Save up to 216$/y/domain on your GCP bill by connecting Cloud Run to Firebase

No bs. Εxplanation included.

Note: See at the end of post for savings breakdown.

Let’s connect firebase with Cloud Run!

Requirements

• Node.js @ latest

Step 1: Install the firebase CLI

npm i -g firebase-tools

Step 2: Ensure you are logged in to google via browser.

Step 3: Create a Firebase project

• Go to http://console.firebase.google.com/

• Click Add Project

• Enter a name and click Continue

• Keep Google Analytics enabled and click Continue

• Choose or create a Google Analytics account or select an existing one.

• Click Create Project

• Wait for the process to finish and click Continue. You’ll be redirected to the project dashboard

Step 4: Enable Pay-as-you-go

We need to enable Pay-as-you-go, so our custom domains don’t shut down! See more on the cost breakdown below!

• Go to the bottom left corner of the dashboard. Click Upgrade , next to Spark

• Select or create a GCP billing account. Its easy to create if you don’t already have one

• Click Continue then Purchase

Pay as you go is now enabled!

Step 5: Deploy your apps to Cloud Run

For help, you can refer to a similar tutorial I made, up until step 7

Step 6: Get your firebase project ID

On the firebase dashboard:

• click the Gear Icon on the top left, on the right of Project Overview

• go to Project Settings > General > Your Project

• Copy the Project ID value and store it somewhere.

Step 8: Create hosting sites

On the firebase dashboard:

• click Hosting on the top left, under Project Shortcuts

• For each of your apps you want to deploy, click the Add another site button on the right of your screen, and give it a Unique Name (unique_name.web.app)

• Copy each Unique Name and store it somewhere

Step 8: firebase.json

Go somewhere in your desktop (eg downloads/temp) and create a firebase.json file with the following

{
    "$schema": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mainrs/vscode-firebase-configuration-schema-plugin/master/schemas/firebase.schema.json",
    "hosting": []
}

We’re gonna fill out the hosting array

Step 9: Login to firebase via the CLI

firebase login

Step 10: Create hosting targets for the unique names

For each of the Unique Names you created, apply a hosting target alias by running:

firebase target:apply hosting <alias> <unique_name>

Step 11: Fill the hosting array

• Head over to https://console.cloud.google.com/run

• Use this page as a reference to the names and regions of your Cloud Run services

The schema for a hosting element

{
  "target": "<hosting target alias (step 9)>",
  "rewrites": [
    {
      "source": "/*",
      "run": {
        "serviceId": "<name of cloud run service>",
        "region": "<region of cloud run service>",
        "pinTag": true
      }
    }
  ]
}

Example

• Cloud Run Service Name: api

• Cloud Run Service Region: us-central1 (Iowa)

• Firebase Hosting Site Unique Name: api-ybbe34t3

I run:

firebase target:apply hosting cr-api api-ybbe34t3

Then the schema:

{
  "target": "cr-api",
  "rewrites": [
    {
      "source": "/*",
      "run": {
        "serviceId": "api",
        "region": "us-central1",
        "pinTag": true
      }
    }
  ]
}

Step 12: Deploy!

firebase deploy --only hosting --project <project ID from step 6>

Step 13: The custom domains.

• head over to the firebase console

• look top-left on the sidebar > “Hosting”

• click “View” on one of your sites

• in the middle of the screen, you will see a “Add custom domain” button. Click it

• Insert the domain you want to use, click Continue

• Change the DNS records of your domain accordingly

That's it!

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Cost Breakdown

Load Balancing on GCP costs:

• 261$/y for the first 5 rules (0.025$/hr)

• 86,4$/y for every other one (0.01$/hr)

There is no cost for Networking

Hosting on Firebase costs:

• 15 cents / GB of Ingress/Egress

• Some other costs that don’t apply (BC of Cloud Run)

For a small company with 1TB Networking and 5 Cloud Run services, in a year:

• 5 * 261$ = 1305$ for GCP

• 1024 * 0,15$ = 130,6$ for Firebase!

When should I move to GCP?

When your cost of Networking/ hr exceeds your GCP LB costs/hr