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Google Cloud SQL vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 27, 2025

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 Database as a Service (DBaaS)
6th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
22
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 October 2025, in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category, the mindshare of Google Cloud SQL is 10.7%, down from 17.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure SQL Database is 13.0%, down from 17.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Database as a Service (DBaaS) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Azure SQL Database13.0%
Google Cloud SQL10.7%
Other76.3%
Database as a Service (DBaaS)
 

Featured Reviews

Prathap Sankar - PeerSpot reviewer
Gain control and flexibility with customizable tools but has slower performance
I am majorly working in Google Cloud SQL for building my applications 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 deployment model allows for…
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Ease of management and the ability to oversee the statistics of your SQL."
"The implementation part of the product was easy."
"It directly provides robust data safety. It also offers various other storage options, such as Google Cloud Storage. These services ensure data security and redundancy. Furthermore, it includes different storage classes, allowing flexible data management tailored to specific needs."
"It's SQL. SQL is so easy if you know something about databases. It's easy to learn."
"It supports different databases, like Postgres and MySQL."
"Its most valuable feature is that it's scalable. I can start off with a base of a lot of data and move as much as I want and it's the same as if asked to do a lot of infrastructure changes."
"The deployment model allows for significant control and flexibility."
"From a database management perspective, it provides services without the need for me to worry about backups, scaling, or other operational issues."
"It's easy to use in terms of their portal, which is very nicely organized."
"It's the type of product that doesn't need much technical support assistance as it works seamlessly."
"The product is quite stable. The performance is great and it's reliable."
"It has significantly streamlined our disaster recovery plans, making it much more straightforward to spin up new instances as opposed to setting up a new VM with all necessary packages. The normal cost of our VMs with storage has been significantly reduced."
"The most valuable aspect of Microsoft Azure SQL Database is its accessibility."
"Its easy usage is the most valuable."
"What I like about SQL Azure is that it's similar to your on-premises SQL databases. It's not much different, so it's easy to start quickly on the solution if you know Microsoft SQL. I find its ease of use most valuable, and I also like that SQL Azure is also easily integrated with the Azure Cloud platform."
"It is easily scalable, and it is faster than SQL Server. It is also less expensive than using SQL Server. It has the pay-as-you-go model, and the charges are based on the usage."
 

Cons

"In the case of Google, they need to work on a more easy interface for users."
"They could improve documentation and dashboard stability for efficient user experience and database management."
"Google Cloud SQL still needs better connectivity to outside, existing data sources."
"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 availability of the product in different regions. It should also improve the security with encryption."
"For data analysis, the AI area of the product has certain shortcomings where improvements are required."
"The monitoring part could be better."
"The customer support should be improved."
"The default 1433 port for communication should be customizable because most hacks or attacks are attempted when creating any application or database on the default port."
"The management is entirely controlled by Microsoft, so there are some restrictions."
"Although the solution integrates well into Azure’s ecosystem, it has limited capability and is incompatible with many third-party applications or tools."
"We've noticed an unexpected increase in the cost of running the server over the past few months."
"It's very difficult to investigate if something wrong is going on behind the scenes. If we are facing a problem that our application is doing a CPU spike and when we look at the dump of the details, the processes that our application is generating are not consuming more than 40-50% of CPU. But we don’t know where it is going, who's generating it, and who's consuming the CPU. Even Microsoft says they don’t know."
"The price is a little higher."
"I haven't explored SQL Azure's features much, but I would like to see some better integration with Python."
"The pricing is very high."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is very much an important factor as to why we use this solution."
"From a financial perspective, Google Cloud SQL is on the cheaper side."
"You need to pay extra costs for backup and replication."
"The solution is affordable."
"It's really cheap. It wouldn't be more than, I believe it's around 50 euro per month for running a cloud SQL."
"While the platform’s pricing may be higher, it aligns with industry standards, considering the quality of service and features provided."
"It is not expensive, especially considering the significant reduction in database management time."
"I recommend considering a pay-as-you-go pricing model initially."
"Compared to other providers, the pricing is definitely on the affordable side."
"With one being expensive and five being competitive, I would give the product a four out of five as it's relatively competitive. It is also important to note that pricing is based on usage."
"The solution is expensive."
"I would rate the pricing a seven out of ten."
"It requires a license. As compared to its competitors, such as Oracle, it is affordable and reasonable."
"I am not aware of the exact pricing, but our monthly bill for Azure is around 80,000. It is less expensive than using SQL Server. It has the pay-as-you-go model, and the charges are based on the usage."
"It is beneficial in terms of cost because you are charged per data unit instead of licensing."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
13%
Educational Organization
9%
University
7%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise9
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business55
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise50
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Google Cloud SQL?
The implementation part of the product was easy.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Google Cloud SQL?
The cost is expensive, especially for services like BigQuery, which charge based on query operations. We pay as we use, with no fixed cost.
What needs improvement with Google Cloud SQL?
Google Cloud SQL needs to improve its support for high-end I/O operations. On-prem systems with high I/O capabilities perform better, as Google Cloud SQL takes more time to handle the same tasks. T...
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.
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...
What needs improvement with SQL Azure?
I have used the Microsoft Azure SQL Database for two years now, and I don't find it satisfactory. It's slow and expensive. The Microsoft Azure SQL Database is not the latest version of Microsoft SQ...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

BeDataDriven, CodeFutures, Daffodil, GenieConnect, KiSSFLOW, LiveHive, SulAm_rica, Zync
adnymics GmbH, LG CNS, Centrebet, netfabb GmbH, MedPlast, Accelera Solutions, Sochi Organizing Committee, realzeit GmbH
Find out what your peers are saying about Google Cloud SQL vs. Microsoft Azure SQL Database and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
871,358 professionals have used our research since 2012.