Firebase is Google’s app platform. It gives you NoSQL document databases, auth, hosting, cloud functions and strong mobile SDKs, all run by Google. For many mobile apps it is the fastest way to ship. Apito is a different kind of backend. Your data lives in SQL tables, you get a GraphQL API and a REST API from your schema, and you can run the engine yourself because it is open source.
Updated October 2026 · Honest comparison · Not a drop-in clone
Fair table — Apito is not a drop-in clone of Firebase.
| Feature | Firebase | Apito |
|---|---|---|
| Data model | NoSQL documents (Firestore, Realtime Database) | SQL tables you define as models |
| Database on the hosted plans | Google-managed | SQLite only on Cloud Free and Pro |
| API | Client SDKs, plus REST for some services | GraphQL at api.apito.io/secured/graphql and REST at api.apito.io/secured/rest/<projectId> |
| Realtime | Live listeners in the SDKs | GraphQL subscriptions |
| Auth | Email, phone, anonymous and many providers | Password, plus Google, Facebook, GitHub, X and LinkedIn |
| Schema | Schemaless; structure lives in your code | Defined models; changes are staged and a person publishes them |
| Mobile SDKs | Mature, including FlutterFire | No published SDK yet; call GraphQL or REST |
| Hosting your own | No. Local emulators only | Open-source engine (AGPL-3.0) |
| Free start | Spark plan | Free Cloud: 2 projects, no card needed |
Stay on Firebase if you build mobile-first, rely on FlutterFire or the native SDKs, and are happy with Google running everything. Look at Apito if you want relational data, GraphQL and REST from one schema, or an engine you can run on your own machine.
Firebase’s SDKs, FlutterFire, offline sync and push messaging go far deeper than anything Apito has. Apito has no published SDK today. Google runs the service. Analytics, crash reporting, remote config, hosting and push messaging are part of the same platform.
SQLite is a SQL database stored in a single file. Firebase is a hosted backend with NoSQL storage and sync. Apito sits between them: it serves a SQLite database on Cloud or on your machine over GraphQL and REST, with auth and roles, so several clients can share it.
Run the open-source engine on your machine. The install command is not printed here until it is confirmed. Or start on Cloud: create a free account at app.apito.io. Two projects, SQLite, no card needed. Questions: [email protected] or https://discord.gg/Xb7p2ddC6E.
Not directly. You export your data from Firebase, design SQL models for it and load it into Apito.
No. Apito stores data in SQL databases. Cloud Free and Pro use SQLite.
Yes, through GraphQL subscriptions.
Email and password, plus Google, Facebook, GitHub, X and LinkedIn.
Yes. The engine is open source under AGPL-3.0 and runs on your own machine.
Yes. Free Cloud gives you 2 projects, and you don't need a card.
Clone a verified backend, inspect the schema, then continue in Free Cloud.