eXist-db vs Firestore
eXist-db
exist-db.org
Firestore
cloud.google.comSide by side
| Figure | eXist-db | 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 | 8.8 (#4) | 9.0 (#2) |
| Data model | The database stores textual or binary data and documents without requiring a database schema. | Firestore is a flexible, scalable JSON database for mobile, web, and server development. |
| Integrations | Its WebDAV interface works with compatible clients including Windows Explorer, macOS Finder, oXygen XML Editor, and LibreOffice. | The product page names Google AI Studio, remote MCP, LangChain, and LlamaIndex integrations for building generative AI applications. |
| Product | eXist-db is a NoSQL document database and application platform built around XML. | Firestore is a fully managed, serverless document database for building AI, web, and mobile applications. |
| Security | Its security system uses a Unix permissions model extended with access control lists and supports external authentication realms. | Firestore integrates with Cloud IAM, Cloud Identity Platform, and Firebase Authentication for identity-based access controls and data validation. |
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
eXist-db
eXist-db is a free, open-source NoSQL document database and application platform centered on XML. Its native engine stores textual or binary documents without requiring a database schema, and it is designed for self-hosted deployment on Linux, macOS, or Windows. The product implements XQuery 3.1, though some features and functions are unsupported, and RESTXQ lets developers deploy RESTful services from XQuery annotations. Its interfaces include REST-style HTTP, SOAP, XML-RPC, and WebDAV. A browser-based IDE provides syntax coloring, code completion, and error checking for application artifacts. Full-text search uses an implementation-specific Apache Lucene approach rather than the W3C XQuery and XPath Full Text 3.0 specification. Security extends Unix permissions with access control lists and external authentication realms. The software is licensed under the LGPL for academic, non-commercial, and commercial use. The documentation lists Java 8 for versions 3.x–6.x or Java 21 for version 7.x, about 500 MB of disk space, and at least 512 MB of memory.
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.