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Jonathan Gamble
Jonathan Gamble

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Cloud Hosted Databases DBaaS

I am creating a post to list all cloud-hosted alternatives to Firestore. All of these databases are scalable and serverless technologies.

1. Cloud Firestore

NoSQL Database built on Firebase platform

  • Amazing support for many different libraries
  • Incredible Default Realtime Support with Robust Caching
  • Wonderful Robust Security Rules for Backend Validation written in CEL (Common Expression Langauge)
  • Very Limited Querying
  • No support for any type of joins
  • Must handle all types of counts manually
  • Vendor Lockin, can't use outside of Firestore
  • Firestore Functions can do a lot in background
  • See here for my in-depth problems with Firestore (love/hate)
  • Price: Pricing based on usage

2. Dgraph Cloud

Graph Database using GraphQL known to be faster than Neo4j based on Badger.

  • Extremely Fast and Powerful
  • Has realtime support through graphql websockets.
  • Very Limited Backend Validation Security (Hopefully they are working on this), but can hack this with Custom Lambda Mutations (a lot more work) written in GraphQL Queries
  • No Nested Filters (same thing as filtering JOINS), should have this by end of the year, can hack with custom DQL queries
  • Has Data Studio like Cloud Firestore
  • Can Edit almost everything in Cloud Studio
  • Use my easy-dgraph js library for easily creating graphql queries
  • Best used with URQL for Caching
  • Will have storage usage in the future like Firebase
  • Must use external Auth Controls like Firebase Auth or Auth0
  • Price: $39.99 a month, or dedicated based on usage ($199)

3. Supabase.io

PostgresSQL using a JS Library with an online easy-to-use system.

  • JS Library makes any kind of queries easy to create, especially complex joins and filters
  • Uses Postgres's RLS (Row Level Security) policies for very robust backend validation
  • Has current storage bucket capabilities like Firebase
  • Has built-in Auth controls
  • Price: $25 a month, or dedicated based on usage

4. Hasura Cloud

GraphQL postgreSQL database

  • RLS for security
  • Needs Auth0 or Firebase for authentication
  • NHost.io built on top of this
  • Price: $99 a month standard to custom

5. Nhost.io

PostGreSQL with GraphQL built on Hasura

  • Adds storage and RBAC to Hasura.

6. MongoDb Atlas

GraphQL connection to feature rich noSQL.

  • Has Robust Join Capabilities for a denormalized database, but can be slow if not indexed
  • Many Languages Support, Functions, Triggers
  • Streams for Realtime Support via Websockets
  • Has a GraphQL api
  • JSON Schema Validation and built in RBAC
  • Price: $57 a month dedicated instance

7. Fauna

GraphQL connection for custom relational noSQL.

  • Realtime available using streams, limited
  • Built in ABAC, Custom FQL Rules for Robust Security Validation
  • Vendor Lock-in, can't view under-the-hood
  • Price: $22.5 a month, $135, $450, depending on needs

8. Neo4j Aura

GraphDb, basic graphQL, uses Cypher Language for everything else

  • Cypher includes RBAC and Robust Query Validation
  • Realtime support with external instance of Kafka (from my understanding), not built-in
  • Limited Documentation
  • GraphQL does not work out-of-the-box and needs a middlware server
  • Price: $65 a month to custom

9. Amazon Neptune

GraphDb, gremlin and SPARQL (latest technology!)

  • AWS (IAM) for ABAC Security
  • Lambda Functions (Java, Javascript, and other langauges) - Field Validation as well
  • Gremlin Websocket for Realtime
  • Limited Documentation
  • Easy access to all Amazon Services
  • Price: Custom pricing, probably starts at $450 a month

10. MariaDB Cloud / SkyDB

A Fork of MySQL management

  • Built-in User Management
  • MYSQL Validation Data Rules
  • Realtime Data Streams with Kafka (not built-in to my understanding)
  • Storage Options
  • Price: Custom Pricing, pay as you go, maybe $700 starting?

11. TigerGraph Cloud

GraphDB Restful Endpoint

  • Restful Endpoint
  • RBAC Built-in
  • GSQL Query Langauge for Security Field Validation
  • Kafka for real time streaming
  • Price: Pay as you go, dedicated, could get expensive, free version with credits

12. Nebula Graph

Chinese GraphDb with recent funding

  • RBAC
  • nGQL, openCypher for Security and Queries
  • Kafka or Pulsar
  • Nebula Graph Cloud in Beta

13. Redis Enterprise Cloud

Key Value Store that can be used as GraphDB

  • Rest API
  • RBAC
  • Pubsub
  • Price:Free Version, $7, and Flexible add GraphDB

14. HarperDB Cloud

SQL on JSON with Rest API

  • NewSQL, Microservice Architecture
  • Authentication Security (JWT and Roles), no field security that I can find
  • Pubsub websockets
  • Price: Free tier, per instance pricing

15. CockroachCloud

SQL on JSON

  • NewSQL, allows complex querying
  • Uses Changefeed to watch data
  • Price:: No Free tier, by the hour

16. Couchbase Cloud

newSQL noSQL allowing relational data

  • Spark Streaming, DStreams from DCP
  • Price: per hour, custom pricing

17. InfiniteGraph

GraphDB, claims massive scalability

  • Looks like GraphQL, probably websockets, documentation not available to free users?
  • Price: - Free version , $100 50gb

18. SingleStore

  • Elastic Cloud Database Relational SQL
  • Could not find specifics, has streaming capabilities
  • Price: - Credit system, free version gives $500 worth of credits

19. PlanetScale

Mysql compatible powered by Vitess

  • In beta, could not find real time data information or client side integration
  • Price: - low pricing for startups, cost per read / writes / storage

20. AstraDB

  • Apache Cassandra NoSQL database
  • DataStax Astra Streaming Technology
  • Price: - has free tear, price per usage

Honorable Mentions (No Cloud Service or Enterprise Only Cloud)


  • Let me know pros and cons of any you have used.
  • I will update the list if new features become available, so let me know.
  • Post a comment if you know of another cloud-hosted product (must be serverless), and I will add it here as well.

J

Top comments (5)

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mikcaweb profile image
Mark Foster • Edited

I love that you are talking about RDF/SPARQL databases because RDF is the main datastore of the Solid Protocol.

Some other RDF/SPARQL databases to look into are GraphDB, StarDog, AnzoGraph, and Apache Jena.

There are four versions of RDF: RDF v 1.0, RDF v 1.1, RDF* and N3.

I am interested in learning more about RDF* and SPARQL*, it seems to be the most updated version of RDF and adds the property graph feature of graph databases. I am still researching this. youtube.com/watch?v=xWgWMxx_qkA

Right now the Solid Team is weighing out the pros and cons of all the four and will pick a main version for the Solid Specification. If you are interested in finding out more you can watch the most recent July 2021 episode of Solid World. More Discussion Gitter Chat: and Solid Forum

I am compiling a (Work In Progress) slide deck of Semantic Web technologies located here : SemanticStack.com.

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jdgamble555 profile image
Jonathan Gamble

I already added them Peter H.

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pieterhumphrey profile image
Pieter Humphrey

@jdgamble555 I was looking at cached version and didn't see update. thank you!

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pieterhumphrey profile image
Pieter Humphrey • Edited

Hi @jdgamble555 would you be open to adding DataStax Astra DB, and Astra Streaming? It's built on Apache Cassandra and Apache Pulsar, and yes, it's serverless.

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pieterhumphrey profile image
Pieter Humphrey

@jdgamble555 what do you think?