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Google Cloud Datastream
What it is
Google Cloud Datastream is a serverless change data capture and replication service for synchronizing data with minimal latency. A stream can capture ongoing changes and backfill historical data from its source, while the service scales automatically without requiring resources to be provisioned or managed. Documented sources include Oracle, MySQL, PostgreSQL, AlloyDB, SQL Server, MongoDB, Spanner, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Workday, and Microsoft Dataverse; some are listed as preview. Destinations include BigQuery, Cloud Storage, and Apache Iceberg tables. Datastream also integrates with Dataflow templates to load data from Cloud Storage into destinations such as BigQuery, Cloud SQL, and Spanner. Connectivity options include IP allowlisting, a forward SSH tunnel, and private connectivity over VPC peering. Buffered data is encrypted at rest, while replicated data uses destination security controls by default. Charges apply to processed data, but idle streams incur no cost; other Google Cloud resources are billed separately. Events are delivered at least once, and their order is not guaranteed. The free tier covers 100 GiB of eligible CDC data per month per billing account.
For and against
For
- Captures ongoing changes and backfills historical data.
- Scales automatically without managed resources.
- Supports BigQuery, Cloud Storage, and Apache Iceberg destinations.
- Offers IP allowlisting, SSH tunnel, and private VPC connectivity.
- Idle streams incur no processing charge.
Against
- Events are delivered at least once, not exactly once.
- Event order is not guaranteed.
- Other Google Cloud resources are billed separately.
- Documented event sizes are limited by destination.
The verdict
Datastream combines change capture and historical backfill with several source, destination, and connectivity options. Account for its event delivery behavior, destination-specific size limits, and separate charges for other Google Cloud resources.
Who it suits
Datastream may suit teams moving ongoing database changes and historical data into analytics or other supported destinations. It is also listed for migration, synchronization, and event-driven architecture use cases.
Plans and prices
Datastream Free Tier
AlloyDB and Spanner sources to BigQuery · 100 GiB shared across eligible streams per billing account
Read 30 Sep 2026 · cloud.google.com
Datastream backfill
First 500 GiB each month free · listed rate applies above 500 GiB · Iowa (us-central1) pricing
Read 30 Sep 2026 · cloud.google.com
Datastream CDC
0–2,500 GiB at listed rate · higher tiers have lower per-GiB rates · pricing beyond 10 TB: contact sales
Read 30 Sep 2026 · cloud.google.com
On the record
- Administration
- Datastream can be administered through the Google Cloud console, Google Cloud CLI, and REST API.docs.cloud.google.com · read 30 Sep 2026
- Connectivity
- Connectivity options include IP allowlisting, a forward SSH tunnel, and private connectivity over VPC peering.docs.cloud.google.com · read 30 Sep 2026
- Credentials
- User metadata is encrypted in transit and at rest, and access to it is tracked and audited.docs.cloud.google.com · read 30 Sep 2026
- Destinations
- Supported destinations are BigQuery, Cloud Storage, and Apache Iceberg tables.docs.cloud.google.com · read 30 Sep 2026
- Encryption
- Buffered data is encrypted at rest, and replicated data is encrypted by default using destination security controls.docs.cloud.google.com · read 30 Sep 2026
- Event delivery
- Events are delivered at least once and their order is not guaranteed.docs.cloud.google.com · read 30 Sep 2026
- Event size limits
- The documented event size limit is 20 MB for BigQuery destinations and 100 MB for Cloud Storage destinations.docs.cloud.google.com · read 30 Sep 2026
- Integrations
- Datastream integrates with Dataflow templates to load data from Cloud Storage into destinations including BigQuery, Cloud SQL, and Spanner.docs.cloud.google.com · read 30 Sep 2026
- Processing costs
- Datastream charges for processed data; idle streams incur no cost, and other Google Cloud resources used are billed separately.cloud.google.com · read 30 Sep 2026
- Purpose
- Datastream is a serverless change data capture and replication service for synchronizing data with minimal latency.docs.cloud.google.com · read 30 Sep 2026
- Replication modes
- A stream can capture ongoing changes and backfill historical data from its source.cloud.google.com · read 30 Sep 2026
- Serverless
- Datastream requires no resources to provision or manage and scales up or down automatically.docs.cloud.google.com · read 30 Sep 2026
- Sources
- Documented sources include Oracle, MySQL, PostgreSQL, AlloyDB, SQL Server, MongoDB, Spanner, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Workday, and Microsoft Dataverse, with some listed as preview.docs.cloud.google.com · read 30 Sep 2026
- Use cases
- Google identifies analytics, database replication, migration, synchronization, and event-driven architectures as Datastream use cases.docs.cloud.google.com · read 30 Sep 2026
