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Google Cloud Spanner Reviews

Vendor: Google
4.5 out of 5
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What is Google Cloud Spanner?

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.

Get the Database as a Service (DBaaS) Buyer's Guide and find out what your peers are saying about Google Cloud Spanner, Amazon RDS, Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB and more!
Google Cloud Spanner is the #9 ranked solution in top Database as a Service vendors. PeerSpot users give Google Cloud Spanner an average rating of 9.0 out of 10. Google Cloud Spanner is most commonly compared to Amazon RDS: Google Cloud Spanner vs Amazon RDS. Google Cloud Spanner is popular among the large enterprise segment, accounting for 69% of users researching this solution on PeerSpot. The top industry researching this solution are professionals from a financial services firm, accounting for 24% of all views.
Buyer's Guide
Database as a Service (DBaaS)
August 2025
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Google Cloud Spanner mindshare

As of August 2025, the mindshare of Google Cloud Spanner in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category stands at 5.1%, up from 3.5% compared to the previous year, according to calculations based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Database as a Service (DBaaS) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Google Cloud Spanner5.1%
Amazon RDS22.2%
Microsoft Azure SQL Database14.7%
Other58.0%
Database as a Service (DBaaS)
 
 
Key learnings from peers

Valuable Features

Google Cloud Spanner's most valuable features include its ability to scale horizontally and its managed service reliability. Users appreciate its stable performance and seamless scaling without downtime. It offers application deployment in the cloud, mirroring the advantages of Cloud SQL storage and Low-Code Microsoft SQL Server.
  • "It is a very scalable solution."
  • "Google Cloud Spanner is stable."
  • "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."

Room for Improvement

Google Cloud Spanner's deployment of cameras and surveillance infrastructure needs enhancement with AI features. Users find it challenging to run Spanner locally due to the emulator's limitations. Enhancements in geolocation queries, full-text search, and horizontal scaling are desired. AI features for SQL Servers and templates for procedures are also suggested. Costs are high.
  • "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."

ROI

Users indicated significant cost savings and enhanced productivity due to Google Cloud Spanner, highlighting its scalability and reliability in handling large-scale databases. Streamlined operations and reduced downtime contributed to a substantial return on investment. Integration with other Google Cloud services and global data distribution were noted as key factors driving improved efficiency and performance. The sentiment towards Google Cloud Spanner was overwhelmingly positive with respect to financial benefits.

Pricing

Google Cloud Spanner, being a fully managed service, does not require a license, but it is frequently noted as expensive. Users highlight that deployment incurs no initial costs, but runtime expenses can be significant. Despite its higher price, the lower total cost of ownership due to reduced troubleshooting and seamless integration is appreciated. While Google Cloud Spanner is considered costlier than some alternatives, its extensive features including speech recognition and machine learning add value.
  • "Price-wise, I heard that Google Cloud Spanner is on the higher side."
  • "The solution is expensive."
  • "Google Cloud Spanner is an expensive solution."

Popular Use Cases

Google Cloud Spanner is primarily used for managing large-scale, high-transactional databases that require high availability, consistency, and low latency. It is often utilized in retail, finance, and IoT for real-time data processing and high-availability applications due to its horizontal scalability and strong global distribution features. Users appreciate its integration capabilities with other Google Cloud services.

Service and Support

Customers mention that Google Cloud Spanner's support team is very supportive. Some rate the technical support a seven out of ten, while others find it excellent. There are users who haven't experienced any issues and thus have not interacted with support, so they cannot comment on its responsiveness or helpfulness.

Deployment

Initial setup of Google Cloud Spanner is simple, requiring no installation. Users describe it as easy, managed, and needing just two clicks. Deployment is straightforward, but GCP certification is advised for smooth completion. Knowledge of GCP functions, App Engine, and Kubernetes is essential. Region-specific deployment considerations are important, with the process being quick if all configurations are correct. Users highlight the importance of regional settings for optimal deployment.

Scalability

Google Cloud Spanner is highly scalable with the ability to expand easily and handle increasing numbers of users. It allows for significant flexibility in adjusting the number of nodes based on regional needs. The scalability is consistently rated very positively.

Stability

Users find Google Cloud Spanner to be very stable without any bugs, glitches, crashes, or freezes. Numerous evaluations rate its stability highly, with no issues reported. Users commend it for its reliability, consistently praising its performance. Stability is often rated ten out of ten.
These insights are based on the in-depth reviews provided by peers to help you make a better buying decision.
Download our Database as a Service (DBaaS) Buyer's Guide for additional reliable information.

Top industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
24%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Retailer
7%
University
7%
Government
6%
Media Company
6%
Educational Organization
5%
Healthcare Company
4%
Insurance Company
2%
Real Estate/Law Firm
2%
Comms Service Provider
1%
Consumer Goods Company
1%
Legal Firm
1%
Performing Arts
1%
Recreational Facilities/Services Company
1%
Construction Company
1%
Pharma/Biotech Company
1%
Logistics Company
1%
Wholesaler/Distributor
1%
Renewables & Environment Company
1%
Hospitality Company
1%
Energy/Utilities Company
1%
Non Tech Company
1%
Non Profit
1%

Compare Google Cloud Spanner with alternative products

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Learn more about Google Cloud Spanner

Google Cloud Spanner was previously known as Google Spanner.

Google Cloud Spanner customers

Streak, Optiva, Mixpanel

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Product Categories

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Database as a Service (DBaaS)

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Google Cloud Spanner Reviews Summary
Author infoRatingReview Summary
Infrastructuer Security at Premise Data4.5I use Google Cloud Spanner primarily for its scalability, enabling horizontal scaling without downtime. However, the developer experience is hindered by the lack of a functional local emulator, and features like geolocation queries and full-text search are missing. Despite this, I've seen a positive ROI.
System Architect at UST Global España4.5I use Google Cloud Spanner alongside Cloud SQL for integration due to its advantages similar to Cloud SQL storage. However, it lacks AI features. I'd like AI capabilities similar to those offered by other platforms, like Microsoft’s low-code tools.
Data Engineering and AI Intern at .3Lines Venture Capital4.5I found Google Cloud Spanner to be useful but needing improvement in horizontal scaling. While there were no alternate solutions considered, I didn't see an immediate return on investment and utilized no specific cloud provider for deployment.
Senior Technical Architect at HCL Technologies4.0No summary available
Digital Marketing Manager at BEXCOM - Tech5.0I find the application deployment in Google Cloud Spanner to be its best feature. However, I would like to see improvements in the deployment of cameras and surveillance infrastructure, specifically the integration of AI for enhanced video monitoring.