BigQuery vs Snowflake comparison

Google and Snowflake Computing are both solutions in the Cloud Data Warehouse category. Google is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.5, while Snowflake Computing is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.1. Google holds a 7.8% mindshare in CDW, compared to Snowflake Computing’s 15.9% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Google users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 97% of Snowflake Computing users who would recommend it.

BigQuery

Read 42 BigQuery reviews

3,122 Views
2,560 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Snowflake

Read 104 Snowflake reviews

9,139 Views
5,758 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

BigQuery

Snowflake

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 1, 2026

Snowflake and BigQuery are strong competitors in the data warehousing space. Snowflake seems to have the upper hand in scalability and flexibility, while BigQuery leads in cost-effective storage and integration with Google's ecosystem.

Features:Snowflake offers scalability, efficient use of multi-formatted data, and separation of storage and compute allowing real-time scalability. BigQuery provides rapid data processing, seamless integration with Google's suite, and efficient handling of structured data, supporting quick query responses.

Room for Improvement:Snowflake could improve spatial components, Snowpipe's auto-ingest feature, and support for stored procedures. Pricing transparency and machine learning integration are other areas to address. BigQuery needs better handling of special characters, cache features for external tables, and enhanced integration tools for large-volume data transitions.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service:Both Snowflake and BigQuery support multi-cloud deployment, focusing on public cloud environments. Snowflake excels in cloud deployment flexibility and managing complex environments. Customer service receives positive feedback for both, though Snowflake users desire quicker responses. BigQuery is praised for stable performance and issue resolution.

Pricing and ROI:Snowflake uses a credit-based pay-per-use model, offering flexibility but can be costly if not planned. Storage prices are competitive, but compute costs may add up. BigQuery, with its pay-as-you-go model, offers affordable storage but intensive processing can increase expenses. Users from both solutions note satisfaction with ROI when managed carefully.

To learn more, read our detailed BigQuery vs. Snowflake Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

BigQuery vs. Snowflake

December 2025

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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:

ROI

Sentiment score

5.8

BigQuery provides 27% better query performance and 17% cost reduction, offering seamless integration and efficient data management with training.

Sentiment score

5.9

Users find Snowflake challenging for ROI calculation, but it offers productivity gains, cost reduction, and valuable insights.

No quotes available

For more quotes and insights, download the BigQuery report

No quotes available

For more quotes and insights, download the Snowflake report

Customer Service

Sentiment score

7.2

Google's support is rated 8/10 for responsiveness, but challenges exist in accessibility, integration, and documentation resources.

Sentiment score

5.7

Snowflake customer service is praised for responsiveness and expertise, though improvements in timeliness and service-level agreements are suggested.

rating the customer support at ten points out of ten

Jitesh Rathod

Sr. Team Lead - IT at InfoStretch

I have been self-taught and I have been able to handle all my problems alone.

Luís Silva

Chief Technical Lead at a consultancy with 201-500 employees

I would rate their customer service pretty good on a scale of one to 10, as they gave me access to the platform on a grant.

Mikah Sellers

Principal at Sgt Suds

For more quotes and insights, download the BigQuery report

We sought this documentation multiple times but faced difficulty in obtaining it.

AmolDhormare

Data Integration Developer at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees

I received great support in migrating data to Snowflake, with quick responses and innovative solutions.

Snehasish Das

Technology Leader at eTCaaS

I am satisfied with the work of technical support from Snowflake; they are responsive and helpful.

SunilPatil1

Asset Builder at Genpact - Headstrong

For more quotes and insights, download the Snowflake report

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score

7.8

BigQuery excels in scalability and resource management, supporting large data with seamless auto-scaling despite some processing limitations.

Sentiment score

7.7

Snowflake offers seamless, flexible scalability for storage and computing, supporting diverse business needs with automatic cloud-based infrastructure scaling.

It is a 10 out of 10 in terms of scalability.

Luís Silva

Chief Technical Lead at a consultancy with 201-500 employees

The scalability is definitely good because we are migrating to the cloud since the computers on the premises or the big database we need are no longer enough.

reviewer2641596

Expert Analyst at a healthcare company with 5,001-10,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the BigQuery report

Snowflake is very scalable and has a dedicated team constantly improving the product.

Snehasish Das

Technology Leader at eTCaaS

The billing doubles with size increase, but processing does not necessarily speed up accordingly.

reviewer1438647

Data Architect at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees

Recently, Snowflake has introduced streaming capabilities, real-time and dynamic tables, along with various connectors.

reviewer2403603

Senior Data Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Snowflake report

Stability Issues

Sentiment score

8.3

BigQuery is a stable, efficient cloud analytics tool, with minor scalability challenges and reliable Google support for large-scale data handling.

Sentiment score

8.3

Snowflake offers reliable, fast performance and high stability, with users praising its dependability and minimal disruptions.

No quotes available

For more quotes and insights, download the BigQuery report

Snowflake is highly stable and performs well even with large data sets exceeding terabytes, maintaining stability throughout.

AmolDhormare

Data Integration Developer at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Snowflake is very stable, especially when used with AWS.

Snehasish Das

Technology Leader at eTCaaS

Snowflake as a SaaS offering means that maintenance isn't an issue for me.

reviewer1438647

Data Architect at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Snowflake report

Room For Improvement

BigQuery struggles with special character restrictions, high costs, complex optimization, and lacks user-friendly integration and performance flexibility.

Snowflake needs better UI, analytics, integration, documentation, governance, AI features, and cost management solutions to address user concerns.

Troubleshooting requires opening each pipeline individually, which is time-consuming.

Jitesh Rathod

Sr. Team Lead - IT at InfoStretch

In general, if I know SQL and start playing around, it will start making sense.

reviewer2641596

Expert Analyst at a healthcare company with 5,001-10,000 employees

BigQuery is already integrating Gemini AI into the data extraction process directly in order to reduce costs.

Luís Silva

Chief Technical Lead at a consultancy with 201-500 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the BigQuery report

Enhancements in user experience for data observability and quality checks would be beneficial, as these tasks currently require SQL coding, which might be challenging for some users.

reviewer1438647

Data Architect at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees

What things you are going with to ask the support and how we manage the relationship matters a lot.

SunilPatil1

Asset Builder at Genpact - Headstrong

If more connectors were brought in and more visibility features were added, particularly around cost tracking in the FinOps area, it would be beneficial.

reviewer2403603

Senior Data Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Snowflake report

Setup Cost

BigQuery provides flexible pricing with pay-as-you-go models, $300 credits, and competitive costs requiring mindful usage to control expenses.

Snowflake's pricing model offers affordability and flexibility but challenges with cost predictability and potential high processing fees.

Being able to optimize the queries to data is critical. Otherwise, you could spend a fortune.

Luís Silva

Chief Technical Lead at a consultancy with 201-500 employees

The price is perceived as expensive, rated at eight out of ten in terms of costliness.

Jitesh Rathod

Sr. Team Lead - IT at InfoStretch

For more quotes and insights, download the BigQuery report

When it comes to cloud support, the setup cost is very cheap compared to other platforms, such as Oracle or PostgreSQL, which typically require higher costs.

AmolDhormare

Data Integration Developer at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Snowflake's pricing is on the higher side.

Snehasish Das

Technology Leader at eTCaaS

Snowflake lacks transparency in estimating resource usage.

reviewer1438647

Data Architect at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Snowflake report

Valuable Features

BigQuery excels in scalability, speed, and usability with serverless architecture, SQL support, and cost-effective data processing capabilities.

Snowflake is scalable and flexible with features like zero-copy cloning, time travel, and integrated security, enhancing efficiency and accessibility.

It is really fast because it can process millions of rows in just a matter of one or two seconds.

reviewer2641596

Expert Analyst at a healthcare company with 5,001-10,000 employees

BigQuery processes a substantial amount of data, whether in gigabytes or terabytes, swiftly producing desired data within one or two minutes.

Jitesh Rathod

Sr. Team Lead - IT at InfoStretch

The features I find most valuable in this solution are the ability to run and handle large data sets in a very efficient way with multiple types of data, relational as SQL data.

Luís Silva

Chief Technical Lead at a consultancy with 201-500 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the BigQuery report

We had a comparison with Databricks and Snowflake a few months back, and this auto-scaling takes an edge within Snowflake; that's what our observation reflects.

SunilPatil1

Asset Builder at Genpact - Headstrong

I have used the Snowflake Zero-Copy Cloning feature in the past while prototyping data in lower environments. This feature is helpful as it saves a lot of time during the data replication process.

reviewer2403603

Senior Data Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

Snowflake has contributed to significant cost savings.

AmolDhormare

Data Integration Developer at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Snowflake report

Categories and Ranking

BigQuery

Ranking in Cloud Data Warehouse

4th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Snowflake

Ranking in Cloud Data Warehouse

1st

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

104

Ranking in other categories

Data Warehouse (1st), AI Synthetic Data (2nd), Database Management Systems (DBMS) (7th), AI Software Development (9th)

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Cloud Data Warehouse category, the mindshare of BigQuery is 7.8%, up from 7.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Snowflake is 15.9%, down from 22.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Cloud Data Warehouse Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Snowflake	15.9%
BigQuery	7.8%
Other	76.3%

Cloud Data Warehouse

Featured Reviews

Luís Silva

Chief Technical Lead at a consultancy with 201-500 employees

Handles large data sets efficiently and offers flexible data management capabilities

The features I find most valuable in this solution are the ability to run and handle large data sets in a very efficient way with multiple types of data, relational as SQL data. It is kind of difficult to explain, but structured data and the ability to handle large data sets are key features. The data integration capabilities in BigQuery were, in fact, an issue at the beginning. There are two types of integrations. As long as integration is within Google, it is pretty simple. When you start to try to connect external clients to that data, it becomes more complex. It is not related to BigQuery, it is related to Google security model, which is not easy to manage. I would not call it an integration issue of BigQuery, I would call it an integration issue of Google security model.

Read full review

SunilPatil1

Asset Builder at Genpact - Headstrong

Have prioritized security while managing multi-agent data migration and cloud adoption

We utilize Time Travel with Snowflake because this is a very useful feature. Everyone finds it crucial because in conventional data platforms, it's very difficult to handle these kinds of things. This feature is essential, though I don't have the use cases currently; it is just there for implementation. Regarding Snowflake's automated scaling and suspension features, this auto-scaling is very significant. We had a comparison with Databricks and Snowflake a few months back, and this auto-scaling takes an edge within Snowflake; that's what our observation reflects.

Read full review

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

15%

Manufacturing Company

13%

Computer Software Company

12%

Retailer

Financial Services Firm

20%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Retailer

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	12
Midsize Enterprise	9
Large Enterprise	20

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	29
Midsize Enterprise	20
Large Enterprise	58

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about BigQuery?

The initial setup process is easy.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for BigQuery?

I believe the cost of BigQuery is competitive versus the alternatives in the market, but it can become expensive if the tool is not used properly. It is on a per-consumption basis, the billing, so ...

See all answers

What needs improvement with BigQuery?

There are areas that could be improved with BigQuery, such as more bolt-on capabilities and the ability to use more bolt-ons for APIs. Having more of a library of connectors would be really benefic...

See all answers

What do you like most about Snowflake?

The best thing about Snowflake is its flexibility in changing warehouse sizes or computational power.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Snowflake?

It is complicated to understand how requests impact warehouse size. Unlike competitors such as Microsoft and Databricks ( /products/databricks-reviews ), Snowflake lacks transparency in estimating ...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Snowflake?

Snowflake is currently stable, but it can be improved further. They have a couple of information schemas that can track account usage. If more connectors were brought in and more visibility feature...

See all answers

Comparisons

Oracle Autonomous Data Warehouse vs BigQuery

Compared 18% of the time

Teradata vs BigQuery

Compared 10% of the time

OpenText Analytics Database (Vertica) vs BigQuery

Compared 8% of the time

IBM Db2 Warehouse vs BigQuery

Compared 6% of the time

Databricks vs BigQuery

Compared 5% of the time

More BigQuery Competitors

Teradata vs Snowflake

Compared 8% of the time

Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics vs Snowflake

Compared 7% of the time

Azure Data Factory vs Snowflake

Compared 6% of the time

Amazon Redshift vs Snowflake

Compared 6% of the time

Oracle Autonomous Data Warehouse vs Snowflake

Compared 4% of the time

More Snowflake Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

BigQuery

February 2026

Download BigQuery product report

Buyer's Guide

Snowflake

January 2026

Download Snowflake product report

Also Known As

No data available

Snowflake Computing, Snowflake Data Cloud

Overview

BigQuery is an enterprise data warehouse that solves this problem by enabling super-fast SQL queries using the processing power of Google's infrastructure. ... You can control access to both the project and your data based on your business needs, such as giving others the ability to view or query your data.

Google

Snowflake provides a modern data warehousing solution with features designed for seamless integration, scalability, and consumption-based pricing. It handles large datasets efficiently, making it a market leader for businesses migrating to the cloud.

Snowflake offers a flexible architecture that separates storage and compute resources, supporting efficient ETL jobs. Known for scalability and ease of use, it features built-in time zone conversion and robust data sharing capabilities. Its enhanced security, performance, and ability to handle semi-structured data are notable. Users suggest improvements in UI, pricing, on-premises integration, and data science functions, while calling for better transaction performance and machine learning capabilities. Users benefit from effective SQL querying, real-time analytics, and sharing options, supporting comprehensive data analysis with tools like Tableau and Power BI.

What are Snowflake's Key Features?

Scalability: Easily adjusts to handle growing data volumes.
Seamless Integration: Works with a wide range of platforms.
Consumption-Based Costs: Pay only for what you use.
Time Travel: Access historical data effortlessly.
Data Sharing: Secure and efficient sharing of datasets.
Time Zone Conversion: Built-in feature for global operations.
Security: Robust measures to protect sensitive information.
Compute and Storage Separation: Independent scaling for optimal performance.

What Benefits Should You Look for?

Cost Efficiency: Optimized pricing models for minimal waste.
Enhanced Performance: Fast queries and processing times.
Flexibility: Handles both structured and semi-structured data.
Analytics Capabilities: Supports advanced data analysis and reporting.

In industries like finance, healthcare, and retail, Snowflake's flexible data warehousing and analytics capabilities facilitate cloud migration, streamline data storage, and allow organizations to consolidate data from multiple sources for advanced insights and AI-driven strategies. Its integration with analytics tools supports comprehensive data analysis and reporting tasks.

Snowflake Computing

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Accordant Media, Adobe, Kixeye Inc., Revana, SOASTA, White Ops

Buyer's Guide

BigQuery vs. Snowflake

December 2025

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