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MySQL VS Google Cloud Spanner

Compare MySQL VS Google Cloud Spanner and see what are their differences

MySQL logo MySQL

The world's most popular open source database

Google Cloud Spanner logo Google Cloud Spanner

Google Cloud Spanner is a horizontally scalable, globally consistent, relational database service.
  • MySQL Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-06-17
  • Google Cloud Spanner Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-17

MySQL features and specs

  • Reliability
    MySQL is known for its reliability and durability, making it a solid choice for many businesses' database management needs.
  • Performance
    It offers robust performance, handling large databases and complex queries efficiently.
  • Open Source
    MySQL is an open-source database, making it freely available under the GNU General Public License (GPL).
  • Scalability
    MySQL supports large-scale applications and can handle high volumes of transactions.
  • Community Support
    There is a large, active MySQL community that offers extensive resources, documentation, and support.
  • Cross-Platform
    MySQL is compatible with various operating systems like Windows, Linux, and macOS.
  • Integrations
    MySQL integrates well with numerous development frameworks, including LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP/Python/Perl).
  • Security
    MySQL offers various security features, such as user account management, password policies, and encrypted connections.
  • Cost
    The open-source nature of MySQL means that it can be very cost-effective, especially for small to medium-sized businesses.

Possible disadvantages of MySQL

  • Support
    While community support is plentiful, official support from Oracle can be quite expensive.
  • Complexity
    More advanced features and configurations can be complex and may require a steep learning curve for new users.
  • Scalability Limitations
    While MySQL is scalable, very high-scale applications may run into limitations compared to some newer database technologies.
  • Plug-in Storage Engines
    The use of plug-in storage engines like InnoDB or MyISAM can cause inconsistencies and complicate backups and recovery processes.
  • ACID Compliance
    Although MySQL supports ACID compliance, certain configurations or storage engines may not fully adhere to ACID properties, affecting transaction reliability.
  • Concurrent Writes
    Handling a high number of concurrent writes can be less efficient compared to some other database systems designed specifically for high concurrency.
  • Feature Set
    Some advanced features found in other SQL databases (e.g., full-text indexing, rich analytics) may be less robust or absent.
  • Vendor Dependency
    With Oracle now owning MySQL, there can be concerns about licensing changes or other forms of vendor lock-in.
  • Replication Complexities
    Setting up replication and ensuring data consistency across distributed systems can be complex and error-prone.

Google Cloud Spanner features and specs

  • Scalability
    Google Cloud Spanner can automatically scale horizontally, providing robust support for large-scale applications. It can handle petabytes of data across millions of instances with ease.
  • Global Distribution
    Spanner enables globally distributed databases with strong consistency and low-latency reads, allowing applications to deliver seamless performance across the globe.
  • Strong Consistency
    Unlike many other distributed databases, Cloud Spanner offers strong transactional consistency, using Google's TrueTime API to ensure precise timestamp ordering that supports ACID transactions.
  • Fully Managed
    Cloud Spanner is a fully managed service, which means Google handles maintenance tasks such as updates, scaling, and provisioning, reducing the operational overhead for users.
  • SQL Support
    It provides support for SQL queries, making it easier for developers and teams familiar with SQL to integrate and manage their data workloads without needing to learn new paradigms.
  • High Availability
    Cloud Spanner is designed for high availability, with built-in redundancy and failover capabilities that ensure continuous operation even in the face of regional outages.

Possible disadvantages of Google Cloud Spanner

  • Cost
    Google Cloud Spanner can be expensive compared to other database solutions, especially for smaller applications or startups with limited budgets.
  • Limited Ecosystem
    While growing, Spanner's ecosystem is not as mature as more established relational or NoSQL databases, which might lead to fewer third-party tools and integrations.
  • Complexity in Migration
    Migrating existing applications and data to Cloud Spanner can be complex and time-consuming, particularly for those coming from non-relational database systems.
  • Limited NoSQL Features
    For applications that require specific NoSQL features, such as unstructured data handling and schema flexibility, Cloud Spanner may not be the best fit compared to other NoSQL databases.
  • Regional Lock-in
    Although it offers global distribution, data residency and compliance requirements might limit some organizations to specific regions, which can affect the strategic deployment of an application.

MySQL videos

MySQL IN 10 MINUTES (2020) | Introduction to Databases, SQL, & MySQL

More videos:

  • Review - A Review of MySQL Open Source Software

Google Cloud Spanner videos

Build with Google Cloud Spanner

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to MySQL and Google Cloud Spanner)
Databases
91 91%
9% 9
Relational Databases
90 90%
10% 10
NoSQL Databases
87 87%
13% 13
Tool
93 93%
7% 7

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare MySQL and Google Cloud Spanner

MySQL Reviews

MariaDB Vs MySQL In 2019: Compatibility, Performance, And Syntax
MySQL: MySQL is an open-source relational database management system (RDBMS). Just like all other relational databases, MySQL uses tables, constraints, triggers, roles, stored procedures and views as the core components that you work with. A table consists of rows, and each row contains a same set of columns. MySQL uses primary keys to uniquely identify each row (a.k.a...
Source: blog.panoply.io
20+ MongoDB Alternatives You Should Know About
MySQL® is another feasible replacement. MySQL 5.7 and MySQL 8 have great support for JSON, and it continues to get better with every maintenance release. You can also consider MySQL Cluster for medium size sharded environments. You can also consider MariaDB and Percona Server for MySQL
Source: www.percona.com

Google Cloud Spanner Reviews

We have no reviews of Google Cloud Spanner yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Google Cloud Spanner should be more popular than MySQL. It has been mentiond 17 times since March 2021. 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.

MySQL mentions (4)

  • I have a recurring issue with a MySQL DB where I continually run out of disk space due to logs being filled. I've tried everything I can think of. Can anyone think of anything else I should try?
    So, I did a quick read through the mysql reference and found a bunch of flush related commands. I tried:. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • MMORPG design resources
    MySQL: Any SQL or DB knock-off, really... mysql.com - mariadb.org - sqlite.org. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Probably a syntax error
    15 years and five strokes ago. I was a Unix sysadmin. ALthough I was never an actual programmer, I did maintenance/light enhancement for the organization's website, in php. Now, as self-administered cognative therapy, I'm going back to it. This is an evil HR application that uses the mysql.com employees sample database. The module below enables the evil HR end user to generate a list of the oldest workers so... Source: almost 4 years ago
  • An absolute nightmare with mysql 8.0.25
    I always use the packages from mysql.com, that way I don't have to deal with strange configuration stuff along those lines, but anyway, I'm afraid I'm out of ideas. Surely someone else would have run in to the same issue here though. Source: almost 4 years ago

Google Cloud Spanner mentions (17)

  • Golden Ticket To Explore Google Cloud
    Multiregion is possible in Google Cloud using Cloud Spanner, which allows you to replicate the database not only in multiple zones but also in multiple regions as defined in the instance configuration. The replicas allow you to read data with low latency from multiple locations that are close to or within the region in the configuration. - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago
  • /u/ryuuthecat wonders how a feature of google maps works. Engineer who programmed the feature responds with the answer
    Basically everything I touch is in-house, but a majority of it is available publicly. For instance: https://cloud.google.com/spanner/. Source: over 2 years ago
  • How Do Companies (Like Evernote) Handle So Many Notes?
    An application that needs to handle a lot of data can use a distributed database like Cloud Spanner. Unlimited scale and you don't have to split your database into multiple tables. Source: over 2 years ago
  • One of my favorite topics in DE is CAP Theorem. Has anyone managed to accomplish all 3 at once yet or is it truly impossible like the theorem states.
    Look at the architecture and performance of Google's Cloud Spanner, a CP system with 99.999% availability... https://cloud.google.com/spanner. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Vaultree and AlloyDB: the world's first Fully Homomorphic and Searchable Cloud Encryption Solution
    In my opinion, Google has built some fantastic database services like Bigtable and Spanner, which literally changed the industry for good, and I am eager to see how they will build upon this new service. With AlloyDB's disaggregated architecture, the dystopian world where I only pay for SQL databases per query and the stored data on GCP seems closer than ever. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing MySQL and Google Cloud Spanner, you can also consider the following products

PostgreSQL - PostgreSQL is a powerful, open source object-relational database system.

Microsoft SQL - Microsoft SQL is a best in class relational database management software that facilitates the database server to provide you a primary function to store and retrieve data.

Oracle DBaaS - See how Oracle Database 12c enables businesses to plug into the cloud and power the real-time enterprise.

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

SQLite - SQLite Home Page

Amazon Aurora - MySQL and PostgreSQL-compatible relational database built for the cloud. Performance and availability of commercial-grade databases at 1/10th the cost.