Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

AWS Lambda vs Google Cloud Dataflow 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

AWS Lambda
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
88
Ranking in other categories
Compute Service (1st)
Google Cloud Dataflow
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
Streaming Analytics (7th)
 

Mindshare comparison

AWS Lambda and Google Cloud Dataflow aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. AWS Lambda is designed for Compute Service and holds a mindshare of 20.7%, up 19.5% compared to last year.
Google Cloud Dataflow, on the other hand, focuses on Streaming Analytics, holds 6.5% mindshare, down 7.5% since last year.
Compute Service
Streaming Analytics
 

Featured Reviews

Andrew-Wong - PeerSpot reviewer
Convenience in deployment process with room for code preview improvement
Having a better preview would be helpful. Sometimes, if my Lambda code is too big, it can be inconvenient as I'm unable to see my code when it exceeds a certain size. AWS has a limit, like a three-megabyte limit, beyond which I cannot view or edit the code easily.
Jana Polianskaja - PeerSpot reviewer
Build Scalable Data Pipelines with Apache Beam and Google Cloud Dataflow
As a data engineer, I find several features of Google Cloud Dataflow particularly valuable. The ability to test solutions locally using Direct Runner is crucial for development, allowing me to validate pipelines without incurring the costs of full Dataflow jobs. The unified programming model for both batch and streaming processing is exceptional - requiring only minor code adjustments to optimize for either mode. This flexibility extends to language support, with robust implementations in both Java and Python, allowing teams to leverage their existing expertise. The platform's comprehensive monitoring capabilities are another standout feature. The intuitive interface, Grafana integration, and extensive service connectivity make troubleshooting and performance tracking highly efficient. Furthermore, seamless integration with Google Cloud Composer (managed Airflow) enables sophisticated orchestration of data pipelines.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"You can spin up anything instantly without any investment."
"I think the most valuable feature is the agility of the solution."
"The stability is good."
"Lambda allows you to focus on the code itself."
"Provides a good, easy path from when you're using an AWS cluster."
"Lambda makes the administration of all our services related to Amazon really easy."
"Because AWS Lambda is serverless, server configuration is not required, and we can run it directly anywhere."
"It's a fairly easy solution to learn."
"The most valuable features of Google Cloud Dataflow are scalability and connectivity."
"It allows me to test solutions locally using runners like Direct Runner without having to start a Dataflow job, which can be costly."
"Google's support team is good at resolving issues, especially with large data."
"The product's installation process is easy...The tool's maintenance part is somewhat easy."
"The solution allows us to program in any language we desire."
"The support team is good and it's easy to use."
"Google Cloud Dataflow is useful for streaming and data pipelines."
"The integration within Google Cloud Platform is very good."
 

Cons

"I would like to see some better integration with other providers, like Cohesity, Druva, and others. I also think the Lambda interface could be better."
"We need to invest time in learning the tool's language variant. We have encountered instances of downtime as well."
"AWS Lambda needs to improve its stability."
"We can write anything as code, but the solution will not give proper error information."
"Having a better preview would be helpful."
"The running time of AWS Lambda runs fine. It takes around five minutes but it would be great if that time could be extended."
"AWS Lambda has some size limitations in the code line, you can't do a couple of functions to do the job."
"Amazon doesn't have enough local support based in our country."
"Google Cloud Data Flow can improve by having full simple integration with Kafka topics. It's not that complicated, but it could improve a bit. The UI is easy to use but the experience could be better. There are other tools available that do a better job."
"The deployment time could also be reduced."
"The authentication part of the product is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"When I deploy the product in local errors, a lot of errors pop up which are not always caught. The solution's error logging is bad. It can take a lot of time to debug the errors. It needs to have better logs."
"Promoting the technology more broadly would help increase its adoption."
"The solution's setup process could be more accessible."
"Google Cloud Dataflow should include a little cost optimization."
"There are certain challenges regarding the Google Cloud Composer which can be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution's price is average."
"AWS Lambda is not expensive for micro testing but is expensive if used for long deployment or long services."
"It costs maybe less than $10 per month in my use case."
"The price of the solution is reasonable and it is a pay-per-use model. It is very good for cost optimization."
"Lambda is an affordable solution. They offer free requests every month and charge per the compute time. If you are working in a big organization, usually AWS offer a savings plan where you get approximately 70% discount on pricing."
"The pricing is on-demand and based on runs or times that are billed out monthly."
"Price-wise, AWS Lambda is a five out of ten."
"You're not paying for a server if you're not using it, which is another reason I like it. So, you're not paying if you're not using it. It scales, and you're charged based on usage. It all depends on the use case. Some can be extremely inexpensive if you have very low volume transaction rates. That way, you don't have to fire up and absorb the cost of the servers just sitting there waiting for a transaction to come through. You're only paying when you use it. So, depending upon the use model, Lambda could be highly efficient relative to an EC2 solution. You don't have to have things reallocated."
"Google Cloud Dataflow is a cheap solution."
"The solution is not very expensive."
"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a seven to eight out of ten."
"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive, I rate Google Cloud Dataflow's pricing a four out of ten."
"The tool is cheap."
"The price of the solution depends on many factors, such as how they pay for tools in the company and its size."
"Google Cloud is slightly cheaper than AWS."
"The solution is cost-effective."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Compute Service solutions are best for your needs.
860,168 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
47%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
5%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Retailer
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Which is better, AWS Lambda or Batch?
AWS Lambda is a serverless solution. It doesn’t require any infrastructure, which allows for cost savings. There is no setup process to deal with, as the entire solution is in the cloud. If you use...
What do you like most about AWS Lambda?
The tool scales automatically based on the number of incoming requests.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AWS Lambda?
The pricing of AWS Lambda is reasonable. It's beneficial and cost-effective for users regardless of the number of instances used.
What do you like most about Google Cloud Dataflow?
The product's installation process is easy...The tool's maintenance part is somewhat easy.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Google Cloud Dataflow?
Pricing is normal. It is part of a package received from Google, and they are not charging us too high.
What needs improvement with Google Cloud Dataflow?
I am not sure, as we built only one job, and it is running on a daily basis. Everything else is managed using BigQuery schedulers and Talend. However, occasionally, dealing with a huge volume of da...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Google Dataflow
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Netflix
Absolutdata, Backflip Studios, Bluecore, Claritics, Crystalloids, Energyworx, GenieConnect, Leanplum, Nomanini, Redbus, Streak, TabTale
Find out what your peers are saying about Amazon Web Services (AWS), Apache, Oracle and others in Compute Service. Updated: June 2025.
860,168 professionals have used our research since 2012.