Should I use Firebase or Supabase for a new mobile app?

For most new mobile applications, Supabase is our recommendation. It provides a relational database (PostgreSQL), auth, storage and real-time — the same features as Firebase — but with SQL instead of Firestore's NoSQL model. SQL gives you complex queries, joins and data integrity constraints that Firestore cannot match. Firebase is the better choice when you need FCM push notifications (which we use alongside Supabase), Crashlytics or when your team has deep Firebase experience.

How does Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) work?

FCM is Google's cross-platform push notification service. Your server sends a notification payload to FCM, which delivers it to the target device via the platform notification channel (APNs for iOS, FCM Direct for Android). In React Native, Expo Notifications wraps FCM and APNs into a unified API. For Flutter, the firebase_messaging package provides the integration. FCM is free regardless of notification volume — it is the most cost-effective push delivery option available.

Can Firebase Firestore replace a relational database?

For simple document-oriented data with known access patterns, yes. Firestore is fast, real-time and scales automatically. But for any application with relational data — users with orders, orders with line items, products with categories — the lack of joins and limited query operators (no OR conditions, no aggregate queries) becomes a serious constraint. We have migrated multiple applications from Firestore to PostgreSQL when query complexity grew beyond what Firestore supports cleanly.

How unpredictable is Firebase pricing?

Firebase Firestore pricing is per document read, write and delete — not per query. A single read operation that fetches 1,000 documents costs 1,000 read units. Real-time listeners count a read for every document returned on the initial snapshot and every subsequent change. Applications with many concurrent users, frequent updates or large collections can see costs spike unexpectedly. Supabase charges per database compute and storage — more predictable for applications with defined read/write patterns.

Backend

Firebase

Google's real-time backend for mobile applications.

Book a Discovery Call Firebase website

Firebase is Google's mobile and web backend platform — Firestore (NoSQL document database), Authentication, Cloud Storage, Cloud Functions, Firebase Hosting, Firebase Analytics and Firebase Cloud Messaging (push notifications). We use Firebase selectively — primarily for push notifications (via FCM), crash reporting (Crashlytics) and remote configuration in React Native and Flutter projects.

Why we chose it

Why Ascii-Core uses Firebase

1
Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) is the industry-standard push notification delivery for Android and iOS
2
Crashlytics provides real-time crash reporting with symbolicated stack traces for React Native and Flutter
3
Remote Config enables feature flags and A/B tests without app store update cycles
4
Firestore real-time listeners suit highly collaborative, high-frequency update use cases

Ideal use cases

When to use Firebase

Push notification delivery in mobile applications
Crash reporting and performance monitoring for React Native and Flutter
Real-time collaborative features (live cursors, shared state, chat)
Feature flags and remote configuration in mobile apps
Projects already committed to the Google Cloud ecosystem

Trade-offs

Honest limitations

We believe in accurate trade-offs. These are the cases where a different tool may be the better choice.

Firestore is NoSQL — relational queries, joins and transactions are painful or impossible
Pricing is per-read/write — costs can scale unexpectedly with high-frequency operations
Vendor lock-in to Google Cloud — migration to another provider is expensive
Firebase Auth has limitations for enterprise SSO compared to Auth0 or Clerk

Services

Services using Firebase

Ascii-Core service offerings where this technology plays a central role.

Mobile Development

Native-quality apps for iOS and Android.

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React Native Development

Cross-platform mobile apps that feel native on iOS and Android.

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Flutter Development

Beautiful cross-platform apps with a single Dart codebase.

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Solutions

Business solutions using Firebase

Outcome-focused solution packages that rely on this technology.

Scale Customer Service with AI

AI-powered customer service that handles volume growth without proportional cost growth — from 100 to 10,000 conversations per day with the same team.

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Launch Your MVP Faster

Scope, build and ship your minimum viable product with a team that has done it 20+ times — without the risk of over-engineering or under-delivering.

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Comparisons

Firebase comparisons

How this technology stacks up against common alternatives.

Supabase vs Firebase: Which Backend Should You Choose?

Related technologies

Other tools commonly used alongside this technology in Ascii-Core projects.

React NativeMobile FlutterMobile SupabaseBackend

FAQ

Firebase questions

Ready to build with Firebase?

We use Firebase in production across client projects in Morocco, Europe and the GCC. Book a discovery call to scope your project.