BigQuery vs Snowflake: Pricing and Ratings Compared (2026)
Entry prices and free plans as read on each vendor's pricing page, and user ratings as published on review sites, for BigQuery and Snowflake side by side. This page compares data; it is not a hands-on review.
On the data: On the data below, BigQuery leads on higher user rating. We do not name an overall winner for this pair.
Short on time? Here's the quick answer
Based on published vendor pricing and features and on public review data, here's who should pick what:
BigQuery
Google's serverless data warehouse for analytics
Snowflake
Unify your data across clouds with separate compute and storage
Best for you if:
- • You want to unify your data across clouds with separate compute and storage
| At a Glance | BigQuery | Snowflake |
|---|---|---|
Starts at | Not published | Not published |
Category | Data & Databases Analytics | Cloud & Infrastructure Data & Databases |
Rating | 4.5/5 G2 4.5 · Capterra 4.6 1,258 reviews | 4.1/5 G2 4.6 · Capterra 4.7 · Trustpilot 0.6 865 reviews |
Free plan | No | No |
Watch out for | Streaming inserts cost $0.05/GB, separate from query costs. | Warehouses that are not configured to auto-suspend burn credits continuously. |
Choose BigQuery or Snowflake?
Choose BigQuery if
- You need data & databases features specifically.
Choose Snowflake if
- You want to unify your data across clouds with separate compute and storage
In-Depth Analysis
BigQuery
Google's serverless data warehouse for analytics
BigQuery's on-demand pricing ($6.25/TiB queried) with 1 TiB free per month is one of the most generous free tiers in cloud data warehousing.
Watch out
Streaming inserts cost $0.05/GB, separate from query costs.
Strengths
- Pro: Best serverless data warehouse
- Pro: Petabyte scale
- Pro: SQL interface
- Pro: ML built-in
- Pro: Pay per query
Weaknesses
- Con: Query costs can surprise
- Con: Slot management complex
- Con: Streaming inserts expensive
- Con: Learning curve
- Con: Some SQL limitations
Key features
Snowflake
Unify your data across clouds with separate compute and storage
Snowflake's consumption-based pricing starts at ~$2/credit (Standard) and scales to ~$4/credit (Business Critical), with storage at $23-40/TB/month depending on commitment level.
Watch out
Warehouses that are not configured to auto-suspend burn credits continuously.
Strengths
- Pro: Elastic scaling
- Pro: Multi-cloud
- Pro: Easy to use
Weaknesses
- Con: Costs can spike
- Con: Vendor lock-in
Key features
Plans and prices: BigQuery vs Snowflake
| Tool | Plans and prices | Source |
|---|---|---|
| BigQuery |
| cloud.google.com/bigquery/pricing read Oct 30, 2026 |
| Snowflake |
| snowflake.com/pricing read Oct 7, 2026 |
Prices as read on each vendor's own pricing page on the date shown. Plans are listed per tool and are not matched against the other tool's plans: a plan name or price in one column says nothing about the same row in the other. Details on BigQuery pricing and Snowflake pricing.
Key Takeaways
BigQuery
- Higher user rating: 4.5/5 vs 4.1/5
Snowflake
- Choose Snowflake if you want to unify your data across clouds with separate compute and storage
What the data shows
On the data below, BigQuery leads on higher user rating. We do not name an overall winner for this pair.
- BigQuery has the higher user rating (4.5/5 from 1,258 reviews for BigQuery, 4.1/5 from 865 reviews for Snowflake).
Criteria: user rating (only above 20 reviews on both sides, gap of 0.2 or more), entry price (only on the same billing basis), free plan. How we rate
Frequently Asked Questions
How do BigQuery and Snowflake compare in 2026?
On the data below, BigQuery leads on higher user rating. We do not name an overall winner for this pair. BigQuery has the higher user rating (4.5/5 from 1,258 reviews for BigQuery, 4.1/5 from 865 reviews for Snowflake).
What are BigQuery and Snowflake used for?
BigQuery: Google's serverless data warehouse for analytics. Snowflake: Unify your data across clouds with separate compute and storage.
What does BigQuery cost vs Snowflake?
BigQuery has no public paid-plan price on file. Snowflake has no public paid-plan price on file. Prices read on the vendors' pricing pages, latest check Oct 30, 2026.
What's the main difference between BigQuery and Snowflake?
BigQuery's main strength: best serverless data warehouse. Snowflake's main strength: elastic scaling.
Spotted an outdated price or a wrong fact? Suggest a correction: we check it against the vendor's own page. Work for one of these vendors? Claim your listing to update it yourself.