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Amazon Aurora DSQL vs Google Cloud Spanner

Amazon Aurora DSQL: Serverless, active-active distributed SQL on AWS with PostgreSQL compatibility and no instances to size. Google Cloud Spanner: Google's globally consistent, horizontally scaling SQL service with graph, vector and full-text built in.

key differences

  • Google Cloud Spanner is built for larger datasets (Multi-PB) than Amazon Aurora DSQL (≤ 1 PB).
  • Only Google Cloud Spanner has full-text search, vector search, json, change data capture, ttl / expiry.
  • Amazon Aurora DSQL has a serverless option; Google Cloud Spanner does not.

choose amazon-aurora-dsql for

  • +New AWS-native microservices needing zero-ops relational storage
  • +Multi-Region active-active user, order and entitlement data
  • +Serverless apps on Lambda with spiky traffic
  • +Ledgers and counters that must never lose a committed write

best at · OLTP, Metadata, Ledger

choose google-cloud-spanner for

  • +Global financial ledgers and payment systems
  • +Gaming backends with worldwide player state
  • +Inventory and supply-chain systems of record
  • +Identity and metadata services at very high write rates

best at · OLTP, Traversal, Vector search

Amazon Aurora DSQLServerless, active-active distributed SQL on AWS with PostgreSQL compatibility and no instances to size.
Google Cloud SpannerGoogle's globally consistent, horizontally scaling SQL service with graph, vector and full-text built in.
overview
Primary model
Relational
Relational
Also supports
–
Graph, Key-Value, Vector, Search Engine
Type
Managed service
Managed service
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Amazon Web Services
Google
First release
2025
2017
Latest version
–
–
License
ProprietaryProprietary (AWS service)
ProprietaryProprietary (Google Cloud service)
Free tier
✓
—
popularity
WhichDB Score
14.7
34.5
Rank
#227
#59
GitHub stars
–
–
Stack Overflow questions
1
733
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Massive (Multi-PB)
Horizontal scaling
Native
Native
Multi-region
Active active
Active active
ACID
Full
Full
Consistency
Strong
Strong
Schema
Strict
Strict
Architecture
Distributed, Serverless, Multi primary
Distributed, Multi primary
deployment
Self-hosted
—
—
Vendor-managed cloud
✓
✓
Serverless
✓
—
Embedded
—
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
AWS
Google Cloud
capabilities
Transactions
✓
✓
Joins
✓
✓
Secondary indexes
✓
✓
Full-text search
—
✓
Vector search
—
✓
Geospatial
—
—
JSON
—
✓
Change data capture
—
✓
Triggers
—
—
Stored procedures
—
—
Materialized views
—
—
TTL / expiry
—
✓
Pub/Sub
—
—
Columnar storage
—
—
In-memory
—
—
Durable persistence
✓
✓
Compression
✓
✓
Encryption at rest
✓
✓
Role-based access
✓
✓
Time travel
—
✓
Branching
—
—
Online schema changes
✓
✓
Streaming ingest
—
—
Offline sync
—
—
Runs in WebAssembly
—
—
interfaces
Query languages
SQL
GoogleSQL, PostgreSQL dialect, GQL
Client languages
Java, Python, JavaScript, Go, Rust, C#, Ruby
Java, Go, Python, JavaScript, C#, C++, PHP, Ruby
Best for
OLTP, Metadata, Ledger
OLTP, Traversal, Vector search, Search
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

Amazon Aurora DSQL vs Google Cloud Spanner: FAQ

What is the difference between Amazon Aurora DSQL and Google Cloud Spanner?

Amazon Aurora DSQL: Serverless, active-active distributed SQL on AWS with PostgreSQL compatibility and no instances to size. Google Cloud Spanner: Google's globally consistent, horizontally scaling SQL service with graph, vector and full-text built in. Google Cloud Spanner is built for larger datasets (Multi-PB) than Amazon Aurora DSQL (≤ 1 PB). Only Google Cloud Spanner has full-text search, vector search, json, change data capture, ttl / expiry. Amazon Aurora DSQL has a serverless option; Google Cloud Spanner does not.

When should I choose Amazon Aurora DSQL over Google Cloud Spanner?

Choose Amazon Aurora DSQL for new AWS-native microservices needing zero-ops relational storage; multi-Region active-active user, order and entitlement data; and serverless apps on Lambda with spiky traffic. Choose Google Cloud Spanner for global financial ledgers and payment systems; gaming backends with worldwide player state; and inventory and supply-chain systems of record.

Is Amazon Aurora DSQL or Google Cloud Spanner more popular?

Google Cloud Spanner ranks #59 on the WhichDB Score (34.5/100) and Amazon Aurora DSQL ranks #227 (14.7/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are Amazon Aurora DSQL and Google Cloud Spanner open source?

No. Amazon Aurora DSQL is proprietary, closed-source software. No. Google Cloud Spanner is proprietary, closed-source software.