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Google Cloud SQL vs MariaDB comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Google Cloud SQL
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
23rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
24
Ranking in other categories
Database as a Service (DBaaS) (6th), Database Management Systems (DBMS) (11th)
MariaDB
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
15th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
62
Ranking in other categories
Open Source Databases (11th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of Google Cloud SQL is 1.3%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MariaDB is 3.2%, down from 5.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Relational Databases Tools Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
MariaDB3.2%
Google Cloud SQL1.3%
Other95.5%
Relational Databases Tools
 

Featured Reviews

RituRaj - PeerSpot reviewer
SDE 2 at Virtusa
Drag and drop workflows have simplified data mapping and currently improve my cloud database work
The IPaaS Connector, which I have found most valuable, is part of Google Cloud SQL. Google Cloud's user interface is really good, which improves efficiency in my database operations. The UI is excellent, making it easier to understand what we are doing. Currently, I am working on IPaaS Connector, so it is really just a clickable interface without writing any code. I simply use drag and drop and connecting lines, and it is working. Google Cloud SQL's global infrastructure improves our database's latency metrics because we are using Gemini in our project. Since both are products of Google, it makes our product faster.
PR
Architect at LTIMindtree
Cloud deployment has improved security and performance but still needs richer query features
MariaDB is easy to install. Performance of MariaDB has improved with the query optimizer. We use MariaDB's data-at-rest encryption. Encryption is available in MariaDB, so we are secure for transmitting data without concern about moving over networks. Query optimization in MariaDB is better than Oracle. We use advanced replication for MariaDB. Role-based access is available in MariaDB, which is a good feature. The technical support of MariaDB is very helpful. They came and tuned our queries with one-to-one assistance.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"It's all built into the web browser, so any operating system will work."
"The valuable feature of Google Cloud SQL is its high availability option. The product is stable."
"The main benefit to our organization is the fact that we no longer need DB admins that take care of the physical servers, backups etc... All this is managed by GCP."
"The setup was straightforward. Just a couple of clicks, and we were done."
"My suggestion to anyone thinking about this solution is to jump into it head-first!"
"Google Cloud SQL is highly scalable."
"The product is scalable."
"They have good multi-region failure support, and we can just set up there and read replicas directly and we can fall back."
"We like the easy way that we can collect data from other databases."
"MariaDB is scalable."
"Installation is straightforward."
"Our use of MariaDB is very basic, so it's a good platform compared to many others."
"It is an absolutely stable solution."
"Visual Studio offers unit testing integration and extensive searching capabilities."
"The product has good documentation and you can find many examples online."
"What I like best about MariaDB is that it is open-source and reliable."
 

Cons

"Sometimes the sharing with third parties or configuring that in Google Cloud SQL is not the most intuitive."
"When discussing media files, such as images and audio files, stored in Google Cloud, concerns about handling large amounts of data arise."
"The most challenging part is dealing with legacy data from your old systems and migrating it into the new setup, but once you've completed the data migration, it becomes quite convenient to use."
"The only room for improvement here is that they need to connect to more existing data sources so that it becomes easier for a layman to get a more realistic understanding of what's happening."
"I am yet to explore a lot of features that are present in this solution. However, it would be good if more documentation is available for this solution. This would help us in preparing for the certification exam and understand it better. Currently, we don't have much documentation. We do the labs for 20 or 25 minutes, but we can't capture and download anything."
"The customer support should be improved."
"The most vulnerable problem with Google SQL is that while you can customize your access control list, it provides you with a public IP address."
"I would like to see better integration with all the different tools on the platform."
"It would be good to have tools for debugging procedures and functions."
"In future releases, mainly the addition of security features would be beneficial for MariaDB."
"The interface should be more user-friendly. It should be able to connect directly to the database and Interact with it without having to use commands. It needs better integration."
"It would be good if they can maybe improve the mass import in the database. Currently, for importing a large number of data, we create a CSV file and upload all the things in the system. The system does not activate them by default. We have to do this manually. This may be due to the version we are using, but this is something we would like to see improved."
"I'd like to see improved materialized views, like the ability to save select queries. This feature is missing in MariaDB compared to other relational databases like Oracle and SQL Server."
"The features available are very basic."
"One feedback I can quickly provide is the need for a robust IDE for MongoDB. The existing PHP admin console doesn't meet the client's requirements effectively."
"When we have had issues with accidental computer shutdown or a power outage, our MariaDB database was corrupted."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is affordable."
"It's really cheap. It wouldn't be more than, I believe it's around 50 euro per month for running a cloud SQL."
"From a financial perspective, Google Cloud SQL is on the cheaper side."
"You need to pay extra costs for backup and replication."
"It is not expensive, especially considering the significant reduction in database management time."
"While the platform’s pricing may be higher, it aligns with industry standards, considering the quality of service and features provided."
"The pricing is very much an important factor as to why we use this solution."
"The licensing cost is approximately $4000.00 per year and the licensing is based on the software and the number of posts that you make."
"The price of this solution represents a very good compromise between the cost and what it offers."
"When it comes to MariaDB, it should have a more cost-effective license."
"The product is not expensive."
"MariaDB is an open-source software, meaning I don't need to pay for the product."
"The solution is free, but if you want the enterprise version you will need to pay for some licenses but the cost is less than other solutions, such as Oracle."
"It is an open-source solution."
"It is free of charge."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
13%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
University
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise10
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business28
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise26
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Google Cloud SQL?
We have set up automated patch management for Google Cloud SQL, and it does on a daily basis what needs to be done, so it is pretty good overall for maintaining our database security.
What needs improvement with Google Cloud SQL?
I would to improve a few glitches in Google Cloud SQL that I have recently noticed. There are a few UI glitches that I have noticed recently, specifically something called data mapping in IPaaS Con...
What is your primary use case for Google Cloud SQL?
I am not working with Oracle; everything I am working on is on Google. I would like to improve a few glitches in Google Cloud SQL that I have recently noticed. There are a few UI glitches that I ha...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for MariaDB?
MariaDB is in the pricey range, especially for huge databases handling terabytes of data. The cost depends on the volume of data and different features enabled during configuration, such as backup ...
What needs improvement with MariaDB?
The key area where MariaDB could be improved is its native GUI tooling; while the command-line interface works perfectly fine, the built-in visual tools for administration, management, and query de...
What is your primary use case for MariaDB?
My main use case for MariaDB was web applications, and I have been using MariaDB for just about a year now as I was in the development team. A specific web application where I used MariaDB is a hea...
 

Comparisons

 

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Sample Customers

BeDataDriven, CodeFutures, Daffodil, GenieConnect, KiSSFLOW, LiveHive, SulAm_rica, Zync
Google, Wikipedia, Tencent, Verizon, DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, Telefónica, Huatai Securities
Find out what your peers are saying about Google Cloud SQL vs. MariaDB and other solutions. Updated: November 2026.
921,523 professionals have used our research since 2012.