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Azure Database for PostgreSQL vs Google Cloud Spanner comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 18, 2026

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

Azure Database for PostgreSQL
Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)
5th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
23
Ranking in other categories
Open Source Databases (4th)
Google Cloud Spanner
Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)
8th
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category, the mindshare of Azure Database for PostgreSQL is 3.7%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Google Cloud Spanner is 7.5%, up from 4.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Database as a Service (DBaaS) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Azure Database for PostgreSQL3.7%
Google Cloud Spanner7.5%
Other88.8%
Database as a Service (DBaaS)
 

Featured Reviews

Sathish Palanisamy - PeerSpot reviewer
Staff Data Engineer at a transportation company with 10,001+ employees
Improves database performance, supports AI integration, and accelerates customer-focused innovation
Azure Database for PostgreSQL can be improved in the area of elastic capabilities. One of the things we were actively looking for is the elastic feature, which was made a GA at this Ignite event. I am really happy that finally in Azure, we have a product which we can use for elastic clusters. If you are bound with a single server, then you have a vertical limit. Now you do not have any limits. As long as your use case grows, we can grow. The only thing I would maybe be thinking about is we should also allow customers to pick different node sizes for every node inside the elastic eventually. Some nodes do not need that big capacity. So that may be a nice-to-have feature, though it is not a must-have at this point.
LJ
System Architect at UST Global España
Offers good performance to users
The tool lacks to offer AI features. In the future, I would like the product to offer AI features to users. Nowadays, we are creating small acronyms for our SQL Server. We put some templates. If I just put your name and stop it, the entire cloud can be explored, but such features are not there in Google Cloud Spanner. As a layman rather than a developer, if I create a tool or a procedure. If I write a procedure and then when you describe a procedure, a dummy procedure will be written for you, and it will be available for you as a template in SQL Server, but such kind features are not there in Google Cloud Spanner.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The flexibility that we have with the JSONB functionality allowed us to get data into the system, build the POC, get it in front of people, and then as we find needs for things to be more normally normalized, we can go back and make those changes."
"Compared to my previous expenses for maintaining an on-premise PostgreSQL database, Azure Database for PostgreSQL is far easier, far simpler, and far cheaper in my opinion."
"We transact 128 trillion data per month using Azure Database for PostgreSQL, which helps us to be more successful on every transaction that the customer is requesting from us."
"A native cloud approach actually has more advantage because it is easy to deploy, faster to deploy, and easy to recover and roll back."
"Automatic patching and backups have a huge impact on my database management strategy—we have an operations team of two people and do not have time to handle database maintenance manually, so we chose platform-as-a-service for this reason."
"The effective integration of Postgres with Microsoft products, especially with the inclusion of AI features in Azure AI, is significant for our applications."
"Horizontal scaling has helped manage our workloads, making it easier for us to stay cost-efficient while also scaling when we get more traffic on our application."
"What I appreciate most about Azure Database for PostgreSQL is not one particular feature; I think it is the use case and the facility to have a single pane of glass for managing what is on the edge, what is on the cloud, especially now with Azure Local as well."
"It is a very scalable solution."
"The solution is stable and reliable."
"Google Cloud Spanner is stable."
"We can scale the solution if we need to."
"The application deployment in the cloud is the best feature of the infrastructure."
"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."
 

Cons

"They can offer more RAG extensions. Currently, it only has the vector search. It does not presently support knowledge graph functionalities as Neo4j does. It also does not offer some tools to improve indexing the way other vector databases offer."
"Azure Database for PostgreSQL can be improved in ways I'm very curious to explore with Horizon."
"Occasionally, we experience throughput issues due to bandwidth limitations of client setups with Azure, which have limited connections, but as far as the service itself goes, it has been rock solid."
"While the flexibility of the server for financial reasons is understandable, better switching between primary and backup would make transitions smoother."
"I do not know how Azure Database for PostgreSQL can be improved or what additional features I would prefer to see. There may be some pain points that would be valuable to fix."
"They can offer more RAG extensions. Currently, it only has the vector search."
"Support at best is a five out of ten."
"Perhaps a minor improvement could be made in simplifying user additions, allowing for an easier process rather than scripting it out. However, scripting is not a significant issue."
"I want to improve the deployment of cameras and surveillance infrastructure."
"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."
"The tool lacks to offer AI features."
"The cost can be a bit high."
"The tool needs to improve horizontal scaling."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There aren't any notable areas for improvement that I could see. PostgreSQL was self-sufficient with no need for additional database knowledge to maintain it."
"The pricing experience is positive. Azure Database for PostgreSQL reduces the need for hardware investments, and the pay-as-you-go pricing model positively affects database-related costs by allowing us to start small and scale as needed."
"We do not pay for a full-year subscription because our usage is still at the beginning phase and not much. The pay-as-you-go model works well for us."
"The pay-as-you-go pricing model plays a critical role in managing database-related costs and resource allocation. We build using Infrastructure as Code (IAC) and maintain a focus on FinOps to control Azure service costs. Some clients are pushy on price. It's critical to automate it, so we're just using it when appropriate and switching it off in certain scenarios."
"Price-wise, I heard that Google Cloud Spanner is on the higher side."
"The solution is expensive."
"Google Cloud Spanner is an expensive solution."
"It is expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Marketing Services Firm
10%
Financial Services Firm
25%
Healthcare Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise16
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Database for PostgreSQL?
My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing for Azure Database for PostgreSQL is positive; I appreciate it all. The pricing is very cost-effective and stable given that we have many data...
What needs improvement with Azure Database for PostgreSQL?
Azure Database for PostgreSQL can be improved in ways I'm very curious to explore with Horizon. I'm interested in seeing how the fully enterprise-hardened features change things and where that blur...
What is your primary use case for Azure Database for PostgreSQL?
My main use cases for Azure Database for PostgreSQL came from a personal project to scratch an itch, and it was the easiest one to go grab. I appreciate how easy PostgreSQL is to get running locall...
What is your primary use case for Google Cloud Spanner?
Google Cloud Spanner has all the features of a traditional relational database, including schemas, SQL queries, ACID transactions, and provides excellent integration and monitoring tools as well as...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Google Cloud Spanner?
Price-wise, I heard that Google Cloud Spanner is on the higher side. I am not sure if this is a rumor or if it's fake news, but I believe that having BigQuery and GCP together could be a little cos...
What needs improvement with Google Cloud Spanner?
The tool lacks to offer AI features. In the future, I would like the product to offer AI features to users. Nowadays, we are creating small acronyms for our SQL Server. We put some templates. If I ...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Google Spanner
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Streak, Optiva, Mixpanel
Find out what your peers are saying about Azure Database for PostgreSQL vs. Google Cloud Spanner and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
900,644 professionals have used our research since 2012.