Apache CouchDB vs Firestore
Apache CouchDB
couchdb.apache.org
Firestore
cloud.google.comSide by side
| Figure | Apache CouchDB | Firestore |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 9 |
| Spec score · Document Databases | 8.5 (#6) | 9.0 (#2) |
| Spec score · NoSQL Databases | 8.3 (#12) | 8.9 (#8) |
| Spec score · Database Software | 8.0 (#49) | 9.2 (#4) |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Integrations | PouchDB is built for mobile devices and web browsers and can replicate data with CouchDB. | The product page names Google AI Studio, remote MCP, LangChain, and LlamaIndex integrations for building generative AI applications. |
| Security | CouchDB provides administrator accounts, basic and cookie authentication, reader access controls, and JavaScript document-update validation that can enforce custom security rules. | Firestore integrates with Cloud IAM, Cloud Identity Platform, and Firebase Authentication for identity-based access controls and data validation. |
| What it does | Apache CouchDB is a document database that stores named documents and provides a RESTful HTTP API for reading and updating them. | Firestore is a fully managed, scalable JSON document database for mobile, web, and server applications. |
Plans
Firestore
- Standard edition — document readsPrice not published
- Standard edition — document writesPrice not published
- Standard edition — document deletesPrice not published
- Standard edition — stored dataPrice not published
- Free quotaFree
- Free quotaFree
- Standard edition pay-as-you-go$0.03 a month
- Enterprise editionPrice not published
- Standard editionPrice not published
In their own words
Apache CouchDB
Apache CouchDB is a free document database that stores named documents and lets applications read and update them through a RESTful HTTP API. Documents can contain fields and binary attachments without following a fixed schema. Its query engine supports views made with JavaScript map functions and optional reduce functions. Incremental replication synchronizes databases in both directions between peers, including after disconnections; the project describes this as useful for offline-first applications across servers, phones, and browsers. PouchDB can replicate with CouchDB from mobile devices and web browsers. A cluster can present one logical database across multiple servers or virtual machines for added capacity and high availability. CouchDB uses an append-only file design, and its documentation describes document updates as ACID and all-or-nothing. Security features include administrator accounts, basic and cookie authentication, reader access controls, and JavaScript validation of document updates. Replicas may retain conflicting revisions for manual or automated resolution. CouchDB is self-hosted on servers or virtual machines, as a single node or cluster, and is licensed under Apache License 2.0.
Firestore
Firestore is a fully managed, serverless document database for building AI, web, and mobile applications. It stores flexible JSON data and supports vector search, 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. Firestore can replicate data across multiple regions with strong consistency; multi-region deployments have a stated 99.999% SLA-backed availability. Integrations named for generative AI application work include Google AI Studio, remote MCP, LangChain, and LlamaIndex. Identity controls connect with Cloud IAM, Cloud Identity Platform, and Firebase Authentication. Data is encrypted before it is written to disk, with customer-managed keys available through Cloud KMS. The free quota applies to one database per project and includes 1 GiB of storage, daily read, write, and delete allowances, 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.