Databricks vs Google BigQuery Pricing (2026)
Compare / Databricks vs Google BigQuery
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Team size
25 seats

Databricks vs Google BigQuery

Data Warehousing pricing comparison · 2026

Databricks uses custom pricing, while Google BigQuery ranges from $0–$6.25/month. These products use different pricing models (Custom enterprise pricing vs Per-seat subscription), so a direct price comparison isn't meaningful — costs depend on usage volume and mix.

Visit
See pricing on each vendor's site
Above-the-fold path — each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
Visit Databricks pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
Visit Google pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
Compare
2 products · Data Warehousing
Side-by-side · live
Databricks
Databricks uses consumption-based pricing measured in Databricks Units (DBUs) as of March
verified 5d ago
$612 $250K
View pricing →
Google BigQuery
Google BigQuery is a fully managed, serverless data warehouse that enables super-fast SQL
verified 20d ago
$612 $250K
View pricing →
Verdict · Vendr median · year 1
Google saves $249K vs Databricks · 25 seats
Cheapest $612
Spread 100%
Estimated license cost
at 25 seats
List price × seats. Click a tier below to lock it.
Custom pricing
Custom
all tiers are quote-only
Pricing model unknown
Pricing model unknown
no public list price found
What buyers actually pay
median, annual
Vendr deal-flow data. The real benchmark, not list price.
Median annual
$250K/yr
Vendr · n=171 avg 13% negotiated
↓ Lowest median
Median annual
$612/yr
Vendr · n=12
REF · 01

Sources & confidence

Every dollar amount and contract clause below traces back to a sourced fact. We don't manufacture composite scores.

Where this data comes from
Vendr · TrustRadius · Reddit · BBB · official docs
Sources 16 sourced facts
9 hidden-cost · 4 contract · Vendr median · 2 review platforms
Last verified 5d ago
Confidence Medium confidence
Sources 9 sourced facts
6 hidden-cost · Vendr median · 2 review platforms
Last verified 2w ago
Confidence Medium confidence
REF · 02

Plans at a glance

Every tier per product. Lock one to drive the cost row above and reveal a tier-specific outbound CTA.

Tier ladder
Click a tier to lock the cost row to it. Locking surfaces a tier-specific Visit CTA.
REF · 03

Hidden costs

Each cost is severity-ranked, with the dollar range quoted from its source (Vendr, Reddit, TrustRadius, BBB, official docs) — never our estimate.

Beyond the sticker
Severity-ranked, sourced
5 documented
  • Support Fees
    12-30% of license costs
    3 sources
  • Idle Cluster Costs
    10-30% of license costs
    3 sources
  • Pricing Calculator Inaccuracy
    $150,000-$2,000,000
    1 source
  • Azure Marketplace Upfront Payment Requirement
    $250,000-$2,000,000
    1 source
  • Data Egress and Cross-Region Transfer Fees
    $1,000-$10,000/month in cloud provider egress charges
    1 source
3 documented
  • Unexpected Query Costs Without Hard Limits
    Variable - users report £240-€327 in unexpected charges
    3 sources
  • Concurrent Query Limits and Quotas
    5-10% of license costs
    1 source
  • Non-Transparent Billing Reports
    Variable
    2 sources
REF · 05

What users say

Aggregated, with sample sizes. We use whichever review platform has data.

User reviews
TrustRadius · Trustpilot · G2
TrustRadius
8.8out of 5 (5)
Trustpilot
1.5out of 5 (2)
Best for
Getting started
Watch out
Unpredictable and escalating costs
TrustRadius
9out of 5 (6)
Trustpilot
1.3out of 5 (24)
Best for
Developers and teams testing BigQuery or running very small monthly workloads
Watch out
Unexpected billing charges without hard spending limits
Decide
Get a quote from each vendor
Each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
Visit Databricks pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
Visit Google pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
License cost is computed from publicly listed plans (real math, list price × seats). Median annual cost is from Vendr's deal flow when available — see source badges. Hidden costs and contract terms each cite their own sources. We do not invent composite scores.
Data Warehousing

Databricks

Custom pricing
/month
7 plans · Free tier
Full pricing breakdown →
VS
Data Warehousing

Google BigQuery

$0–$6.25
/month
5 plans · Free tier
Full pricing breakdown →
⚖

Different Pricing Models

Direct price comparison isn't meaningful here — Databricks uses Custom enterprise pricing pricing while Google BigQuery uses Per-seat subscription pricing. Your actual cost will depend on usage volume, team size, or both. Here's each product in its native unit.

Custom enterprise pricing

Databricks

Custom pricing
See full Databricks pricing →
vs
Per-seat subscription

Google BigQuery

$0–$6.25 / month
See full Google BigQuery pricing →

Databricks and Google BigQuery both operate in the data warehousing category. This page compares their list pricing.

Plan-by-Plan Pricing

Plan Databricks Google BigQuery
Free Trial Free /usage Free /month
Data Engineering Custom Custom
Data Warehousing Custom Custom
Interactive Workloads Custom Custom
Artificial Intelligence Custom Custom
Operational Database Custom —
Genie Custom —

Cost at Scale

Total cost of ownership — licenses, implementation, and hidden costs included.

Databricks

7 scenarios
$500
Small Data Engineering Team
$1,500/month (including cloud infrastructure)
$3,000
Mid-Size Analytics Team
$8,000/month (including cloud infrastructure)
$15,000
Enterprise ML Platform
$50,000/month (including cloud infrastructure)
See all 7 scenarios →

Google BigQuery

4 scenarios
$0/month (within free tier)
Small Team / Free Tier
$500
Growing Analytics Team
$2,000/month
$5,000
Enterprise Data Platform
$30,000/month
See all 4 scenarios →

Market Intelligence

Databricks

Median annual cost
$249,960
Average negotiated discount
13%
Based on
171 deals

Google BigQuery

Median annual cost
$612
Based on
12 deals

What Users Say

Databricks

Trustpilot
1.5out of 5 (2)
TrustRadius
8.8out of 10 (5)
Top complaints
  • Unpredictable and escalating costs
  • Pricing calculator inaccuracy leading to budget overruns
  • Steep learning curve for new users

Google BigQuery

Trustpilot
1.3out of 5 (24)
TrustRadius
9out of 10 (6)
Top complaints
  • Unexpected billing charges without hard spending limits
  • Free credits not automatically applied to prevent charges
  • Difficult to reach customer support for billing issues

Hidden Costs

Beyond the sticker price — what catches buyers off guard.

Databricks 5 hidden costs

critical
Support Fees 12-30% of license costs
high
Idle Cluster Costs 10-30% of license costs
critical
Pricing Calculator Inaccuracy $150,000-$2,000,000
medium
Azure Marketplace Upfront Payment Requirement $250,000-$2,000,000
medium
Data Egress and Cross-Region Transfer Fees $1,000-$10,000/month in cloud provider egress charges
See all Databricks hidden costs →

Google BigQuery 3 hidden costs

high
Unexpected Query Costs Without Hard Limits Variable - users report £240-€327 in unexpected charges
medium
Concurrent Query Limits and Quotas 5-10% of license costs
medium
Non-Transparent Billing Reports Variable
See all Google BigQuery hidden costs →

Continue researching

Databricks

Google BigQuery

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