Firestore
Firestore is a managed, serverless document database for AI, web, and mobile applications.
What Firestore is
Firestore is a managed, serverless document database for AI, web, and mobile applications. It stores flexible JSON data and supports vector and full-text search, geospatial queries, and ACID transactions on JSON or BSON-compatible documents. Client SDKs for Android, iOS, and web provide real-time updates and automatic syncing for offline access. The service can replicate data across multiple regions with strong consistency; multi-region deployments have a stated 99.999% SLA-backed availability. Named integrations include Google AI Studio, remote MCP, LangChain, and LlamaIndex for generative AI application work. Identity controls connect with Cloud IAM, Cloud Identity Platform, and Firebase Authentication. Data is encrypted before being written to disk, with customer-managed keys available through Cloud KMS. The free quota applies to one database per project and includes 1 GiB stored data, daily read, write, and delete limits, and 10 GiB monthly outbound transfer. New customers receive $300 in credits, separate from that quota. Server client libraries bypass Firestore Security Rules, so server access needs IAM controls.
Good
- Vector, full-text, and geospatial queries
- Real-time updates and offline syncing for mobile and web
- Strongly consistent multi-region replication
- Customer-managed encryption keys through Cloud KMS
Watch out
- Free quota covers only one database per project
- Named databases do not qualify for free quota
- Server client libraries bypass Firestore Security Rules
Who it suits
Firestore suits developers building AI, web, or mobile applications who need a managed document database. It is also relevant to teams needing real-time client updates or offline syncing.
Verdict
Firestore combines document storage with real-time client syncing, varied query types, and managed scaling. Account for the free-quota boundary and use IAM to control server-library access.
Plans and prices
From Firestore's own pricing page, checked 22 Sep 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Standard edition — document reads | — | 50,000 document reads per day |
| Standard edition — document writes | — | 20,000 document writes per day |
| Standard edition — document deletes | — | 20,000 document deletes per day |
| Standard edition — stored data | — | 1 GiB stored data |
| Free quota | Free | 1 GiB stored data · 50,000 document reads/day · 20,000 writes/day · 20,000 deletes/day · 10 GiB outbound transfer/month · one free database per project · Daily quotas reset around midnight Pacific time; outbound transfer quota is monthly |
| Standard edition pay-as-you-go | $0.03 a month | Document reads $0.03 per 100,000 · writes $0.09 per 100,000 · deletes $0.01 per 100,000 · stored data $0.000205479/GiB · restore and clone $0.20/GiB · Usage is metered daily; listed default rate beyond free quota |
| Standard edition | — | Document reads: $0.03 per 100,000 documents · Document writes: $0.09 per 100,000 documents · Document deletes: $0.01 per 100,000 documents · Free quota: one database per project, 1 GiB stored data, 50,000 reads/day, 20,000 writes/day, 20,000 deletes/day, 10 GiB outbound transfer/month · Usage-based; charges accrue daily and depend on reads, writes, deletes, storage, and network use. |
| Enterprise edition | — | Read units: Starting at $0.05 per 1 million read units (4 KB tranches) · Write units: Starting at $0.26 per 1 million write units (1 KB tranches) · Real-time Update units: Starting at $0.30 per 1 million write units (1 KB tranches) · SSD storage: Starting at $0.24 Per GB/month · Usage-based; operations are charged by read, write, and real-time update units, and storage and network use are billed separately. |
The facts
Each one read from Firestore's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Chrome Web Store listing
- A third-party Firestore DevTools extension had 3 users and was updated August 31, 2026; the listing did not show a star rating.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Compliance
- Google Cloud states that Firestore is covered by its ISO/IEC 27017 certification scope.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Customer-managed keys
- Customers can use Cloud KMS customer-managed encryption keys, with no additional Firestore charge beyond normal pricing.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Data model
- Firestore is a flexible, scalable JSON database for mobile, web, and server development.checked 29 Sep 2026
- Documentation depth
- The documentation set includes developer guides, API references, source repositories, issue trackers, Stack Overflow links, samples, and library integrations.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Encryption
- Firestore encrypts data at rest automatically and uses TLS for data in transit.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Firebase integration
- Firestore integrates with Firebase SDKs and the Firebase console for mobile and web backends.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Firestore Lite
- Firebase offers Firestore Lite, a lightweight REST-only web SDK.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- The product page names Google AI Studio, remote MCP, LangChain, and LlamaIndex integrations for building generative AI applications.checked 29 Sep 2026
- Limit: query flexibility
- A G2 reviewer criticized query flexibility because queries depend on prebuilt indexes.checked 15 Oct 2026
- MongoDB compatibility
- Firestore provides a MongoDB-compatible API and supports MongoDB client tools such as mongosh, mongoimport, and Compass.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Node.js API
- The official Node.js server client is installed with npm package @google-cloud/firestore and is documented with an API reference.checked 15 Oct 2026
- No self-hosting stated
- The official overview describes Firestore as fully managed serverless infrastructure accessed through Google Cloud interfaces.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Open-source SDK license
- The Firebase JavaScript SDK repository is released under Apache License 2.0, while included components can carry their own licenses.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Praise: ease and integration
- G2 reviewers repeatedly describe Firestore as easy to adopt and well integrated with Google Cloud services.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Praise: Firebase backend
- A TrustRadius reviewer praised using Firebase and Firestore together for authentication, administration, and Angular/Node web-app transactions.checked 15 Oct 2026
Money
- Free plan
- Yeschecked 22 Sep 2026
- Free tier limits
- The free quota applies to one database per project; named databases require billing and do not qualify for the free quota.checked 29 Sep 2026
- Limit: cost
- G2 reviewers say pricing can require careful query optimization and may make them reconsider usage.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: price predictability
- A TrustRadius reviewer said the free plan is generous but costs rise quickly after a threshold and pricing is hard to predict.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: support and billing
- Trustpilot reviewers repeatedly reported billing disputes, unclear cost safeguards, and difficulty reaching effective human support for Google Cloud services.checked 15 Oct 2026
The company
- Maker founded
- Google was founded in 1998.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Maker legal name
- Google is listed by Crunchbase as headquartered in Mountain View, California, United States.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Maker ownership
- Google is a public company and Firestore is a Google Cloud service.checked 15 Oct 2026
Alternatives to Firestore
- 1
SQLite
Free planOpen sourceAndroidiOSWebAPI9.3Free plan - 2
MySQL
Free planAPILinuxmacOSSelf-hosted8.7Free plan - 3
SingleStore Helios
Free planWebAPILinuxmacOS8.7Free plan - 4
TiDB Cloud
Free planOpen sourceWebAPILinuxSelf-hosted8.7Free plan - 5
CrateDB
Free planOpen sourceWebAPILinuxmacOS8.7Free plan - 6
Chroma
Free planOpen sourceAndroidiOSWebAPI8.7From $250 a month