XServer vs Firebase - What are the differences

XServer vs Firebase - What are the differences

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4 min read

When it comes to choosing a backend solution for your project - either a mobile app or a website - several factors must be considered to make a good selection. Considering effective features of your preferred services is essential. If you are looking for a Backend as a Service solution (BaaS) to enhance the backend of your applications, XServer comes to help.

Let's say it straight: at present, Firebase is a well-known backend, managed by Google, while XServer is an indie backend hosted on Amazon AWS, but it's growing day by day in terms of subscribers and options.

In the table below you can see the comparison between the 2 backends.

XServer Firebase
Data Storage in JSON format
Real-time data sync
Visual Database with Tools No
Third-party Authentication Google, Apple, Facebook Google, Twitter, Facebook
Intuitive Settings Panel No
Download and self-host the API No
Custom Background Job No
Custom code √ - through the self-hosted API No
SDK Languages Swift, Java, C#, PHP, Javascript Swift, Java, C++, C#, Javascript
Push Notifications iOS, Android, + possibility to send campaigns
Learning Difficulty Level •• ••••
Pricing Free for 10 MB storage - 1 Database | 4 Custom Paid Plans Free (limits apply) | Blaze plan - Pay as you go
Download SDKs on Github
Documentation

As you can see, there are a few points that make developer choose XServer nowadays: the possibility to buy the API and host it on an AWS Lightsail instance - or your own VPS server - which allows you to also customize the UI and code, and the visual database that looks like a spreadsheet, so it makes it easy to manage data.

If you choose to use the XServer Baas at xserver.app you'll be able to easily and quickly configure your database settings for Push Notifications, Google Web Sign-in, email verification on sign up, and upload a custom Javascript file with functions to run background jobs.

Conclusion

If you are building an app or a website that needs a backend, the best option depends on the type of application you are creating.

XServer – Better for apps looking for flexibility, customization on source code and to integrate with other cloud services.

Firebase – Better for apps looking for real-time database and Crash Reporting.

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