Google BigQuery vs MotherDuck
SEPT 2026 auditA comparison of Google BigQuery and MotherDuck built from values read directly from each provider's own documentation, with the source recorded against every figure.
The short answer
Choose Google BigQuery if…
Queries that are occasional or selective. Nothing is provisioned, the first tebibyte scanned each month is free, and a workload that runs twice a week costs nothing between runs — the only member here where a small warehouse genuinely bills zero.
Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved
Choose MotherDuck if…
Analytics that fit on one machine, priced per organisation rather than per query: $250 a month flat plus usage, so adding a query, a gigabyte or an hour does not move the floor. A 99.9% SLA comes with it.
Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved
Consider something else if…
- Google BigQuery: Your queries scan more than they return. Billing is on bytes READ, not rows produced, so $6.25 per tebibyte is a tax on unselective SQL and a dashboard refreshing every minute against a wide table is the expensive shape.
- MotherDuck: You have more than ten people or need an SLA cheaply. Business caps internal active users at ten, and both the SLA and custom roles arrive only at $250 — the free Lite plan allows three users and publishes no availability commitment.
3 sourced criteria separate them — see where, with sources, below.
Pick the criteria you care about. The chart counts how many of them lean toward each provider — the same read as scanning the bars below, just totalled for the ones you chose.
Google BigQuery 0
MotherDuck 0
At a glance.
| Criterion | Google BigQuery | MotherDuck |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| What the free plan includes | 1 tebibyte of query data processed a month and 10 gibibytes of storage, both renewing monthly rather than expiring. The only standing free allowance of the four — the others offer a trial or a credit. | Up to 3 internal active users and 2 service accounts, 10 GB of storage and 10 hours of Pulse compute a month, with community support and preset role-based access control. A standing plan rather than a trial. |
| Entry paid plan | Nothing until the second tebibyte. Queries are $6.25 per tebibyte scanned above the free tier, with no cluster, node or plan fee underneath — the only member here where a small workload genuinely costs zero. | $250 per organisation per month, plus usage. Priced on the organisation rather than on data or time — the only member here where adding a query, a gigabyte or an hour does not change the floor. |
| Pricing model | Two compute models. On-demand bills the bytes each query processes, at $6.25 per tebibyte. Capacity bills slot-hours — reserved virtual CPUs — regardless of what the queries read. The first model punishes unselective queries and the second punishes idle capacity, and the choice is made per account rather than per query. | Per organisation per month plus usage, with seats rather than scans as the limiting dimension: up to 10 internal active users on Business against 3 on Lite, and unlimited service accounts. Five instance types and read-scaling replicas sit above that. |
Where they differ.
What the free plan includes
- Google BigQuery
- 1 tebibyte of query data processed a month and 10 gibibytes of storage, both renewing monthly rather than expiring. The only standing free allowance of the four — the others offer a trial or a credit.
- MotherDuck
- Up to 3 internal active users and 2 service accounts, 10 GB of storage and 10 hours of Pulse compute a month, with community support and preset role-based access control. A standing plan rather than a trial.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- BigQuery pricing ↗
“The first 1 TiB per month is free.”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
- MotherDuck Pricing ↗
“Up to 3 internal active users and 2 service accounts 10 GB free storage 10 hrs Pulse compute per month included”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
Entry paid plan
- Google BigQuery
- Nothing until the second tebibyte. Queries are $6.25 per tebibyte scanned above the free tier, with no cluster, node or plan fee underneath — the only member here where a small workload genuinely costs zero.
- MotherDuck
- $250 per organisation per month, plus usage. Priced on the organisation rather than on data or time — the only member here where adding a query, a gigabyte or an hour does not change the floor.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- BigQuery pricing ↗
“1 tebibyte and above $6.25 / 1 tebibyte, per 1 month / account”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
- MotherDuck Pricing ↗
“Business $250 PER ORG / MONTH + USAGE”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
Pricing model
- Google BigQuery
- Two compute models. On-demand bills the bytes each query processes, at $6.25 per tebibyte. Capacity bills slot-hours — reserved virtual CPUs — regardless of what the queries read. The first model punishes unselective queries and the second punishes idle capacity, and the choice is made per account rather than per query.
- MotherDuck
- Per organisation per month plus usage, with seats rather than scans as the limiting dimension: up to 10 internal active users on Business against 3 on Lite, and unlimited service accounts. Five instance types and read-scaling replicas sit above that.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- BigQuery pricing ↗
“On-demand pricing (per TiB). With this pricing model, you are charged for the number of bytes processed by each query.”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
- MotherDuck Pricing ↗
“Up to 10 internal active users and unlimited service accounts”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
When these numbers change, hear about it. Sources are re-checked monthly; a repricing goes out as a short note.
Documented by only one.
These criteria are published by one provider and not the other. An absence here means we have not found a source, not that the feature is missing.
Questions this comparison answers.
Entry paid plan: Google BigQuery or MotherDuck?
Google BigQuery: Nothing until the second tebibyte. Queries are $6.25 per tebibyte scanned above the free tier, with no cluster, node or plan fee underneath — the only member here where a small workload genuinely costs zero.
MotherDuck: $250 per organisation per month, plus usage. Priced on the organisation rather than on data or time — the only member here where adding a query, a gigabyte or an hour does not change the floor.
Should I choose Google BigQuery or MotherDuck?
Pick Google BigQuery if Queries that are occasional or selective. Nothing is provisioned, the first tebibyte scanned each month is free, and a workload that runs twice a week costs nothing between runs — the only member here where a small warehouse genuinely bills zero.
Pick MotherDuck if Analytics that fit on one machine, priced per organisation rather than per query: $250 a month flat plus usage, so adding a query, a gigabyte or an hour does not move the floor. A 99.9% SLA comes with it.