Stop paying BigQuery per query.
Same SQL, terabytes in seconds.
BigQuery bills you for every byte a query scans, so one wide join can spike the invoice. Hardcharger runs the same standard SQL at a flat, predictable cost in your own cloud or on-prem, on the open formats you control. Your data never has to live inside Google’s walls.
Apache-2.0. Every feature included. No license keys or per-vCPU software fees.
$ HARDCHARGER_ADMIN_PASSWORD=change-me hardcharger-server --database warehouse.duckdbsql> SELECT * FROM events WHERE ts > '2026-01-01';BigQuery on-demand: ~$6.25 / TB scannedno per-query surprise on your invoice
- GizmoSQL 1.42.0 · DuckDB 1.5.677.0 s · $0.164
- Hardcharger 2.0.0 · DuckDB 2.0.042.4 s · $0.090
Cost per full run: the run’s seconds at the machine’s AWS on-demand price; a cloud cost, not a TPC price/performance metric. Same machine type and data for every server.
This workload is derived from the TPC-H Benchmark and is not comparable to published TPC-H Benchmark results, as this implementation does not comply with all requirements of the TPC-H Benchmark. Deviations: only the 22 queries are run (no refresh functions, no power or throughput test), timed as the sum of per-query means over three runs, without an audit. TPC, TPC Benchmark and TPC-H are trademarks of the Transaction Processing Performance Council (TPC).
A flat cost, not per scan
Predictable pricing you control. No surprise invoice when a query scans more than you expected.
Your data stays in your cloud
Run in your own cloud or on-prem on Iceberg, Delta, and Parquet. No export out of Google required.
No lock-in
Apache 2.0 open-source core and standard SQL. Take it anywhere, audit it before you ever pay.
Install Hardcharger, free
Native binaries, Docker, pip or Homebrew. Start with the install guide.
Point it at your data
DuckDB, Parquet, Iceberg, Delta, or DuckLake on your object storage. No ingestion, no copies.
Connect your tools
Connect Java applications over JDBC, notebooks over ADBC, and browsers over HTTP. Use dbt-hardcharger for dbt.
Hardcharger vs BigQuery — FAQ
How much cheaper is Hardcharger than BigQuery?
In our 1 TB workload derived from TPC-H, Hardcharger 2.0.0 completed the 22-query suite in 42.4 seconds for $0.09 of AWS compute. This is not a fresh head-to-head run against BigQuery. Your total cost includes infrastructure, storage and any managed services; benchmark your own workloads.
What causes BigQuery bill shock?
BigQuery on-demand pricing bills roughly $6.25 per terabyte scanned. Recurring dashboards, wide joins, and the occasional SELECT * scan the same data again and again, so the invoice climbs with no change in value delivered — and finance usually sees it 30 days too late.
Do I have to leave BigQuery entirely?
No. Many teams keep BigQuery where it works and point Hardcharger at just the expensive, scan-heavy workloads. Because Hardcharger speaks standard SQL and reads open formats in place, moving a workload is a repoint, not a migration project.
Does my data have to leave my environment?
No. Hardcharger runs in your own cloud or on-prem and reads Iceberg, Delta, and Parquet directly on your object storage. Your data and your keys never leave your infrastructure.
Query terabytes in seconds, with no per-query surprise on the invoice.
Apache-2.0. Every feature included. No license keys or per-vCPU software fees.