stable and very reliable. There aren't any bugs or glitches.”

    "What I like most about Google Firebase is that it's one of the easier options to host a website or app quickly," says Craig F., application development manager at a financial services firm.

    A senior developer at a consultancy says, “The documentation for Google Firebase is great. Also, what I like about it is the integration to Android, which is the reason I went with Firebase.”

    Sample Customers
    Allthecooks, BetterCloud, Bluecore, Cosentry, Evite, Ezakus, HTC, Infectious Media, iStreamPlanet, Mendelics, SageMathCloud, Sedex, Treeptik, Wibigoo, Wix, zulily, Zync
    Fabulous, Pic Collage, Shazam, SkyScanner
    Top Industries
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Financial Services Firm16%
    University16%
    Computer Software Company13%
    Manufacturing Company8%
    REVIEWERS
    University27%
    Computer Software Company20%
    Financial Services Firm20%
    Retailer7%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company13%
    Comms Service Provider11%
    Educational Organization9%
    University9%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business31%
    Midsize Enterprise23%
    Large Enterprise46%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business15%
    Midsize Enterprise7%
    Large Enterprise79%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business65%
    Midsize Enterprise19%
    Large Enterprise16%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business25%
    Midsize Enterprise17%
    Large Enterprise59%
    Buyer's Guide
    Google Compute Engine vs. Google Firebase
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Google Compute Engine vs. Google Firebase and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Google Compute Engine is ranked 11th in Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS) with 13 reviews while Google Firebase is ranked 5th in Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS) with 32 reviews. Google Compute Engine is rated 8.8, while Google Firebase is rated 8.4. The top reviewer of Google Compute Engine writes "A cost-effective and quite an elastic solution ". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Google Firebase writes "An application development solution that has a lot of services like storage, Firestore, and push notifications". Google Compute Engine is most compared with Google App Engine, Microsoft Azure, Amazon AWS, IBM Public Cloud and SAP Cloud Platform, whereas Google Firebase is most compared with Microsoft Azure, Amazon AWS, DigitalOcean, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) and Alibaba Cloud. See our Google Compute Engine vs. Google Firebase report.

    See our list of best Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS) vendors.

    We monitor all Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.