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Google Cloud Bigtable vs Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 15, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Google Cloud Bigtable
Ranking in Managed NoSQL Databases
10th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
Non-Relational Databases (6th)
Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB
Ranking in Managed NoSQL Databases
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
109
Ranking in other categories
Database as a Service (DBaaS) (4th), NoSQL Databases (2nd), Vector Databases (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Managed NoSQL Databases category, the mindshare of Google Cloud Bigtable is 5.2%, down from 6.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB is 16.4%, down from 17.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Managed NoSQL Databases Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB16.4%
Google Cloud Bigtable5.2%
Other78.4%
Managed NoSQL Databases
 

Featured Reviews

AS
Team Lead at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
Consistent performance and seamless cloud integration enhance analytics capabilities while reducing management complexity
One point for improvement in Google Cloud Bigtable is that people have confusion in mapping. There are many similar products available, and Google has managed services for similar products as well. It would be easier if the journey of knowing when to use Google Cloud Bigtable versus other Cloud SQL and alternates such as Cloud Spanner is made clearer for users. Regarding additional functionality for Google Cloud Bigtable, I am uncertain if LLMs can be integrated or if Google Cloud Bigtable can act as a vector store for LLM-specific use cases where we are interacting or using generative AI capabilities.
reviewer2724105 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Director of Product Management at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
Provides super sharp latency, excellent availability, and the ability to effectively manage costs across different tenants
For integrating Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB with other Azure products or other products, there are a couple of challenges with the current system. Right now, the vectors are stored as floating-point numbers within the NoSQL document, which makes them inefficiently large. This leads to increased storage space requirements, and searching through a vast number of documents in the vector database becomes quite costly in terms of RUs. While the integration works well, the expense associated with it is relatively high. I would really like to see a reduction in costs for their vector search, as it is currently on the expensive side. The areas for improvement in Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB are vector pricing and vector indexing patterns, which are unintuitive and not well described. I would also like to see the parameters of Fleet Spaces made more powerful, as currently, it's somewhat lightweight. I believe they've made those changes intentionally to better understand the cost model. However, we would like to take a more aggressive approach in using it. One of the most frustrating aspects of Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB right now is that you can only store one vector per document. Additionally, you must specify the configuration of that vector when you create an instance of Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB. Once the database is set up, you can't change the vector configuration, which is incredibly limiting for experimentation. You want the ability to try different settings and see how they perform, as there are numerous use cases for storing more than one vector in a document. While interoperability within the vector database is acceptable—for example, I can search for vectors—I still desire a richer set of configuration options.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"The solution is very convenient."
"The most valuable feature is the backup and replication service."
"This solution is much more scalable than more traditional databases - at least the ones we are aware of."
"The main benefit I receive from Google Cloud Bigtable is the managed service part."
"The main benefit I receive from Google Cloud Bigtable is the managed service part."
"Bigtable is faster than other competitors in the market. It helps us collate all the data, and the security features are great. The latency is low, and the computation speed is fantastic. Bigtable is also a managed service, so you don't have to worry about anything aside from analyzing the data ingested."
"I like the drive and the support of this program."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is scalable with multiple master files."
"Cosmos is preferred because of its speed, robustness, and utilization."
"Cosmos DB's greatest strengths are its easy setup and affordability, especially for those who understand its usage."
"It is a NoSQL database."
"Its wide support to the ecosystem is valuable. We can use this database with a lot of use cases, and that's one of the reasons why we prefer it. We have a lot of vendors, databases, and use cases, and wherever possible, we are trying to standardize databases. It is also secure."
"rate Azure support nine out of 10. They respond quickly and will help you manage costs. However, they mainly give you an overview of the issue, so they'll never have an in-depth idea of what you're doing. They aren't the owners of our product, so they don't know much about it, but they can ask you generally: What are you doing? Are you doing too many updates? How can we reduce the cost?"
"The connectors, such as the MongoDB connector and the integration with SQL, are incredibly valuable."
"The autoscale feature is the most useful for us."
 

Cons

"When it comes to complex queries, a user can't get any help from a drop-down box and pick columns. It would be great if some improvements could be made in the aforementioned area concerning the solution."
"Improvement should be made as per customer recommended and requirements."
"The pricing of the solution needs to be improved."
"The cost of this product is too expensive."
"I've used Bigtable for about three or four years."
"The lagging problem of the product I face is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"This product needs better security and transparency, and the price should be reduced."
"There were instances where the DB was not responding, and we lost some part of our business due to that."
"Sometimes, the solution's access request takes time, which should be improved."
"One area of improvement for Cosmos database is the auto-scaling of RUs during high loads. It would be beneficial if the database could automatically scale resources rather than requiring manual adjustments."
"They can implement a better backup system or alert system on Microsoft's end. We do receive notices for regular maintenance or updates, but sudden issues create significant problems."
"I wouldn't say we have benefited from the workload management by using it; we just sync data to it and make it available for people to retrieve."
"Slight enhancements in integration interfaces, expanded dashboard functionalities, and broader use-case support would be beneficial."
"There are no particular factors that need improvement. There is a little bit of a learning curve with scaling workloads, but it works smoothly."
"We had to go to forums to check if it was failing for everyone else. It was surprising that a large organization like Microsoft doesn't provide an official statement about the maintenance or issues that could impact our overall usage."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I would like to see better pricing. It is not too expensive, but it isn't cheap either."
"The RU's use case determines our license fees."
"The solution is very expensive."
"Its price is very good for the basic stuff. When you go to a more complicated use case, especially when you need replication and availability zones, it gets a little costly."
"Pricing is one of the solution's main features because it is based on usage, scales automatically, and is not too costly."
"Its pricing structure is quite flexible."
"Most customers like the flexibility of the pricing model, and it has not been an issue. They can start small, and the cost grows with adoption, allowing efficient management of the budget. Its pricing model has not been a concern at all for any of our customers. They understand it. It is simple enough to understand. Oftentimes, it is hard to forecast the RUs, but, in general, it has been fine."
"Our experience with the pricing and setup cost is that it aligns with what we expect based on the pricing we see. However, I would absolutely like it to be less if possible."
"Cosmos DB's pricing structure has significantly improved in recent months, both in terms of its pricing model and how charges are calculated."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
University
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Legal Firm
13%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Large Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business33
Midsize Enterprise21
Large Enterprise58
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Google Cloud Bigtable?
Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.
What needs improvement with Google Cloud Bigtable?
One point for improvement in Google Cloud Bigtable is that people have confusion in mapping. There are many similar products available, and Google has managed services for similar products as well....
What is your primary use case for Google Cloud Bigtable?
My main use case for Google Cloud Bigtable is mainly for advertisement-related analytics-related use cases.
What do you like most about Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB?
The initial setup is simple and straightforward. You can set up a Cosmos DB in a day, even configuring things like availability zones around the world.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB?
Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB's pricing model has aligned with my budget expectations because I can tune the RU as I need to, which helps a lot. Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB's dynamic auto-scale or server...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB?
I have not utilized Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB multi-model support for handling diverse data types. I'm not in the position to decide if clients will use Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB or any other datab...
 

Also Known As

Google BigTable
Microsoft Azure DocumentDB, MS Azure Cosmos DB
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Cognite, Dow Jones, Loblaw Digital
TomTom, KPMG Australia, Bosch, ASOS, Mercedes Benz, NBA, Zero Friction, Nederlandse Spoorwegen, Kinectify
Find out what your peers are saying about Google Cloud Bigtable vs. Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
880,315 professionals have used our research since 2012.