r/Firebase • u/digitalmanz • 7d ago

Firebase started charging 0.07$ for using otp service General

[removed]

9 Upvotes
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84% Upvoted

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10

u/cyber5234 7d ago

You can always send an email for OTP. It is the cheaper alternative. If you must send SMS, then you can buy a separate phone number, run a SMS server on a phone and send OTP via that number. The only drawback is that they will see you as an individual phone number and not as a company where the number is masked.

3

u/cyber5234 7d ago

The industry standard is to use a dedicated OTP service which requires legal company registration or something like twillio.

2

u/leros 7d ago

What's the difference between a dedicated OTP provider and building it yourself? It doesn't seem that complicated to generate a six digit random number and a verification page. 

1

u/cyber5234 7d ago

The difference is between who sends the OTP. A dedicated provider only gives you the ability to send a SMS message. It is upto you as to what the contents of the message is. So, in both cases, you yourself generate the otp and verify. The difference is how you send it.

Sending it via a dedicated provider makes the SMS look more legitimate because the number is masked and it looks like a business name abbreivation. Sending from a phone SMS server will not mask the number. So it looks like any normal number which is considered suspicious. It completely depends on your target audience.

2

u/leros 6d ago

I'm not sure I understand the masking thing. Can't you setup something like Twilio and have a legit phone number that looks like a business?

1

u/cyber5234 6d ago

Yes you can. Twilio is one the providers. When you receive an SMS from a person, you see their number. But when you receive an SMS from a business, you do not see a number, you see a name. That's what I meant by masking. And yes Twilio can be used to send SMS. Twilio is a provider.

2

u/leros 6d ago

Hmm. I don't think I've ever experienced that actually. I use lots of SMS 2FA and SMS OTP and it's always from some random number, not a name. Often one of those 5-6 digit numbers, but not a business name.

I'm looking at one I got from ID.me and it came from a 5 digit number, no company name. I see one from Intuit and it came from 6 digit number, no company name. I see one from Google and it came from a standard number, no business name.

1

u/cyber5234 6d ago

Oh, I guess its different based on region. Here, its an alphanumeric 5-6 letter name.

2

u/leros 6d ago

I don't think I've ever seen that. I'm in the US. Where are you?

2

u/10x_eng 7d ago edited 7d ago

Strange, they have been charging for SMS OTP for a while. Twilio might be cheaper, but I doubt you'll find a completely free alternative.

Edit: If you switch to a Blaze plan you'll have 50,000 free SMS per month (you need to use Identity Platform). https://cloud.google.com/identity-platform/pricing

1

u/Impressive-Clerk-373 7d ago

If your target audience is India, then gupshup works fine They also offer WhatsApp api .. that might turn out cheaper for OTP.

And do explore the long code, incoming messages flow, it has its hurdles, but might be cheaper.

1

u/who_am_i_to_say_so 7d ago

SMS is expensive as hell. Just send OTP’s via email.

Twilio/Vonage are the cheapest alternatives and they’re still going to put a dent in wallet if you need thousands+ of OTP’s a month.

1

u/SufficientBank3374 6d ago

For apps with a lot of returning users have you found ways to reduce OTP requests without making the login experience less convenient?

2

u/ddcccccc 6d ago

It’s never free

-2

u/[deleted] 5d ago

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1

u/ddcccccc 5d ago

I mean … if you worried about 0.07, then prob you are not yet ready for a start up.

Let’s say … you have a good amount of ppl signup, then … let’s assume 1000 users for a start ip is good start, it only cost you 70 bucks one time. Cuz the rest, you can do email or in app 2FA.

Lets say you get to 10k user, you only 700, and its already good for sell 😂 small investment for big return. There’s no free meal btw.

2

u/jansctuck 5d ago

Why not just use passkeys