Branch vs. Firebase

Branch is the gold standard linking platform - other services like AppsFlyer or bit.ly aren't able to deliver the consistency Branch does. It is a developer platform as well, so your engineering team will be able to sink its teeth into many different use cases without worrying about how to "hack" it. I believe Branch can continue to become a simpler tool going forward, but the fact that it has a free tier and seeks to fit into YOUR tech stack makes it the easy choice

Incentivized

Firebase should be your first choice if your platform is mobile first. Firebase's mobile platform support for client-side applications is second to none, and I cannot think of a comparable cross-platform toolkit. Firebase also integrates well with your server-side solution, meaning that you can plug Firebase into your existing app architecture with minimal effort.

Firebase lags behind on the desktop, however. Although macOS support is rapidly catching up, full Windows support is a glaring omission for most Firebase features. This means that if your platform targets Windows, you will need to implement the client functionality manually using Firebase's web APIs and wrappers, or look for another solution.

Incentivized

• Branch Link's Desktop SMS is a very good feature, we use it on our landing page such as: https://acetutor.io/smsBoarding
• Branch Link's cross platform support for redirect is another powerful feature. We use it on our main website to redirect users to the correct App Store or Google Play to download our app: https://www.acetutor.io

Incentivized

• Extremely robust. Has about any tool you can think of under one roof making it extremely useful as a backup platform for data analytics or small teams that need something quickly.
• Intuitive and easy UI/UX. Being made and owned by Google, you expect nothing less. Very easy to use for anyone that has any marketing or analytical experience especially in Google Analytics (which I just assume all marketers do).
• Safe, secure, and sturdy. Never need to worry about downtimes or misinformation as it's as clean and safe as it is being run by Google.
• FREE! What else is there to say. Unless you're an extremely large application handling hundreds of thousands to millions of users, this pay as you go plan will stay free.

Incentivized

• To my understanding Branch uses a last touch attribution method. Being able to change this setting or view the data between different attribution models would be extremely useful (first click, linear, time decay, etc).
• Not like it's a con, but it would be great for Branch to keep running totals on attrition rate and daily active users. Also maybe look into more integrations with data export partners - Appsee, Smartlook, etc.

Incentivized

• Firebase/Firestore has very limited support for querying more complicated items; for example, performing a simple string search is not possible.
• While upfront costs are low, costs can grow quickly if you're not careful about what you are being billed for.
• Dashboards have at times shown different information to what is billed, and support from Google is less than stellar and not as effective as that from Amazon or Microsoft.

Incentivized

It's very usable. Multiple teams in the company are using it, and it never takes more than 5 mins to explain to someone how to use this.

Incentivized

Firebase functions are more difficult to use, there are no concepts of triggers or cascading deletes without the use of Firebase functions. Firebase functions can run forever if not written correctly and cause billing nightmares. While this hasn't happened to us specifically it is a thing that happens more than one realizes.

Incentivized

We have never had any issue with support response yet. In fact, they have a local POC in our city too, who routes the urgent matters to their escalation matrix.

Incentivized

Our analytics folks handled the majority of the communication when it came to customer service, but as far as I was aware, the support we got was pretty good. When we had an issue, we were able to reach out and get support in a timely fashion. Firebase was easy to reach and reasonably available to assist when needed.

Incentivized

We used to use AppsFlyer but unfortunately, we found errors in their mobile app attribution reporting. Firebase on the other hand, is a basic tool that has a lot of features, but the features are not extremely robust - especially the attribution or funnel reporting. As a result we decided to give Branch and have been extremely pleased since.

Incentivized

Before using Firebase, we exclusively used self hosted database services. Using Firebase has allowed us to reduce reliance on single points of failure and systems that are difficult to scale. Additionally, Firebase is much easier to set up and use than any sort of self hosted database. This simplicity has allowed us to try features that we might not have based on the amount of work they required in the past.

Incentivized

• It's improved sale attribution, which allowed us to spend on more effective channels and decrease spends on less effective channels.
• It's saved marketing spends, which were actual fraud through affiliate networks, as we were able to prove the fraud from Branch and avoided paying out to that affiliate.

Incentivized

• Firebase has been able to help us understand reliably, the drop-off in our user flows with their funnel feature. This has made it easy for us to be able to pinpoint weaknesses in our funnel and test and optimize with data as the dependent variable.
• From an economic standpoint, we don't pay for Firebase which is great, but as the saying goes "You get what you pay for" also holds true in this context. As we looked to grow and scale, we looked for a paid solution.
• From a developer resource standpoint, Firebase has been extremely easy to integrate into our app. Whether it be the event tracking, dynamic links or crash reporting we have not had to waste too much developer time thanks to their well-organized developer docs.

Incentivized