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Head-to-head · Message Broker Software

Google Cloud Pub/Sub vs Amazon SQS

  • Updated Nov 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 3 checks side by side
Higher score Google Cloud Pub/Sub #3 in Message Broker Software 9.1/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 1 of 1 features Visit Google Cloud
Amazon SQS #8 in Message Broker Software 8.5/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 1 of 1 features Visit Amazon SQS

Google Cloud Pub/Sub leads on 1 check, Amazon SQS on 0, and 2 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 3 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreGoogle Cloud Pub/Sub · 9.1/10
  • Free planboth

Google Cloud Pub/Sub scores higher on our rubric for message broker software: 9.1 against 8.5 out of 10; our editors rank them #3 and #8.

Google Cloud Pub/Sub leads on maximum message size: 10 MB versus 1 MB.

Google Cloud Pub/Sub is the better fit for managed cloud pub/sub. Amazon SQS is the better fit for managed AWS queues.

  • Google Cloud Pub/Sub fits best

    Managed cloud pub/sub

  • Amazon SQS fits best

    Managed AWS queues

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Side by side

Feature Google Cloud Pub/Sub 9.1/10 Visit ↗ Amazon SQS 8.5/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.1 8.5
Ranking #3 in Message Broker Software #8 in Message Broker Software
Best for Managed cloud pub/sub Managed AWS queues
Pricing model Free plan + paid Free plan + paid
Starting price — —
Free plan ✓ ✓
Free trial — —
Deployment Cloud Cloud
Platforms Web Web
Support Tickets, Community, Docs · 24/7 Docs
Compliance HIPAA SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, PCI DSS
Integrations 9 integrations 8 integrations
Built for Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Google Cloud Pub/Sub 1/1 · Amazon SQS 1/1
Dead-letter queues ✓ ✓
Specs
Deployment model Cloud Cloud
Delivery guarantees Configurable Configurable
Ordering guarantees Not checked yet Per_queue
Maximum message size 10 MB (best) 1 MB
Supported protocols REST, gRPC AWS JSON, AWS Query, HTTPS, TLS
Our review
Pros
  • Exactly-once delivery, ordering keys, replay, and dead-letter topics
  • Pull and push subscriptions with message filtering
  • Integrations with BigQuery, Cloud Storage, Dataflow, and more
  • Standard and FIFO queues support different delivery guarantees
  • Dead-letter queues, redrive, batching, and long polling are built in
  • Integrates with Lambda, SNS, S3, DynamoDB, and other AWS services
Cons
  • Paid standard throughput starts at $40 per TiB monthly
  • Storage, transfer, import, export, and transformation charges can also apply
  • Cloud deployment may not suit teams seeking a self-managed broker
  • Best-effort ordering applies to standard queues
  • Usage-based pricing varies by queue type and request characteristics
  • Designed for AWS environments rather than broad multi-cloud portability
Our verdict

Google Cloud Pub/Sub is a fully managed real-time messaging service for exchanging messages between independent applications. It fits teams building event-driven applications, streaming pipelines, and distributed systems that need publish…

Read the review →

Amazon SQS is a fully managed cloud message queuing service for decoupling microservices, distributed systems, and serverless applications. It is suited to teams building around AWS services and accessing queues through the AWS Management…

Read the review →
  1. Google Cloud Pub/SubMessage Broker Software 9.1Free plan
  2. Amazon SQSMessage Broker Software 8.5Free plan

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Google Cloud Pub/Sub — where it wins

    • Exactly-once delivery, ordering keys, replay, and dead-letter topics
    • Pull and push subscriptions with message filtering
    • Integrations with BigQuery, Cloud Storage, Dataflow, and more

    Where it doesn't

    • Paid standard throughput starts at $40 per TiB monthly
    • Storage, transfer, import, export, and transformation charges can also apply
    • Cloud deployment may not suit teams seeking a self-managed broker

  • Amazon SQS — where it wins

    • Standard and FIFO queues support different delivery guarantees
    • Dead-letter queues, redrive, batching, and long polling are built in
    • Integrates with Lambda, SNS, S3, DynamoDB, and other AWS services

    Where it doesn't

    • Best-effort ordering applies to standard queues
    • Usage-based pricing varies by queue type and request characteristics
    • Designed for AWS environments rather than broad multi-cloud portability

Google Cloud Pub/Sub vs Amazon SQS: questions

Which is better for message broker software, Google Cloud Pub/Sub or Amazon SQS?

Google Cloud Pub/Sub scores higher on our rubric for message broker software: 9.1 against 8.5 out of 10; our editors rank them #3 and #8.

How do Google Cloud Pub/Sub and Amazon SQS compare?

Of the 3 checks we put side by side, Google Cloud Pub/Sub leads on 1, Amazon SQS on none, and 2 are level. Maximum message size: 10 MB on Google Cloud Pub/Sub vs 1 MB.

Do Google Cloud Pub/Sub and Amazon SQS have a free plan?

Google Cloud Pub/Sub: Yes. Amazon SQS: Yes.

More comparisons

All message broker software comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Nov 2026

Last updated · How we research and update