What is difference between Firebase Realtime Database & Firebase Firestore?

Linearloop is one of the well-known mobile app development companies in India where we develop applications using recent technologies. Also, from time to time, we keep updating our audiences about the facts related to technology.

Considering the fact, in this article, we are going to share the difference between Firebase Realtime Database & Firebase Firestore. Knowing their significant differences will help developers for the implementation of the right firebase.

Furthermore, the database plays an important role in the mobile application. It stores data and makes execution of data as per the functional need. So Firebase is a component that facilitates Firebase Realtime Database and Firestore. 

Additionally, both databases are based on the cloud and synchronize data by making it accessible to the clients. But there are some concepts that create significant differences between them. So let’s focus on real-time database vs firestore.

Cloud Firestore: For mobile app development, cloud firestore is the recent database. The concept was developed after seeing the prominent performance of the Realtime Database.

Cloud Firestore is enriched with some premium features such as fast execution, quick queries, and more intuitive data as compared to Realtime Database.

Realtime database: As stated above Realtime database was the primary database of Firebase that efficiently synchronizes data in realtime.

There are various parameters based on which we will discuss the concept of both databases. Let’s move towards Realtime Database vs Firestore:

Data Model

The knowledge of architectural concept helps you understanding the approach of working of the databases.

Realtime Database: The data is simple and hence stored as one large JSON tree. Furthermore, the complex form of data is challenging to save using Realtime Database.

Cloud Firebase: The simple data can easily be stored here in the form of documents Moreover, the documents are the same as JSON. Developers will be able to store complex data on a large scale as well, by using sub-collections.

Querying

How do both the databases follow the methods of queries in order to manipulate the data?

Realtime Database: 

• Using limited sorting and filtering, deep queries can be performed. 
• You can either perform sorting or filtering at a time, not both simultaneously.
• Deep queries are involved in a realtime database as a result of which it returns the overall subtree.
• Here, data can be accessed at any time.
• No indexing is required for queries and as the dataset grows, some queries degrade.

Cloud Firebase: 

• With compound sorting and filtering Cloud Firebase permits the indexing of queries.
• The queries can be chained for sorting and filtering both in a single query.
• Unlike real-time databases, the entire subtree is not returned here.
• The entire document is returned in Cloud Firebase.

Write & Transaction

Write and Transaction are the two main elements of operation while implementing firebase. We must check the response of the databases against these two components.

Realtime Database: 

• With RealTime Database, programmers will be able to perform basic write & transaction operations using SET & UPDATE.
• The transactions will be automatic on particular data subtree.

Cloud Firebase: 

• With Cloud Firebase, developers will be able to perform an advanced transaction and write operations. The operations are performed using SET and UPDATE along with advanced transformations like numeric and array functions.
• Developers can read or write the transactions from any section of the database.

Reliability & Performance

Whenever any application is developed, its reliability and performance are always calculated. If these two factors do not meet the client’s expectations, the release of the app doesn’t take place. So, now we judge both the firebase databases on the factor of reliability and performance.

Realtime Database:

• The database is limited because of single-zone availability.
• Realtime Databases are best suited for constant state-syncing processes because of their low latency.

Cloud Firebase:  

• The cloud firebase ensures better reliability and performance because of multi-region solutions.
• It is available in the format of regional and multi-regional. 

Scalability

Scalability is also an important parameter in order to judge the behavior of any technology.

Realtime Database:

• With Realtime database, developers need sharding to get better scalability.
• Around 200000 concurrent connections can be scaled along with 1000 writes per second.
• You get unlimited write rates for individual data.

Cloud Firebase:  

• With Cloud Firebase, developers get scalability because it is automatic.
• As said, scaling is automatic here, so you can scale 1 million concurrent connections with 10000 writes per second. 
• There is a limit to single documents.

Security

Realtime Database

• The realtime database follows cascading rules-language because of which authorization & validation are separated.
• The rules of the realtime database keep reads & writes of the mobile SDKs secure.
• The validation of data is checked through validation rules.

Cloud Firebase

• The approach of authorization and validation are combined here because no cascading rules-language is used here.
• Because of the security rules of Cloud Firestore the reads and writes from server SDKs is always secured
• If the output of any query contains data, the users are not required to access and in the end query fails.

Related Topic:

React Native Vs. Flutter: What should you pick to build your Mobile App?

Conclusion

Using our best experience and firebase real-time database dependency, we have explained the concept of Realtime Database vs Firestore.

Moreover, we have some brilliant minds with us and hence if you are looking for mobile app developers in USA, we can be your service provider.

Furthermore, we hope you have got the idea of Firebase Realtime Database & Firebase Firestore. We are a well-known flutter app development company in India and USA as well.

Hence if you have any queries regarding the topic, feel free to get in touch. Our support is always open because we value our clients.