I'm still unable to find a single advantage of using the Firebase Database over MongoDB, yet people keep suggesting me to do so.
WHY? I can host Mongo for free on my own server and won't have to worry about *READING* costing money!

crazy world out there :\

It's probably because it's a managed solution. If you like to host and manage your own stuff that's fine of course, but the time you spend on doing that is also translatable into money.
For many companies the cost of managing and possible downtimes would be much higher or at least riskier

@TheShell +1, plus integration with other Firebase/GCM services. It's supposed to be used in tandem with other Firebase modules, e.g as with AWS and Azure

If you are selling the project, firebase accounts are easy to turn over. Definition of turn key programming :P

Popularity rules this industry and the permanent mid-levels that occupy it.

You're right to think for yourself and learn on your own terms, it's how you advance in skill in this industry. 👍

Ive had this "trend", bullshit shoved down my throat in the past, its so annoying in the coding industry.

I still us a basic virtual server to run all of my applications while some of my colleagues have to reinstall docker and fix the issues with it every other week.