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Head-to-head · Data Lakehouse Platforms

Starburst Galaxy vs Google Cloud Lakehouse for Apache Iceberg

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 5 checks side by side
Higher score Starburst Galaxy #4 in Data Lakehouse Platforms 8.8/10 Free plan · 30-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 4 of 4 features Try Starburst Galaxy
Google Cloud Lakehouse for Apache Iceberg #6 in Data Lakehouse Platforms 8.5/10 Paid ✓ 4 of 4 features Visit Google Cloud

Starburst Galaxy leads on 1 check, Google Cloud Lakehouse for Apache Iceberg on 0, and 4 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 5 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreStarburst Galaxy · 8.8/10
  • Free planonly Starburst Galaxy
  • Free trialonly Starburst Galaxy

Starburst Galaxy scores higher on our rubric for data lakehouse platforms: 8.8 against 8.5 out of 10; our editors rank them #4 and #6.

Starburst Galaxy offers free plan; Google Cloud Lakehouse for Apache Iceberg doesn't. On table format support, Google Cloud Lakehouse for Apache Iceberg gives you Both where Starburst Galaxy offers Open.

Starburst Galaxy is the better fit for managed federated SQL with enterprise identity controls. Google Cloud Lakehouse for Apache Iceberg is the better fit for managed Iceberg on Google Cloud.

  • Starburst Galaxy fits best

    Managed federated SQL with enterprise identity controls

  • Google Cloud Lakehouse for Apache Iceberg fits best

    Managed Iceberg on Google Cloud

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Side by side

Feature Starburst Galaxy 8.8/10 Visit ↗ Google Cloud Lakehouse for Apache Iceberg 8.5/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 8.8 8.5
Ranking #4 in Data Lakehouse Platforms #6 in Data Lakehouse Platforms
Best for Managed federated SQL with enterprise identity controls Managed Iceberg on Google Cloud
Pricing model Free plan + paid Paid
Starting price $0.50/unit usage-based —
Free plan ✓ (best) —
Free trial 30 days —
Deployment Cloud Cloud
Platforms Web Web
Support Live chat, Tickets, Community, Docs · 24/7 Tickets, Community, Docs · 24/7
Compliance SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, HIPAA, SSO/SAML SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, HIPAA
Integrations 50+ integrations 13 integrations
Built for Mid-market, Enterprise Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Starburst Galaxy 4/4 · Google Cloud Lakehouse for Apache Iceberg 4/4
SQL analytics ✓ ✓
ACID transactions ✓ ✓
Streaming ingestion ✓ ✓
Governance catalog ✓ ✓
Specs
Storage model Both Both
Table format support Open Both
Our review
Pros
  • Federated SQL across lakes, warehouses, databases, and streaming systems
  • Iceberg tables with snapshots, time travel, and Kafka streaming ingestion
  • SAML SSO, SCIM, row filters, column masking, and REST automation
  • Managed Iceberg tables with REST Catalog and BigQuery SQL
  • Interoperability with Spark, Flink, Hive, and Trino
  • Governance, CDC, automated maintenance, and federation features
Cons
  • Usage-based pricing is charged per compute credit
  • Cloud-only coverage may not fit self-hosted deployment requirements
  • Advanced capabilities are reserved for higher paid tiers
  • No standalone free plan
  • Usage-based pricing spans several charge categories
  • Cross-cloud federation supports selected external catalogs
Our verdict

Starburst Galaxy is a fully managed cloud data lake analytics platform built on Trino. It is designed for data teams and enterprises that need interactive, batch, federated, and lakehouse analytics without copying data between systems.…

Read the review →

Google Cloud Lakehouse for Apache Iceberg is a managed lakehouse platform for analytical, transactional, streaming, and AI workloads built on open table formats. It is aimed at organizations that want managed Apache Iceberg tables, a…

Read the review →
  1. Starburst GalaxyData Lakehouse Platforms 8.8Free plan · 30-day trial
  2. Google Cloud Lakehouse for Apache IcebergData Lakehouse Platforms 8.5Paid

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Starburst Galaxy — where it wins

    • Federated SQL across lakes, warehouses, databases, and streaming systems
    • Iceberg tables with snapshots, time travel, and Kafka streaming ingestion
    • SAML SSO, SCIM, row filters, column masking, and REST automation

    Where it doesn't

    • Usage-based pricing is charged per compute credit
    • Cloud-only coverage may not fit self-hosted deployment requirements
    • Advanced capabilities are reserved for higher paid tiers

  • Google Cloud Lakehouse for Apache Iceberg — where it wins

    • Managed Iceberg tables with REST Catalog and BigQuery SQL
    • Interoperability with Spark, Flink, Hive, and Trino
    • Governance, CDC, automated maintenance, and federation features

    Where it doesn't

    • No standalone free plan
    • Usage-based pricing spans several charge categories
    • Cross-cloud federation supports selected external catalogs

More comparisons

All data lakehouse platforms comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update