Question 1

What's the difference between Mobile Backend as a Service (MBaaS) and Backend as a Service (BaaS)?

Accepted Answer

MBaaS is a BaaS approach optimized for mobile apps. Both provide ready-made backend features like authentication and databases, but MBaaS typically emphasizes mobile SDKs, offline support/data sync, push notifications, and easy integration with iOS/Android app lifecycles.

Question 2

When should I use Mobile Backend as a Service?

Accepted Answer

Use MBaaS when you want to ship a mobile app quickly and avoid building and operating common backend components. It’s a good fit for prototypes, MVPs, and many production apps that need user sign-in, push notifications, file storage, and simple APIs. Consider a custom backend if you need highly specialized business logic, strict data residency constraints, complex integrations, or want full control over infrastructure and portability.

Question 3

How much does Mobile Backend as a Service cost?

Accepted Answer

Costs vary by provider and usage. Pricing is usually driven by monthly active users, authentication events, database reads/writes and storage, bandwidth/egress, serverless function invocations, and push/notification volume. Many platforms offer a free tier for small apps, but costs can rise quickly with high traffic, heavy real-time sync, large media storage, or significant data egress.

Mobile Backend as a Service

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