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Software · head to head

Teradata vs BigQuery

T

Teradata

Software

Autonomous Knowledge Platform for Enterprise AI

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
BigQuery logo

BigQuery

Software

Serverless, highly scalable enterprise data warehouse

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only BigQuery has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Teradata no pricing is disclosed on the site; buyers must contact sales or use a free evaluation program to get a quote, per teradata.com, August 2026; BigQuery query costs can become substantial for organizations with high query volumes

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Teradata and BigQuery actually diverge.

Attributes where Teradata and BigQuery differ
AttributeTeradataBigQuery
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteusage-based
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebWeb, Cloud API
FoundedUnknown2008

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 Teradata

Nothing recorded that BigQuery does not also cover.

Only in BigQuery

  • Serverless Architecture
  • Petabyte Scale
  • Real-time Analytics
  • Machine Learning
  • Geospatial Analysis
  • Streaming Ingestion
  • Standard SQL
  • Looker

What people use each for

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

Teradata

No use cases recorded yet. See the Teradata review.

BigQuery

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

Where each one falls short

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

Teradata

  • No pricing is disclosed on the site; buyers must contact sales or use a free evaluation program to get a quote, per teradata.com, August 2026

BigQuery

  • Query costs can become substantial for organizations with high query volumes
  • Data egress from Google Cloud incurs additional charges

Pricing, plan by plan

Teradata

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Teradata review.

BigQuery

Free
  • Free TierFree
    • 1TB queries/month
    • 10GB storage/month
    • Standard support
  • On-demand$6.25/TB
    • Pay per query
    • Pay per storage
    • All features

Which should you pick?

Choose Teradata if

Nothing in the data separates Teradata from BigQuery on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Teradata review

Choose BigQuery if

  • You need serverless architecture.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Cloud API.
  • You also want petabyte scale.
BigQuery review

Questions people ask

Is Teradata or BigQuery better?
Neither clearly leads. Teradata starts at On request and BigQuery at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Teradata or BigQuery?
BigQuery has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Teradata and Free for BigQuery.
Does Teradata or BigQuery run on more platforms?
Teradata runs on Web. BigQuery runs on Web, Cloud API.
Can I use BigQuery for free?
Yes. BigQuery has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Teradata starts at On request.
What can Teradata do that BigQuery cannot?
BigQuery covers Serverless Architecture, Petabyte Scale, Real-time Analytics, Machine Learning.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

BigQuery: How is BigQuery priced?

BigQuery charges $5 per terabyte of data processed in on-demand queries. Storage is billed separately: active storage is charged per GB, and data inactive for 90+ days moves to long-term storage at reduced rates.

Source
BigQuery: What is BigQuery's architecture?

BigQuery separates compute and storage, using Google's Colossus for distributed storage and Borg for computation, allowing independent scaling of each.

Source
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