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Head-to-head · Distributed SQL Databases

Google Cloud Spanner vs YDB

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 7 checks side by side
Higher score Google Cloud Spanner #1 in Distributed SQL Databases 9.4/10 90-day trial Free trial✓ 5 of 6 features Visit Google Cloud
YDB #6 in Distributed SQL Databases 8.6/10 Open source ✓ 3 of 6 features Visit YDB

Google Cloud Spanner leads on 0 checks, YDB on 0, and 7 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 7 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 Spanner · 9.4/10
  • Free trialonly Google Cloud Spanner
  • Most featuresGoogle Cloud Spanner · 5 of 6

Google Cloud Spanner scores higher on our rubric for distributed sql databases: 9.4 against 8.6 out of 10; our editors rank them #1 and #6.

Google Cloud Spanner is the better fit for global, multi-region applications. YDB is the better fit for open-source distributed transactional systems.

  • Google Cloud Spanner fits best

    Global, multi-region applications

  • YDB fits best

    Open-source distributed transactional systems

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Side by side

Feature Google Cloud Spanner 9.4/10 Visit ↗ YDB 8.6/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.4 8.6
Ranking #1 in Distributed SQL Databases #6 in Distributed SQL Databases
Best for Global, multi-region applications Open-source distributed transactional systems
Pricing model Paid Free
Starting price — Free
Free plan — Not checked yet
Free trial 90 days —
Deployment Cloud, Self-hosted Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms Web Linux
Support Community, Docs Community, Docs
Integrations 10 integrations 9 integrations
Built for Mid-market, Enterprise Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Google Cloud Spanner 5/6 · YDB 3/6
PostgreSQL compatibility ✓ (best) Not checked yet
MySQL compatibility — Not checked yet
Horizontal scaling ✓ ✓
Multi-region deployment ✓ ✓
Geo-partitioning ✓ (best) Not checked yet
HTAP workloads ✓ ✓
Specs
Deployment model Both Both
Our review
Pros
  • Strongly consistent ACID transactions across regions
  • Automatic splitting, synchronous replication, and horizontal scaling
  • GoogleSQL, PostgreSQL, graph, vector, and full-text capabilities
  • Distributed ACID transactions with automatic sharding and rebalancing
  • Supports multi-data-center replication and fault-tolerant topologies
  • Combines SQL, streaming, federated queries, and external integrations
Cons
  • Usage-based pricing varies by edition, configuration, storage, and network usage
  • No free plan
  • No MySQL-compatible interface
  • Managed charges vary by usage, region, and dedicated resources
  • Change data capture is specified for row-oriented tables
  • Its broad feature set may exceed the needs of narrow database projects
Our verdict

Google Cloud Spanner is a fully managed distributed database for mission-critical applications that need relational semantics, strong consistency, and high availability at global scale. It supports GoogleSQL and a PostgreSQL interface,…

Read the review →

YDB is an Apache 2.0 open-source distributed SQL database for mission-critical transactional, analytical, and streaming workloads. It is aimed at teams that need strongly consistent ACID transactions, horizontal scaling, automatic…

Read the review →
  1. Google Cloud SpannerDistributed SQL Databases 9.490-day trial
  2. YDBDistributed SQL Databases 8.6Open source

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Google Cloud Spanner — where it wins

    • Strongly consistent ACID transactions across regions
    • Automatic splitting, synchronous replication, and horizontal scaling
    • GoogleSQL, PostgreSQL, graph, vector, and full-text capabilities

    Where it doesn't

    • Usage-based pricing varies by edition, configuration, storage, and network usage
    • No free plan
    • No MySQL-compatible interface

  • YDB — where it wins

    • Distributed ACID transactions with automatic sharding and rebalancing
    • Supports multi-data-center replication and fault-tolerant topologies
    • Combines SQL, streaming, federated queries, and external integrations

    Where it doesn't

    • Managed charges vary by usage, region, and dedicated resources
    • Change data capture is specified for row-oriented tables
    • Its broad feature set may exceed the needs of narrow database projects
  • Google Cloud Spanner9.4/10 · 90-day trial

    A strong fit for mission-critical, multi-region workloads needing consistency and scale.

    Visit Google CloudFull verdict →
  • YDB8.6/10 · Open source

    A broad open-source choice for strongly consistent, distributed SQL workloads.

    Visit YDBFull verdict →

More comparisons

All distributed SQL databases comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update