Google Cloud SQL vs Aiven for PostgreSQL

Google Cloud SQL8.0Visit Aiven for PostgreSQL7.3Visit

Higher score Google Cloud SQL #3 in Managed Database Hosting 8.0/10 From $0.04 ✓ 2 of 3 features Visit Google Cloud

vs

Aiven for PostgreSQL #6 in Managed Database Hosting 7.3/10 Free plan · paid from $5/mo Free plan✓ 2 of 3 features Visit Aiven

• Google Cloud SQL fits best

  Google Cloud teams running mainstream SQL engines

• Aiven for PostgreSQL fits best

  PostgreSQL teams seeking low-cost managed hosting

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Side by side

Feature	Google Cloud SQL 8.0/10 Visit ↗	Aiven for PostgreSQL 7.3/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.0	7.3
Ranking	#3 in Managed Database Hosting	#6 in Managed Database Hosting
Best for	Google Cloud teams running mainstream SQL engines	PostgreSQL teams seeking low-cost managed hosting
Pricing model	Paid	Free plan + paid
Starting price	Not published	$5/mo
Free plan	—	✓ (best)
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud	Cloud
Platforms	Web	Web
Features Google Cloud SQL 2/3 · Aiven for PostgreSQL 2/3
High availability	✓	✓
Point-in-time recovery	Not published	Not published
Read replicas	✓	✓
Specs
Database type	Not published	Not published
Scaling model	Not published	Not published
Backup retention	7 days	Not published
Our review
Pros	Managed MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQL Server instances Regional high availability with standby failover and replica options Backups, monitoring, API, and gcloud CLI administration	Free plan with no time limit and a $5/month Developer tier Managed patching, scaling, backups, monitoring, and failover options API, Terraform, CLI, Kubernetes, and Aiven service integrations
Cons	No free plan Usage-based pricing varies by region and configuration Designed for Google Cloud deployment	Free and Developer plans use a single node or VM Free plan includes only 1 GB RAM and 1 GB disk storage Higher availability features begin on the Business plan
Our verdict	Google Cloud SQL is a fully managed relational database service for MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQL Server. It handles administration tasks including backups, maintenance, updates, encryption, replication, monitoring, logging, and… Read the review →	Aiven for PostgreSQL is a fully managed, cloud-hosted relational database service based on open-source PostgreSQL. It is aimed at teams that want Aiven to handle provisioning, maintenance, patching, scaling, backups, monitoring, and… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Google Cloud SQL — where it wins

  • Managed MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQL Server instances
  • Regional high availability with standby failover and replica options
  • Backups, monitoring, API, and gcloud CLI administration

  Where it doesn't

  • No free plan
  • Usage-based pricing varies by region and configuration
  • Designed for Google Cloud deployment

• Aiven for PostgreSQL — where it wins

  • Free plan with no time limit and a $5/month Developer tier
  • Managed patching, scaling, backups, monitoring, and failover options
  • API, Terraform, CLI, Kubernetes, and Aiven service integrations

  Where it doesn't

  • Free and Developer plans use a single node or VM
  • Free plan includes only 1 GB RAM and 1 GB disk storage
  • Higher availability features begin on the Business plan

• Google Cloud SQL8.0/10 · From $0.04

  A capable managed SQL service for teams already operating in Google Cloud.

  Visit Google CloudFull verdict →
• Aiven for PostgreSQL7.3/10 · Free plan · paid from $5/mo

  A low-cost managed PostgreSQL service with useful automation and cloud tooling.

  Visit AivenFull verdict →