Cloud Firestore is also a cloud-hosted, NoSQL database. You might be thinking that we already have Realtime Database, which is also a NoSQL database, so why do we need Firestore? The answer to this question is that Firestore can be considered as an advanced version of Realtime Database that provides live synchronization and offline support along with efficient data queries. It scales globally and lets you focus on developing apps instead of worrying about server management. It can be used with Android, iOS, and web platforms.

We can use both databases within the same Firebase application or project. Both are NoSQL databases, can store the same types of data, and have client libraries that work in a similar manner.

If you want to try out Cloud Firestore while it's in beta, use our guide to get started:

• Go to the https://console.firebase.google.com/
• Select your project, DemoProject
• Click on the Database in the left section navigation and select the Cloud Firestore database:

Once we select the database, it prompts you to apply the security rules before creating the database.