CockroachDB vs Google Cloud Spanner

This comparison assesses the performance, cost, features, and maturity of CockroachDB and Google Cloud Spanner, two popular cloud-native databases.

Updated June 22, 2026

Score Breakdown

CockroachDB

Pick

Performance

Cost value

Features

Maturity

Total: 31 / 40

Google Cloud Spanner

Performance

Cost value

Features

Maturity

Total: 30 / 40

Strengths & Weaknesses

CockroachDB

Highly scalable

Fault-tolerant

Open-source

Limited support for transactions

May have performance issues with large datasets

Google Cloud Spanner

High performance

Strong support for large-scale applications

Tight integration with Google Cloud

Expensive

Limited support for non-Google Cloud platforms

When to Choose

CockroachDB

Best when you need a highly scalable, fault-tolerant database for cloud-native applications

Google Cloud Spanner

Best when you need a high-performance database for large-scale applications on Google Cloud

IT Intel Verdict

Pick: CockroachDB

CockroachDB is a better choice for most use cases due to its high scalability, fault tolerance, and open-source nature, although Google Cloud Spanner is a good option when you need a high-performance database for large-scale applications on Google Cloud.

Try it out

Google Cloud

$300 free credit

Try free

Affiliate links — IT Intel may earn a commission at no cost to you.

More Databases comparisons

MySQL vs PostgreSQL MongoDB vs Cassandra Microsoft SQL Server vs Oracle Database