Complete Guide to the Blaze Plan ✦ Firebase Setup #2

Hi, Jian from ARCOA. 👋 

In Part 1, we created your Firebase project. Now comes a decision that matters more than people realize: the billing plan.

Here's what confuses most beginners: "If Blaze is paid, why would I use it?"

The truth? Blaze is paid, but it includes the same free allowance as Spark. You only pay when you exceed the free tier. And for MVP-stage apps (under 1,000 users), you're looking at minimal costs—basically free.

But there's a catch with Spark: test mode auto-locks after 30 days. One day your app works, the next day it's dead.

This guide walks you through upgrading to Blaze safely, setting up billing, and configuring budget alerts so you sleep soundly.

Time Required: 5 minutes to complete, lifetime of peace of mind.

Why Upgrade to Blaze?

Let's start with a simple comparison:

Feature	Sparck (Free)	Blaze (Pay-as-you-go)
Cost	Free	Pay only for usage over free tier ✅
Free Allowance	Included	Same as Spark ✅
Firestore Test Mode	30-day limit ⚠️	Unlimited ✅
Cloud Functions	Not available	Available ⭐
FlutterFlow Advanced Features	Limited	Full access ⭐
Scalability	Limited	Unlimited ⭐

The Core Truth:

• Blaze's free tier matches Spark exactly
• You only pay when you exceed free usage limits
• MVP stage apps (under 1,000 users) typically cost $5-15/month maximum
• ⚠️ Spark test mode dies after 30 days—and you won't remember to upgrade in time

Step 1: Upgrade to Blaze

1-1. Access Firebase Console

• Visit https://console.firebase.google.com
• At the bottom of the left menu, you'll see your current plan: "Spark"

1-2. Click "Upgrade"

• (Figure 1) ✦① Click the "Upgrade" button A modal window appears showing the billing options
• (Figure 1) ✦② Click "Select Plan" to proceed with Blaze upgrade

Figure 1: Blaze plan upgrade screen

Step 2: Set Up Your Billing Account

2-1. Create a Google Cloud Billing Account

• You'll see: "Pay only for what you use — Blaze plan"
• (Figure 2)  ✦③ Click "Create Cloud Billing Account"
• Credit cards, debit cards, and international payment methods are all supported.

Figure 2: Create cloud billing account

2-2. Configure Your Billing Profile

• (Figure 3) ✦④ Select Country: Choose the country where you or your business is registered.
• (Figure 3) ✦⑤ Currency: Auto-selected based on your country (USD for US, EUR for EU, GBP for UK, etc.)
• (Figure 3) ✦⑥ Account Type: Individual/Freelancer: Select "Individual"
  Company/Organization: Select "Business"
• (Figure 3) ✦⑦ Payment Method: Register your primary card here. Ensure it matches the billing country you selected above.

Figure 3: Google Cloud billing profile setup

Step 3: Set Up Budget Alerts

3-1. Why Budget Alerts Matter

Even well-built apps can spike costs unexpectedly:

• Accidental infinite loops in your code
• Unexpected traffic surge during a launch
• Testing batches of data uploads
• Runaway database queries

Budget alerts are your safety net. When your spending hits 50%, 90%, or 100% of your budget, Firebase emails you instantly.

3-2. Create Your Budget

• (Figure 4) ✦⑨ Budget Amount: Enter your comfort zone. We recommend starting with $50/month for peace of mind.
• Budget alerts trigger at:50% of budget reached → Alert sent
• 90% of budget reached → Alert sent
• 100% of budget reached → Alert sent (critical)
• (Figure 4) ✦⑪ Link Billing Account: Connect the billing account you created in Step 2.
  This finalizes your Blaze upgrade.

Figure 4: Budget and billing account linking screen

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3-3. Manage Your Spending

• (Figure 5) ✦⑫ Click the gear icon (⚙️) in the top-right corner → select "Usage and billing"  ✦⑬
• In the "Details and settings" tab, you can:(Figure 5)  ✦⑭ Edit your budget and modify alert thresholds.
• (Figure 5) ✦⑮ Check your plan and current spending.
  View detailed cost breakdowns by service.

Figure 5: Usage and billing management screen

💡 Understanding Firebase Costs (No Surprises)

Free Tier Includes (Monthly):

• 50,000 read operations
• 20,000 write operations
• 20,000 delete operations
• 1 GB stored data
• 5 GB data transfer out

Beyond Free Tier (You Only Pay For This):

• Read: $0.06 per 100,000
• Write: $0.18 per 100,000
• Delete: $0.02 per 100,000
• Storage: $0.18 per GB
• Data transfer: $0.12 per GB

Real Example — MVP App (1,000 users):

• Average daily active users: 50
• Each user performs 5 read + 2 write operations
• Total: ~250 reads + 100 writes daily
• Monthly cost: $5-15 (well within free tier for most MVP apps)

✅ Completion Checklist

[  ] Click "Upgrade" to Blaze plan
[  ] Create Google Cloud Billing account
[  ] Set billing profile (country, currency, account type, payment method)
[  ] Configure budget alerts (e.g., $50/month)
[  ] Link billing account to Firebase project
[  ] Verify billing settings in "Usage and billing" section

✦ Designer’s Summary

Blaze feels scary at first, but it's actually safer than Spark. 

You get the same free tier, unlimited test mode, and budget alerts to keep surprises away. 

Start with Blaze, not because you'll pay more, but because you'll worry less.

🔗 Series — Firebase Setup

Pre-Setup: Why Firebase for No-Code Designers?
Series Intro: Firebase Setup Series Overview: A Designer's Guide
Part 1: Firebase Project Creation
Part 2: Complete Guide to the Blaze Plan(This post)
Part 3: Google Authentication Setup(Next)
Part 4: Preparing FlutterFlow Integration
Part 5: Apple Authentication Setup 

In Part 3, we'll set up Google Sign-In—your first step toward user authentication.
Ready to secure your first users? Let's go ✦