Azure Database for PostgreSQL vs Google Cloud SQL comparison

Microsoft and Google are both solutions in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category. Microsoft is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.8, while Google is ranked #6 with an average rating of 7.8. Microsoft holds a 3.3% mindshare in DS, compared to Google’s 7.8% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Google users who would recommend it.

Azure Database for PostgreSQL

Read 23 Azure Database for PostgreSQL reviews

3,097 Views
1,889 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Google Cloud SQL

Read 23 Google Cloud SQL reviews

2,134 Views
2,070 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Azure Database for PostgreSQL

Google Cloud SQL

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 18, 2026

Google Cloud SQL and Azure Database for PostgreSQL are competitors in the cloud database market. Google Cloud SQL appears to have an edge due to its competitive pricing and user-friendly deployment, while Azure Database for PostgreSQL stands out for its advanced feature set and scalability.

Features: Google Cloud SQL supports seamless integration with Google services, offers automated backups, and ensures reliable uptime. It is favored for its integration flexibility. Azure Database for PostgreSQL offers robust scalability, advanced analytics capabilities, and extensive compliance features, providing strong analytics and security capabilities.

Room for Improvement: Google Cloud SQL could enhance its feature set to match Azure's advanced analytics and compliance offerings. More comprehensive monitoring tools would also be beneficial. Azure Database for PostgreSQL could improve response times for customer support and reduce initial costs for better attractiveness. Enhancing their user interface could also streamline operations.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Google Cloud SQL is recognized for its straightforward setup and responsive support that quickly addresses issues. Azure Database for PostgreSQL also offers a smooth deployment process supported by strong documentation though variability in support response times might impact the overall experience.

Pricing and ROI: Google Cloud SQL is celebrated for being cost-effective, presenting sensible setup costs and offering good ROI through resource optimization. Azure Database for PostgreSQL, despite higher initial costs, justifies its pricing with enhanced features that promise greater long-term ROI. Google's pricing strategy makes it appealing to cost-conscious clients, while Azure compensates with its rich functionalities.

To learn more, read our detailed Azure Database for PostgreSQL vs. Google Cloud SQL Report (Updated: February 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Azure Database for PostgreSQL vs. Google Cloud SQL

February 2026

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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

Ranking in other categories

Open Source Databases (5th)

Google Cloud SQL

Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)

6th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Relational Databases Tools (19th), Database Management Systems (DBMS) (9th)

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category, the mindshare of Azure Database for PostgreSQL is 3.3%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Google Cloud SQL is 7.8%, down from 16.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Database as a Service (DBaaS) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Azure Database for PostgreSQL	3.3%
Google Cloud SQL	7.8%
Other	88.9%

Database as a Service (DBaaS)

Featured Reviews

Sathish Palanisamy

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.

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Victor Danso

Database Engineer at Springer Nature

Migration to cloud eases management but needs better support for high I/O operations

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. There is also difficulty in changing the time zone after the database is set up. Moreover, some features available in MSSQL on-prem are missing on Google Cloud SQL, affecting migration potential.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The effective integration of Postgres with Microsoft products, especially with the inclusion of AI features in Azure AI, is significant for our applications."

"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."

"Azure Database for PostgreSQL has influenced my application development process by enabling me to take some of what we used to do on-premises, with PostgreSQL hosted in virtual machines, and transition that process into a SaaS solution."

"If a client is looking to check these boxes—performance, speed, reliability, and resiliency in general—knowing that it will satisfy application needs not just today but in the future, it is definitely a choice."

"Our organization's database uptime has improved after implementing Azure Database for PostgreSQL, particularly with the flexible server's redundant configuration capabilities, which allow for failovers and read-only configurations."

"The performance of our RAG application is very good. We have 96% satisfaction."

"A native cloud approach actually has more advantage because it is easy to deploy, faster to deploy, and easy to recover and roll back."

"Azure Database for PostgreSQL is hugely discounted and cost-effective compared to the previous expenses for maintaining an on-premises PostgreSQL database."

Cons

"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."

"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."

"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."

"Coming from a traditional Oracle Exadata setup, all queries will run faster because Oracle has that optimization layer in between which optimizes it for you, which is why you pay a lot of money for that. When you come to Azure Database for PostgreSQL, that layer is gone."

"Currently, most databases will try to use all the CPUs available and use all the memories available. We try to give all the databases one hundred percent of the hardware capacity, but sometimes because the OS layer itself will need some resources."

"Performance is one area that has constraints for our customers. I believe there could be improvements in the mirroring part and Change Data Capture (CDC)."

"The critical service is the Azure OpenAI service. It would help to make it simpler and easier to integrate with that or cognitive services."

"They can offer more RAG extensions. Currently, it only has the vector search."

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."

"The solution is affordable."

"From a financial perspective, Google Cloud SQL is on the cheaper side."

"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."

"The pricing is very much an important factor as to why we use this solution."

"It is not expensive, especially considering the significant reduction in database management time."

"You need to pay extra costs for backup and replication."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

14%

Manufacturing Company

14%

Marketing Services Firm

13%

Educational Organization

Financial Services Firm

14%

Computer Software Company

11%

Educational Organization

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	16

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	9

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...

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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...

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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...

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What do you like most about Google Cloud SQL?

The implementation part of the product was easy.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Google Cloud SQL?

We have set up automated patch management for Google Cloud SQL, and it does on a daily basis what needs to be done, so it is pretty good overall for maintaining our database security.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Google Cloud SQL?

Sometimes the sharing with third parties or configuring that in Google Cloud SQL is not the most intuitive. From a user perspective, if Google Cloud SQL integrated AI directly into the query so tha...

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Comparisons

Microsoft Azure SQL Database vs Azure Database for PostgreSQL

Compared 21% of the time

Amazon RDS vs Azure Database for PostgreSQL

Compared 12% of the time

MySQL vs Azure Database for PostgreSQL

Compared 12% of the time

Oracle Database as a Service vs Azure Database for PostgreSQL

Compared 9% of the time

InfluxDB vs Azure Database for PostgreSQL

Compared 3% of the time

More Azure Database for PostgreSQL Competitors

Microsoft Azure SQL Database vs Google Cloud SQL

Compared 30% of the time

Amazon RDS vs Google Cloud SQL

Compared 27% of the time

MongoDB Atlas vs Google Cloud SQL

Compared 14% of the time

Oracle Database as a Service vs Google Cloud SQL

Compared 5% of the time

More Google Cloud SQL Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Azure Database for PostgreSQL

February 2026

Download Azure Database for PostgreSQL product report

Buyer's Guide

Google Cloud SQL

January 2026

Download Google Cloud SQL product report

Overview

Azure Database for PostgreSQL offers efficient management, robust networking, and seamless Microsoft integration. Known for its strong performance and high satisfaction in enterprise settings, it provides operational efficiency, security, and monitoring.

With features that facilitate Azure integration, easy configuration, and AI integration, Azure Database for PostgreSQL serves as a valuable choice for businesses requiring operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Users benefit from powerful vector capabilities, seamless Microsoft service integration, straightforward management, and user authentication ensuring high satisfaction. Easy optimization, query analysis, and backup operations make it suitable for varied enterprise applications. However, improvements in flexible scaling, cost-effectiveness of monitoring tools, and enhanced integration with Azure OpenAI would enhance its capabilities further.

What Are the Key Features of Azure Database for PostgreSQL?

Robust Networking: Offers seamless Azure integration to optimize cloud resources.
AI Integration: Simplifies incorporating artificial intelligence into databases.
Monitoring Tools: Provides comprehensive tools for efficient database management.
Security: Ensures user data is protected with high-standard security protocols.
Cost-Effectiveness: Delivers efficient operations with budget-friendly solutions.

What Benefits Should Users Consider?

Operational Efficiency: Streamlines database management tasks, reducing workload.
High Satisfaction: Receives positive feedback for its reliable performance in enterprises.
Enterprise Compatibility: Integrates across various Microsoft services for enhanced productivity.
User-Friendly Management: Facilitates straightforward database administration.
Scalability: Supports businesses with potential growth through flexible solutions.

Industries such as healthcare, retail, and finance leverage Azure Database for PostgreSQL for backend solutions, incident reporting, and public information sharing. Managed service providers utilize its strong performance for client needs, while administrators use it for applications like ControlM. Its flexibility supports containerized applications and disaster recovery, ensuring compatibility with diverse environments.

Microsoft

Google Cloud SQL is a fully-managed database service that makes it easy to set up, maintain, manage, and administer your relational PostgreSQL and MySQL databases in the cloud. Google Cloud SQL offers high performance, scalability, and convenience. Hosted on Google Cloud Platform, Cloud SQL provides a database infrastructure for applications running anywhere.

Google

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

BeDataDriven, CodeFutures, Daffodil, GenieConnect, KiSSFLOW, LiveHive, SulAm_rica, Zync

Buyer's Guide

Azure Database for PostgreSQL vs. Google Cloud SQL

February 2026

Free Report: Azure Database for PostgreSQL vs. Google Cloud SQL

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