Google Cloud Spanner vs Azure Cosmos DB
Choosing the right database for your Big Data project can be daunting, with so many options available in the market. Two of the most popular options are Google Cloud Spanner and Azure Cosmos DB. They both offer unique features and benefits, making it challenging to make a choice. In this post, we'll compare the two databases and provide unbiased information to help you make an informed decision.
Data Model
Google Cloud Spanner: Google Cloud Spanner is a Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) with horizontally scalability. It uses a Structured Query Language (SQL) data model to store data. Spanner also features support for highly available and distributed transactions, with support for both SQL and NoSQL interfaces.
Azure Cosmos DB: Azure Cosmos DB is a NoSQL, globally distributed database service. It uses a non-relational data model with support for several NoSQL APIs such as MongoDB, Cassandra and Azure Table Storage. Cosmos DB also features multi-master replication, which allows for lower latency and high availability.
Winner: It depends on your project's requirements. If you have a structured data model that requires SQL, Google Cloud Spanner is your best option. If you require a more flexible and scalable data model, then Azure Cosmos DB is the better choice.
Scalability
Google Cloud Spanner: Google Cloud Spanner was designed to be highly scalable. It scales horizontally across hundreds of nodes and supports automatic sharding, allowing for dynamic partitioning of data. Spanner also allows for distributed transactions, which provide ACID guarantees across different geographical regions.
Azure Cosmos DB: Azure Cosmos DB is a highly scalable, globally distributed, NoSQL database service. It scales horizontally across many nodes, providing low latency and high throughput. Cosmos DB also supports automatic partitioning of data and multi-master replication, ensuring high availability.
Winner: Both databases are highly scalable, but Azure Cosmos DB provides more flexibility and is better suited for large, globally distributed applications.
Performance
Google Cloud Spanner: Google Cloud Spanner is known for its high performance. It can handle large amounts of structured data with extremely low latency. Spanner's unique horizontal scaling feature allows for improved performance as you add more nodes.
Azure Cosmos DB: Azure Cosmos DB is also high performing, with the ability to handle massive amounts of data with low latency. The database service's multi-master replication feature also allows for better performance and lower latency.
Winner: Both databases are high performing, but Google Cloud Spanner is a better choice for structured data models, while Cosmos DB is the better choice for flexible data models.
Cost
Google Cloud Spanner: Google Cloud Spanner is a paid database service that charges for usage. The cost is based on data storage, CPU utilization, network usage, and transactions.
Azure Cosmos DB: Azure Cosmos DB is a paid service with a pricing model that charges for data storage, throughput, and number of operations.
Winner: It's difficult to make a direct comparison as the pricing models are different. Both databases are relatively expensive compared to other solutions, but you get what you pay for in terms of scalability, performance, and features.