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Google Cloud SQL vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database comparison

Google and Microsoft are both solutions in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category. Google is ranked #4 with an average rating of 7.9, while Microsoft is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.7. Google holds a 14.3% mindshare in DS, compared to Microsoft’s 15.4% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Google users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.
Google Cloud SQL
Read 22 Google Cloud SQL reviews
  • 2,438 Views
  • 2,197 Comparison Views
100% willing to recommend
Microsoft Azure SQL Database
Read 117 Microsoft Azure SQL Database reviews
  • 4,175 Views
  • 2,249 Comparison Views
96% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 20, 2025

Microsoft Azure SQL Database and Google Cloud SQL both compete in the cloud database service category. Microsoft Azure SQL Database has a slight edge due to its seamless integration within the Azure ecosystem and flexible pricing models.

Features: Microsoft Azure SQL Database offers geographical replication, ease of scaling, and memory-optimized tables. Google Cloud SQL supports multiple database types such as PostgreSQL and MySQL, offers automatic scaling, and robust data security features.

Room for Improvement: Microsoft Azure SQL Database could refine its security features and improve support for distributed transactions. Google Cloud SQL would benefit from better integration with other tools and enhanced documentation. Users find the complexity of managing extensions and high I/O operations challenging.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Microsoft Azure SQL Database is praised for its ease of use and robust support system, although some experience delays with first-line support. Google Cloud SQL is adaptable across various environments and features strong customer service, though access to global support could be improved.

Pricing and ROI: Microsoft Azure SQL Database's flexible pricing models, although higher than some competitors, offer significant ROI and integration capabilities. Google Cloud SQL is considered cost-effective with no licensing fees and offers a straightforward cost model aligned with industry standards.

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To learn more, read our detailed Google Cloud SQL vs. Microsoft Azure SQL Database Report (Updated: June 2025).
Buyer's Guide
Google Cloud SQL vs. Microsoft Azure SQL Database
June 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Google Cloud SQL
Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Azure SQL Database
Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
117
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category, the mindshare of Google Cloud SQL is 14.3%, down from 18.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure SQL Database is 15.4%, down from 18.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Database as a Service (DBaaS)
 

Featured Reviews

Prathap Sankar - PeerSpot reviewer
Gain control and flexibility with customizable tools but has slower performance
I am majorly working in Google Cloud SQL for building my applications Google Cloud SQL provides complete customization options, along with a dashboarding tool and a comprehensive suite of tools that can be used to customize and build any application needed. The deployment model allows for…
Read full review
Charley Hanania - PeerSpot reviewer
It is very easy to implement, manage, and offers great insights into what is happening inside the engine
Microsoft Azure SQL Database is integrated into other Azure capabilities and has a great foundation being on SQL Server with a long history of security, performance, and usability from a DBA perspective. Once you've set up a server, adding databases is easy. There's a minor challenge with having data in separate databases that you want to connect like we do on premises. I'm looking forward to using some of these new AI-driven functions that have come out around vectorization. Having the data closer to my transactional databases or data makes it easy to augment and enhance the Database and applications I currently use. It's great that Azure SQL now seamlessly integrates with Microsoft Fabric. It's a first-tier service in the cloud that connects to web applications and other databases. The data transformation orchestration capabilities within Database Factory and similar capabilities make it effortless to move that stuff forward.
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 setup was straightforward. Just a couple of clicks, and we were done."
"It's SQL. SQL is so easy if you know something about databases. It's easy to learn."
"It is not the cool features that I find valuable, it is the stability of Google Cloud Platform."
"The solution is easy to use. I am impressed with the tool's features and functionality."
"From a database management perspective, it provides services without the need for me to worry about backups, scaling, or other operational issues."
"The initial setup is straightforward."
"The most valuable features are that it's easy to use, simple, and user-friendly."
"What I like the most about Google Cloud SQL is that it handles the management, which allows us to concentrate on our applications."
More Google Cloud SQL pros
"The product is quite stable. The performance is great and it's reliable."
"Azure SQL is easy to integrate and simplifies things from a licensing perspective. We're comfortable with SQL versus other types of databases, so we feel better talking to Microsoft."
"It's user-friendly. Compared to other solutions, it's based more on clicks, not on scripts. It's easy to manage."
"Very easy to use on any platform and works well."
"I rate Microsoft Azure SQL Database 10 out of 10."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that our customers do not have to manage the solution."
"The main advantage of it is that there is no infrastructure cost. We don't have to host it here. So, there is no infrastructure cost."
"The initial setup is very easy. It's extremely straightforward."
More Microsoft Azure SQL Database pros
 

Cons

"The customer support should be improved."
"When discussing media files, such as images and audio files, stored in Google Cloud, concerns about handling large amounts of data arise."
"The performance compared to AWS is not as fast, and the technical support could be better as they don't have a dedicated team, but mostly AI handles the support now."
"Google's technical support is good, but they tend to never reopen a case and to send us snippets from the publicly available documentation. It's not as helpful as you would expect, not just for Google Cloud SQL but for all of Google Cloud products."
"Google Cloud SQL still needs better connectivity to outside, existing data sources."
"The purging of the data could be better."
"The only thing that could be better is the pricing."
"They could improve documentation and dashboard stability for efficient user experience and database management."
More Google Cloud SQL cons
"The solution needs to improve its customer network, including its online support."
"What would make SQL Azure better is users having the capability of managing the database solution from the cloud, instead of having to do it from an actual machine because currently, database management via SQL Azure is done on a virtual machine or a PC. The solution should have the data functionality of managing SQL databases inside the cloud."
"Its compatibility with existing applications can be improved. Its compatibility is currently a little bit imbalanced."
"It's very difficult to investigate if something wrong is going on behind the scenes. If we are facing a problem that our application is doing a CPU spike and when we look at the dump of the details, the processes that our application is generating are not consuming more than 40-50% of CPU. But we don’t know where it is going, who's generating it, and who's consuming the CPU. Even Microsoft says they don’t know."
"Azure SQL had a bit of a learning curve to start, but it was fairly simple once I understood how to develop it."
"Adding users to Azure SQL could be easier. You need to script it out, but it would be nice if it had a UI where you can click and add them. It's not a major thing because we script things all the time, but it would be a minor thing that helps us."
"The preset configuration switches we can select on SQL Azure should be made more liberal to work on."
"The solution could be less expensive. They need to work on their pricing model."
More Microsoft Azure SQL Database cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's really cheap. It wouldn't be more than, I believe it's around 50 euro per month for running a cloud SQL."
"From a financial perspective, Google Cloud SQL is on the cheaper side."
"You need to pay extra costs for backup and replication."
"The pricing is very much an important factor as to why we use this solution."
"The solution is affordable."
"It is not expensive, especially considering the significant reduction in database management time."
"While the platform’s pricing may be higher, it aligns with industry standards, considering the quality of service and features provided."
"I have an annual spend number, and it is in the hundred thousand dollar range. There are no additional costs to the standard licensing fees. Even though you have to look at the cost numbers of what you're going to be charged on a monthly basis, what you have to also remember is that your application may need a lot of rewriting and things like that. You get charged not just for the monthly costs but also for the transactions that occur. If your access to the data layer is not so efficient, your costs will go up because you're pulling far more data than you potentially need. These are hidden costs that nobody ever considers. If your application is not written very efficiently, you may actually increase your costs over on-prem versus cloud."
"The solution is more cost-effective than Google BigQuery. Compared to Google BigQuery, downloading data can be more expensive."
"I recommend considering a pay-as-you-go pricing model initially."
"It is expensive for us. We are looking for something less expensive and thinking of migrating the whole system."
"SQL Azure is an expensive solution."
"The solution is expensive."
"From a licensing benefit standpoint, we have clients who are coming with their own SQL licensing with Software Assurance, and they are able to use those licenses for their Azure SQL and reduce costs."
"The license is based on the number of users."
More Microsoft Azure SQL Database pricing and cost advice
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
13%
University
9%
Educational Organization
7%
Educational Organization
49%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
4%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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?
The cost is expensive, especially for services like BigQuery, which charge based on query operations. We pay as we use, with no fixed cost.
See all answers
What needs improvement with Google Cloud SQL?
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. T...
See all answers
What do you like most about SQL Azure?
The automated scalability feature of SQL Azure has proven to be highly beneficial, particularly when deployed in the cloud.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SQL Azure?
The pricing of Microsoft Azure SQL Database is not cheap, affecting user uptake. A gradual reduction in price could improve accessibility and user numbers, making it easier for users to adopt the s...
See all answers
What needs improvement with SQL Azure?
Pricing could be improved to make Microsoft Azure SQL Database ( /products/microsoft-azure-sql-database-reviews ) more accessible. A reduction in price might encourage more users and bring more pro...
See all answers
 

Comparisons

Amazon RDS vs Google Cloud SQL Logo
Amazon RDS vs Google Cloud SQL
Compared 36% of the time
MongoDB Atlas vs Google Cloud SQL Logo
MongoDB Atlas vs Google Cloud SQL
Compared 12% of the time
Oracle Database as a Service vs Google Cloud SQL Logo
Oracle Database as a Service vs Google Cloud SQL
Compared 8% of the time
Google Cloud Spanner vs Google Cloud SQL Logo
Google Cloud Spanner vs Google Cloud SQL
Compared 4% of the time
Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer vs Google Cloud SQL Logo
Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer vs Google Cloud SQL
Compared 2% of the time
More Google Cloud SQL Competitors
Amazon RDS vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database Logo
Amazon RDS vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database
Compared 24% of the time
MongoDB Atlas vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database Logo
MongoDB Atlas vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database
Compared 15% of the time
Oracle Database as a Service vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database Logo
Oracle Database as a Service vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database
Compared 7% of the time
Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database Logo
Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database
Compared 5% of the time
Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database Logo
Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database
Compared 3% of the time
More Microsoft Azure SQL Database Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Google Cloud SQL
June 2025
Google Cloud SQL reportDownload Google Cloud SQL product report
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Azure SQL Database
June 2025
Microsoft Azure SQL Database reportDownload Microsoft Azure SQL Database product report
 

Overview

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

Microsoft Azure SQL Database is a relational database-as-a-service that delivers predictable performance, scalability, business continuity, data protection, and near-zero administration to cloud developers and solution architects. This is the deep technical library for Azure SQL Database.

Microsoft
 

Sample Customers

BeDataDriven, CodeFutures, Daffodil, GenieConnect, KiSSFLOW, LiveHive, SulAm_rica, Zync
adnymics GmbH, LG CNS, Centrebet, netfabb GmbH, MedPlast, Accelera Solutions, Sochi Organizing Committee, realzeit GmbH
Buyer's Guide
Google Cloud SQL vs. Microsoft Azure SQL Database
June 2025
Free Report: Google Cloud SQL vs. Microsoft Azure SQL Database
Find out what your peers are saying about Google Cloud SQL vs. Microsoft Azure SQL Database and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
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