redshift-vs-snowflake

Amazon Redshift and Snowflake are both data warehouse software designed to store data for querying, analysis, and extraction. Mid-sized businesses are the most frequent users of both data warehouse solutions. Large enterprises are more likely to use Snowball, likely due to its ability to work with many types of data. Smaller businesses tend to use Amazon Redshift due to its usability and affordable pricing.

Features

Amazon Redshift and Snowflake both offer essential data warehouse features, including storage and querying data, but they also have some standout features that set them apart.

Amazon Redshift provides end-to-end encryption and highly customizable security features at all price points. Additionally, Amazon Redshift offers many integrations with other technologies, particularly with technologies on the AWS platform. Lastly, Amazon Redshift requires less technical expertise to use as it has a usable interface and secure backup features.

Snowflake provides native support for JSON documents, allowing for built-in functions and querying for JSON data. Additionally, Snowflake includes robust automation tools for data vacuuming and compression, which can save time for users. Lastly, Snowflake can handle complex data types like arrays and objects, making it a great choice for businesses with a lot of complex data.

Limitations

Though Amazon Redshift and Snowflake both offer robust data warehouse features, they also have some limitations that are important to consider.

Amazon Redshift has limited JSON support. By default, it splits all JSON data into strings, which can make it difficult to query and analyze. Database management for Amazon Redshift mostly has to be handled manually, as opposed to Snowflakes automation features. Lack of automation may make Amazon Redshift a poor choice for companies with small technical teams that can benefit from automation. Lastly, Amazon Redshift provides limited support for complex data types like arrays and objects.

Snowflake offers advanced security features, but they are not available at every price point. Users with small data storage needs, but important security needs may struggle to find the right Snowflake package for them. Snowflake also lacks the seamless AWS technology integrations that Amazon Redshift provides. Businesses with few technical staff members may also struggle with Snowflake’s user interface and backup features.

Pricing

Amazon Redshift offers a two-month trial where users can see if they like the technology before purchasing. Beyond the trial, Amazon Redshift is priced depending on storage needs and feature requirements. Pricing can start as low as $0.25 per hour, and reach as high as $13.04 per hour.

Snowflake offers a one-month free trial for users to try the software. Pricing for Snowflake is dependent on storage needs, platform, and geographic region and starts as low as $2.00 per hour. Snowflake includes scaling pricing based on workload, so a business with a rapidly changing workload may have some savings with Snowflake.