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Google BigQuery VS Apache Cassandra

Compare Google BigQuery VS Apache Cassandra and see what are their differences

Google BigQuery logo Google BigQuery

A fully managed data warehouse for large-scale data analytics.

Apache Cassandra logo Apache Cassandra

The Apache Cassandra database is the right choice when you need scalability and high availability without compromising performance.
  • Google BigQuery Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-03
  • Apache Cassandra Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-04-17

Google BigQuery features and specs

  • Scalability
    BigQuery can effortlessly scale to handle large volumes of data due to its serverless architecture, thereby reducing the operational overhead of managing infrastructure.
  • Speed
    It leverages Google's infrastructure to provide high-speed data processing, making it possible to run complex queries on massive datasets in a matter of seconds.
  • Integrations
    BigQuery easily integrates with various Google Cloud Platform services, as well as other popular data tools like Looker, Tableau, and Power BI.
  • Automatic Optimization
    Features like automatic data partitioning and clustering help to optimize query performance without requiring manual tuning.
  • Security
    BigQuery provides robust security features including IAM roles, customer-managed encryption keys, and detailed audit logging.
  • Cost Efficiency
    The pricing model is based on the amount of data processed, which can be cost-effective for many use cases when compared to traditional data warehouses.
  • Managed Service
    Being fully managed, BigQuery takes care of database administration tasks such as scaling, backups, and patch management, allowing users to focus on their data and queries.

Possible disadvantages of Google BigQuery

  • Cost Predictability
    While the pay-per-use model can be cost-efficient, it can also make cost forecasting difficult. Unexpected large queries could lead to higher-than-anticipated costs.
  • Complexity
    The learning curve can be steep for those who are not already familiar with SQL or Google Cloud Platform, potentially requiring training and education.
  • Limited Updates
    BigQuery is optimized for read-heavy operations, and it can be less efficient for scenarios that require frequent updates or deletions of data.
  • Query Pricing
    Costs are based on the amount of data processed by each query, which may not be suitable for use cases that require frequent analysis of large datasets.
  • Data Transfer Costs
    While internal data movement within Google Cloud can be cost-effective, transferring data to or from other services or on-premises systems can incur additional costs.
  • Dependency on Google Cloud
    Organizations heavily invested in multi-cloud or hybrid-cloud strategies may find the dependency on Google Cloud limiting.
  • Cold Data Performance
    Query performance might be slower for so-called 'cold data,' or data that has not been queried recently, affecting the responsiveness for some workloads.

Apache Cassandra features and specs

  • Scalability
    Apache Cassandra is designed for linear scalability and can handle large volumes of data across many commodity servers without a single point of failure.
  • High Availability
    Cassandra ensures high availability by replicating data across multiple nodes. Even if some nodes fail, the system remains operational.
  • Performance
    It provides fast writes and reads by using a peer-to-peer architecture, making it highly suitable for applications requiring quick data access.
  • Flexible Data Model
    Cassandra supports a flexible schema, allowing users to add new columns to a table at any time, making it adaptable for various use cases.
  • Geographical Distribution
    Data can be distributed across multiple data centers, ensuring low-latency access for geographically distributed users.
  • No Single Point of Failure
    Its decentralized nature ensures there is no single point of failure, which enhances resilience and fault-tolerance.

Possible disadvantages of Apache Cassandra

  • Complexity
    Managing and configuring Cassandra can be complex, requiring specialized knowledge and skills for optimal performance.
  • Eventual Consistency
    Cassandra follows an eventual consistency model, meaning that there might be a delay before all nodes have the latest data, which may not be suitable for all use cases.
  • Write-heavy Operations
    Although Cassandra handles writes efficiently, write-heavy workloads can lead to compaction issues and increased read latency.
  • Limited Query Capabilities
    Cassandra's query capabilities are relatively limited compared to traditional RDBMS, lacking support for complex joins and aggregations.
  • Maintenance Overhead
    Regular maintenance tasks such as node repair and compaction are necessary to ensure optimal performance, adding to the administrative overhead.
  • Tooling and Ecosystem
    While the ecosystem for Cassandra is growing, it is still not as extensive or mature as those for some other database technologies.

Google BigQuery videos

Cloud Dataprep Tutorial - Getting Started 101

More videos:

  • Review - Advanced Data Cleanup Techniques using Cloud Dataprep (Cloud Next '19)
  • Demo - Google Cloud Dataprep Premium product demo

Apache Cassandra videos

Course Intro | DS101: Introduction to Apache Cassandra™

More videos:

  • Review - Introduction to Apache Cassandra™

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Google BigQuery and Apache Cassandra)
Data Dashboard
100 100%
0% 0
Databases
0 0%
100% 100
Big Data
100 100%
0% 0
NoSQL Databases
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Google BigQuery and Apache Cassandra

Google BigQuery Reviews

Data Warehouse Tools
Google BigQuery: Similar to Snowflake, BigQuery offers a pay-per-use model with separate charges for storage and queries. Storage costs start around $0.01 per GB per month, while on-demand queries are billed at $5 per TB processed.
Source: peliqan.io
Top 6 Cloud Data Warehouses in 2023
You can also use BigQuery’s columnar and ANSI SQL databases to analyze petabytes of data at a fast speed. Its capabilities extend enough to accommodate spatial analysis using SQL and BigQuery GIS. Also, you can quickly create and run machine learning (ML) models on semi or large-scale structured data using simple SQL and BigQuery ML. Also, enjoy a real-time interactive...
Source: geekflare.com
Top 5 Cloud Data Warehouses in 2023
Google BigQuery is an incredible platform for enterprises that want to run complex analytical queries or “heavy” queries that operate using a large set of data. This means it’s not ideal for running queries that are doing simple filtering or aggregation. So if your cloud data warehousing needs lightning-fast performance on a big set of data, Google BigQuery might be a great...
Top 5 BigQuery Alternatives: A Challenge of Complexity
BigQuery's emergence as an attractive analytics and data warehouse platform was a significant win, helping to drive a 45% increase in Google Cloud revenue in the last quarter. The company plans to maintain this momentum by focusing on a multi-cloud future where BigQuery advances the cause of democratized analytics.
Source: blog.panoply.io
16 Top Big Data Analytics Tools You Should Know About
Google BigQuery is a fully-managed, serverless data warehouse that enables scalable analysis over petabytes of data. It is a Platform as a Service that supports querying using ANSI SQL. It also has built-in machine learning capabilities.

Apache Cassandra Reviews

16 Top Big Data Analytics Tools You Should Know About
Application Areas: If you want to work with SQL-like data types on a No-SQL database, Cassandra is a good choice. It is a popular pick in the IoT, fraud detection applications, recommendation engines, product catalogs and playlists, and messaging applications, providing fast real-time insights.
9 Best MongoDB alternatives in 2019
The Apache Cassandra is an ideal choice for you if you want scalability and high availability without affecting its performance. This MongoDB alternative tool offers support for replicating across multiple datacenters.
Source: www.guru99.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Apache Cassandra might be a bit more popular than Google BigQuery. We know about 44 links to it since March 2021 and only 42 links to Google BigQuery. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Google BigQuery mentions (42)

  • Every Database Will Support Iceberg — Here's Why
    This isn’t hypothetical. It’s already happening. Snowflake supports reading and writing Iceberg. Databricks added Iceberg interoperability via Unity Catalog. Redshift and BigQuery are working toward it. - Source: dev.to / 14 days ago
  • RisingWave Turns Four: Our Journey Beyond Democratizing Stream Processing
    Many of these companies first tried achieving real-time results with batch systems like Snowflake or BigQuery. But they quickly found that even five-minute batch intervals weren't fast enough for today's event-driven needs. They turn to RisingWave for its simplicity, low operational burden, and easy integration with their existing PostgreSQL-based infrastructure. - Source: dev.to / 19 days ago
  • How to Pitch Your Boss to Adopt Apache Iceberg?
    If your team is managing large volumes of historical data using platforms like Snowflake, Amazon Redshift, or Google BigQuery, you’ve probably noticed a shift happening in the data engineering world. A new generation of data infrastructure is forming — one that prioritizes openness, interoperability, and cost-efficiency. At the center of that shift is Apache Iceberg. - Source: dev.to / 25 days ago
  • Study Notes 2.2.7: Managing Schedules and Backfills with BigQuery in Kestra
    BigQuery Documentation: Google Cloud BigQuery. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Docker vs. Kubernetes: Which Is Right for Your DevOps Pipeline?
    Pro Tip: Use Kubernetes operators to extend its functionality for specific cloud services like AWS RDS or GCP BigQuery. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
View more

Apache Cassandra mentions (44)

  • Why You Shouldn’t Invest In Vector Databases?
    In fact, even in the absence of these commercial databases, users can effortlessly install PostgreSQL and leverage its built-in pgvector functionality for vector search. PostgreSQL stands as the benchmark in the realm of open-source databases, offering comprehensive support across various domains of database management. It excels in transaction processing (e.g., CockroachDB), online analytics (e.g., DuckDB),... - Source: dev.to / 13 days ago
  • Data integrity in Ably Pub/Sub
    All messages are persisted durably for two minutes, but Pub/Sub channels can be configured to persist messages for longer periods of time using the persisted messages feature. Persisted messages are additionally written to Cassandra. Multiple copies of the message are stored in a quorum of globally-distributed Cassandra nodes. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • Which Database is Perfect for You? A Comprehensive Guide to MySQL, PostgreSQL, NoSQL, and More
    Cassandra is a highly scalable, distributed NoSQL database designed to handle large amounts of data across many commodity servers without a single point of failure. - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
  • Consistent Hashing: An Overview and Implementation in Golang
    Distributed storage Distributed storage systems like Cassandra, DynamoDB, and Voldemort also use consistent hashing. In these systems, data is partitioned across many servers. Consistent hashing is used to map data to the servers that store the data. When new servers are added or removed, consistent hashing minimizes the amount of data that needs to be remapped to different servers. - Source: dev.to / 12 months ago
  • Understanding SQL vs. NoSQL Databases: A Beginner's Guide
    On the other hand, NoSQL databases are non-relational databases. They store data in flexible, JSON-like documents, key-value pairs, or wide-column stores. Examples include MongoDB, Couchbase, and Cassandra. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Google BigQuery and Apache Cassandra, you can also consider the following products

Databricks - Databricks provides a Unified Analytics Platform that accelerates innovation by unifying data science, engineering and business.‎What is Apache Spark?

Redis - Redis is an open source in-memory data structure project implementing a distributed, in-memory key-value database with optional durability.

Looker - Looker makes it easy for analysts to create and curate custom data experiences—so everyone in the business can explore the data that matters to them, in the context that makes it truly meaningful.

MongoDB - MongoDB (from "humongous") is a scalable, high-performance NoSQL database.

Jupyter - Project Jupyter exists to develop open-source software, open-standards, and services for interactive computing across dozens of programming languages. Ready to get started? Try it in your browser Install the Notebook.

ArangoDB - A distributed open-source database with a flexible data model for documents, graphs, and key-values.