Teams switch for PostgreSQL portability and SQL queries. Gain: standard SQL, row-level security, built-in vector search, self-hosting option. Trade-off: slightly more setup, less mature mobile SDKs than Firebase.

Teams switch for AWS ecosystem integration. Gain: GraphQL with AppSync, AWS service integration, more backend flexibility. Trade-off: steeper learning curve, AWS complexity, similar lock-in problem.

Solo developers switch for self-hosting simplicity. Gain: single binary deployment, SQLite backend, no vendor dependency, free. Trade-off: single-server limits, no managed option, smaller ecosystem.

Teams switch for flexible document database with better querying. Gain: more powerful queries, aggregation pipeline, vector search. Trade-off: need separate auth/hosting solutions, MongoDB-specific APIs.

Teams switch for open-source alternative with self-hosting. Gain: self-hosted or cloud, multiple database backends, open-source. Trade-off: smaller community, less mature than Firebase.