Google is notorious when it comes to support.
A startup’s Firebase bill suddenly increased from $25 to $1750 per month
51–60 of 516 posts
Re: A startup’s Firebase bill suddenly increased from $25 to $1750 per month
#52That's the same, old vendor lock-in approach. It has happened with the servers, databases, network equipment etc. now it happens with cloud -- nothing unexpected, prepare to see more of these when cloud market stabilizes and clear leaders emerge. That's why I always prefer open solutions, that can be moved/migrated/replaced easily and advise others to do the same.
Re: A startup’s Firebase bill suddenly increased from $25 to $1750 per month
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
"you retain a running instance of every previous instance I pushed?!" What? Seriously? Is this documented anywhere? Would you recommend against using GAE?
> Would you recommend against using GAE? I've been burned so hard by them, I'd recommend against using anything Google.
It's getting to that point for me too now. I'm really really close to removing them from every aspect of my life. Professional and private.
Re: A startup’s Firebase bill suddenly increased from $25 to $1750 per month
#54> Obviously our app being shut down and our users being cut off was not an option.
I wonder how many companies shut down due to this. My company is in a similar situation (not a tech cost but still) and it feels unbelievable that we may need to shut down even though we have so many customers. I never hear about these stories though, as if all companies have a large buffer that can handle these increases.
Re: A startup’s Firebase bill suddenly increased from $25 to $1750 per month
#55> Obviously our app being shut down and our users being cut off was not an option. I wonder how many companies shut down due to this. My company is in a similar situation (not a tech cost but still) and it feels unbelievable that we may need to shut down even though we have so many customers. I never hear about these stories though, as if all companies have a large buffer that can handle these increases.
Wouldn't it be better to port your app to another platform than to shut down?
Re: A startup’s Firebase bill suddenly increased from $25 to $1750 per month
#56Is there a large difference between using Firebase Database and another hosted DBaaS, such as MongoDB Atlas?
I use Firebase Database but keep it arms length by avoiding any of the proprietary features it offers. I use it exclusively as a JSON store which I feel I can easily export at any time if I wanted to switch to another NoSQL DBaaS.
A few people here are mentioning how it's crazy to depend on external services for an app, but as an 'indie' dev, I can't spend time maintaining a secure, high-availability database. Or a mail server when I can use SendGrid, or a logging platform when I can use Sentry, or any of the other service my app depends on.
Re: A startup’s Firebase bill suddenly increased from $25 to $1750 per month
#57The detail that amazed me is the lack of visibility of the issue in reporting tools - it's all very well changing the terms, but not giving your customer any ability to see what is increasing the bill seems massively unfair.
"It costs this much because we say so"
Re: A startup’s Firebase bill suddenly increased from $25 to $1750 per month
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Would you recommend against using GAE? I've been burned so hard by them, I'd recommend against using anything Google.
It's getting to that point for me too now. I'm really really close to removing them from every aspect of my life. Professional and private.
Gmail still rocks
Re: A startup’s Firebase bill suddenly increased from $25 to $1750 per month
#59Did a Firebase team member already comment on this? In a few hours Google will present some new Firebase features at io17, and I would expect them to avoid bad press now as much as possible...
That's probably the purpose of this post — the best way to get support from Google, after all, is still by posting a story on reddit, twitter or HN. Which is pretty sad.
I think it's kind of weird to see Google/Firebase team members swarming around in dozens on HN when they present a new feature, which seems to me like a coordinated marketing effort by Google. But once problems arise or they get criticized by their own users, no one seems to be available for a comment.
Re: A startup’s Firebase bill suddenly increased from $25 to $1750 per month
#60Earlier quoted context omitted.
Jup, had the same issue with Google App Engine. Luckily I could contact support... "What do you mean, you retain a running instance of every previous instance I pushed?!" Fun times.
"you retain a running instance of every previous instance I pushed?!" What? Seriously? Is this documented anywhere? Would you recommend against using GAE?
> What? Seriously? Is this documented anywhere?
Yes, for that reason a POC I made for a side project costed almost 100 bucks to me (I was the single user)... I never checked the current bill because I was sure the total cost would have been around 15-20... when I got charged I noticed all the previous pushed versions had a single instance running, so the costs were incremental...