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✨ Firebase - Google's Free App builder

✨ Firebase - Google's Free App builder

But is it any good? 🤷‍♀️

Oliver Green
April 21, 2025

❔ What is Firebase?

🔥 Firebase is Google’s all-in-one platform that lets you build, launch, and scale apps without wrestling with servers or backend code. It offers:

Realtime Database: Sync data across users instantly.
Authentication: Easy login systems (email, Google, etc.).
Hosting: Fast and secure web hosting.
Cloud Functions: Run backend code without managing servers.
Analytics: Understand user behavior to improve your app.

In short, Firebase handles the heavy lifting so you can focus on building your app’s features and user experience.

What is fantastic is the branding, Google has nailed 🔨 the look of the application. The logo, the colour palette and the styling is lovely 💌

💸 Is It Free?

Yes! Firebase offers a generous free tier (the Spark Plan) that’s perfect for prototypes, MVPs (Minimum Viable Product) and small projects. As your app grows, you can upgrade to the Blaze Plan, which is pay-as-you-go based on your usage.

🧩 What’s It Good For?

Rapid Prototyping: Quickly build and test your app ideas.
Real-Time Apps: Ideal for chat apps, live dashboards, and collaborative tools.
Cross-Platform Development: Supports Android, iOS, and web apps.
Startups & Solo Developers: Great for small teams looking to launch quickly without managing infrastructure.

✏️ Testing Firebase to Build a Palette Generator App

Using a basic prompt I was able to generate an okay 👌 looking application. Here is the prompt I went with (I used Claude to help me with this summary)

Claude prompt

Prompt to Claude

Prompt output input to Firebase:-

Prompt used to build the app in Firebase

What is great and different to other apps is 🔥 Firebase creates a blueprint before generating any code 🤓.

Blueprint

The output was clean and clear, but, I didn’t love the UI, and using the same prompt with V0 provided a much cleaner and better look.

Firebase output

V0 outputs

V0 image

After a couple of prompts I integrate Gemini and have the ✨ AI chose colours based on The >LoCode Lounge branding. This works really well and I like the choices the app made.

Unfortunately, 💢 each time I picked a colour, all the swatches shook, and despite me asking Firebase to resolve the issue, it remained ❎ .

🌟 What Users Are Saying

Pros:

"Super easy to deploy... Great, easy to use UI and advanced features."
"Seamless integration, real-time database capabilities, and scalability."
“Quick Setup: “You could potentially set up Firebase and have a functional app prototype within hours instead of days.”
“Comprehensive Tools: “With Firebase, out of the box, you get: authentication, database, storage, analytics, push notifications, serverless computing (i.e. Firebase Functions) and many more.”

Cons:

"Pricing structure, especially for high-traffic apps, can be complex and potentially costly."
“Scalability Concerns: “Firebase’s real-time database is excellent for simple applications, but as your app grows, you might face scalability challenges.”
“Cost Management: “While Firebase’s free tier is suitable for prototypes and small apps, costs can escalate quickly as your app grows.”

🛠️ Is Firebase Right for You?

Great for:

Beginners wanting to build apps without deep coding knowledge.
Developers looking for rapid prototyping tools.
Teams needing scalable backend solutions.

Consider alternatives if:

You require complex SQL queries.
You're concerned about vendor lock-in

🛋️ Final Thoughts

Firebase simplifies the app development process, making it accessible for creators of all levels. Whether you're building your first app or scaling an existing one, Firebase offers tools to support your journey.

➕ Gorgeous Branding

➕ Easy to use and setup

➕ Adding Gemini AI was seemless

➕ Very generous free tier

➖ Fixing issues was challenging

➖ I didn't love the UI it chose for the app

I need more time with Firebase, but on first use it has a lot of potential. Lets us know how you get on and your experiance of Firebase