Google Spanner vs. Azure Cosmos DB - An Unbiased Comparison
As businesses become more data-focused, the importance of selecting the right database management system increases. With the growing number of cloud database options on the market, choosing between them can be overwhelming. Today, we will compare the two of the top cloud databases, Google Spanner and Azure Cosmos DB.
What is Google Spanner?
Google Spanner is a fully managed relational database service that provides strong consistency and horizontal scalability. Spanner is designed to provide the benefits of NoSQL, such as automatic sharding and high availability, without sacrificing the benefits of traditional relational databases, such as SQL queries, ACID transactions, and strong consistency.
What is Azure Cosmos DB?
Azure Cosmos DB is a fully managed NoSQL database service that provides global distribution, high availability, and low latency. It supports multiple data models, including MongoDB, Cassandra, Gremlin, and SQL. Cosmos DB is designed to provide the benefits of NoSQL, such as horizontal scalability and global distribution, without sacrificing the benefits of traditional relational databases, such as strong consistency.
Comparison
Performance
Google Spanner is designed to be one of the fastest database management systems on the market. It provides low read and write latencies by using a distributed architecture that scales horizontally across multiple data centers. Spanner can also handle up to 2,000,000 writes per second and up to 10,000 nodes in a single global namespace.
Azure Cosmos DB is also designed for high performance. It provides low read and write latencies by using a distributed architecture that scales horizontally across multiple data centers. Cosmos DB can handle up to 10,000 writes per second with millisecond latency and can scale up and down to support fluctuating workloads.
Scalability
Google Spanner is designed for global scalability. It can handle large, distributed workloads like Google's AdWords and Google Play. Spanner automatically partitions data across multiple nodes, so it can scale and provide availability and durability across multiple data centers.
Azure Cosmos DB is also designed for global scalability. It can handle globally distributed workloads and has built-in support for multiple data models. Cosmos DB can automatically replicate data to any number of Azure regions and provides built-in support for multi-master replication.
Cost
Pricing for both Google Spanner and Azure Cosmos DB is based on usage. Google Spanner pricing is based on the number of nodes and storage used, while Azure Cosmos DB pricing is based on the number of read and write operations, storage used, and data transfer.
According to cloud costs calculators, Google Spanner is typically more expensive than Azure Cosmos DB, especially for larger workloads. However, the difference in cost can vary depending on usage patterns.
Conclusion
When it comes to choosing between Google Spanner and Azure Cosmos DB, there is no clear winner. Both databases are designed for high scalability, high availability, and low latency. However, if you're looking for a database that provides strong consistency, Google Spanner is the better choice. On the other hand, if you're looking for a database that supports multiple data models or need global distribution, Azure Cosmos DB is the better choice.
At the end of the day, the choice between these two databases will come down to the specific requirements of your business.
References
- Google Cloud (n.d.). Google Spanner: The First and Only Globally Distributed Relational Database Service. Retrieved from https://cloud.google.com/spanner/.
- Microsoft (n.d.). Azure Cosmos DB: Fast NoSQL Database with Global Distribution. Retrieved from https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/services/cosmos-db/.
- Schaller, D. (2021). Google Spanner vs. Azure Cosmos DB: A Comparative Analysis. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666116421000902.