I'm creating an iOS app that uses remote databases, sessions (login/registration), server side code, and push notifications.

I found this SDK called [Parse](https://www.parse.com/products) that handles all of the server stuff like hosting, the database, cloud code, push notifications, sessions, etc... (so pretty much everything I need to do)

**Is Parse SDK worth using (cost-wise) in general?**

NOTE - FTR, PARSE HAVE TOTALLY CHANGED THEIR PRICING PLANS (5/2014)
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these are the old plans...

* With the [free version](https://www.parse.com/plans), you get 1 million requests a month (I'm guessing this means requests to the database?), 1 million pushes a month, and the burst limit is 20/second.
* The [next version up](https://www.parse.com/plans) costs $199/month, you get 15 million requests a month, 5 million pushes, and the burst limit is 40/second.

Do you think it will pay for itself if goes over 1 million requests / month, and I have to pay for the $199/month version? What if I plan on making money with my app via ads, will it earn enough?

Let's say every person accesses the database 5 times a day, that's 150 times a month, that means it will take 6,666 people until I have to upgrade. On average, will ads pay for the $199/month if I have that many people viewing the ads a day? (also, take into account that Parse is taking care of security, the cost of the servers, and maintenance)

Another thing to consider is, how difficult/costly is it to create (and maintain):

* Server side code
* Database management and security
* Push notifications
* Set up a host
* Session management and security

Will the robustness, security, and ease of maintainability when using Parse will help pay for itself?

Thanks!