Couchbase Lite vs Firestore
Couchbase Lite
couchbase.com
Firestore
cloud.google.comSide by side
| Figure | Couchbase Lite | Firestore |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 9 |
| Spec score · Mobile Databases | 8.1 (#8) | 9.2 (#1) |
| Spec score · Document Databases | 7.9 (#13) | 9.0 (#2) |
| Spec score · Database Software | 7.4 (#70) | 9.2 (#4) |
| Compliance | Couchbase Capella reports SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001/27017/27018, PCI DSS 4.0, CSA STAR Level 2 and HDS certifications, and supports HIPAA applications with a BAA. | Google Cloud states that Firestore is covered by its ISO/IEC 27017 certification scope. |
| Security | Couchbase Lite supports AES-256, TLS, bring-your-own keys, field-level encryption and automatic purge after access revocation. | Firestore integrates with Cloud IAM, Cloud Identity Platform, and Firebase Authentication for identity-based access controls and data validation. |
| Vector search | Yes | Yes |
| What it does | Couchbase Lite embeds a NoSQL database in applications, synchronizes cloud-to-edge and peer-to-peer, and keeps working when the network is unavailable. | 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
Couchbase Lite
Couchbase Lite has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
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.