AWS vs Firebase
AWS vs Firebase compared for European indie developers and small startups. Pricing, EU jurisdiction, GDPR posture, and why Runsite (an EU-registered PaaS in Frankfurt) is worth a look.
AWS vs Firebase: quick answer
AWS and Firebase both offer Git-push deploy workflows, but they differ where it counts. Firebase starts around pay-as-you-gometered. AWS and Firebase are both US-headquartered, so neither escapes US jurisdiction or the CLOUD Act, and neither runs EU-native infrastructure or offers hard spending caps. For European teams that need GDPR-compliant hosting in Frankfurt with predictable EUR billing and a permanent free tier, Runsite is the EU-native alternative to both.
// aws problems → runsite solutions
Common AWS frustrations. Sound familiar?
Every AWS frustration, solved.
AWS problem
"I need DevOps just to deploy a simple app"
EC2 requires VPC config, security groups, IAM roles, and manual deployment pipelines. Even ECS/Fargate has a steep learning curve.
Runsite solution
Git push and done
Connect your GitHub repo, choose a region, deploy. No cloud certifications required.
AWS problem
"My AWS bill had 47 line items"
EC2, EBS, data transfer, NAT gateway, CloudWatch, Route53, ACM, every service adds charges.
Runsite solution
One line on your invoice
Web service: €5/mo. PostgreSQL: €5/mo. That's it. No data transfer fees, no hidden charges.
AWS problem
"Budget alerts don't actually stop spending"
AWS sends you an email when you hit 80% budget. But charges keep accruing. There's no hard cap.
Runsite solution
Hard spending cap + Telegram alerts
Set a monthly limit. Get Telegram notifications at 80%. We physically stop charges at your cap.
// comparison
Runsite vs AWS
Side-by-side. No marketing fluff, just facts.
| Feature | Runsite | AWS |
|---|---|---|
| Setup Complexity | ✓ Git push deploy | EC2 + VPC + IAM + Security Groups |
| Billing Clarity | ✓ One plan, one price | ✗ 20+ line items per invoice |
| Spending Limits | ✓ Hard cap: cannot overspend | ✗ Budget alerts only, charges continue |
| GDPR Compliance | ✓ EU entity, not subject to CLOUD Act | ✗ US company, CLOUD Act applies |
| Free Tier | ✓ Permanent | 12-month trial only |
| Data Egress | ✓ Included in plan | $0.09/GB after 100GB |
| Service Catalog | Focused PaaS | ✓ 200+ services |
| Global Regions | Frankfurt (eu-central) only | ✓ 30+ regions worldwide |
// the other side
What about Firebase?
Firebase locks you into Google's ecosystem. Runsite gives you open-source tools, EU hosting, and full data ownership.
// firebase problems → runsite solutions
Common Firebase frustrations. Sound familiar?
Every Firebase frustration, solved.
Firebase problem
"Firebase locks me into Google"
Firestore, Cloud Functions, Firebase Auth: proprietary services that don't work outside Google Cloud.
Runsite solution
Open standards everywhere
PostgreSQL, Docker, S3. Standard tools that work on any platform.
Firebase problem
"GDPR compliance is complicated"
Firebase requires a Google Cloud DPA, data residency configuration, and careful SDK setup for EU compliance.
Runsite solution
GDPR by default
EU entity. EU servers. No configuration needed. Compliant from day one.
Firebase problem
"Costs spike with traffic"
Firebase charges per document read/write. A viral moment can mean a massive surprise bill.
Runsite solution
Fixed pricing + spending caps
Predictable monthly bills with hard limits. Traffic spikes don't break the bank.
// comparison
Runsite vs Firebase
Side-by-side. No marketing fluff, just facts.
| Feature | Runsite | Firebase |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor Lock-in | ✓ Open standards, Docker | ✗ Proprietary SDKs |
| EU Data Centers | ✓ Frankfurt (eu-central) | ✓ europe-west regions |
| GDPR Compliance | ✓ EU entity, full compliance | Complex DPA required |
| Backend Hosting | ✓ Full containers | Cloud Functions only |
| Database | ✓ Standard PostgreSQL | Firestore (proprietary) |
| Pricing Transparency | ✓ Fixed plans | Pay-per-read/write |
// pricing, side by side
AWS vs Firebase: what each actually costs
Spark plan is free with fixed quotas. Exceeding any quota forces an upgrade to the metered, uncapped Blaze plan.
Firebase's free Spark tier is great for prototypes, but the jump to uncapped Blaze billing and per-operation Firestore pricing make it one of the riskiest platforms for unexpected bills, there is no hard spending cap, only after-the-fact alerts.
Pricing verified June 2026. Check the official pricing page of each provider for current rates.
// in-depth comparison
How AWS and Firebase each compare to Runsite
AWS vs Runsite
Two hundred-plus services. Thirty-plus regions. Deep integrations across every technology stack you can name. AWS is the most comprehensive cloud platform on the planet, and for enterprises with dedicated DevOps teams and complex multi-service architectures, that flexibility is unmatched.
Now try to deploy one small web application. Suddenly you are navigating EC2, VPC, IAM, security groups, and load balancers, or learning the abstractions of ECS, Fargate, or App Runner. The invoice lands with dozens of line items. Worse, the budget alerts you set up do not actually stop spending. And AWS is a US company subject to the CLOUD Act.
Runsite runs the other way: a focused PaaS with git-push deploys, hard spending limits, one-line invoices, and EU-only infrastructure under EU jurisdiction. If your project does not need 200 AWS services and you just want to ship an application to EU users without hiring a cloud engineer, Runsite gets you deployed in minutes with transparent, predictable costs.
Firebase vs Runsite
Ship a prototype over a weekend, and Firebase feels like magic. Google's all-in-one backend was built for exactly that speed.
Firestore, Firebase Auth, Cloud Messaging, and Hosting form a tightly integrated ecosystem, and the free Spark plan covers small projects comfortably. The real-time capabilities are genuinely useful for mobile and web apps. The catch shows up later. Everything that made the fast start possible becomes vendor lock-in: Firestore's proprietary query model, Firebase-specific auth SDKs, and Cloud Functions tied to Google Cloud mean your code cannot run elsewhere without substantial rewrites. GDPR compliance adds its own tax, requiring a Google Cloud DPA, careful region configuration, and ongoing vigilance about which services process data where.
Runsite uses standard PostgreSQL, Docker containers, and S3-compatible storage, all portable to any other provider. Teams that have outgrown Firebase's proprietary model, or that need straightforward EU compliance without navigating Google's data processing agreements, get a cleaner foundation. You bring your own auth and realtime layer, but you own every piece of your stack.
// why consider runsite
Beyond AWS and Firebase
EU PaaS for indie developers and small European startups. One region: Frankfurt.
EU-First Infrastructure
While AWS and Firebase default to US markets, Runsite is built exclusively for European developers. Frankfurt (eu-central) region, EU entity, EU jurisdiction, with no transatlantic transfers.
Real GDPR Compliance
EU-registered entity. Your data is governed by European law. No US jurisdiction, no CLOUD Act.
Predictable Pricing
No per-invocation charges, no surprise bills. Fixed plans with hard spending caps and Telegram alerts.
Common Questions
FAQ
Which is better for EU hosting, AWS or Firebase?
Neither AWS nor Firebase is EU-native. Both are US-based (AWS: US-headquartered (Amazon); Firebase: a US Google service) and route most traffic through US regions, with EU availability that is usually limited or gated behind higher tiers. Even when you can select a European region, the parent company stays subject to the US CLOUD Act, which can compel disclosure of EU customer data. For genuine EU data residency, an EU-registered platform is the safer choice: Runsite runs exclusively in Frankfurt (eu-central) under EU jurisdiction, with no transatlantic transfers and no CLOUD Act exposure — the kind of guarantee neither US provider can make.
Which has the better free tier, AWS or Firebase?
Free tiers on both AWS and Firebase change frequently and tend to share the same catch: compute that sleeps after inactivity, bandwidth or build-minute caps, or trial credits that expire after a fixed window. They are fine for quick experiments but rarely sustainable for an always-on hobby project. If a permanent free tier matters, read the current terms carefully. Limits are often buried in the pricing footnotes. Runsite takes the opposite approach: a free tier with no credit card and no expiry, designed to keep small projects online indefinitely rather than nudging you onto a paid plan.
Is AWS or Firebase GDPR-compliant?
Both AWS and Firebase can be configured to support GDPR-compliant workloads through a signed Data Processing Agreement (DPA) and EU region selection where available. However, as US-incorporated entities they remain subject to the US CLOUD Act regardless of where the data physically sits, which is a documented sticking point for European compliance and DPO review. For workloads where US jurisdiction is a hard blocker (public-sector, healthcare, or privacy-sensitive consumer apps), an EU-headquartered provider removes the ambiguity entirely. Runsite is EU-registered with data kept inside the EU, so GDPR posture is the default rather than a configuration exercise.
What is the cheapest way to deploy a side project, AWS or Firebase?
For a single small service, both AWS and Firebase can look inexpensive on paper. The headline price rarely matches the real bill. Per-service billing, metered bandwidth, build minutes, and add-ons for databases or key-value stores stack up quickly, and neither platform offers a hard spending cap to stop a surprise invoice. The cheapest predictable option is one with fixed monthly pricing and an enforced ceiling. Runsite bills in EUR from €5/month with hard spending caps and Telegram alerts, plus a permanent free tier, so a side project stays cheap by design, not by careful monitoring.
// explore alternatives
Try the European Alternative
Skip the AWS vs Firebase debate. Deploy on Runsite.
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