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Google Cloud Spanner vs MongoDB Atlas comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 2, 2025

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

Google Cloud Spanner
Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)
8th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
MongoDB Atlas
Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
49
Ranking in other categories
Managed NoSQL Databases (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category, the mindshare of Google Cloud Spanner is 5.5%, up from 3.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MongoDB Atlas is 14.0%, down from 16.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Database as a Service (DBaaS) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
MongoDB Atlas14.0%
Google Cloud Spanner5.5%
Other80.5%
Database as a Service (DBaaS)
 

Featured Reviews

Saurav Krishna - PeerSpot reviewer
A stable but expensive solution that needs to look into the horizontal scaling feature
The tool needs to improve horizontal scaling.  I have been using the product for a year.  Google Cloud Spanner is stable.  My company has 15-20 users for the product.  The tool's deployment is easy.  The solution is expensive.  You need to look at the data set and company requirements. I rate…
Laksiri Bala - PeerSpot reviewer
Room for improvement in data handling leads to enhanced cost-effective data management performance
It would be beneficial if MongoDB Atlas could better support OLTP aspects and data frames, as well as enhance its capabilities for data pipelines and visualization dashboards. Furthermore, supporting the medallion architecture could be a valuable addition, and incorporating improved spatial and vector handling for geographical data could make it more competitive. Enhancing vector processing for AI capabilities would also be critical.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Google Cloud Spanner is stable."
"We can scale the solution if we need to."
"It is a very scalable solution."
"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."
"MongoDB Atlas was explicitly designed to support IoT applications. Many databases offer features tailored for IoT use cases."
"Our databases used to be in-house. Now, they are in the cloud with MongoDB and everything is much easier."
"I find MongoDB Atlas highly scalable and easy to use, with very good support."
"MongoDB Atlas is a platform as a service and it has proven to be particularly valuable due to its self-managing nature. This has allowed us to minimize the amount of time and effort required to manage it, as it effectively manages itself. Additionally, it is a complete solution when looking at its features."
"It can store data as a flat file, similar to a file system."
"It is a scalable solution because we use quite a lot of data, and it handles it well."
"This solution is very helpful due to its ease of use."
"The most valuable feature of MongoDB Atlas is it's seamless when working with a lot of different systems. Additionally, it is able to adjust the data based on the data being received."
 

Cons

"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."
"I want to improve the deployment of cameras and surveillance infrastructure."
"The tool needs to improve horizontal scaling."
"MongoDB Atlas is effective for unstructured and semi-structured data, but when it comes to OLTP transactions, its performance declines."
"I am not an expert on what improvements could be made to MongoDB."
"The UI application for MongoDB crashes a lot, so we would have to use a third-party plugin to make it work."
"The UI is not currently designed in a manner to make it possible for a non-technical person or a layman to update the database easily."
"The initial setup is not too difficult but can be somewhat tricky."
"There are some features that could be useful for the customers I work with, which are related to migration from on-prem to the cloud."
"It would be better if there were more integration capabilities with other products."
"The product's file storage documentation needs improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Price-wise, I heard that Google Cloud Spanner is on the higher side."
"Google Cloud Spanner is an expensive solution."
"It is expensive."
"The solution is expensive."
"For our service, it was around 300 to 600 euros per month, which was acceptable for our customers."
"The pricing is not that expensive, but it can be, especially when we have deployed it across multiple zones."
"Pricing could always be better."
"The price of MongoDB Atlas is highly affordable."
"We pay for a license."
"The solution is fairly priced. I rate the pricing a seven out of ten."
"The pricing and licensing is great."
"The purchasing process through the AWS Marketplace was very good."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
21%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Retailer
8%
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business22
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise20
 

Questions from the Community

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 do you like most about MongoDB Atlas?
There are many valuable features, but scalability stands out. It can scale across zones. You can define multiple nodes. They have also partnered with AWS, offering great service with multiple featu...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for MongoDB Atlas?
The price of MongoDB Atlas is reasonable, which is why many organizations, including mine, are opting for it.
What needs improvement with MongoDB Atlas?
There is nothing about MongoDB Atlas I would like to improve or any weak points at this time. I have not thought through what other features I would like to see included in future updates. MongoDB ...
 

Also Known As

Google Spanner
Atlas, MongoDB Atlas (pay-as-you-go)
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Streak, Optiva, Mixpanel
Wells Fargo, Forbes, Ulta Beauty, Bosch, Sanoma, Current (a Digital Bank), ASAP Log, SBB, Zebra Technologies, Radial, Kovai, Eni, Accuhit, Cognigy, and Payload.
Find out what your peers are saying about Google Cloud Spanner vs. MongoDB Atlas and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
868,759 professionals have used our research since 2012.