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AppwritevsFirebase

Keep the speed. Lose the lock-in._

Everything you liked about Firebase (auth, databases, storage, functions, messaging, realtime, and hosting) on an open-source platform you can run anywhere, with a bill you can cap.

Start building for freeMigrate from Firebase
Migrations
Running in the background
Firebase acme-prodAppwrite acme

  • Users

    Done

    48,213 accounts, password hashes kept

  • Firestore

    Done

    37 collections to tables

  • Storage

    Done

    12.4 GB across 6 buckets

  • Cloud Functions

    Manual

    Rewrite in any of 13+ runtimes

Migration usage is not billed

Translation guide_

Every Firebase product has a home here_

Moving over is mostly a rename. Here is where each piece of your Firebase project lands in Appwrite.

  • Firebase AuthenticationAppwrite Auth
  • Cloud FirestoreTablesDB and DocumentsDB
  • Security RulesPermissions
  • Cloud Storage for FirebaseAppwrite Storage
  • Cloud FunctionsAppwrite Functions
  • Firebase Cloud MessagingAppwrite Messaging
  • Hosting and App HostingAppwrite Sites

Databases_

Documents are just one way to model data_

Firebase is built around Firestore documents. Appwrite gives you five database models in one project: TablesDB on serverless or dedicated compute, plus DocumentsDB, VectorsDB, PostgreSQL, and MySQL on dedicated compute.

Database models in one Appwrite project
5
Firebase: Cloud Firestore
1
AppwriteFirebase

  • TablesDB

    Relational tables

    ServerlessDedicated

    Firebase: Not offered

  • DocumentsDBBeta

    JSON documents

    Dedicated

    Firebase

    Cloud Firestore

    Serverless only

  • VectorsDBBeta

    Vectors and embeddings

    Dedicated

    Firebase: Not offered

  • PostgreSQLBeta

    Native SQL

    Dedicated

    Firebase

    SQL Connect, a separate product

    Billed through Cloud SQL

  • MySQLBeta

    Native SQL

    Dedicated

    Firebase: Not offered

Firestore and Realtime Database are both document stores. Relational data needs SQL Connect, a separate PostgreSQL service billed through Cloud SQL.

Billing_

A bill you can actually cap_

Pay-per-read pricing means one hot listener or a retry loop can multiply your reads overnight. Appwrite Pro starts at $25/mo with generous included usage, and a budget cap that stops scaling at the number you choose.

Illustrative month with a traffic spike

Day 1Day 15Day 30Your budgetAlert at 50%Alert at 100%Requests keep succeeding. So does the bill.

Firebase budgets

Budgets send alerts but do not stop usage. Spend caps are in preview for four services and do not cover Firestore, Storage, or Auth.

Appwrite budget cap

One organization-wide cap on Pro. Your team gets emails as usage approaches it, and automatic scaling stops when you reach it.

One platform_

Everything Firebase does, and then some_

10
Appwrite products in one project
3
Not offered by Firebase

Open source_

Your backend should outlive any roadmap_

Firebase is closed source and cloud only. Appwrite is open source and runs anywhere Docker runs, with the same APIs, SDKs, and Console as Appwrite Cloud. If a product changes direction, your backend does not have to.

Recent Firebase sunsets

  1. June 22, 2026

    Firebase Studio stops accepting new workspaces

  2. March 22, 2027

    Firebase Studio shuts down

  3. March 31, 2027

    Firebase Extensions shut down

~/appwrite
# Your backend, on your servers
docker run -it --rm \
  --publish 20080:20080 \
  --volume /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \
  --volume "$(pwd)"/appwrite:/usr/src/code/appwrite:rw \
  --entrypoint="install" \
  appwrite/appwrite:2.3.0

Appwrite vs Firebase_

Same building blocks, none of the lock-in_

Feature by feature, with very different defaults for openness, access rules, and billing.

Checked against public pricing and documentation in October 2026.

Appwrite
Firebase
Platform
Open source
Yes

Self-host anywhere

No

Client SDKs and emulators only

Self-hosting
Yes

Same APIs and Console as Cloud

No
Web hosting
Sites

Static and SSR on every plan

Hosting and App Hosting

App Hosting requires Blaze

MCP server for AI agents
Yes
Yes
Data and access
Database models
5

Tables, documents, vectors, PostgreSQL, MySQL

Documents

Firestore and Realtime Database

Serverless or dedicated databases
Yes

Serverless TablesDB, or dedicated compute for any engine

No

Firestore is serverless only

Managed PostgreSQL
Yes

Dedicated compute in your project

Partial

SQL Connect, a separate product billed through Cloud SQL

Access rules
Table and row permissions

Role strings, set from Console or SDK

Security Rules

A separate rules language

Relationships between tables
Yes
No

Denormalize or join in code (Firestore)

Realtime coverage
Every service

Rows, files, executions, sessions, teams

Data listeners

Firestore and Realtime Database

Auth and compute
MFA, OIDC, and multi-tenancy
Yes

Included in Appwrite Auth

Partial

Requires the Identity Platform upgrade

Function runtimes
13+

Node.js, Python, Go, Dart, PHP, and more

Node.js and Python

Dart is experimental

Functions on the free plan
Yes

750K executions per month

No

Requires the Blaze plan

Messaging
Email, SMS, and push

Delivers push through FCM and APNs

Push

Firebase Cloud Messaging

Billing
Pricing model
Plan with included usage

Pro from $25/mo, unlimited members

Pay per operation

Reads, writes, and deletes on Firestore

Hard budget cap
Yes

Organization-wide, on Pro

Partial

Preview, four services, not Firestore, Storage, or Auth

Migration from the other platform
Yes

Free, built into the Console

-

Fair play_

When Firebase might still fit_

Firebase helped a generation of developers ship faster, and it can still make sense in a few cases.

  1. 01

    You are deep in Google Cloud and want BigQuery, Analytics, and Crashlytics wired together.

  2. 02

    Your team is already productive on Firebase and is not looking to switch stacks right now.

  3. 03

    You want analytics, crash reporting, remote config, and A/B testing from one vendor.

  4. 04

    Your product is built around Gemini in Firebase and the Google AI stack.

Why developers choose Appwrite over Firebase_

For most new apps, yes. Appwrite gives you the same all-in-one backend as Firebase with readable permissions instead of a rules language, relational tables and managed PostgreSQL, functions in 13+ runtimes, and hard budget caps. It is also open source, so you can self-host it and never get locked in to one cloud.

Go deeper_

See why teams make the switch_

Guides, deep dives, and product pages from the Appwrite team.

BlogAppwrite vs Firebase for AI-assisted developmentReadable permissions, 14 runtimes, and one MCP server for your agent.BlogBudget caps: How to stop unexpected cloud bills before they happenWhy a hard cap beats an alert when traffic spikes.DocsMigrate from FirebaseService account setup, what moves, and known limits.ProductAppwrite RealtimeLive events from every service over one socket.ProductAppwrite DatabasesFive engines with permissions tied to Auth.

Compare_

See how Appwrite stacks up elsewhere_

Appwrite vsSupabasePostgres development platformHosting, messaging, and permissions without SQL policies.Appwrite vsVercelFrontend cloudFrontend hosting with the backend in the same project.Appwrite vsNetlifyWeb hosting platformYour site and its backend, in one project.Appwrite vsNeonServerless PostgresPostgres plus the whole backend around it.Appwrite vsAuth0Identity platform3x the free monthly active users and no growth penalty.Appwrite vsConvexReactive TypeScript backendActually open source, in any language.Appwrite vsCloudinaryMedia platformPay per origin image, not per variant.Appwrite vsClerkUser management and authenticationUsers and data in one place, no webhooks to sync.Appwrite vsAWS AmplifyFull-stack framework on AWSOne project instead of a stack of AWS services.Appwrite vsPlanetScaleManaged MySQL and PostgresPostgres and MySQL, plus the backend around them.PricingOne plan for your whole backend and hosting.Compare plans

Bring your Firebase project home_

Import users, Firestore data, and files in the background, then ship on a platform you control.

Start building for freeRead the migration guide