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Databases · head to head

Amazon Redshift vs Google Sheets

Amazon Redshift logo

Amazon Redshift

Databases

Fast, scalable cloud data warehouse from AWS

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Google Sheets logo

Google Sheets

Spreadsheets

Cloud spreadsheet, free for a personal Google account and bundled into paid Google Workspace for organisations

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Amazon Redshift on-demand pricing runs up to 75% higher than competitors like Snowflake and BigQuery; Google Sheets performance degrades noticeably on very large or formula-heavy spreadsheets compared with desktop Excel, particularly with complex array formulas.
  • They diverge on capability: Amazon Redshift covers Columnar Storage, Google Sheets covers Real-time collaboration.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Amazon Redshift and Google Sheets actually diverge.

Attributes where Amazon Redshift and Google Sheets differ
AttributeAmazon RedshiftGoogle Sheets
Pricing modelusage-basedFree personally, bundled into paid Google Workspace for organisations
PlatformsWebWeb, iOS, Android
CategoryDatabasesSpreadsheets
Founded2012Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Amazon Redshift

  • Columnar Storage
  • Massively Parallel
  • Machine Learning
  • AQUA Acceleration
  • Data Sharing
  • Federated Query
  • Concurrency Scaling
  • S3

Only in Google Sheets

  • Real-time collaboration
  • Formulas and pivot tables
  • Apps Script automation
  • Excel compatibility
  • Offline mode
  • Connected Sheets

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Amazon Redshift

  • Business intelligencenot Google Sheets
  • Data warehousingnot Google Sheets
  • Real-time analyticsnot Google Sheets
  • Reportingnot Google Sheets
  • Machine learningnot Google Sheets

Google Sheets

  • A freelancer or small team wanting real-time spreadsheet collaboration without installing softwarenot Amazon Redshift
  • A school or nonprofit already using free or discounted Google Workspace for Educationnot Amazon Redshift
  • A company standardising on Google Workspace for email and file storage that gets Sheets includednot Amazon Redshift
  • A team building lightweight internal tools with Apps Script rather than a dedicated databasenot Amazon Redshift

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Amazon Redshift

  • On-demand pricing runs up to 75% higher than competitors like Snowflake and BigQuery
  • Requires significant manual tuning including managing concurrency scaling costs and configuring Workload Management queues
  • Performance degrades without proper design of distribution keys and sort keys
  • Limited elastic resize options - can only halve or double current cluster size
  • AWS lock-in makes it unsuitable for multi-cloud architectures

Google Sheets

  • Performance degrades noticeably on very large or formula-heavy spreadsheets compared with desktop Excel, particularly with complex array formulas.
  • Its charting and pivot table features are less capable than Excel for advanced statistical or financial analysis.
  • Offline editing requires the Chrome browser or a specific offline-enabled setup, so it is not as seamless as a native desktop application.
  • The free personal tier has no admin controls, audit logging or data loss prevention, so it is not appropriate for regulated business data on its own.
  • Apps Script has execution time limits and quota restrictions that make it unsuitable for heavier automation workloads a dedicated backend would handle better.

Pricing, plan by plan

Amazon Redshift

Free
  • Free TrialFree
    • 750 DC2.Large hours
    • 2 months free
    • Full features
  • On-Demand$0.25/hour
    • Pay per node hour
    • All features
    • Standard support

Google Sheets

Free
  • Personal Google accountFree
    • Full Sheets functionality
    • 15GB shared Drive storage across Gmail, Drive and Photos
    • No admin controls
  • Google Workspace Business Starter$7/month
    • Sheets bundled with Gmail, Drive and Meet
    • Admin console and centralised management
    • 30GB pooled storage per user

Which should you pick?

Choose Amazon Redshift if

  • You need columnar storage.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want massively parallel.
Amazon Redshift review

Choose Google Sheets if

  • You need real-time collaboration.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want formulas and pivot tables.
Google Sheets review

Questions people ask

Is Amazon Redshift or Google Sheets better?
Neither clearly leads. Amazon Redshift starts at Free and Google Sheets at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Amazon Redshift or Google Sheets?
Amazon Redshift starts at Free and Google Sheets at Free.
Does Amazon Redshift or Google Sheets run on more platforms?
Amazon Redshift runs on Web. Google Sheets runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Amazon Redshift for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Amazon Redshift best used for?
Amazon Redshift is most often used for business intelligence, data warehousing, real-time analytics, reporting. Of those, business intelligence and data warehousing are not what Google Sheets is typically brought in for.
What can Amazon Redshift do that Google Sheets cannot?
Amazon Redshift covers Columnar Storage, Massively Parallel, Machine Learning, AQUA Acceleration. Google Sheets covers Real-time collaboration, Formulas and pivot tables, Apps Script automation, Excel compatibility.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Amazon Redshift: What deployment options does Amazon Redshift offer?

Redshift offers Provisioned Cluster (with RA3 or DC2 nodes) and Serverless options to match varying workloads. The new Redshift RG instance family, powered by Graviton, delivers 2.4x faster performance than RA3 at 30% lower cost per vCPU.

Source
Google Sheets: Is Google Sheets really free?

Yes, for a personal Google account with full functionality, subject to the 15GB Drive storage limit shared across Google services.

Amazon Redshift: What does Amazon Redshift cost?

Provisioned cluster pricing: RA3 on-demand starts at $1.086/hour for ra3.xlplus. Serverless costs approximately $0.375 per RPU-hour with 4-RPU minimum (roughly $1.50/hour active workload). Managed storage costs $0.024/GB-month.

Source
Google Sheets: Why would a business pay for something that is free?

Businesses pay for Google Workspace, which bundles Sheets with admin controls, larger storage, audit logs and support that a personal account lacks.

Amazon Redshift: Does Redshift work with data lakes?

Yes, Redshift's integrated data lake query engine processes workloads on Apache Iceberg tables and other supported formats in Amazon S3, allowing you to run SQL analytics across your data warehouse and data lake from the same engine.

Source
Google Sheets: Does Google Sheets work with Excel files?

Yes, it opens, edits and exports Microsoft Excel format files directly.

Amazon Redshift: Is there a free tier for Amazon Redshift?

AWS offers a free trial with $300 USD in Serverless credits valid for 90 days, but Redshift is not part of the permanent AWS Free Tier.

Source
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