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Best Free Alternatives to Firebase
Stop paying Pay-as-you-go (Blaze Plan). Discover professional-grade tools that won't break your budget.
Category: BackendVerified for 2025
Top Recommended Replacements
Supabase
FREEBest Overall Firebase Alternative
Why we like it
Built on PostgreSQL (SQL joins, ACID compliance); built-in 'Vector' support for AI apps; supports Row-Level Security (RLS); open-source and self-hostable via Docker.
Keep in mind
Postgres requires more schema planning than NoSQL; Edge Functions can have 'cold start' latency on the free tier.
Appwrite
FREEBest for Privacy & Self-Hosting
Why we like it
100% open-source; unified 'all-in-one' dashboard; modular architecture (use only what you need); built-in MariaDB database; privacy-compliant for healthcare and finance.
Keep in mind
Smaller community ecosystem than Supabase or Firebase; fewer third-party integrations (extensions).
PocketBase
FREEBest for Indie Devs & Simple Apps
Why we like it
Comes as a single portable Go binary; uses SQLite for extreme speed; incredibly easy to deploy on a $5 VPS; built-in auth, storage, and real-time subscriptions.
Keep in mind
No horizontal scaling (limited to one server); not suitable for massive enterprise workloads with millions of concurrent users.
Convex
FREEBest for Reactive TypeScript Apps
Why we like it
Automatically syncs state between backend and frontend (no more manual cache invalidation); 100% TypeScript; built-in ACID transactions; revolutionary for React/Next.js dev.
Keep in mind
Proprietary cloud (cannot self-host); requires a different mental model (everything is a function).
Nhost
FREEBest for GraphQL Lovers
Why we like it
The 'Full-stack' Hasura experience; auto-generated GraphQL APIs from your Postgres schema; built-in auth and S3 storage; high-performance serverless functions.
Keep in mind
Niche focus on GraphQL might be overkill for simple REST-based projects; interface is more technical than Firebase.
AWS Amplify (Gen 2)
Best for AWS Ecosystem Users
Why we like it
TypeScript-first 'Code-first' DX; scales better than Firebase for enterprise; natively connects to 200+ AWS services (Lambda, DynamoDB, S3).
Keep in mind
The 'AWS Console' is notoriously complex and intimidating; Gen 2 is a significant shift from Gen 1, requiring a learning curve.
Parse Platform
FREEBest Legacy Open Source Choice
Why we like it
Massive community and long history; can be deployed on any cloud; supports both GraphQL and REST; includes a dashboard for data management.
Keep in mind
Architecture is older and 'heavier' than modern tools like Supabase; development pace has slowed down.
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