Comparison

Google Cloud Spanner vs SQLite

On the evidence we track, SQLite leads this comparison with a composite score of 60/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
Google Cloud Spanner55
★SQLite60
Score
vioscaleAI score
Google Cloud Spanner55 / 100low · 38%
SQLite60 / 100medium · 53%
Pricing
Free tier
Google Cloud Spanner✓
SQLite✓
Model
Google Cloud Spannercommercial
Price level
Google Cloud Spannerlow
SQLitefree
Transparent
Google Cloud Spanner–
SQLite✓
Integrations
Count
Google Cloud Spanner4
SQLite–
Reliability
Sla pct
Google Cloud Spanner99.999
SQLite–
Status page
Google Cloud Spanner✓
SQLite–
Adoption
Dependent repos
Google Cloud Spanner–
SQLite0
Github stars
Google Cloud Spanner–
SQLite10,602
Stackoverflow questions
Google Cloud Spanner–
SQLite40,000
Activity
Commits last 30d
Google Cloud Spanner–
SQLite100
Release
Cadence days
Google Cloud Spanner–
SQLite60
License
Spdx
Google Cloud Spanner–
SQLiteblessing
Language
Primary
Google Cloud Spanner–
SQLiteC
Market
Availability
Google Cloud Spanner–
Content
Faq
Google Cloud Spanner4 items
SQLite7 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for relational databases. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Core
SQL model
Google Cloud SpannerFull SQL
SQLiteFull SQL
Transactions
ACID transactions
Google Cloud SpannerFull
SQLiteFull
Highest isolation level
Google Cloud SpannerSerializable
SQLite-
Consistency
Consistency
Google Cloud SpannerStrong
SQLiteStrong
Scale
Horizontal scale
Google Cloud SpannerNatively distributed
SQLiteSingle-node
Replication
Replication
Google Cloud SpannerConsensus (Raft/Paxos)
SQLiteAsync
Availability
Automatic failover / HA
Google Cloud Spanner✓
SQLite✗
Deployment
Deployment
Google Cloud SpannerManaged
SQLiteEmbedded
Serverless / scale-to-zero
Google Cloud Spanner-
SQLite✓
Compatibility
Wire compatibility
Google Cloud SpannerPostgres protocol
SQLiteNone
Extensibility
Extensions / plugins / UDFs
Google Cloud Spanner✓
SQLite✓
Licensing
Licence class
Google Cloud SpannerProprietary
SQLitePermissive OSS
Data types
JSON / document support
Google Cloud Spanner-
SQLite✓
Geo / spatial
Google Cloud Spanner-
SQLiteExtension

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Google Cloud Spanner

Google Cloud Spanner is a managed database service that unifies multiple data models (relational, key-value, graph, vector search) on one platform. It provides up to 99.999% uptime with globally consistent transactions through a distributed timestamp system.

Independently observed

SQLite

Leader

An open-source, zero-configuration database engine that provides complete SQL functionality in a compact library designed to be embedded directly into applications with minimal setup or external dependencies.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Google Cloud Spanner

Usage-basedFree tier90-day trial

Usage-based pricing: compute capacity (nodes/processing units, hourly), storage (monthly), backups, data replication, network bandwidth. Free 90-day trial instances. Optional 1-year and 3-year committed use discounts. Three editions available: Standard, Enterprise, and Enterprise Plus.

as of verify ↗

SQLite

Leader
Open sourceFree tier

Free and open source, public domain

as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platforms
Web
Google Cloud Spanner–
SQLite✓
iOS
Google Cloud Spanner–
SQLite✓
Android
Google Cloud Spanner–
SQLite✓
macOS
Google Cloud Spanner–
SQLite✓
Windows
Google Cloud Spanner–
SQLite✓
Linux
Google Cloud Spanner–
SQLite✓
CLI
Google Cloud Spanner–
SQLite✓
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Google Cloud Spanner✓
SQLite✗
Self-hosted
Google Cloud Spanner✓
SQLite✓
On-premise
Google Cloud Spanner✓
SQLite✗
Hybrid
Google Cloud Spanner✓
SQLite✗

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

Google Cloud Spanner

9 total
  • Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform
  • Gemini CLI
  • Model Context Protocol (MCP)
  • Agent Development Kit (ADK)
  • Data Agent Kit
  • VS Code
  • Cursor
  • GitHub Copilot
  • Kiro
Independently observed

SQLite

Leader

Not documented yet.

Still deciding?

Google Cloud Spanner or SQLite: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.