Compare / Firebase

Firebase vs Lonca

Firebase is Google's general app platform: auth, Firestore, Cloud Functions, Remote Config, Cloud Messaging and Analytics. Many mobile games use it, and build leaderboards, events, teams and economy on Firestore themselves. Lonca ships those game systems ready to configure, and works alongside Firebase analytics and push.

Book a 20-minute early access call

Pick Firebase when

You need free analytics, push, crash reporting and remote config, and your engineers are happy to build game systems on Firestore.

Pick Lonca when

You want leaderboards, tournaments, teams, an inbox and a wallet without writing them, and want your product team to run events.

At a glance

How Firebase and Lonca differ before you look at a single feature.

Firebase

Lonca

What it is

Firebase

Google's general-purpose app development platform. Not specific to games.

Lonca

An open-source game backend for casual and mobile games, with live ops built in.

How live ops are built

Firebase

Remote Config, A/B tests, push and in-app messages are set up in the console. Game systems such as events with rewards are built on Firestore and Cloud Functions.

Lonca

Configured in the console from 18 event templates, with a flow builder, versions, and dev and staging environments to test in. No server code.

Engine SDKs

Firebase

iOS, Android, web, Flutter, C++ and Unity (mobile; Unity desktop is beta).

Lonca

Unity, Godot and web, generated from one API description.

Custom server logic

Firebase

Cloud Functions in Node.js or Python, plus Security Rules for data access.

Lonca

Rarely needed. Flows cover the logic between events; webhooks reach your own server when you need more.

Hosting

Firebase

Managed on Google Cloud. The emulator is for local development only.

Lonca

Lonca Cloud, run for you on shared infrastructure with each game's data, limits and keys kept apart. Or self-host on your own infrastructure.

Source code

Firebase

Client SDKs are open source; the backend is proprietary.

Lonca

Open-source core. Lonca Cloud is the managed edition.

Pricing

Firebase

Free Spark plan, then pay as you go on Blaze. Analytics, A/B testing and Cloud Messaging are free.

Lonca

Self-hosting has no license fee. Lonca Cloud targets $0.05 per daily active player per month; early access pricing is agreed with each studio.

Feature by feature

What each one gives a casual or mobile game out of the box. The Lonca column is what early access is designed to include; Lonca is not generally available yet.

Feature

Firebase

Lonca

Players

Accounts and sign-in

Firebase

Built in

Google, Apple, Facebook, Play Games, Game Center, anonymous and more

Lonca

Built in

Guest, Google, Apple, Facebook and username. Steam, Game Center and Play Games planned.

Cloud save

Firebase

Partly

Firestore or Storage, with a schema and rules you design

Lonca

Built in

Versioned, with conflict detection, history and restore

Live ops

Live events without code

Firebase

Write it in code

Remote Config flags are no-code; event rules and rewards are code

Lonca

Built in

18 templates, scheduled and tested in staging

Segments and targeting

Firebase

Built in

Google Analytics audiences

Lonca

Built in

Level, platform, app version, audience and country

A/B tests and remote config

Firebase

Built in

Remote Config and A/B Testing

Lonca

Planned

A/B variants planned after early access

Push notifications

Firebase

Built in

Cloud Messaging

Lonca

Planned

Planned after early access

Competition

Leaderboards with seasons

Firebase

Write it in code

Built on Firestore and Functions

Lonca

Built in

Seasons, archives, friends, team and country views

Tournaments and leagues

Firebase

Write it in code

Built on Firestore and Functions

Lonca

Built in

Rooms, brackets and leagues with bots

Social

Teams and clans

Firebase

Write it in code

Built on Firestore and Functions

Lonca

Built in

Roles, help requests and team events

Chat

Firebase

Write it in code

Built on Firestore or Realtime Database

Lonca

Built in

Global, team, group and direct, with moderation

Friends

Firebase

Write it in code

Built on Firestore

Lonca

Built in

Friend codes, suggestions and blocking

Inbox with rewards

Firebase

Write it in code

Built on Firestore and Functions

Lonca

Built in

Scheduled broadcasts, claimed exactly once

Economy

Currencies and inventory

Firebase

Write it in code

Built on Firestore and Functions

Lonca

Built in

A ledger that never goes negative, lives and timers

Promo codes

Firebase

Write it in code

Built on Firestore and Functions

Lonca

Built in

Shared, unique and personal codes

Purchase receipt validation

Firebase

Separate product

Through a third-party extension such as RevenueCat

Lonca

Planned

Planned after early access

Multiplayer

Real-time multiplayer

Firebase

Partly

Realtime Database for light state sync; no matchmaking

Lonca

Not yet

Not in early access; may come later. Lobbies hand off to your match server, and async PvP is built in.

Platform

Product analytics

Firebase

Built in

Google Analytics and Crashlytics

Lonca

Planned

Planned after early access

Where Firebase is stronger

Free analytics, push and crash reporting
Analytics, A/B testing, Cloud Messaging and Crashlytics cost nothing.
Mature mobile SDKs
Well-tested iOS, Android, Unity and C++ SDKs used by a very large number of apps.
Platform sign-in
Play Games and Game Center sign-in are built in.
Google-scale infrastructure
Firestore and Functions scale without capacity planning.

Where Lonca is different

Game systems come built
Leaderboards, tournaments, teams, chat, inbox, wallet and promo codes are part of Lonca. On Firebase each one is a project your engineers design, build and maintain.
Live ops your product team runs
Pick an event template, set rewards and a schedule, test it in staging and publish. Remote Config changes values; Lonca runs whole events.
Correctness built in
A ledger that never goes negative and rewards claimed exactly once are designed in, not left to each team's Firestore rules.
Use both
Product analytics and push notifications are planned after early access, and Lonca doesn't do crash reporting. Many studios would keep Firebase for those and use Lonca for the game backend.

Moving from Firebase

Firebase games usually keep their save data and event state in Firestore documents, and events in Remote Config keys. Player accounts link through Google and Apple sign-in; saves and wallets move into Lonca, and Remote Config events become templates.

1
Tell us what you run
Your events, leaderboards, economy and the server code behind them. A 20-minute call is enough to map it.
2
Map it to Lonca
We match each event to a template and each system to its Lonca module, and list honestly what would not move.
3
Try it in staging
Early access studios get dev and staging environments with test players and a time offset, so an event can be checked before any player sees it.

Questions studios ask

Is Lonca a Firebase alternative for games?

For the game backend, yes: accounts, cloud save, leaderboards, events, teams, chat, inbox, wallet and promo codes. Lonca does not replace Crashlytics, product analytics and push notifications are planned after early access, and Lonca works fine next to Firebase.

Can I keep Firebase Analytics and Remote Config?

Yes. Keep what Firebase does well and let Lonca run the game systems. Lonca's eligibility rules and event schedules don't depend on Remote Config.

Why not build leaderboards and events on Firestore?

You can, and many studios do. The cost is engineering time: room filling, bots, prize tables, seasons, exactly-once claims and the tools for your product team. Lonca ships those as part of the backend.

Does Lonca support Unity and web games like Firebase?

Lonca has SDKs for Unity, Godot and web.

Other comparisons

Based on the public documentation and pricing pages of Firebase, as of October 2026. Spot something out of date? Tell us and we'll fix it.

Firebase and Google are trademarks of Google LLC. Lonca is not affiliated with Google.

Running on Firebase today?

Tell us what you run and what you'd like your product team to launch on its own. We'll tell you honestly whether Lonca fits your game.

SDKs for Unity, Godot and web games.
Open source: Lonca Cloud or self-hosted.
Built for casual and mobile games with live ops on day one.
A founder answers every signup.