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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
7.5
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 (6th)
 

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 21.3%, up 21.4% compared to last year.
Google Cloud Dataflow, on the other hand, focuses on Streaming Analytics, holds 7.1% mindshare, down 7.2% since last year.
Compute Service
Streaming Analytics
 

Featured Reviews

Wai L Lin O - PeerSpot reviewer
A serverless solution with easy integration features
We use AWS Lambda because it provides a solution for our needs without requiring us to manage our infrastructure. With the tool, we only pay for the resources we use. Additionally, it is straightforward to implement and integrates with other services like API Gateway. The tool's serverless nature has had the most significant impact on our workflow. I find it particularly attractive because it eliminates the need for managing servers. In my previous experience, managing upgrades and updates was quite challenging. The solution's integration process with other AWS services was relatively easy. We primarily use AWS services such as EventBridge for scheduling processes and log management.
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

"The installation and configuration of the solution is straightforward."
"Lambda being serverless is a great feature that is appropriate for our use cases."
"I like that it's easy to use and maintain. Lambda is good and supports different platforms, so you don't need to worry about language or maintenance."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the API Gateway."
"Lambda is the preferred compute option because of on-demand cost. We don't have to provision any hardware beforehand. We don't have to provision the capacity required for the services because it is serverless."
"What I like most about AWS Lambda is that it's very easy to deploy."
"The initial setup of AWS Lambda is very straightforward and quick."
"The serverless computing feature eliminates the need to manage servers, provision, or scale."
"The most valuable features of Google Cloud Dataflow are scalability and connectivity."
"The solution allows us to program in any language we desire."
"Google's support team is good at resolving issues, especially with large data."
"The integration within Google Cloud Platform is very good."
"The product's installation process is easy...The tool's maintenance part is somewhat easy."
"The support team is good and it's easy to use."
"The best feature of Google Cloud Dataflow is its practical connectedness."
"I don't need a server running all the time while using the tool. It is also easy to setup. The product offers a pay-as-you-go service."
 

Cons

"They should work on the solution's stability and pricing."
"The user-friendliness of the solution could be improved."
"AWS Lambda is a bit difficult to set up if someone doesn't know how to code."
"AWS Lambda should support additional languages."
"Regarding layers, you need to manually zip and install them. This step needs practice, and you might need to do it three to four times to get a hang of it."
"I would like to see improvements in AWS Lambda's stability and setup processes, as there were some complexities encountered initially."
"My engineers work with it on a daily basis. I just don't have enough depth of knowledge about what kinds of edge cases they may have tried and found lacking. There may be some issues with some language support at one point or another because we couldn't get the underlying libraries in there. A lot of what we do is either in JavaScript, Python, or some of the non-compiled languages. I'm not sure if we've ever tried building a C# solution, for instance, in Lambda or a Java solution in Lambda. It doesn't mean those aren't its capabilities. I would rather refer to my engineers for where the boundaries are."
"My opinion is that the integration could be improved in this solution. We have had some difficulties integrating the EC2 module, but we found a solution for that by ourselves."
"They should do a market survey and then make improvements."
"Google Cloud Dataflow should include a little cost optimization."
"The authentication part of the product is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"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."
"I would like to see improvements in consistency and flexibility for schema design for NoSQL data stored in wide columns."
"The technical support has slight room for improvement."
"The solution's setup process could be more accessible."
"The deployment time could also be reduced."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I would rate the tool’s pricing a nine out of ten. The solution’s pricing works on a pay-as-you-go basis."
"The pricing is on-demand and based on runs or times that are billed out monthly."
"AWS Lambda is cheap."
"We don't need to pay for licensing to use Lambda."
"The price of AWS Lambda is priced very low."
"AWS Lambda is cost-effective, with a minimal maintenance cost."
"Price-wise, AWS Lambda is very cheap. It's not free, but it's not that expensive."
"The solution is part of the AWS subscription model that is paid annually."
"The solution is not very expensive."
"The tool is cheap."
"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."
"Google Cloud Dataflow is a cheap solution."
"The price of the solution depends on many factors, such as how they pay for tools in the company and its size."
"The solution is cost-effective."
"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."
"Google Cloud is slightly cheaper than AWS."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
68%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
5%
Manufacturing Company
3%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Manufacturing Company
13%
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, Zadara and others in Compute Service. Updated: May 2025.
851,604 professionals have used our research since 2012.