One of the best benefits I can think of favoring Core Data and iCloud/CloudKit is the very public stance Apple has taken on privacy. One largest downsides I ca

One of the best benefits I can think of favoring Core Data and iCloud/CloudKit is the very public stance Apple has taken on privacy. One largest downsides I can think of is vendor lock-in. If you intend to expand beyond iOS, there will be some friction and a great deal of re-implementation once you select another platform to build on. If you do intend to move on to other platforms, I'm impressed by Realm's offerings [1]. The support local data storage, as well as syncing to their cloud platform (with a monthly fee, of course). EDIT: Forgot to include the [1] link. [1] https://realm.io/ https://realm.io/