Overall Satisfaction with Firebase
It's being used mainly by our analytics and mobile teams. We were forced to migrate from Google Analytics, which is bad from an analytics standpoint (because Firebase has an inferior interface and is more restrictive in terms of tracking App interactions) but good from a mobile diagnostics point of view (because it has better diagnostics than Google Analytics).
It helps us understand Mobile App Version adoption, as well as gauge the success of new feature rollout and/or experience changes.
It helps us understand Mobile App Version adoption, as well as gauge the success of new feature rollout and/or experience changes.
- Diagnostics (e.g. app updates, removals, adoption of new mobile versions).
- The Firebase interface is terrible. Vastly inferior to Google Analytics - even if you create a Web + App Firebase View, it's still poor experience. It's very hard to get non-analytics stakeholders to use Firebase.
- Heavy restrictions on the number of Events that can be used to track App interactions. Even heavier restrictions on the number of parameters you can associate with those Events.
- Poor customer support - Not just in terms of advice, but also in terms of its limited scope
- Firebase Analytics technically isn't free (which is what was so great about Google Analytics) - If you want to do anything meaningful you have to pay to use BigQuery.
- (Vaguely) Positive: We were forced to move from Google Analytics, so at least we still have analytics!
- Negative: We have fewer insights compared to Google Analytics because Firebase isn't as configurable.
- Negative: We've had to lose certain parts of our (Google Analytics) tagging because there wasn't a practical way of storing some of our data in Firebase.
- Negative: The BigQuery-Firebase configuration is a chore and there's no way you'll ever get non-analytics people to use it.
If I get a suitable budget next year, I'll be switching us to Adobe Analytics. Their app/web tracking and the interface are streets ahead of Firebase.
Do you think Firebase delivers good value for the price?
No
Are you happy with Firebase's feature set?
No
Did Firebase live up to sales and marketing promises?
No
Did implementation of Firebase go as expected?
Yes
Would you buy Firebase again?
No