Alibaba Cloud
vs
Firebase
What's good about each
- Strong presence in Asia and over 3,000 points of presence (POPs) around the world
- Extensive range of managed services and server configurations
- Offers a solid range of GPU servers
- Generous free tier for small to medium projects
- Real-time database with synchronization
- Complete user auth system with social login
- Seamless integration with other Google Cloud services
- Solid mobile SDK for iOS and Android
Price comparison
Closest matching configuration on each side, monthly list price in USD.
| Service | Alibaba Cloud | Firebase | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small VM | $15.21 /mo 1 vCPU, 1 GiB RAM (ecs.xn4.small) | -- Not listed | |
| Medium VM | $89.79 /mo 4 vCPU, 8 GiB RAM (ecs.c7.xlarge) | -- Not listed | |
| Large VM | $170.49 /mo 8 vCPU, 16 GiB RAM (ecs.c7.2xlarge) | -- Not listed | |
| Block storage | $11.20 /mo 100 GB (Enhanced SSD PL0) | -- Not listed | |
| Object storage | $43.84 /mo 1 TB, 250 GB reads, 100 GB writes | $26.90 /mo 1 TB stored, 1M download + 100k upload operations | 39% cheaper on Firebase |
| PostgreSQL | $114.92 /mo 2 vCPU, 8 GB RAM (general-purpose) | -- Not listed | |
| Redis | $43.09 /mo 1 GB Performance-enhanced (HA) | -- Not listed | |
| Load balancer | $16.56 /mo Small I (slb.s1.small) | -- Not listed | |
| Serverless | -- Not listed | $44.66 /mo 25M invocations, 512 MB RAM, 150 ms duration · $0.40 / 1M invocations + Cloud Run CPU and memory rates | |
| Egress allowance | 10 GB / mo | 360 MB/day on Hosting (~10 GB/mo) | |
| Egress | $74.00 /TB $0.074 / GB | $150.00 /TB $0.15 / GB (Hosting) | 2x more expensive on Firebase |
Heads up: Figures take each provider's closest plan to a common setup, and vary by region and usage. Hover a service for the reference configuration. Verify before provisioning. More on how we price.
GPUs
Alibaba Cloud offers 4 GPU models. We track no GPU listings from Firebase. Cheapest listed price per GPU per hour; GPUs both providers sell come first.
| GPU | Alibaba Cloud | Firebase | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
V100
14 configs
|
$1.51 /GPU/hr Reserved (12 mo) | -- | Alibaba Cloud only |
|
T4
12 configs
|
$0.62 /GPU/hr Reserved (12 mo) | -- | Alibaba Cloud only |
|
A10
26 configs
|
$0.71 /GPU/hr Reserved (12 mo) | -- | Alibaba Cloud only |
|
P100
12 configs
|
$0.87 /GPU/hr Reserved (12 mo) | -- | Alibaba Cloud only |
Alibaba Cloud bills on-demand and reserved (12 months). The line under each price names the billing type shown.
Services
Managed services each provider offers.
Company details
| Fact | Alibaba Cloud | Firebase |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2009 | 2011 |
| Headquarters | Singapore | USA |
| Locations | 30 | 42 |
| Example customers | Taobao, Henkel, Hang Seng Bank, Tiger Brokers | The New York Times, Duolingo, Venmo, Trivago, Ctrip, Gameloft |
| Website | www.alibabacloud.com | firebase.google.com |
Alternatives to consider
Compare Alibaba Cloud and Firebase against other cloud providers.
Our data for Alibaba Cloud was last updated on Sept. 11, 2026, and for Firebase on July 27, 2026.