Back4app vs Firebase Hosting (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Back4app and Firebase Hosting share a 2.4 GPA, both have a free plan and their prices can't be set side by side, so the choice depends on whether you care more about ease of use, where Back4app grades higher, or value for money, where Firebase Hosting does.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on the free plan, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Back4app
Managed backend platform built on Parse, billed per app
Firebase Hosting
Google's CDN hosting for static and single-page web apps
Which one is for you
Pick Back4app if
- Fits if you want a hosted Parse backend for one prototype or small app
- Makes sense if you'd rather not run a database server
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you run several apps, because each app needs its own subscription
- Tight if you outgrow 25K requests, as the next plan is $15 per app a month billed annually
- Pricey if you grow, since Pay As You Go is $80 and Dedicated is $400 per app a month
- Watch out: monthly billing is higher than the annual prices, and the page shows only the saving
- Watch out: point-in-time backups are an add-on at $100 a month on lower plans
Pick Firebase Hosting if
- Fits if you ship a static site or single-page app and already use Firebase
- Works for small sites that stay under 360 MB of transfer a day
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you need a full-stack app, since that goes to a different product
- Tight if you get traffic: 360 MB a day on the free plan
- Skip it if you don't want a command line, as deploys use firebase deploy
- Watch out: going past Spark needs Blaze, which bills usage and needs a payment method, and the $300 credit is for eligible accounts
How we grade them
| 2.4GPABack4appFair | 2.4GPAFirebase HostingFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CThe MVP plan is $15 per app a month billed annually, in the middle of web hosting at $10.99 to $20.83. It covers one app, and the next step is $80. | BFree up to the Spark limits, then $0.026 per GB stored and $0.15 per GB of transfer with no base fee. There's no fixed plan price to compare, so this is a judgement on small sites. |
| Free plan and trial | BA free plan with 25K requests, 250 MB database, 1 GB transfer and 1 GB files, no card needed. A prototype can live on it, a real app will not. | BSpark needs no payment method: 10 GB storage, 360 MB a day of transfer, custom domain and SSL. Enough for a small site. |
| Features | CA database with generated APIs, auth, cloud functions, jobs, real-time and storage. Web deployment and the AI Agent have separate pricing pages that weren't readable for the listing. | CCDN, SSL, preview channels, rollbacks and GitHub Actions. The gap: it's for static and single-page apps, and full-stack apps go to App Hosting. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You build the backend and its data model yourself. | DNo store rating on record. You deploy with the firebase command line and a config file. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, but it has an API and connects to GitHub, MongoDB Atlas, DigitalOcean and Mailgun. | BWeb only, with GitHub Actions, Cloud Functions, Cloud Run and Cloud Logging. |
| Best for | a managed Parse backend for small apps | static sites and single-page apps on Google's CDN |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Back4app and Firebase Hosting. How we grade
Where they differ
- Back4app also covers AI agents.
- Firebase Hosting also covers page speed.
At a glance
| Back4app | Firebase Hosting | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $15 per app / month, billed annually (MVP plan) | $0.026 per GB stored beyond 10 GB (Blaze, pay as you go) |
| Free plan | Free plan with 25K requests, 250 MB database, 1 GB data transfer and 1 GB file storage, no credit card required. | Spark plan: 10 GB of storage and 360 MB of data transfer a day, with custom domain, global CDN and SSL included, and no payment method needed. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Back4app | |
| Price read from | back4app.com | firebase.google.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Back4app
- Each subscription covers one app, so several apps mean several subscriptions.
- The listed prices are billed annually; the monthly rate is higher and the page shows only the saving.
- Point-in-time backups on Dedicated include an add-on priced at $100 a month on lower plans.
- Web deployment and the AI Agent have their own pricing pages, which were not readable for this entry.
Firebase Hosting
- Data transfer is limited to 360 MB a day on the no-cost plan, which a busy site can pass quickly.
- It is aimed at static and single-page apps; full-stack web apps are pointed to App Hosting.
- Going past the Spark limits needs the Blaze plan, which bills usage and needs a payment method.
- The pricing page lists the Blaze credit of $300 only for eligible accounts.
Key features
Back4app
- Database with auto-generated APIs
- A MongoDB-backed database with REST, GraphQL and SDK access, created automatically for each class, cloud function or job.
- Authentication and access control
- User sign-up and login with ACLs and role-based access control, plus email templates for verification and password reset.
- Cloud functions and jobs
- Server-side JavaScript functions that connect to the database and auth; the number of Cloud Code jobs rises by plan.
- Web deployment
- Deploy full-stack web apps from GitHub to a b4a.app URL with automatic CI/CD.
- Real-time and storage
- Live queries for instant data sync, and file storage delivered through a global CDN.
- AI Agent
- Describe an app and the AI Agent provisions the Back4app backend and deploys a web app, per the vendor's home page.
Firebase Hosting
- Global CDN and SSL
- Files are cached at CDN edges worldwide and served as gzip or Brotli, with zero-configuration SSL certificates.
- Preview channels
- A change can be deployed to a temporary, shareable preview channel for review before it goes live.
- One-command deploys
- Sites built with frameworks such as React, Vite and Vue deploy with firebase deploy, and rollbacks use the same CLI.
- GitHub Actions
- A GitHub Actions integration deploys automatically on push.
- Logging and analytics
- Server-side analytics through Cloud Logging show visitors, response statuses and request latency.
- Localized content
- The product page says content can be served by country and language through the CDN.
Plans
Back4app
Free$0
25K requests a month, 250 MB database, 1 GB transfer and 1 GB files, for developing, learning and prototyping.
MVP$15
per app / month, billed annually
500K requests, 1 GB data storage, 250 GB transfer, 50 GB files and daily backups. The page shows a 40% annual saving.
Pay As You Go$80
per app / month, billed annually
5M requests, 3 GB data storage, 1 TB transfer, 250 GB files, daily backups, SOC 2 and ISO 27001. Annual saving of 20% shown.
Dedicated$400
per app / month, billed annually
Unlimited requests on 10 CPUs and 14 GB RAM, 8 GB data storage, 2 TB transfer, point-in-time backups, HIPAA after a BAA.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom SLAs, on-premises or your own infrastructure, multi-region, professional services and a dedicated engineer.
Firebase Hosting
Spark (no-cost)$0
10 GB of storage, 360 MB a day of data transfer, custom domain and SSL, and multiple sites per project.
Blaze (pay as you go)$0
no base fee; usage billed beyond the Spark amounts
Storage is free up to 10 GB, then $0.026 per GB. Data transfer is free up to 360 MB a day, then $0.15 per GB. May include $300 in free credit if eligible.
Ways to pay less
Back4app
- Annual discount
Annual billing saves 20% to 40%
The pricing page shows 40% off on MVP and 20% off on Pay As You Go and Dedicated when billed annually.
Firebase Hosting
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Back4app or Firebase Hosting?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Back4app starts at $15 per app / month, billed annually (MVP plan), and Firebase Hosting starts at $0.026 per GB stored beyond 10 GB (Blaze, pay as you go).
Which has a free plan, Back4app or Firebase Hosting?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Back4app and Firebase Hosting have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.