Skip to content
Forkshelf
Menu

Firebase vs PocketBase

Firebase is Google's hosted app development platform [S1]. PocketBase describes itself as an "Open Source backend in 1 file" [S5]. Both give an app a database with user sign-in. Firebase runs on Google's servers. PocketBase is "self-hosted only", so you run it on a server you control [S7]. We checked every figure on this page against the vendors' own pages on 16 Oct 2026, and rechecked the repository status and versions on 27 Oct 2026. The page compares features and cost first, then shows how to run PocketBase on Railway.

Firebase vs PocketBase at a glance

Firebase and PocketBase compared, from the vendors' own pages and the GitHub API
FirebasePocketBase
LicenseClient SDKs are Apache-2.0 [S9]. The backend is a hosted Google service, which we read as not open source and not self-hostable [S9]MIT [S8]
Hosting modelHosted by Google [S1]Self-hosted only [S7]
DatabaseFirestore and Realtime Database [S2]Embedded SQLite in WAL mode [S6][S7]
AuthFirebase Authentication, free up to 50K monthly active users [S2]Email/password and OAuth2 sign-ups [S5]
RealtimeRealtime Database [S2]Realtime subscriptions [S5][S6]
File storageCloud Storage, which needs the Blaze plan [S4]Local disk or S3 storage [S5]
Pricing modelSpark (no cost) and Blaze (pay as you go) [S2][S3]Free software (MIT) [S8]. You pay for the server you run it on
ScalingManaged by Google [S1]"Only on a single server, aka. vertical" [S7]

What is PocketBase?

PocketBase is an open-source backend that ships as "a single portable executable" with an embedded SQLite database [S6]. The project lists a realtime database, authentication, file storage and an admin dashboard on its home page [S5]. Its database comes with a schema builder, data validations and a REST API [S5]. You can run it as a standalone app or use it as a Go framework and extend it with Go and JavaScript hooks [S5].

The code is on GitHub at pocketbase/pocketbase under the MIT license, with 61,605 stars on 8 Nov 2026 [S8]. On 27 Oct 2026 the PocketBase site shows v0.41.0 [S5]. The last release on GitHub is v0.40.6, published on 23 Oct 2026 (SGT) [S10].

Repository status. GitHub shows the pocketbase/pocketbase repository as "archived by the owner on Oct 26, 2026" [S6] and read-only [S8]. Its README says the repo has moved to ganigeorgiev.com/pocketbase/pocketbase [S6], and the PocketBase site now links there [S5]. The project is still developed at the new address, and the site shows a newer version than the last GitHub release [S5].

Features compared: auth, database, realtime, storage

Auth. Firebase Authentication is free up to 50K monthly active users, and SAML/OIDC sign-in is free up to 50 monthly active users [S2]. Phone sign-in on Blaze is billed per SMS sent [S2]. PocketBase documents email/password sign-up and OAuth2 providers such as Google and GitHub [S5]. Phone/SMS sign-in and SAML/OIDC are not documented on the PocketBase pages we read [S5].

Database. On the Spark plan, Firestore (Standard edition) includes 1 GiB of stored data and 50K document reads per day [S2]. Writes and deletes are each capped at 20K per day [S2]. PocketBase stores data in embedded SQLite, and its FAQ says there are "no plans for supporting other databases" [S7].

Realtime. Firebase offers the Realtime Database as a product [S2]. PocketBase supports realtime subscriptions on its embedded database [S5].

File storage. Cloud Storage for Firebase now needs the Blaze plan, even for default buckets [S4]. Spark projects get 402 or 403 errors from bucket API calls [S4]. Blaze still includes a no-cost quota, such as 100 GB a month of downloads for *.firebasestorage.app buckets [S2][S4]. PocketBase stores files on local disk or in S3 storage [S5].

Server code. Cloud Functions is not available on Spark [S2]. On Blaze the first 2M invocations a month are free, then US$0.40 per million [S2]. PocketBase uses Go and JavaScript hooks for custom logic [S5].

Push and analytics. Firebase Cloud Messaging is listed as no-cost [S2]. Firebase also lists Crashlytics, Google Analytics, Remote Config and A/B Testing [S2]. We did not find PocketBase equivalents documented on the pages we read, so check before you plan around them.

Cost: Firebase pricing vs self-hosting PocketBase

Firebase has two plans. Spark is no-cost and needs no payment method [S2]. It includes no-cost quotas for products such as Firestore and Hosting [S3]. Blaze is pay as you go and includes the Spark no-cost usage [S2][S3]. Eligible accounts can get US$300 in free credit [S2]. Hosting on either plan includes 10 GB of storage and 360 MB a day of transfer at no cost [S2]. Past that, Blaze charges US$0.026 per GB for storage and US$0.15 per GB for transfer [S2].

PocketBase itself costs nothing under the MIT license [S8]. Your cost is the server. On Railway, for example, the Hobby plan has a US$5 minimum usage per month, with US$5 of monthly usage credits included [S11][S20]. Volume storage is billed at US$0.00000006 per GB per second, and egress at US$0.05 per GB [S11].

When to choose Firebase, when to choose PocketBase

Firebase is the better fit when:

  • You need to scale past one server. PocketBase scales "only on a single server" [S7].
  • You do not want to run or patch a server. PocketBase has no managed hosting from the project [S7].
  • You rely on push messaging, crash reports or analytics, which Firebase lists as products [S2].
  • You need a stable API now. PocketBase does not guarantee backward compatibility before v1.0.0 [S6].

PocketBase is the better fit when:

  • You want the backend code under an open-source license (MIT) [S8].
  • You want your data on a server you control [S7].
  • Your app fits on one server and SQLite suits your data [S7].

The PocketBase project moved its repository off GitHub to ganigeorgiev.com/pocketbase/pocketbase and is still developed there [S6][S5]. The old GitHub copy was archived on Oct 26, 2026 [S6] and is read-only [S8].

Lock-in and moving off Firebase. In our reading, the Firestore and Realtime Database APIs are Firebase-specific. So are Security Rules and Cloud Messaging. Client code would need rewriting for the PocketBase SDK. Exports are possible. Firestore has a managed export service through gcloud and the Firestore API [S12]. That service needs the Blaze plan, and each exported document counts as one read [S12]. User accounts can be exported to JSON or CSV with the Firebase CLI auth:export command [S13]. To reuse password hashes you also need the "Password hash parameters" from the console [S13]. On the PocketBase side, the FAQ says "We don't have builtin data import/export helpers at the moment" [S7], so plan the import step yourself.

Self-hosted Firebase alternatives beyond PocketBase

The Forkshelf catalog lists four open-source alternatives to Firebase. They are Supabase, Appwrite, PocketBase and Parse Server [S14]. See the Firebase alternatives page to compare them.

How to run PocketBase on Railway

Affiliate disclosure: Forkshelf earns a commission if you sign up for Railway through the links marked "Paid link" on this page. This does not change the order or content of any comparison here.

Railway hosts a PocketBase template, "Deploy PocketBase [Updated Oct '26]" (railway.com/deploy/pocketbase) [S16]. A community author (Shinyduo) made it. Railway did not, and we found no Railway-authored PocketBase template [S16]. Read the template page and its source repo before you deploy.

To get started, create a Railway account (Paid link). The Free plan starts with a 30-day trial with US$5 of credits, then US$1 a month, and needs no credit card [S11]. It allows up to 0.5 GB of volume storage [S11]. Hobby allows up to 5 GB and Pro up to 1 TB [S11].

Add a volume. PocketBase's production guide says "To persist your data you need to mount a volume at /pb/pb_data." [S17] Railway mounts volumes at a path inside the app, such as /app/data for an app that writes to ./data [S18]. Match the mount path to where your PocketBase build writes pb_data.

Know the limits. Railway allows a single volume per service, and replicas cannot be used with volumes [S19]. In practice that means one PocketBase instance per service [S19], which matches PocketBase's own single-server model [S7].

Plan backups. For replication and disaster recovery, the PocketBase FAQ suggests Litestream as a companion app [S7]. Read the official Going to production guide before launch [S17].

Railway is one option. PocketBase is a single executable [S6], so other hosts can run it too.

FAQ

Is PocketBase free?
Yes. It is MIT-licensed [S8]. You pay only for the server it runs on.

Is Firebase open source?
Its client SDKs are Apache-2.0 [S9]. In our reading the backend is a hosted Google service and cannot be self-hosted [S9].

Can PocketBase scale like Firebase?
PocketBase scales only on a single server, vertically [S7]. Firebase is a managed Google service [S1].

Does PocketBase have a hosted cloud version?
The project says "PocketBase is self-hosted only." [S7]

Can I move my data from Firebase to PocketBase?
You can export Firestore data on Blaze [S12] and users through the CLI [S13]. PocketBase has no built-in import helpers yet [S7], so the import is a custom step.

Self-host guides

Sources (fetched 16 Oct 2026 unless a date is given)