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Apache Cassandra vs Google Cloud Bigtable

Apache Cassandra: Masterless wide-column database built for always-on writes across data centers. Google Cloud Bigtable: Google's managed wide-column store, the original Bigtable, with HBase API and SQL access.

key differences

  • Licensing: Apache Cassandra is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0); Google Cloud Bigtable is proprietary (Proprietary (Google Cloud service)).
  • Only Apache Cassandra has secondary indexes, vector search, json, triggers, online schema changes.
  • Only Google Cloud Bigtable has encryption at rest, time travel.

choose apache-cassandra for

  • +Write-heavy event and telemetry ingestion
  • +Messaging and activity feeds
  • +Multi-region user and device data
  • +Time-series with TTL-based expiry

best at · OLTP, Time-series, IoT

choose google-cloud-bigtable for

  • +Time-series and IoT telemetry
  • +Ad-tech user profiles and bidding data
  • +ML feature serving
  • +Financial market data

best at · OLTP, Time-series, IoT

Apache CassandraMasterless wide-column database built for always-on writes across data centers.
Google Cloud BigtableGoogle's managed wide-column store, the original Bigtable, with HBase API and SQL access.
overview
Primary model
Wide-Column
Wide-Column
Also supports
Key-Value, Vector
Key-Value
Type
Database engine
Managed service
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Apache Software Foundation
Google
First release
2008
2015
Latest version
5.0.9 (Jul 2026)
–
License
Open source (permissive)Apache License 2.0
ProprietaryProprietary (Google Cloud service)
Free tier
✓
—
popularity
WhichDB Score
55.9
33.3
Rank
#20
#66
GitHub stars
10.1K
–
Stack Overflow questions
20.9K
648
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Massive (Multi-PB)
Massive (Multi-PB)
Horizontal scaling
Native
Native
Multi-region
Active active
Active active
ACID
Limited
Limited
Consistency
Tunable, Eventual
Strong, Eventual
Schema
Strict
Flexible
Architecture
Distributed, Multi primary, Client server
Distributed, Shared storage
deployment
Self-hosted
✓
—
Vendor-managed cloud
—
✓
Serverless
—
—
Embedded
—
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, IBM Cloud
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
CQL
Bigtable API, GoogleSQL
Client languages
Java, Python, JavaScript, Go, C#, C++, Rust, Ruby
Java, Go, Python, JavaScript, C++, C#, Ruby, PHP
Best for
OLTP, Time-series, IoT, Observability
OLTP, Time-series, IoT, Feature store
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

Apache Cassandra vs Google Cloud Bigtable: FAQ

What is the difference between Apache Cassandra and Google Cloud Bigtable?

Apache Cassandra: Masterless wide-column database built for always-on writes across data centers. Google Cloud Bigtable: Google's managed wide-column store, the original Bigtable, with HBase API and SQL access. Licensing: Apache Cassandra is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0); Google Cloud Bigtable is proprietary (Proprietary (Google Cloud service)). Only Apache Cassandra has secondary indexes, vector search, json, triggers, online schema changes. Only Google Cloud Bigtable has encryption at rest, time travel.

When should I choose Apache Cassandra over Google Cloud Bigtable?

Choose Apache Cassandra for write-heavy event and telemetry ingestion; messaging and activity feeds; and multi-region user and device data. Choose Google Cloud Bigtable for time-series and IoT telemetry; ad-tech user profiles and bidding data; and ML feature serving.

Is Apache Cassandra or Google Cloud Bigtable more popular?

Apache Cassandra ranks #20 on the WhichDB Score (55.9/100) and Google Cloud Bigtable ranks #66 (33.3/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are Apache Cassandra and Google Cloud Bigtable open source?

Yes. Apache Cassandra is open source. License: Apache License 2.0. No. Google Cloud Bigtable is proprietary, closed-source software.