--- title: DocumentDB vs Firestore vs MongoDB | daily.dev description: A comparison of three document databases—MongoDB, Google Firestore, and Amazon DocumentDB—based on the author's hands-on experience with all three. MongoDB is... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/documentdb-vs-firestore-vs-mongodb-0cd2hhegv twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: DocumentDB vs Firestore vs MongoDB | daily.dev og:description: A comparison of three document databases—MongoDB, Google Firestore, and Amazon DocumentDB—based on the author's hands-on experience with all three. MongoDB is... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/documentdb-vs-firestore-vs-mongodb-0cd2hhegv og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/0cd2hHEGV.png og:image:alt: DocumentDB vs Firestore vs MongoDB og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # DocumentDB vs Firestore vs MongoDB **[Towards Dev](https://daily.dev/sources/towardsdev)** · 7 min read · 1 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary A comparison of three document databases—MongoDB, Google Firestore, and Amazon DocumentDB—based on the author's hands-on experience with all three. MongoDB is presented as the most powerful and portable option with rich querying, aggregation pipelines, and vector search, best for complex or vendor-independent projects. Firestore is framed as the easiest entry point for beginners thanks to its serverless model, real-time sync, and generous free tier, though its querying is limited. Amazon DocumentDB offers a MongoDB-compatible API but runs its own storage engine, missing some advanced MongoDB features, and is mainly recommended for teams already committed to AWS. The overall takeaway is that no database is universally best—choose based on team context and project needs. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What is the difference between Amazon DocumentDB and MongoDB even though DocumentDB claims to be MongoDB-compatible? Amazon DocumentDB does not actually run MongoDB under the hood; AWS built its own storage engine and wrapped a MongoDB-compatible API around it. Most basic MongoDB queries and tutorials work the same on DocumentDB, but advanced features like the full aggregation pipeline or certain query operators may be missing or only partially supported. _Anyone weighing MongoDB against DocumentDB for an AWS-locked project can compare real tradeoffs on daily.dev._ ### Should I use Firestore or MongoDB Atlas for my first backend project? Firestore is better for a first app because it is serverless, has a generous free tier of 50,000 reads and 20,000 writes per day, and offers real-time sync out of the box, letting a beginner focus on building rather than managing infrastructure. MongoDB Atlas is recommended once the project grows in complexity, since it offers more powerful querying, an aggregation pipeline, and avoids cloud vendor lock-in. _Developers deciding between Firestore and MongoDB Atlas can track this comparison alongside others on daily.dev._ ### Why would a team choose Amazon DocumentDB over MongoDB Atlas? Teams choose DocumentDB mainly for AWS integration rather than for MongoDB compatibility itself. When a company already relies on AWS services like Lambda, S3, EC2, or IAM, DocumentDB fits seamlessly with built-in encryption, access control, and compliance certifications inside the existing AWS account, though it lacks a serverless option and cannot move to another cloud. _Engineers choosing a database within an AWS-only environment can weigh these constraints using daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Document databases – understanding your options](https://daily.dev/posts/document-databases-understanding-your-options-t3zcg6bhh) · InfoWorld · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Comparing MongoDB, TimescaleDB, InfluxDB, and CrateDB for an IIoT Use-case](https://daily.dev/posts/comparing-mongodb-timescaledb-influxdb-and-cratedb-for-an-iiot-use-case-h4z5bd7cj) · CrateDB · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [They All Write, Store, and Read Data: How to Pick The Right Database](https://daily.dev/posts/they-all-write-store-and-read-data-how-to-pick-the-right-database-qc0uzzyek) · MotherDuck · 11 upvotes · 2 comments - [What DocumentDB Means for Open Source](https://daily.dev/posts/what-documentdb-means-for-open-source-khp0tc2aw) · The New Stack · 1 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#aws](https://daily.dev/tags/aws), [#database](https://daily.dev/tags/database), [#mongodb](https://daily.dev/tags/mongodb), [#nosql](https://daily.dev/tags/nosql), [#firestore](https://daily.dev/tags/firestore) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/documentdb-vs-firestore-vs-mongodb-0cd2hhegv) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"DocumentDB vs Firestore vs MongoDB","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/documentdb-vs-firestore-vs-mongodb-0cd2hhegv","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/documentdb-vs-firestore-vs-mongodb-0cd2hhegv"},"datePublished":"2026-08-17T11:31:54.748Z","dateModified":"2026-09-14T08:20:33.485Z","description":"A comparison of three document databases—MongoDB, Google Firestore, and Amazon DocumentDB—based on the author's hands-on experience with all three. 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