Choosing the best database for your application can be a tough decision, especially when you are dealing with diverse data needs. While relational databases may appear as a suitable choice, NoSQL databases would be better suited in some situations. Each database system type serves different purposes, and selecting one merely based on a few features may not be sufficient.
In this article, you’ll learn about Firebase, a NoSQL solution, and MySQL, an SQL solution. With a detailed understanding of the Firebase vs MySQL key differences, you can make an informed choice.
Let’s get started with the overview of both database systems!
Firebase: A Quick Overview
Firebase is a comprehensive app development platform developed by Google. It offers a serverless environment to help you build, run, and monitor modern web and mobile applications. Firebase provides efficient backend support for your applications during development and deployment using powerful cloud-based NoSQL databases—Firestore and Firebase Realtime Database (RTDB).
Both databases allow you to store data in JSON format and sync it across all connected users in real time. However, Firebase recommends Firestore for new users as it is an enterprise-level, document-oriented database designed for applications with rich data models. In contrast, RTDB is optimized for simpler data models that require basic lookups and low-latency data synchronization.
Key Features of Firebase
- Authentication: Firebase Authentication allows you to secure your applications from unauthorized access. This is done by integrating sign-in methods using passwords, phone numbers, or identity providers such as Google, LinkedIn, or Facebook.
- Machine Learning Workflows: If you would like to add machine learning capabilities to your applications, Firebase ML provides a suite of ready-to-use cloud-based APIs. Alternatively, you can train and deploy custom ML models using Firebase ML.
- Data Persistence: When you enable disk persistence in Firebase, your app syncs the data to your device while online. This enables Firebase to remain available offline or if you restart the app by using the local data stored in the disk cache.
- Scalability: You can scale your Firebase RTDB or Firestore instances through sharding to achieve the best performance. Sharding allows you to split the data within a single Firebase database into multiple database instances.
- Performance Monitoring: To check how well your Firebase databases are performing, you can use the database profiler tool of the Firebase command line interface (CLI). This tool helps you track all your database activities over a period of time and then creates a report. You can utilize this detailed report to identify the issues and areas of improvement.
MySQL: A Quick Overview
MySQL is the second-most relational database management system across the globe in 2024. It was developed by Oracle Corporation, serving as a backend system for websites, mobile applications, cloud-based solutions, and enterprise systems. In MySQL, you can store data in tables, where each row denotes a record, and columns define the attributes of that record. By enforcing a primary key, MySQL ensures that every row is uniquely identifiable.
MySQL supports multiple tables within a single database; each table represents different entities. You can establish relationships between these tables through foreign keys, which reference the primary key of another table. With this relational structure, MySQL facilitates efficient data retrieval using JOIN operations, allowing you to combine and query data from different tables.
Key Features of MySQL
- Scalability: You can integrate an in-memory storage engine called Network Database (NDB) with MySQL server through the NDB Cluster. This integration offers a distributed database that helps you to automatically partition tables across multiple clusters, ensuring linear scalability at minimal cost.
- Optimizing Complex Queries: MySQL supports internal temporary tables, helping you to store intermediate results during query execution. This enables you to perform additional queries on these results without overburdening the system’s memory.
- Advanced Thread Handling: MySQL Thread Pool is an advanced mechanism that involves multiple thread groups. With the thread pool, you can assign one or more user connections to a thread group in a round-robin manner. Each group can manage multiple queries concurrently from each user connection it serves.
- Database Server Monitoring: You can use the MySQL Performance Schema feature to monitor the internal execution of the database in real-time. It is implemented using the PERFORMANCE_SCHEMA storage engine and the performance_schema database to provide detailed performance data.
Firebase vs MySQL: Tabular Comparison on Core Features
The following table compares two Firebase databases — Firebase RTDB and Firestore—with MySQL:
Five Factors to Consider When Choosing MySQL vs Firebase
Let’s consider some of the factors while choosing Firebase vs MySQL:
Data Model
Firebase databases are based on a NoSQL document-oriented data model that allows you to handle unstructured and hierarchical data. This flexibility enables you to efficiently manage varying data types and complex nested structures in Firebase.
While MySQL is primarily a relational database, it can also support NoSQL applications. This is possible with MySQL Document Store, which helps you store data as JSON documents, and MySQL NDB Cluster for scalability.
Real-time Synchronization
When you develop an app with Firebase SDKs, your clients can access the same RTDB or Firestore database instance and receive real-time data updates within milliseconds. This synchronization is done by writing the data to FirebaseDatabase references and adding asynchronous listeners. The listener is first triggered to show the initial data and then updates clients every time the data changes.
In contrast, you can facilitate real-time data synchronization in MySQL, but it requires additional setup using third-party Change Data Capture (CDC) tools.
Pricing
Firebase offers two pricing plans: Spark and Blaze. While Spark is a no-cost plan with limited backend services for application development, Blaze is based on a pay-as-you-go model. Cloud Firestore and Firebase RTDB are billed based on the amount of data you store and transfer. The first 1 GB of storage and 10 GB of data transfer are free. Once you exceed these limits, you will be charged $5 per GB of storage/month and an additional $5 for each subsequent 5 GB of data transfer.
Contrarily, MySQL offers an open-source version and the following pricing plans:
- Standard Edition: Price starts from $2,140 per year.
- Enterprise Edition: Costs $5,350 per year.
- Cluster Carrier Grade Edition: You are charged $10,700 annually.
Use Cases
From real-time messaging to IoT applications, here are some of the Firebase use cases:
- Instant Messaging: Firebase is helpful for chat applications that allow you to see new messages immediately as they are sent. The database’s real-time synchronization ensures all messages are delivered immediately across all connected devices.
- Gaming Applications: In gaming apps, Firebase enables you to manage live leaderboards. This enables you to monitor your up-to-date progress or achievements and compare your rankings with those of other players.
- IoT Applications: Firebase is suitable for IoT applications; it helps you store and manage large volumes of data generated by connected devices. This enables real-time processing and retrieval.
In comparison, MySQL works well in the following use cases:
- E-Commerce: MySQL is widely used for e-commerce applications like Uber, Booking.com, Airbnb, and more. It involves managing customer information, processing financial data, and analyzing valuable trends to provide product recommendations.
- SaaS Applications: SaaS applications like HubSpot and Zendesk operate continuously and require 24/7 availability. MySQL is a great choice for such apps as it’s cost-effective and scalable, helping you handle increasing user requests.
- Digital Marketing: MySQL allows you to process large volumes of data, such as customer interactions, campaign performance, and website analytics, to extract valuable insights. This enables you to track user behavior, segment audiences, and improve marketing strategies.
Support
When comparing MySQL and Firebase, it is essential to consider the level of support available. Firebase provides support through an online community to engage with other users for tips and troubleshooting. You can refer to the tutorials to improve your skills and blogs to stay updated with the latest Firebase features. In addition, the Firebase Summit helps you attend the annual event, and the Firebase Alpha Program allows you to gain early access to new Firebase products.
Conversely, MySQL Developer Zone provides comprehensive documentation, manuals, tutorials, and articles related to MySQL database. You can seek help from the MySQL community and share knowledge through forums and mailing lists. MySQL also provides training and certifications to enhance your skills through structured courses. If you use any MySQL enterprise editions, you will get expert guidance specific to your business needs.
Quickly Migrate Your Data into Firebase or MySQL with Airbyte
With impressive data analytical capabilities, your organization can easily maintain a competitive stance. However, if your data is dispersed across various platforms, it can be challenging to consolidate it for effective analysis. Integrating all your data into a single source of truth can help simplify the process. However, manual approaches can be time-consuming and may lack data synchronization.
For an almost effortless solution, you can use Airbyte, a data movement platform with 400+ connectors. It allows you to set up a data pipeline to extract data from the Firestore/Firebase Realtime Database and load it into MySQL or any other preferred source-to-destination platform. If you cannot find a connector suitable to your needs, you can create one using Airbyte’s no-code/low-code Connector Development Kit.
Let’s explore a few popular features of Airbyte:
- Standardize Your Data: With the dbt cloud integration, Airbyte enables you to create and apply custom transformations after syncing your data. This process will help you transform your raw data into a consistent format for analysis and reporting.
- Sync Reliability: Airbyte offers a record change history feature that alerts you when a record is modified while being transferred. This helps you prevent sync issues and ensure that all records are properly updated.
- Data Orchestration: Airbyte allows you to integrate with orchestrators like Prefect, Dagster, or Apache Airflow to manage data pipelines. These orchestrators help you streamline the execution, scheduling, and monitoring of these pipelines.
- Regulatory Compliance: Airbyte is compliant with several regulations, such as HIPAA GDPR, SOC 2 Type II, and ISO 270001, to enable you to protect your sensitive data and meet legal requirements.
Conclusion
With a comprehensive Firebase vs MySQL key difference, you may now have a clear idea of which one suits your needs.
Firebase serves as an ecosystem, offering various backend services, such as cloud-based NoSQL databases, authentication, and hosting, to help you throughout application development. In contrast, MySQL, an RDBMS, offers query optimization techniques, scalability, and robust data structure, which makes it suitable for E-commerce or SaaS applications.
By understanding each database’s core features and strengths, you can fully utilize the one that best fits your use cases.