Firebase vs Sendbird
Discover how Firebase compares to Sendbird, and understand which is right for your use case, based on dimensions such as scalability, pricing, security, and their chat features.
What is Firebase?
Firebase is a cloud-native backend by Google that allows developers to build mobile and web applications. Firebase services include Firebase Realtime data, Firestore database, authentication, and Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM), among others.
What is Sendbird?
Sendbird provides APIs and SDKs for mobile and web to integrate live chats and realtime messaging with message history, typing indicators, and push notifications features. It uses WebSocket connections and offers customizability using UI kits and backend integrations. It also supports video and audio integrations for calls.
Compare Firebase and Sendbird
Let’s compare Firebase and Sendbird, looking at key elements of their offering such as their scalability, pricing, security and chat feature set.
| Scalability | |||
Concurrent connections | Number of users that can be supported in a single chat. | Firebase Up to 200,000 concurrent WebSocket connections per database instance. This limit applies per database. To support more concurrent users, you can shard your data across multiple database instances. Read more | Sendbird Up to 20K users in super groups are supported in a single chat. Overages apply if you exceed plan quota - $5 per additional concurrent connection. |
Connections | Number of connections that can be handled across the platform. | Firebase By sharding, you can scale beyond 200,000 concurrent connections. Each additional database instance adds another 200,000 connections. Read more | Sendbird Unlimited - depends on plan. Overages apply if you exceed plan quota - $0.05 per additional user. |
Channels / rooms | Number of channels or rooms that can be handled across the platform. | Firebase Unlimited. Each path with listeners or queries should not exceed 75 million total nodes. Read more | Sendbird Unlimited. |
Messages | Number of messages that can be handled across the platform. | Firebase Unlimited. Write operations are subject to rate limits. | Sendbird Unlimited. |
Message throughput | Number of messsages that can be published per second. | Firebase ~1,000 writes/sec per database. Read more | Sendbird 5 messages per second. |
| Data integrity | |||
Guaranteed message delivery | Ensures messages are never lost during transmission, even in the presence of network disruptions. | Firebase No | Sendbird No |
Guaranteed message ordering | Maintains the sequence of messages as they were sent. This is particularly important in apps where the chronological order of messages is essential for meaningful communication. | Firebase No | Sendbird No |
Exactly-once message delivery | Guarantees that each message is processed exactly once, preventing data inconsistencies that can arise from duplicate processing or missing messages. | Firebase No | Sendbird No |
| Performance & availability | |||
Uptime Guarantee | An uptime guarantee instills confidence in the reliability of the service and protects your business from the negative impacts of downtime. | Firebase 99.95%. Read more | Sendbird A 99.9% SLA uptime guarantee is provided on paid plans. |
Global edge network | By bringing servers (Points of Presence, or PoP) geographically closer to the devices of end users, and routing requests to the nearest PoP, global latency is reduced to a minimum. | Firebase Yes Firebase's global CDN (content delivery network) supports a global edge network by integrating with Google Cloud Platform (GCP), with edge PoPs spanning over 180 internet exchanges and over 160 interconnection facilities worldwide. Read more | Sendbird Yes Sendbird has servers deployed across 11 worldwide regions. |
Multi-region data replication (message durability) | By replicating data across multiple regions, the risk of data loss or downtime is greatly mitigated since if data is lost or a server fails in one region, the information can be retrieved from another. | Firebase Partial Firebase supports multi-region data replication, primarily through Cloud Firestore locations, but this is not supported in Firebase Realtime Database. Read more | Sendbird No |
No single point of failure or congestion | Having no single point of failure means a system is resilient and can continue to operate even if one part fails. Avoiding a single point of congestion ensures messages flow efficiently across the system and avoids bottlenecks that could lead to performance issues under load. | Firebase Yes Firebase's design uses Google Cloud Platform's infrastructure, which implements redundancy and automatic failover features. | Sendbird No |
Latency | Low latency is crucial for realtime apps as it ensures swift and efficient data transmissions, providing a smoother and more responsive user experience. | Firebase Unknown. | Sendbird Unknown. |
Server-side batching | Reduces the overall message count, lowers costs, and mitigates the risk of hitting rate limits during high-throughput scenarios. | Firebase Partial Firebase supports server-side batching through transactions and batched writes in Firestore. Read more | Sendbird No |
Connection state recovery | Automatically re-establish failed connections and replay missed messages. | Firebase Partial Firebase does not directly support automatic state recovery. The connection state recovery capabilities can be integrated with Firebase Realtime Database and Cloud Firestore, which automatically handle connection issues. | Sendbird Yes Sendbird implements connection state recovery through their chat SDKs, which are designed to automatically handle reconnections and message delivery. |
| Ecosystem support | |||
Supported realtime protocols | Support for multiple protocols provides the flexibility to choose a protocol that best suits your project’s requirements. | Firebase
| Sendbird
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Supported languages | Supporting multiple languages and platforms offers greater flexibility when building cross-platform realtime apps. | Firebase
| Sendbird
:cta[Sendbird chat messaging page[(https://sendbird.com/products/chat-messaging/sdk): :ctaGithub page Sendbird blog page |
| Chat room types | |||
Multi-type chat support (group, DM, supergroups) | Enables chat experiences to be tailored to various user needs, from one-on-one to large, scalable group discussions. | Firebase Firebase does not have built-in support for specific chat room types. Instead, Firebase provides backend tools such as Realtime Database, Firestore, and Firebase Authentication that allow you to implement chat rooms. | Sendbird
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| Chat room management | |||
Presence | Maintaining a view of which users are connected, and their associated metadata, enables their online status to be updated in realtime. | Firebase | Sendbird Yes |
Occupancy | High-level metrics about the clients currently connected to a channel make it simple to show things such as connected user count, or display which channels are the most popular. | Firebase Partial Firebase does not have built-in support for occupancy tracking. However, occupancy tracking functionality can be built on top of the Firebase Realtime Database. | Sendbird Yes |
Typing indicators | Show when others are typing in a chat room, enhancing realtime communication flow. | Firebase Partial Firebase does not have built-in support for typing indicators. However, you can implement this feature using Firestore or Realtime Database. | Sendbird Yes Sendbird offers text and bubble typing indicators in its SDKs and UI kits. |
Room reactions | Customize the chat environment with reactions and other shared room states. | Firebase Partial Firebase does not have built-in support for room reactions or arbitrary room state management specifically for chat applications, but you can integrate Firestore or Realtime Database for building out room reactions. | Sendbird Yes |
| Chat message attributes | |||
Message edits and deletes | Allow users to modify or remove messages. | Firebase Partial Firebase does not have built-in message delete or edit functionality for chat applications. However, it provides flexible database services, such as Firestore, Realtime Database, and cloud functions to implement these features. | Sendbird Yes Sendbird supports both deleting and editing messages. It offers options to delete messages individually or clear all messages in a channel and allows users to edit messages directly. |
Message reactions & emoticons | Boost engagement by enabling users to quickly express emotions or feedback on messages. | Firebase Partial Firebase does not have built-in support for message reactions or emoticons in chat applications. However, it offers tools like Firebase Firestore or Realtime Database to do that with some custom development. | Sendbird Yes |
Rich text support | Enhance messages with rich text formatting in chat. | Firebase No Firebase itself does not provide dedicated tools specifically for rich text formatting. You can leverage various third-party libraries and Firebase's existing tools to implement rich text support in your application. Otherwise, you can store rich text data (like markdown), and implement formatting on the client side. Read more | Sendbird No |
Media attachments | Support for sharing images, videos, and files in chat. | Firebase Partial Firebase supports media attachments, but it doesn't have built-in features specifically for handling media uploads in chat applications. You can leverage its Firebase Cloud Storage with Firestore or Realtime Database. | |
| Chat application and user state | |||
In-app notifications | Notify users of important events from other chat rooms without them leaving the current chat, keeping them engaged and informed. | Firebase Yes Firebase supports in-app notifications, primarily through its Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) service. | Sendbird Yes |
Role-based permissions | Control user roles and permissions to ensure proper access and moderation. | Firebase Yes Firebase supports role-based access control through the Firebase Admin SDK, Firebase IAM, and Cloud Firestore. Read more | Sendbird Yes Sendbird offers role-based permissions. Users can have different roles based on their participation in chat channels. |
UI kit | Customizable UI elements for a seamless chat integration. | Firebase No Firebase itself does not offer a built-in UI Kit specifically for chat applications. | Sendbird Yes Sendbird offers a UI kit called Sendbird UIKit. This toolkit provides pre-built components for rapidly integrating chat functionality. Read more |
| Storage and history | |||
Synchronous - automated moderation | Detect and manage harmful content automatically, before the message is broadcast to participants. | Firebase Partial Yes but not natively supported. Requires custom implementation using approval flags and client-side filtering. Read more | Sendbird Yes |
Asynchronous - automated moderation | Detect and manage harmful content automatically, after the message is broadcast to participants. | Firebase Partial Yes but not natively supported. Cloud Functions with ML models to analyze and moderate content post-delivery. Read more | Sendbird Yes Sendbird offers rule-based automated moderation to detect and manage harmful content. Its Advanced Moderation combines AI rules with human review. |
Manual moderation via dashboards | Tools for moderators to detect harmful messages and manage them effectively. | Firebase Partial Firebase does not offer a dedicated moderation dashboard. However, you can create a custom moderation dashboard using Firebase Console, Firestore, Realtime Database, and Firebase Authentication. | Sendbird Yes Sendbird offers a moderation dashboard for manual oversight, allowing moderators to identify and handle harmful content within chat channels by banning users, removing messages, and configuring moderation settings. |
Ban users | Remove problematic users from the chat to maintain a healthy environment. | Firebase Partial Firebase can support banning users, although it doesn’t provide a built-in banning feature. You can implement user bans using Firebase Authentication and Firestore or Realtime Database. Read more | Sendbird Yes Sendbird offers a feature to ban users from chat channels, which can be applied to both group and open channels, allowing moderators to restrict specific users' participation. |
| Dev tools | |||
Programmatic management | Enables the automation of provisioning, management, and testing of service resources, simplifying integration with existing development workflows such as CI. | Firebase Yes Firebase projects can be managed programmatically using the Firebase Management API. | Sendbird Yes |
| Pricing | |||
Pricing model | The pricing model should align with your project's expected load, usage patterns, and budget in order to be cost-effective and efficient. | Firebase Firebase offers a pay-as-you-go pricing plan, called Blaze, based on the services you use and the amount of unit costs incurred. Firebase pricing is usage-based, with most services charging per read, write, storage, and bandwidth. There are two main realtime database options, and other tools that can impact cost depending on your app architecture. Read more | Sendbird Sendbird pricing is based on the number of MAUs. Overages apply for additional MAU's and peak concurrent connections over the set quota. Sendbird pricing page |
Pricing illustration | An example price based on 5 live streaming chat events and 50K attendees. | Firebase $1,872. Estimated usage as per their pricing: Writes 600M / 100,000 (6,000 units) = $1,080 Reads 1.2B / 100,000 (12,000 units) = $720 Egress 600 GB = $72 Storage 600 GB/month = prorated~$0.40–$0.60 (negligible). | Sendbird $25,549.00
Note: Assumes same users attend each event, to keep MAU at minimum. |
Free plan | With a free plan, you can test the service’s functionality and compatibility with your project before committing to a paid plan. | Firebase Yes The Spark plan (free plan) realtime database is limited to 100 simultaneous connections and 1 GB of storage. Read more | Sendbird Yes The free plan allows a maximum of 100 MAUs and 10 peak concurrent connections. |
Pricing plans | The pricing plans offered by cost. | Firebase
| Sendbird
Overages:
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| Support for additional realtime features | |||
Pub/Sub messaging | Reduces communication code complexity, simplifying the process of building highly functional and architecturally complex realtime apps. | Firebase Partial Firebase does not natively support Pub/Sub messaging. However, this can be implemented with Google's Pub/Sub service. Read more | Sendbird No |
Collaboration capabilities | Enables you to quickly integrate realtime collaborative features like live cursors, member location, avatar stacks, and component locking. | Firebase Yes | Sendbird Yes |
Database sync capabilities | Database sync capabilities enable realtime updates between your database and UI, ensuring the UI reflects changes in the database instantly, with data consistency, and without the need for polling. | Firebase Yes Firebase offers database sync capabilities through both Firebase Realtime Database and Firestore. These databases are designed to keep data synchronized across client devices in realtime. Read more | Sendbird No |
Notifications | Send notifications directly to users screens, from chat responses to news alerts, or game updates, whether or not an application is open and running. | Firebase Yes Firebase supports notifications primarily through Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM), allowing developers to send notifications to client applications on various platforms, including Android, iOS, and the web. Read more | Sendbird Yes |
Asset tracking | State-of-the-art asset tracking across last mile logistics, food delivery applications, and urban mobility services. | Firebase No | Sendbird No |
| Integrations & interoperability | |||
AI models | Allows you to integrate AI models, like GPT, into your app. | Firebase Yes Firebase uses the Gemini family of AI models by through its Vertex AI for Firebase SDKs. Read more | Sendbird Yes Sendbird integrates AI chatbots into apps and websites. It supports the following AI models:
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Serverless functions | Enables integration with third-party cloud providers by facilitating the execution of custom code against messages to perform business logic like on-the-fly translation. | Firebase Firebase supports serverless functions through Cloud Functions for Firebase. Read more | Sendbird No |
Streaming & queueing | Provides a dependable method to reroute messages from the service to third-party streams and queues for further processing. | Firebase Yes | Sendbird Yes Sendbird offers streaming integrations natively using webhooks through its Sendbird Live feature. Read more |
Observability services | Enables realtime monitoring and troubleshooting by offering insights into service behavior directly in your observability platform of choice. | Firebase Yes Using Firebase Performance Monitoring you can monitor your application performance based on location, device, or version. | Sendbird No Sendbird does not provide integrated observability services, such as detailed realtime monitoring. It only offers a status monitoring system where users can track uptime, service incidents, and some historical data. |
| Security & compliance | |||
API key authentication | Simplifies the authentication code on trusted servers compared to requesting, managing, and refreshing tokens. | Firebase Yes | Sendbird Yes Sendbird supports API key authentication for: |
Single Sign-On (SSO) authentication | SSO streamlines login processes, boosts security by minimizing password use, and meets compliance needs for secure data access management. | Firebase Yes SSO in a Firebase application can be implemented using SAML (Security Assertion Markup Language). Read more | Sendbird Yes |
Rules for permissions and operations | Provides control over which users can subscribe and publish to certain channels. | Firebase Yes Using Firebase Realtime Database Security Rules you can set who has access to your database. Read more | Sendbird Yes |
End-to-end encryption | Ensures that the data transmitted between the client and the API server remains confidential and secure while in transit. | Firebase No Data in transit is encrypted using HTTPS in all Firebase services, but this does not include end-to-end encryption. Read more | Sendbird No Sendbird does not currently offer E2EE for its messaging services. It provide TLS encryption for data in transit and AES256 encryption for files stored on its servers. |
Compliance | Compliance with regulations can impact your ability to meet legal obligations in your industry. | Firebase Firebase ensures compliance with international and industry standards for security and privacy standards including:
| Sendbird Sendbird maintains compliance with four key standards and regulations:
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Disclaimer: This comparison was created based on documentation and resources freely available online about Firebase and Sendbird. The content was last updated on 16 May 2025 for Firebase and on 1 May 2025 for Sendbird. Be sure to double-check everything before you make any decisions. If you do find anything incorrect or out of date, then please let us know.
Alternatives to Firebase and Sendbird
While both Firebase and Sendbird are worth considering as options for realtime experiences, they aren’t without their limitations. We suggest evaluating them against the following alternatives to make sure you find the right solution for your needs.
Alternatives to Firebase
Supabase Realtime is a globally distributed real-time server network built on PostgreSQL, enabling developers to build applications with real-time data sync.
Pusher is a first-generation pub/sub messaging service that provides bi-directional hosted APIs for adding realtime features to applications.
OneSignal is a customer engagement platform that offers push notifications, messages, and email sends for businesses to manage communication with their users.
Alternatives to Sendbird
Twilio is a platform that provides developers with a suite of communication tools for building messaging infrastructure in their applications.
Bird (formerly MessageBird) provides SMS, voice, chat, and video APIs for omnichannel communication.
PubNub is a developer API platform that powers the realtime infrastructure in apps to build engaging Virtual Spaces where online communities can connect.
Discover how Firebase and Sendbird stack up against Ably
Ably is the definitive realtime experience platform of the internet. See how we compare to Firebase and Sendbird on key dimensions such as core features, pricing, integrations, QoS, performance, and security and compliance.
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- 6M monthly messages
- 200 concurrent channels
- 200 concurrent connections
