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Google Cloud Spanner vs Google Cloud SQL

Google Cloud Spanner: Google's globally consistent, horizontally scaling SQL service with graph, vector and full-text built in. Google Cloud SQL: Google Cloud's managed MySQL, PostgreSQL and SQL Server, with an Enterprise Plus tier for fast failover.

key differences

  • Google Cloud Spanner is built for larger datasets (Multi-PB) than Google Cloud SQL (≤ 10 TB).
  • Horizontal scaling is native in Google Cloud Spanner and none in Google Cloud SQL.
  • Only Google Cloud Spanner has ttl / expiry, compression, time travel, online schema changes.
  • Only Google Cloud SQL has geospatial, triggers, stored procedures, materialized views.

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

choose google-cloud-sql for

  • +Standard web and mobile backends on Google Cloud
  • +Migrating on-prem MySQL, Postgres or SQL Server to GCP
  • +Cloud Run and GKE application databases
  • +WordPress and CMS hosting

best at · OLTP, Content, Metadata

Google Cloud SpannerGoogle's globally consistent, horizontally scaling SQL service with graph, vector and full-text built in.
Google Cloud SQLGoogle Cloud's managed MySQL, PostgreSQL and SQL Server, with an Enterprise Plus tier for fast failover.
overview
Primary model
Relational
Relational
Also supports
Graph, Key-Value, Vector, Search Engine
Document, Spatial, Vector
Type
Managed service
Managed service
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Google
Google
First release
2017
2011
Latest version
–
–
License
ProprietaryProprietary (Google Cloud service)
ProprietaryProprietary (Google Cloud service)
Free tier
—
—
popularity
WhichDB Score
34.5
10.9
Rank
#59
#292
GitHub stars
–
–
Stack Overflow questions
733
3.9K
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Massive (Multi-PB)
Medium (≤ 10 TB)
Horizontal scaling
Native
None
Multi-region
Active active
Read replicas
ACID
Full
Full
Consistency
Strong
Strong, Eventual
Schema
Strict
Strict
Architecture
Distributed, Multi primary
Primary replica, Client server
deployment
Self-hosted
—
—
Vendor-managed cloud
✓
✓
Serverless
—
—
Embedded
—
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
Google 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
GoogleSQL, PostgreSQL dialect, GQL
SQL, PL/pgSQL, T-SQL
Client languages
Java, Go, Python, JavaScript, C#, C++, PHP, Ruby
Java, Python, Go, JavaScript, C#, PHP, Ruby
Best for
OLTP, Traversal, Vector search, Search
OLTP, Content, Metadata, Vector search
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

Google Cloud Spanner vs Google Cloud SQL: FAQ

What is the difference between Google Cloud Spanner and Google Cloud SQL?

Google Cloud Spanner: Google's globally consistent, horizontally scaling SQL service with graph, vector and full-text built in. Google Cloud SQL: Google Cloud's managed MySQL, PostgreSQL and SQL Server, with an Enterprise Plus tier for fast failover. Google Cloud Spanner is built for larger datasets (Multi-PB) than Google Cloud SQL (≤ 10 TB). Horizontal scaling is native in Google Cloud Spanner and none in Google Cloud SQL. Only Google Cloud Spanner has ttl / expiry, compression, time travel, online schema changes.

When should I choose Google Cloud Spanner over Google Cloud SQL?

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. Choose Google Cloud SQL for standard web and mobile backends on Google Cloud; migrating on-prem MySQL, Postgres or SQL Server to GCP; and cloud Run and GKE application databases.

Is Google Cloud Spanner or Google Cloud SQL more popular?

Google Cloud Spanner ranks #59 on the WhichDB Score (34.5/100) and Google Cloud SQL ranks #292 (10.9/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are Google Cloud Spanner and Google Cloud SQL open source?

No. Google Cloud Spanner is proprietary, closed-source software. No. Google Cloud SQL is proprietary, closed-source software.