On: The architecture behind a one-person tech startup

[0xdba]

For my typing SaaS, I found firebase hosting/realtime DB a ginormous time saver.

And since it hasn't taken off (and probably won't ever), it just costs me a pennies a month since I'm under their free limits, plus the domain.

[darkhorse13 → 0xdba]

But you should be careful if it actually does takeoff. Firebase is freaking amazing, but the pricing can get crazy expensive.

[elitan → darkhorse13]

I also tested Firebase but quickly ran into issues.

Firebase's database is a NoSQL database, whereas almost all my data for the apps and (micro-)SaaS I was building had relational data.

Their frontend data fetching felt clunky and did not fit my requirement.

Also, the fact that Firebase is a closed-source backend felt scary in the hands of Google (https://killedbygoogle.com/).

Firebase's problems and my desire to have the perfect backend made me build an open-source alternative to fix all the shortcomings. PostgreSQL instead of NoSQL. GraphQL instead of REST. 100% open source. That is now https://nhost.io.

[darkhorse13 → elitan]

Thanks for sharing. On first impressions, I found Nhost's product to be really cool, so much so that I actually applied for the open position of Product Designer [Tahmid].

[0xdba → darkhorse13]

That is a problem I'd love to have.