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Google Cloud Spanner vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database comparison

Google and Microsoft are both solutions in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category. Google is ranked #8 with an average rating of 9.0, while Microsoft is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.7. Google holds a 5.1% mindshare in DS, compared to Microsoft’s 14.7% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Google users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.
Google Cloud Spanner
Read 5 Google Cloud Spanner reviews
  • 819 Views
  • 753 Comparison Views
100% willing to recommend
Microsoft Azure SQL Database
Read 118 Microsoft Azure SQL Database reviews
  • 4,217 Views
  • 4,175 Comparison Views
96% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 12, 2024

Microsoft Azure SQL Database and Google Cloud Spanner are two prominent cloud database services with distinct functionalities and benefits, each suited to different needs. Users find Spanner superior for its global distribution and consistency.

Features: Microsoft Azure SQL Database is praised for its integrated AI capabilities, disaster recovery options, and strong integration with Microsoft services. Google Cloud Spanner is noted for its strong global scaling, true ACID compliance, and global transactional consistency.

Room for Improvement: Users identify areas for improvement in Azure SQL Database's performance tuning, advanced data analytics features, and documentation. For Google Cloud Spanner, complex query execution, additional native support for various data types, and training resources need enhancements.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Users generally find the deployment process of Microsoft Azure SQL Database straightforward, benefitting from integrated support. Google Cloud Spanner offers robust deployment options but could enhance initial setup ease. Azure receives mixed feedback on customer service responsiveness, while Spanner users value prompt and knowledgeable support.

Pricing and ROI: Microsoft Azure SQL Database offers competitive pricing with flexible options, appealing to those seeking cost-effective solutions. Google Cloud Spanner, meanwhile, is considered expensive but justified by its high performance and scalability. Users experience significant ROI with Azure due to cost savings, while Spanner users justify the higher upfront costs with long-term gains in performance and reliability.

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To learn more, read our detailed Google Cloud Spanner vs. Microsoft Azure SQL Database Report (Updated: July 2025).
Buyer's Guide
Google Cloud Spanner vs. Microsoft Azure SQL Database
July 2025
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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 Spanner
Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)
8th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Azure SQL Database
Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
118
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category, the mindshare of Google Cloud Spanner is 5.1%, up from 3.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure SQL Database is 14.7%, down from 18.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Database as a Service (DBaaS)
 

Featured Reviews

Ethan Lo - PeerSpot reviewer
A stable and scalable relational database that ensures a return on investment for its users
The most valuable feature of the solution is its scalability. Scalability comes with two options, among which Google Cloud Spanner can scale horizontally, compared to other relational databases that scale vertically. You can change Google Cloud Spanner's resource configuration, which is done through processing units. Suppose you set up Google Cloud Spanner initially with a hundred processing units, and then you run out of resources since your database used too much CPU. In the aforementioned scenario, you can scale up or down and face no downtime in the production phase. The solution's features are important when running a company twenty-four hours, seven days a week.
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Charley Hanania - PeerSpot reviewer
It is very easy to implement, manage, and offers great insights into what is happening inside the engine
Microsoft Azure SQL Database is integrated into other Azure capabilities and has a great foundation being on SQL Server with a long history of security, performance, and usability from a DBA perspective. Once you've set up a server, adding databases is easy. There's a minor challenge with having data in separate databases that you want to connect like we do on premises. I'm looking forward to using some of these new AI-driven functions that have come out around vectorization. Having the data closer to my transactional databases or data makes it easy to augment and enhance the Database and applications I currently use. It's great that Azure SQL now seamlessly integrates with Microsoft Fabric. It's a first-tier service in the cloud that connects to web applications and other databases. The data transformation orchestration capabilities within Database Factory and similar capabilities make it effortless to move that stuff forward.
Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of the solution is its scalability. Scalability comes with two options, among which Google Cloud Spanner can scale horizontally, compared to other relational databases that scale vertically."
"It is a very scalable solution."
"The application deployment in the cloud is the best feature of the infrastructure."
"Google Cloud Spanner is stable."
"We can scale the solution if we need to."
"SQL Azure can integrate well with other Microsoft Windows services."
"Coding does not require much effort."
"Azure SQL connects directly to our Power Platform apps, making it easy to use."
"I rate Microsoft Azure SQL Database 10 out of 10."
"The most valuable feature from the infra point of view is you don't have to keep any on-prem infrastructure, it is available all the time whenever you want to access it."
"Our migration to Azure for most databases has increased our organization's efficiency and reduced the maintenance required to manage on-premises infrastructure."
"I'd give Microsoft Azure SQL Database a nine out of ten."
"We have used SQL for a long time. Azure SQL has helped teams across the organization to use SQL's full potential. I can't say what the cost savings were precisely, but I believe it has reduced the total cost of ownership."
More Microsoft Azure SQL Database pros
 

Cons

"The tool lacks to offer AI features."
"The tool needs to improve horizontal scaling."
"Google came up with something called Cloud Spanner Emulator, which fails to work like the real product if I want to develop some code and run a database locally on my machine."
"I want to improve the deployment of cameras and surveillance infrastructure."
"The cost can be a bit high."
"The product could be more competitive in terms of features, security, and scalability."
"The user interface (UI) could be more flexible."
"SQL Azure could improve the feature set. They are catching up to Microsoft SQL Server."
"It should have better profiling capabilities."
"One area for improvement could be expanding the search queries using vectors or AI inside the database. After seeing its potential in a workshop, I realized the usefulness of more advanced search queries with AI."
"Certain features available commercially may not be applicable in our gov cloud."
"If it's a transitional system, there is a lot of reporting, so the solution becomes a bit slow when it's churning out tons of data, but it's good for a mid-sized application"
"One area for improvement is setting up logs, especially for servers like VM SQL. It was also tricky to connect services on VNets to on-premise."
More Microsoft Azure SQL Database cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is expensive."
"Price-wise, I heard that Google Cloud Spanner is on the higher side."
"It is expensive."
"Google Cloud Spanner is an expensive solution."
"Its price can definitely be lower. It is pretty pricey."
"When you go with SQL Azure Database, you can create a small database, which is around $4 to $5 per month for development purposes."
"There is no licensing cost for the solution."
"I have an annual spend number, and it is in the hundred thousand dollar range. There are no additional costs to the standard licensing fees. Even though you have to look at the cost numbers of what you're going to be charged on a monthly basis, what you have to also remember is that your application may need a lot of rewriting and things like that. You get charged not just for the monthly costs but also for the transactions that occur. If your access to the data layer is not so efficient, your costs will go up because you're pulling far more data than you potentially need. These are hidden costs that nobody ever considers. If your application is not written very efficiently, you may actually increase your costs over on-prem versus cloud."
"I'm not sure what the exact price is, but it's a moderate amount. It's not too expensive."
"The price of the solution is reasonable."
"Offers options for paying the license on a yearly or a monthly basis."
"From a licensing benefit standpoint, we have clients who are coming with their own SQL licensing with Software Assurance, and they are able to use those licenses for their Azure SQL and reduce costs."
More Microsoft Azure SQL Database pricing and cost advice
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
23%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Retailer
8%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Healthcare Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your primary use case for Google Cloud Spanner?
Google Cloud Spanner has all the features of a traditional relational database, including schemas, SQL queries, ACID transactions, and provides excellent integration and monitoring tools as well as...
See all answers
What do you like most about Google Cloud Spanner?
Google Cloud Spanner is stable.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Google Cloud Spanner?
Price-wise, I heard that Google Cloud Spanner is on the higher side. I am not sure if this is a rumor or if it's fake news, but I believe that having BigQuery and GCP together could be a little cos...
See all answers
What do you like most about SQL Azure?
The automated scalability feature of SQL Azure has proven to be highly beneficial, particularly when deployed in the cloud.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SQL Azure?
The pricing of Microsoft Azure SQL Database is not cheap, affecting user uptake. A gradual reduction in price could improve accessibility and user numbers, making it easier for users to adopt the s...
See all answers
What needs improvement with SQL Azure?
Pricing could be improved to make Microsoft Azure SQL Database ( /products/microsoft-azure-sql-database-reviews ) more accessible. A reduction in price might encourage more users and bring more pro...
See all answers
 

Comparisons

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Compared 25% of the time
MongoDB Atlas vs Google Cloud Spanner Logo
MongoDB Atlas vs Google Cloud Spanner
Compared 18% of the time
SingleStore vs Google Cloud Spanner Logo
SingleStore vs Google Cloud Spanner
Compared 11% of the time
Google Cloud SQL vs Google Cloud Spanner Logo
Google Cloud SQL vs Google Cloud Spanner
Compared 10% of the time
More Google Cloud Spanner Competitors
Google Cloud SQL vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database Logo
Google Cloud SQL vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database
Compared 30% of the time
Amazon RDS vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database Logo
Amazon RDS vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database
Compared 22% of the time
MongoDB Atlas vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database Logo
MongoDB Atlas vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database
Compared 16% of the time
Oracle Database as a Service vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database Logo
Oracle Database as a Service vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database
Compared 7% of the time
More Microsoft Azure SQL Database Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Database as a Service (DBaaS)
July 2025
Google Cloud Spanner reportDownload Google Cloud Spanner product report
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Azure SQL Database
July 2025
Microsoft Azure SQL Database reportDownload Microsoft Azure SQL Database product report
 

Also Known As

Google Spanner
No data available
 

Overview

Cloud Spanner is the first and only relational database service that is both strongly consistent and horizontally scalable. With Cloud Spanner you enjoy all the traditional benefits of a relational database: ACID transactions, relational schemas (and schema changes without downtime), SQL queries, high performance, and high availability. But unlike any other relational database service, Cloud Spanner scales horizontally, to hundreds or thousands of servers, so it can handle the highest of transactional workloads. With automatic scaling, synchronous data replication, and node redundancy, Cloud Spanner delivers up to 99.999% (five 9s) of availability for your mission critical applications. In fact, Google’s internal Spanner service has been handling millions of queries per second from many Google services for years.

Google

Microsoft Azure SQL Database is a relational database-as-a-service that delivers predictable performance, scalability, business continuity, data protection, and near-zero administration to cloud developers and solution architects. This is the deep technical library for Azure SQL Database.

Microsoft
 

Sample Customers

Streak, Optiva, Mixpanel
adnymics GmbH, LG CNS, Centrebet, netfabb GmbH, MedPlast, Accelera Solutions, Sochi Organizing Committee, realzeit GmbH
Buyer's Guide
Google Cloud Spanner vs. Microsoft Azure SQL Database
July 2025
Free Report: Google Cloud Spanner vs. Microsoft Azure SQL Database
Find out what your peers are saying about Google Cloud Spanner vs. Microsoft Azure SQL Database and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
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