Google Cloud Spanner vs SAP HANA Cloud comparison

Google and SAP are both solutions in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category. Google is ranked #8 with an average rating of 9.0, while SAP is ranked #14 with an average rating of 8.7. Additionally, 100% of Google users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 75% of SAP users who would recommend it.

Google Cloud Spanner

Read 5 Google Cloud Spanner reviews

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753 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

SAP HANA Cloud

Read 4 SAP HANA Cloud reviews

69 Views
69 Comparison Views

75% willing to recommend

Google Cloud Spanner

SAP HANA Cloud

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 15, 2025

Google Cloud Spanner and SAP HANA Cloud compete in the cloud database market. Google Cloud Spanner has the upper hand in terms of scalability and support, while SAP HANA Cloud offers advanced analytics and real-time processing capabilities.

Features: Google Cloud Spanner provides horizontal scalability, global distribution, and strong consistency, making it ideal for high-performance and reliability needs. SAP HANA Cloud offers comprehensive analytics, in-memory computing, and integrated data management, suitable for businesses requiring extensive data processing and insights.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Google Cloud Spanner integrates seamlessly with Google’s ecosystem, which makes deployment easier for businesses using Google Cloud services and features responsive customer service. SAP HANA Cloud, compatible with SAP products and services, provides strong support, though it is considered more complex.

Pricing and ROI: Google Cloud Spanner presents a transparent pricing model with potentially lower setup costs, offering significant ROI through operational efficiency. SAP HANA Cloud, with higher initial expenses, still provides substantial ROI through its advanced data functionalities. For price-sensitive businesses, Google Cloud Spanner might be more appealing, while SAP HANA Cloud features justify the investment for specialized needs.

To learn more, read our detailed Google Cloud Spanner vs. SAP HANA Cloud Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Google Cloud Spanner vs. SAP HANA Cloud

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

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

SAP HANA Cloud

Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)

14th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

3.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Featured Reviews

Ethan Lo

Infrastructuer Security at Premise Data

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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reviewer2686500

SAP BI Architect at a government with 10,001+ employees

Flexibility and performance meet real-time analytics but documentation needs improvement

Currently, we don't have any AI-driven features, but that's something we are exploring. SCC is one of the computers, and we are looking into Machine Learning and predictive analytics from the user-base perspective. Regarding SAP HANA Cloud, one significant pain point is the lack of access to the database from the HANA Studio for developers. HANA Studio allows us to work with tables, whereas with SAP HANA Cloud, there isn't direct visibility of any tables. Documentation is another concern. There isn't much documentation compared to what we used to get in the past, including best practices. In the last few years, their documentation has not been up to the mark at all.

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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

"It is a very scalable solution."

"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."

"Google Cloud Spanner is stable."

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

"The best features of SAP HANA Cloud are that its software is effective because it has tight integration between other functions, such as finance, materials, and sales."

"I would rate SAP HANA Cloud nine to ten out of ten."

"Using SAP HANA Cloud, we can replicate the data into HANA and use live data, which improves our business decision-making."

Cons

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

"The tool lacks to offer AI features."

"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 cost can be a bit high."

"The tool needs to improve horizontal scaling."

"I see some weaknesses in SAP HANA Cloud regarding innovations, as they take their own time compared to what the market brings in with new features."

"The technical support from SAP is inadequate. We don't get timely responses, with support tickets taking more than 25 days to process."

"Regarding SAP HANA Cloud, one significant pain point is the lack of access to the database from the HANA Studio for developers."

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"It is expensive."

"Google Cloud Spanner is an expensive solution."

"The solution is expensive."

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

22%

Computer Software Company

12%

Retailer

Manufacturing Company

No data available

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...

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What do you like most about Google Cloud Spanner?

Google Cloud Spanner is stable.

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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...

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What needs improvement with SAP HANA Cloud?

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What is your primary use case for SAP HANA Cloud?

I worked with SAP products including BPC, SAP HANA, SAP BW for HANA, and Business Objects. We are on Azure Cloud. Our BW system is on SAP HANA Cloud and our S/4 is on the HANA Cloud itself. We have...

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What advice do you have for others considering SAP HANA Cloud?

We are in the government sector, which has a more structured approach. We are aligned based on mandated requirements, which might not be relevant for private industry where changes happen more dras...

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Compared 12% of the time

Redis vs Google Cloud Spanner

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More Google Cloud Spanner Competitors

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Database as a Service (DBaaS)

July 2025

Download Google Cloud Spanner product report

Buyer's Guide

Database as a Service (DBaaS)

July 2025

Download SAP HANA Cloud 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

SAP HANA Cloud offers a robust platform for managing data in real-time, making it ideal for businesses looking to enhance their analytics and database capabilities. It efficiently supports complex data environments, providing scalability and high performance for enterprises.

SAP HANA Cloud integrates data management and advanced analytics in a single solution, optimizing operations for businesses through real-time insights and flexible scalability. It is designed to handle high volumes of data and complex queries while supporting cloud native development. Users benefit from its capability to drive intelligent applications, streamline decision-making processes, and enhance data-driven strategies across industries. Evaluating SAP HANA Cloud involves considering its real-time data processing power, strong security measures, and support for hybrid environments.

What are the most important features of SAP HANA Cloud?

Real-Time Analytics: Enables immediate decision-making based on live data
Scalability: Allows businesses to easily adjust resources depending on demand
Data Security: Offers robust protection measures to safeguard sensitive information
Hybrid Cloud Support: Facilitates seamless integration with on-premise systems

What benefits or ROI should users look for?

Cost Efficiency: Reduces overall operating expenses by streamlining processes
Enhanced Performance: Improves system speed and reliability for critical operations
Business Flexibility: Adapts quickly to changing business needs and market conditions
Data-Driven Insights: Provides valuable insights that help in strategic decision making

SAP HANA Cloud is implemented across industries such as finance, retail, manufacturing, and healthcare, where real-time data processing and analytics are critical. In finance, it assists with risk management and financial forecasting; in retail, it supports personalized customer experiences and inventory optimization; while in manufacturing, it enhances supply chain management and production efficiency.

SAP

Sample Customers

Streak, Optiva, Mixpanel

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Google Cloud Spanner vs. SAP HANA Cloud

July 2025

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