brainCloud
Mobile Backend-as-a-Service (mBaaS) software
Application development software
Mobile development software
- Features
- Ease of use
- Ease of management
- Quality of support
- Affordability
- Market presence
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$5 per month
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What is brainCloud
brainCloud is a backend-as-a-service platform used to add server-side capabilities to mobile and game applications without building and operating a custom backend. It provides managed services such as user authentication, data storage, cloud code, matchmaking/leaderboards, and push notifications via SDKs and APIs. It targets game studios and mobile app teams that need common backend features and live-ops tooling with a hosted or self-managed deployment option.
Game-focused backend feature set
brainCloud includes features commonly required for online games, such as leaderboards, matchmaking, player statistics, virtual currency/inventory patterns, and social features. This reduces the amount of custom server development needed for game-specific use cases compared with more general-purpose app backends. It also supports live operations workflows (e.g., content/config updates) that are important for running production games.
SDKs and API-driven integration
The platform provides client SDKs and server APIs intended to accelerate integration into mobile and game clients. Teams can use these interfaces to implement authentication, data access, and gameplay services with consistent patterns across platforms. This can shorten time-to-implement for common backend functions relative to building and hosting equivalent services from scratch.
Deployment flexibility options
brainCloud is available as a managed cloud service and is also offered in self-hosted/private deployment models for organizations with specific compliance, data residency, or operational requirements. This flexibility can help teams that cannot use a fully managed public cloud service. It also enables tighter control over scaling and infrastructure choices when needed.
Less suited for non-game apps
The product’s service catalog and terminology are optimized for games and player-centric workflows. For general enterprise mobile apps, teams may find that some built-in modules are unnecessary while other enterprise-oriented capabilities require additional work. Organizations focused on standard business app patterns may prefer a more general-purpose mobile backend approach.
Potential platform lock-in
Applications typically integrate through brainCloud-specific SDKs, data models, and service endpoints. Migrating to another backend later can require reworking client code and re-implementing server-side logic and data structures. This is a common tradeoff for mBaaS platforms, but it can be material for long-lived products.
Requires backend governance and planning
While the platform reduces infrastructure work, teams still need to design data schemas, permissions, and operational processes for live services. Misconfiguration can lead to performance, security, or maintainability issues, especially at scale. Organizations may need experienced backend or live-ops staff to operate effectively even with managed hosting.
Plan & Pricing
| Plan | Price | Key features & notes |
|---|---|---|
| Development (Free) | Free | Core features (excludes Custom Entities & Hosting on some docs), capped: 100 Daily Active Users (DAU), 1,000 accounts; 1M free API calls; 100 MB free file storage; 1 GB free file transfers. |
| Development Plus | $5 per month | All features (incl. Custom Entities & Hosting); caps: 200 DAU, 2,000 accounts; 1M free API calls; 200 MB free file storage; 2 GB free file transfers; 20 free RTT connections; 10 GB free Deep Data Storage. |
| Lite | $15 per month | Core features; unlimited DAU/accounts; 1M free API calls; 200 MB free file storage; 2 GB free file transfers. Additional API calls start at $12.00 per Million. |
| Lite Plus | $25 per month | Core + RTT + Custom Entities + Hosting; unlimited DAU/accounts; 1M free API calls; 300 MB free file storage; 3 GB free file transfers; 50 free RTT connections; 10 GB free Deep Data Storage. Additional API calls start at $12.00 per Million. |
| Standard | $30 per month | Core features; unlimited DAU/accounts; 6M free API calls; 1 GB free file storage; 10 GB free file transfers. Additional API calls start at $10.50 per Million. |
| Standard Plus | $50 per month | Core + RTT + Custom Entities + Hosting; unlimited DAU/accounts; 6M free API calls; 1 GB free file storage; 10 GB free file transfers; 100 free RTT connections; 10 GB free Deep Data Storage. Additional API calls start at $10.50 per Million. |
| Business | $99 per month | Core + Enterprise features; unlimited DAU/accounts; 10M free API calls; 2 GB free file storage; 20 GB free file transfers. Additional API calls start at $10.25 per Million. |
| Business Plus | $199 per month | All features; unlimited DAU/accounts; 15M free API calls; 3 GB free file storage; 30 GB free file transfers; 250 free RTT connections; 20 GB free Deep Data Storage. Additional API calls start at $10.00 per Million. |
Additional usage & notes (from official site):
- Plans are billed per App.
- API call overages: additional API calls charged at tiered per‑million rates (examples shown per-plan above). See API pricing table for full scaling details.
- File storage: $0.05 per GB. File transfers: $0.15 per GB.
- Deep Data Usage: charged at $0.45 per GB per day (with multipliers: x5 for indexes, x10 for Redis/chat). Plus plans include free aggregated Deep Data allocation (varies by plan).
- RTT charging: 1 API count per 100 delivered RTT messages; additional concurrent RTT connections charged at 10 API counts per connection per hour.
- Hosting (Custom App Servers): brainCloud adds 25% + $0.03 to the cloud provider's hourly hosting costs when brainCloud hosts Relay/Room servers on behalf of the app.
- Dormant accounts (>=365 days inactive): optional deletion available; keeping dormant accounts is charged $75.00 per million dormant accounts, per month.
- Bulk+ (prepaid high-volume) plans are available (examples in official docs): e.g., Bulk+ 250M = $2,205/month; Bulk+ 500M = $4,115/month; Bulk+ 1B = $7,705/month (see official docs for full details and per‑call discounts).
Seller details
bitHeads Inc.
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
2014
Private
https://getbraincloud.com/
https://x.com/brainCloudBaaS
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bitheads-inc-
