MySQL HeatWave vs Cloud SQL for MySQL

MySQL HeatWave9.3Visit Cloud SQL for MySQL9.0Visit

Higher score MySQL HeatWave #2 in MySQL Hosting 9.3/10 Free plan · 30-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 4 of 4 features Visit Oracle

vs

Cloud SQL for MySQL #4 in MySQL Hosting 9.0/10 30-day trial Free trial✓ 4 of 4 features Visit Google Cloud

• MySQL HeatWave fits best

  Advanced analytics and AI workloads

• Cloud SQL for MySQL fits best

  Google Cloud application backends

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Side by side

Feature	MySQL HeatWave 9.3/10 Visit ↗	Cloud SQL for MySQL 9.0/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.3	9.0
Ranking	#2 in MySQL Hosting	#4 in MySQL Hosting
Best for	Advanced analytics and AI workloads	Google Cloud application backends
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Paid
Starting price	Free plan · 30-day trial	30-day trial
Free plan	✓ (best)	—
Free trial	30 days	30 days
Free trial length	30 days	30 days
Deployment	Cloud	Cloud
Platforms	Web	Web
Support	Docs, Community	Docs
Integrations	3 integrations	6 integrations
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Mid-market, Enterprise
Features MySQL HeatWave 4/4 · Cloud SQL for MySQL 4/4
Automated backups	✓	✓
Point-in-time restore	✓	✓
High availability	✓	✓
Private networking	✓	✓
Specs
Scaling mode	Both	Both
Included storage	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Combines transactional MySQL with in-memory query acceleration and real-time analytics Adds lakehouse queries, generative AI, vector store, and machine learning Automates scaling, patching, backups, recovery, and failover	Point-in-time recovery and automated daily backups Automatic failover across zones with replica support Private connectivity and broad Google Cloud integrations
Cons	Always Free DB systems exclude high availability and point-in-time recovery Paid usage is priced through components rather than one simple entry plan Its broad analytics and AI scope may exceed basic MySQL hosting needs	Paid service with no free plan Usage-based pricing varies by region and resources Not an open-source database service
Our verdict	MySQL HeatWave is Oracle’s fully managed MySQL database service for teams running transactional applications alongside analytics, lakehouse queries, machine learning, or generative AI. It includes MySQL Enterprise Edition and runs on… Read the review →	Cloud SQL for MySQL is a fully managed relational database service for running MySQL Community Edition databases on Google Cloud. It is designed for application teams and organizations running production MySQL workloads, including backends… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• MySQL HeatWave — where it wins

  • Combines transactional MySQL with in-memory query acceleration and real-time analytics
  • Adds lakehouse queries, generative AI, vector store, and machine learning
  • Automates scaling, patching, backups, recovery, and failover

  Where it doesn't

  • Always Free DB systems exclude high availability and point-in-time recovery
  • Paid usage is priced through components rather than one simple entry plan
  • Its broad analytics and AI scope may exceed basic MySQL hosting needs

• Cloud SQL for MySQL — where it wins

  • Point-in-time recovery and automated daily backups
  • Automatic failover across zones with replica support
  • Private connectivity and broad Google Cloud integrations

  Where it doesn't

  • Paid service with no free plan
  • Usage-based pricing varies by region and resources
  • Not an open-source database service

• MySQL HeatWave9.3/10 · Free plan · 30-day trial

  A broad managed MySQL service for advanced analytics and AI workloads.

  Visit OracleFull verdict →
• Cloud SQL for MySQL9.0/10 · 30-day trial

  Managed MySQL with recovery, failover, replicas, and Google Cloud integrations.

  Visit Google CloudFull verdict →