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Google F1 vs YugabyteDB

Google F1: Google's internal distributed SQL database on Spanner that replaced sharded MySQL for AdWords. YugabyteDB: Apache-licensed distributed SQL that reuses the PostgreSQL query layer on a Raft-replicated storage engine.

key differences

  • Licensing: Google F1 is proprietary (Internal Google software (not distributed)); YugabyteDB is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0).
  • Only YugabyteDB has full-text search, vector search, json, triggers, stored procedures.

choose google-f1 for

  • +Reference design for distributed SQL on a strongly consistent store
  • +Studying online schema-change protocols
  • +Background for choosing Spanner, CockroachDB or YugabyteDB

best at · OLTP, OLAP, HTAP

choose yugabytedb for

  • +Scaling a Postgres application beyond one primary
  • +Multi-region customer and order data with zone/region resilience
  • +Retail and financial OLTP needing horizontal write capacity
  • +IoT and telemetry metadata with TTL on YCQL tables

best at · OLTP, Metadata, IoT

Google F1Google's internal distributed SQL database on Spanner that replaced sharded MySQL for AdWords.
YugabyteDBApache-licensed distributed SQL that reuses the PostgreSQL query layer on a Raft-replicated storage engine.
overview
Primary model
Relational
Relational
Also supports
–
Document, Wide-Column, Vector
Type
Research prototype
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Google
Yugabyte, Inc.
First release
2012
2017
Latest version
–
2026.1.2.0 (Sep 22, 2026)
License
ProprietaryInternal Google software (not distributed)
Open source (permissive)Apache License 2.0
Free tier
—
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
0.0
32.7
Rank
#745
#69
GitHub stars
–
10.6K
Stack Overflow questions
–
370
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Horizontal scaling
Native
Native
Multi-region
Active active
Active active
ACID
Full
Full
Consistency
Strong
Strong, Tunable
Schema
Strict
Strict
Architecture
Distributed, Multi primary
Distributed, Multi primary, Client server
deployment
Self-hosted
—
✓
Vendor-managed cloud
—
✓
Serverless
—
—
Embedded
—
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
–
AWS, Google Cloud, Azure
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
SQL, PL/pgSQL, CQL
Client languages
–
Java, Go, Python, JavaScript, C#, Rust, Ruby, C++
Best for
OLTP, OLAP, HTAP
OLTP, Metadata, IoT, Vector search
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

Google F1 vs YugabyteDB: FAQ

What is the difference between Google F1 and YugabyteDB?

Google F1: Google's internal distributed SQL database on Spanner that replaced sharded MySQL for AdWords. YugabyteDB: Apache-licensed distributed SQL that reuses the PostgreSQL query layer on a Raft-replicated storage engine. Licensing: Google F1 is proprietary (Internal Google software (not distributed)); YugabyteDB is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0). Only YugabyteDB has full-text search, vector search, json, triggers, stored procedures.

When should I choose Google F1 over YugabyteDB?

Choose Google F1 for reference design for distributed SQL on a strongly consistent store; studying online schema-change protocols; and background for choosing Spanner, CockroachDB or YugabyteDB. Choose YugabyteDB for scaling a Postgres application beyond one primary; multi-region customer and order data with zone/region resilience; and retail and financial OLTP needing horizontal write capacity.

Is Google F1 or YugabyteDB more popular?

YugabyteDB ranks #69 on the WhichDB Score (32.7/100) and Google F1 ranks #745 (0.0/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are Google F1 and YugabyteDB open source?

No. Google F1 is proprietary, closed-source software. License: Internal Google software (not distributed). Yes. YugabyteDB is open source. License: Apache License 2.0.