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Google Cloud SQL vs MariaDB comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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 SQL
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
17th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
24
Ranking in other categories
Database as a Service (DBaaS) (7th), Database Management Systems (DBMS) (9th)
MariaDB
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
9th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
62
Ranking in other categories
Open Source Databases (8th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2026, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of Google Cloud SQL is 1.2%, down from 1.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MariaDB is 3.5%, down from 6.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Relational Databases Tools Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
MariaDB3.5%
Google Cloud SQL1.2%
Other95.3%
Relational Databases Tools
 

Featured Reviews

RituRaj - PeerSpot reviewer
SDE 2 at Virtusa
Drag and drop workflows have simplified data mapping and currently improve my cloud database work
The IPaaS Connector, which I have found most valuable, is part of Google Cloud SQL. Google Cloud's user interface is really good, which improves efficiency in my database operations. The UI is excellent, making it easier to understand what we are doing. Currently, I am working on IPaaS Connector, so it is really just a clickable interface without writing any code. I simply use drag and drop and connecting lines, and it is working. Google Cloud SQL's global infrastructure improves our database's latency metrics because we are using Gemini in our project. Since both are products of Google, it makes our product faster.
AB
Co-Founder at Vsigma IT Labs Pvt Ltd
Has supported web application data needs but requires design adjustments to manage complex queries efficiently
Complex queries in MariaDB where the query needs to parse thousands of lines or data values face some performance issues. For small and medium-size volume, it is pretty good. If it goes beyond certain data and complex queries, we see performance issues. We tried the advanced replication feature between different regions, replicating data specifically residing on MariaDB to two different regions of MariaDB data, and there were some technical snags in terms of slowness and longer processing time. Point-in-time recovery in MariaDB is good for small databases. When data volume increases beyond 5 GB or 10 GB per day or runs into double-digit GBs, we found some performance issues. For data below 10 GB, it works fine. Performance is the primary focus area for MariaDB, particularly during transactions or complex query jobs where slow performance is observed. MariaDB is scalable and easy to scale.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Google Cloud SQL enhances our AI-driven projects by providing features like query optimization and scalability for efficiently processing large datasets."
"It's all built into the web browser, so any operating system will work."
"Google Cloud SQL is easy to start with and allows me to scale as needed, which is advantageous from a developer perspective."
"The deployment model allows for significant control and flexibility."
"Licensing is not applicable; pricing is reasonable."
"Google Cloud SQL provides complete customization options, along with a dashboarding tool and a comprehensive suite of tools that can be used to customize and build any application needed."
"The most valuable feature for us is the Postgres on Google Cloud SQL since it supports most of the features we need."
"The solution is easy to use. I am impressed with the tool's features and functionality."
"It delivers fast processing times, particularly for frequent select queries and insert/update operations."
"MariaDB is easy to install and is stable and scalable."
"The most valuable feature of MariaDB is the replication mode."
"We have been running our instance since 2013 and it needs almost no maintenance."
"The initial setup of MariaDB is simple enough."
"Our use of MariaDB is very basic, so it's a good platform compared to many others."
"We like the easy way that we can collect data from other databases."
"We have seen a return on investment because we are going to save a lot of revenue from not having to use Oracle licenses."
 

Cons

"The purging of the data could be better."
"The overall documentation and the connectors need improvement."
"The performance compared to AWS is not as fast, and the technical support could be better as they don't have a dedicated team, but mostly AI handles the support now."
"I would like to see better integration with all the different tools on the platform."
"When discussing media files, such as images and audio files, stored in Google Cloud, concerns about handling large amounts of data arise."
"The only thing that could be better is the pricing."
"Google Cloud SQL still needs better connectivity to outside, existing data sources."
"It is hard to do logging with the solution."
"Could have more integration with user platforms."
"When we have had issues with accidental computer shutdown or a power outage, our MariaDB database was corrupted."
"The price could be less expensive."
"The solution is not scalable."
"The GUI could be improved a bit. The user interface needs to be improved."
"Data continuity could be improved."
"We'd like more data intelligence."
"Lacks time series data and additional driving support would be helpful."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is very much an important factor as to why we use this solution."
"You need to pay extra costs for backup and replication."
"It's really cheap. It wouldn't be more than, I believe it's around 50 euro per month for running a cloud SQL."
"It is not expensive, especially considering the significant reduction in database management time."
"The solution is affordable."
"From a financial perspective, Google Cloud SQL is on the cheaper side."
"While the platform’s pricing may be higher, it aligns with industry standards, considering the quality of service and features provided."
"We use the solution's free version."
"This is an open source solution with no licensing fees."
"MariaDB is a free-to-use solution."
"The tool is open-source."
"MariaDB is an open-source software, meaning I don't need to pay for the product."
"My company uses the free version of the solution."
"The cost is quite good. You can have the open source, free version, which has adequate capacity."
"We pay for a yearly license."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
16%
Educational Organization
14%
Computer Software Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
9%
University
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise10
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business28
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise26
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Google Cloud SQL?
We have set up automated patch management for Google Cloud SQL, and it does on a daily basis what needs to be done, so it is pretty good overall for maintaining our database security.
What needs improvement with Google Cloud SQL?
I would to improve a few glitches in Google Cloud SQL that I have recently noticed. There are a few UI glitches that I have noticed recently, specifically something called data mapping in IPaaS Con...
What is your primary use case for Google Cloud SQL?
I am not working with Oracle; everything I am working on is on Google. I would like to improve a few glitches in Google Cloud SQL that I have recently noticed. There are a few UI glitches that I ha...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for MariaDB?
MariaDB is in the pricey range, especially for huge databases handling terabytes of data. The cost depends on the volume of data and different features enabled during configuration, such as backup ...
What needs improvement with MariaDB?
Sometimes, complex queries that were supported in Oracle are not available in MariaDB. Advanced indexing is not available. Oracle is very advanced compared to MariaDB, and those advanced features a...
What is your primary use case for MariaDB?
My client has been using MariaDB for the last four years. We are using MariaDB in the cloud.
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

BeDataDriven, CodeFutures, Daffodil, GenieConnect, KiSSFLOW, LiveHive, SulAm_rica, Zync
Google, Wikipedia, Tencent, Verizon, DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, Telefónica, Huatai Securities
Find out what your peers are saying about Google Cloud SQL vs. MariaDB and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
902,988 professionals have used our research since 2012.