Google Cloud Spanner vs Redis comparison

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Google Cloud Spanner

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Google Cloud Spanner and Redis based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Database as a Service (DBaaS) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Google Cloud Spanner vs. Redis Report (Updated: July 2024).

Google Cloud Spanner vs. Redis

July 2024

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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

Average Rating

9.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Database as a Service (DBaaS) (8th)

Redis

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

5.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

NoSQL Databases (4th), Managed NoSQL Databases (5th), In-Memory Data Store Services (1st), Vector Databases (4th), AI Software Development (185th)

Mindshare comparison

While both are Database Services solutions, they serve different purposes. Google Cloud Spanner is designed for Database as a Service (DBaaS) and holds a mindshare of 8.1%, up 4.4% compared to last year.
Redis, on the other hand, focuses on In-Memory Data Store Services, holds 22.2% mindshare, up 15.9% since last year.

Database as a Service (DBaaS) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Google Cloud Spanner	8.1%
Amazon RDS	11.8%
MongoDB Atlas	11.3%
Other	68.8%

Database as a Service (DBaaS)

In-Memory Data Store Services Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Redis	22.2%
Amazon ElastiCache	17.4%
Google Cloud Memorystore	14.1%
Other	46.300000000000004%

In-Memory Data Store Services

Featured Reviews

LijomonJose

System Architect at UST Global EspaÃ±a

Offers good performance to users

The tool lacks to offer AI features. In the future, I would like the product to offer AI features to users. Nowadays, we are creating small acronyms for our SQL Server. We put some templates. If I just put your name and stop it, the entire cloud can be explored, but such features are not there in Google Cloud Spanner. As a layman rather than a developer, if I create a tool or a procedure. If I write a procedure and then when you describe a procedure, a dummy procedure will be written for you, and it will be available for you as a template in SQL Server, but such kind features are not there in Google Cloud Spanner.

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Varuns Ug

Senior software developer at Makemytrip

Caching has accelerated complex workflows and delivers low latency for high-traffic microservices

A few features of Redis that I use on a day-to-day basis and feel are among the best are extremely low latency and high throughput. Since Redis is in-memory, it makes it ideal for cases such as caching and rate limiting where response time is critical. TTL expiry support is very useful in Redis as it allows me to automatically evict stale data without manual cleanup, which is something I use heavily in my caching strategy. Another point I can mention is that the rich data structures such as strings, hashes, and even sorted sets are very powerful. I have used strings for caching responses and counters, whereas I have used hashes for storing structured objects. One more feature I can tell you about is atomic operations. Redis guarantees atomicity for operations such as incrementing a counter, which is very useful for rate limiting and avoiding race conditions in distributed systems. Finally, I want to emphasize that Redis is easy to scale and integrate, whether through clustering or using a distributed cache across microservices. Redis has impacted my organization positively by providing default support that is very useful. For metrics, in one of my core systems, introducing Redis as a distributed cache helped me achieve around an 80% cache hit rate, which reduced repeated downstream services. Real API latency also improved from around two seconds to approximately 450 milliseconds for P99. It also helped reduce the load on dependent services and databases, which improved overall system reliability.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution is stable and reliable."

"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."

"The application deployment in the cloud is the best feature of the infrastructure."

"We can scale the solution if we need to."

"Google Cloud Spanner is stable."

"It is a very scalable solution."

"The performance of Redis is very fast."

"Redis has multiple valuable features such as being a free and reliable open-source tool."

"Redis is a simple, powerful, and fast solution."

"Redis acts as an in-memory search tool that improves the speed of operations."

"I use Redis mostly to cache repeated data that is required."

"The solution's technical support team is good...The solution's initial setup process was straightforward."

"Redis provides an easy setup and operation process, allowing users to quickly connect and use it without hassle."

"Since I started using Redis, I feel that the product is saving me some performance tuning time."

More Redis pros

Cons

"The cost can be a bit high."

"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."

"The tool lacks to offer AI features."

"I want to improve the deployment of cameras and surveillance infrastructure."

"The cost can be a bit high."

"The tool needs to improve horizontal scaling."

"If we use a lot of data, it will eventually cost us a lot."

"The tool should improve by increasing its size limits and handling dynamic data better. We use the client ID or associate it with a key for static content. The solution will not be easy for a beginner. Unless you understand SQL data, it will be difficult to understand and use Redis. It also needs to be user-friendly."

"The only thing is the lack of a GUI application. There was a time when we needed to resolve an issue in production. If we had a GUI, it would have been easier."

"Redis should have an option to operate without Docker on a local PC."

"Redis could be improved by introducing a GUI to display key-value pair database information, as it is currently a CLI tool with no visual representation."

"There is room for AWS to provide more options for server types or a way to configure more or less memory for them."

"There are some features from MongoDB that I would like to see included in Redis to enhance its overall efficiency, such as the ability to perform remote behaviour. MongoDB is more efficient in handling updates than deletions and is quicker in processing updates, but it can be slower regarding deletions. This can sometimes pose a challenge, especially when dealing with large datasets or frequent data manipulations that involve deletions. In such cases, I often rewrite columns or update values instead of directly deleting data, as it can be more efficient."

"One limitation is that Redis is memory-based, so scaling can become expensive compared to disk-based systems."

More Redis cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Google Cloud Spanner is an expensive solution."

"It is expensive."

"Price-wise, I heard that Google Cloud Spanner is on the higher side."

"The solution is expensive."

"The tool is open-source. There are no additional costs."

"We saw an ROI. It made the processing of our transactions faster."

"Redis is an open-source solution. There are not any hidden fees."

"Redis is not an overpriced solution."

"Redis is an open-source product."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

23%

Healthcare Company

Computer Software Company

Media Company

Financial Services Firm

24%

Computer Software Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	11
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	9

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...

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...

What needs improvement with Google Cloud Spanner?

What do you like most about Redis?

Redis is better tested and is used by large companies. I haven't found a direct alternative to what Redis offers. Plus, there are a lot of support and learning resources available, which help you u...

What needs improvement with Redis?

Overall, Redis is a powerful and reliable tool, but there are a few areas for improvement. One limitation is that Redis is memory-based, so scaling can become expensive compared to disk-based syste...

What is your primary use case for Redis?

My main use case for Redis is caching frequently accessed data to improve performance and reduce database load. For example, I cache API responses and user-related data so that repeated requests ca...

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Product Reports

Database as a Service (DBaaS)

April 2026

Download Google Cloud Spanner product report

Download Redis product report

April 2026

Also Known As

Google Spanner

Redis Enterprise

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

Redis offers high-speed, in-memory storage, renowned for real-time performance. It supports quick data retrieval and is used commonly in applications like analytics and gaming.

Renowned for real-time performance, Redis delivers high-speed in-memory storage, making it a favorite for applications needing quick data retrieval. Its diverse data structures and caching capabilities support a broad array of use cases, including analytics and gaming. Redis ensures robust scalability with master-slave replication and clustering, while its publish/subscribe pattern renders it reliable for event-driven applications. The solution integrates smoothly with existing systems, minimizing performance tuning needs. Although documentation on scalability and security could be improved, Redis remains cost-effective and stable, commonly utilized in cloud environments. Enhancing integration with cloud services like AWS and Google Cloud and refining GUI may improve usability.

What are the key features of Redis?

High Speed: In-memory data storage for swift access.
Scalability: Master-slave replication and clustering for growth.
Data Structures: Supports diverse types for varied uses.
Persistence: RDB snapshots and AOF logs ensure durability.
Integration: Seamless integration reduces tuning efforts.

What should users look for in Redis reviews?

Performance: Real-time data retrieval boosts efficiency.
Cost-Effectiveness: Stable, budget-friendly implementation.
Versatility: Suitable for diverse environments and platforms.
Reliability: Ensures data persistence and high availability.

Redis finds application across industries for tasks like caching to improve application performance and speed, minimizing database load. It enables real-time processing for session storage, push notifications, and analytics. As a messaging platform, Redis handles high traffic and supports replication and clustering for cross-platform scalability.

Sample Customers

Streak, Optiva, Mixpanel

1. Twitter 2. GitHub 3. StackOverflow 4. Pinterest 5. Snapchat 6. Craigslist 7. Digg 8. Weibo 9. Airbnb 10. Uber 11. Slack 12. Trello 13. Shopify 14. Coursera 15. Medium 16. Twitch 17. Foursquare 18. Meetup 19. Kickstarter 20. Docker 21. Heroku 22. Bitbucket 23. Groupon 24. Flipboard 25. SoundCloud 26. BuzzFeed 27. Disqus 28. The New York Times 29. Walmart 30. Nike 31. Sony 32. Philips