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CockroachDB vs Google Cloud Spanner

CockroachDB: Postgres-wire distributed SQL built to survive node, zone and region failures with serializable transactions. Google Cloud Spanner: Google's globally consistent, horizontally scaling SQL service with graph, vector and full-text built in.

key differences

  • Licensing: CockroachDB is source-available (CockroachDB Software License); Google Cloud Spanner is proprietary (Proprietary (Google Cloud service)).
  • Google Cloud Spanner is built for larger datasets (Multi-PB) than CockroachDB (≤ 1 PB).
  • Only CockroachDB has geospatial, triggers, stored procedures, materialized views.
  • CockroachDB has a serverless option; Google Cloud Spanner does not.

choose cockroachdb for

  • +Global payments and ledger systems of record
  • +Identity, account and session metadata across regions
  • +Inventory and order management with strict consistency
  • +Data-residency workloads that must pin rows to a country

best at · OLTP, Geo, Metadata

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

CockroachDBPostgres-wire distributed SQL built to survive node, zone and region failures with serializable transactions.
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
Document, Spatial, Vector
Graph, Key-Value, Vector, Search Engine
Type
Database engine
Managed service
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Cockroach Labs
Google
First release
2015
2017
Latest version
26.3 (Aug 19, 2026)
–
License
Source-availableCockroachDB Software License
ProprietaryProprietary (Google Cloud service)
Free tier
✓
—
popularity
WhichDB Score
47.1
34.5
Rank
#33
#59
GitHub stars
32.6K
–
Stack Overflow questions
467
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, Multi primary, Client server, Serverless
Distributed, Multi primary
deployment
Self-hosted
✓
—
Vendor-managed cloud
✓
✓
Serverless
✓
—
Embedded
—
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
AWS, Google Cloud, Azure
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, PL/pgSQL
GoogleSQL, PostgreSQL dialect, GQL
Client languages
Java, Go, Python, JavaScript, C#, Ruby, Rust, PHP
Java, Go, Python, JavaScript, C#, C++, PHP, Ruby
Best for
OLTP, Geo, Metadata, Ledger
OLTP, Traversal, Vector search, Search
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

CockroachDB vs Google Cloud Spanner: FAQ

What is the difference between CockroachDB and Google Cloud Spanner?

CockroachDB: Postgres-wire distributed SQL built to survive node, zone and region failures with serializable transactions. Google Cloud Spanner: Google's globally consistent, horizontally scaling SQL service with graph, vector and full-text built in. Licensing: CockroachDB is source-available (CockroachDB Software License); Google Cloud Spanner is proprietary (Proprietary (Google Cloud service)). Google Cloud Spanner is built for larger datasets (Multi-PB) than CockroachDB (≤ 1 PB). Only CockroachDB has geospatial, triggers, stored procedures, materialized views.

When should I choose CockroachDB over Google Cloud Spanner?

Choose CockroachDB for global payments and ledger systems of record; identity, account and session metadata across regions; and inventory and order management with strict consistency. 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 CockroachDB or Google Cloud Spanner more popular?

CockroachDB ranks #33 on the WhichDB Score (47.1/100) and Google Cloud Spanner ranks #59 (34.5/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are CockroachDB and Google Cloud Spanner open source?

Not in the OSI sense. CockroachDB is source-available: you can read the code, but the license restricts some uses, typically offering it as a competing managed service. License: CockroachDB Software License. No. Google Cloud Spanner is proprietary, closed-source software.