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Google Compute Engine vs Google Firebase comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 16, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
5.6
Some businesses achieved over 90% cost savings by switching to cloud and cheaper analytic tools despite budget challenges.
Sentiment score
6.1
Google Firebase is valued for its low cost, high ROI, and efficient automation, despite some avoidable mechanisms.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.4
Google Compute Engine's customer service is positively rated for responsiveness, with various support tiers and effective online support channels.
Sentiment score
7.1
Google Firebase's support is praised for helpfulness, with extensive documentation and community resources often meeting users' needs effectively.
I do not currently find any other competitors that match its offering.
DIV head at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
If the community doesn't have the answers, then I contact the Google Firebase team directly.
IT specialist at CUADRO OCHO INC
I would rate the technical support of Google an eight out of ten.
Intermediate Software Engineer at Xelleron Pty
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
Google Compute Engine offers scalable resources and supports diverse workloads, with managed instances aiding easy scaling for businesses.
Sentiment score
6.8
Google Firebase is scalable but may face data handling and cost challenges as usage increases, especially for larger demands.
It can handle all tiers of the market effectively.
DIV head at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
It is either from my side or from Google Firebase side if it is getting delayed or not.
Intermediate Software Engineer at Xelleron Pty
Google also has some other cloud services, but when we compare Google Firebase, it is not as scalable.
Chief Technical Advisor at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.2
Google Compute Engine is highly stable, achieving 99.99% uptime and favorable comparisons to other servers with minimal downtime.
Sentiment score
7.9
Google Firebase is praised for stability and reliability, though users find deployment complex due to external tool dependencies.
The stability of Google Compute Engine is on par with other servers, akin to using instances from AWS, as no one needs any downtime.
Cloud Engineer at Global Payments Inc.
In our company, we have prototypes on Google Firebase and productions on AWS Cloud.
Chief Technical Advisor at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
They have mostly put the improvements for those, so it is making it smoother now than in the early years.
Intermediate Software Engineer at Xelleron Pty
 

Room For Improvement

Google Compute Engine needs better user experience, automation, security, multi-region support, and simplified licensing for non-technical users.
Google Firebase users desire better pricing transparency, technical support, usability, integration, mobile testing, and enhanced tools for developers and non-technical users.
I have noticed a positive impact since the deployment of Google Compute Engine; it is simpler.
Cloud Engineer at Global Payments Inc.
When it goes to iOS applications, there should be a much more straightforward, smoother way.
Intermediate Software Engineer at Xelleron Pty
Automation testing with mobile devices could be improved, especially in regression testing to ensure that new feature launches do not affect other features.
DIV head at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Since Google Firebase is a NoSQL platform, areas for improvement include enhancing query functionalities to be more equivalent to SQL, like MS SQL.
IT specialist at CUADRO OCHO INC
 

Setup Cost

Google Compute Engine is cost-effective with pay-as-you-go pricing, but affordability varies by region and usage patterns.
Google Firebase's flexible pricing is affordable for startups, with a free tier and pay-as-you-go for extra usage.
It is difficult to recommend GCP due to its complex architecture.
Cloud Engineer at Global Payments Inc.
They could have implemented credits based on usage so that users would be able to easily calculate the pricing and provide it to customers.
Chief Technical Advisor at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Google Firebase offers a reasonable pricing structure.
DIV head at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
 

Valuable Features

Google Compute Engine offers flexible, cost-effective virtual machines with rich features, high availability, and seamless integration with Google Cloud services.
Google Firebase offers real-time communication, flexible integration, user-friendly tools, and scalability for efficient app management on iOS and Android.
In GCP, there's a custom configuration feature unlike AWS and Azure.
Senior Cloud Engineer at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
What I like the most about Google Compute Engine is SSH access and the different price categories.
Cloud Engineer at Global Payments Inc.
It helps me understand user behavior more effectively with Google Analytics.
Intermediate Software Engineer at Xelleron Pty
Serverless cloud functions.
Chief Technical Advisor at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
What I appreciate most about Google Firebase is the speed, accuracy, and security it offers.
IT specialist at CUADRO OCHO INC
 

Categories and Ranking

Google Compute Engine
Ranking in Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS)
14th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Google Firebase
Ranking in Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS)
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
49
Ranking in other categories
Mobile Development Platforms (7th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS) category, the mindshare of Google Compute Engine is 1.2%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Google Firebase is 2.7%, down from 6.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Google Firebase2.7%
Google Compute Engine1.2%
Other96.1%
Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS)
 

Featured Reviews

AK
Cloud Engineer at Global Payments Inc.
SSH access has simplified my backend deployments but setup and architecture still need improvement
Currently, I have not found much value in the features or capabilities of Google Compute Engine because I only use SSH access, as I have not used many of their services. It is already set up by a different team, and I have been using them as it is a normal case, similar to a normal Linux server. I have noticed a positive impact since the deployment of Google Compute Engine; it is simpler. However, for those who are not very much familiar with Google Cloud, it can, at times, be difficult. Also, the freebies are not much from Google's side, referring to the credits, so that users can become more familiar since there is a limited amount or it is case-dependent. Without trying Google Compute Engine totally, I cannot tell you much about it. From my personal perspective, I suggest that while setting up Google Compute Engine, the process is hard compared to AWS. The complexity increases, especially if we want to access the things over the API; we need to explicitly set up things and can only access the CLI environment of GCP, which is sometimes a hectic task.
Himash Careem - PeerSpot reviewer
Intermediate Software Engineer at Xelleron Pty
Analytics integration has improved how I manage user identity and understand customer behavior
I face difficulties with the authentication parts in Google Firebase when it goes with iOS applications. With Android applications, that is easier because Google owns it. When it goes to iOS applications, there should be a much more straightforward, smoother way. I mostly faced that with Flutter because with Flutter, there are two sides with Android and iOS. The Android part was pretty much easier for me, but when it goes to the iOS part, there was more work on that.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
26%
Construction Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Performing Arts
5%
University
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise8
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business30
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise8
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Google Compute Engine?
Regarding the pricing and licensing of Google Compute Engine, when I refer to licensing, it implies the price or a credit-based system. While doing my personal projects, I prefer AWS over GCP and u...
What needs improvement with Google Compute Engine?
Currently, I have not found much value in the features or capabilities of Google Compute Engine because I only use SSH access, as I have not used many of their services. It is already set up by a d...
What is your primary use case for Google Compute Engine?
My usual use cases for Google Compute Engine involve deploying the backends and APIs only.
How does Microsoft Azure compare to Google Firebase?
I would recommend Google Firebase instead of Microsoft Azure, simply for the array of features that it has to offer. In particular, the Firebase library grants you access to a shared data structure...
Looking to compare Google Firebase, Amazon AWS, and Microsoft Azure
We like Google Firebase hosting and authentication and also the excellent cloud functionality. Our team found the flexibility of handling and dealing with the database through EDL to be very useful...
What do you like most about Google Firebase?
Google Analytics for Firebase is the best feature of the solution.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Allthecooks, BetterCloud, Bluecore, Cosentry, Evite, Ezakus, HTC, Infectious Media, iStreamPlanet, Mendelics, SageMathCloud, Sedex, Treeptik, Wibigoo, Wix, zulily, Zync
Fabulous, Pic Collage, Shazam, SkyScanner
Find out what your peers are saying about Google Compute Engine vs. Google Firebase and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
885,667 professionals have used our research since 2012.