What is Firestore?
Cloud Firestore is Google’s serverless NoSQL document database. The service stores data in documents organized in collections. Firestore offers real-time synchronization, automatic offline persistence, and scales automatically from zero to millions of concurrent users.
Core Features
- Document-based data model with nested objects
- Real-time listeners for automatic UI updates
- Offline persistence with automatic synchronization
- Automatic horizontal scaling
- Security Rules for granular access control
- Native SDKs for iOS, Android, web, Flutter, and server
Typical Use Cases
Mobile and Web Apps: Firestore serves as a backend for apps without dedicated servers. Authentication, data storage, and real-time updates are integrated.
Collaboration Tools: Collaboratively edited documents, whiteboards, or project management apps use real-time synchronization for simultaneous editing.
Content Management: Headless CMS architectures use Firestore for structured content consumed by different frontend applications.
Benefits
- No capacity planning or shard management
- Built-in offline support
- Consistent performance at any size
- Integration with Firebase ecosystem and GCP
Integration with innFactory
As a Google Cloud Partner, innFactory supports you with Firestore: data model design, security rules implementation, performance optimization, and migration from other databases.
Available Tiers & Options
Native Mode
- Real-time synchronization
- Offline support in SDKs
- Firestore Security Rules
- More expensive for write-heavy workloads
Datastore Mode
- Compatible with Datastore API
- Better for server workloads
- No real-time features
- No mobile SDKs
Typical Use Cases
Technical Specifications
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Firestore and Firebase Realtime Database?
Firestore is the newer database with document-based structure, better queries, and automatic scaling. Realtime Database offers lower latencies for very frequent updates.
How does Firestore scale?
Firestore scales automatically horizontally. There is no capacity planning. Performance remains constant regardless of database size.
Can Firestore be operated in EU regions?
Yes, Firestore can be operated in individual EU regions or multi-regionally in Europe (EUR3). Data does not leave the selected region.
How do Firestore Security Rules work?
Security Rules define read and write permissions based on authentication, document data, and request parameters. They are written declaratively and enforced server-side.
What does Firestore cost?
Firestore charges per document read/write/delete operations and storage. There is a free tier. Multi-region configurations cost more than regional ones.
