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Databricks SQL vs Dremio

Databricks SQL: Serverless SQL warehouses on the Databricks lakehouse, powered by the Photon C++ engine. Dremio: Iceberg-native lakehouse query engine with reflections for acceleration, owned by SAP since 2026.

key differences

  • Databricks SQL is primarily a columnar / OLAP database; Dremio is relational.
  • Databricks SQL is built for larger datasets (Multi-PB) than Dremio (≤ 1 PB).
  • Transactions: Databricks SQL offers full ACID; Dremio offers limited.
  • Only Databricks SQL has transactions, vector search, geospatial, change data capture, columnar storage.
  • Databricks SQL has a serverless option; Dremio does not.

choose databricks-sql for

  • +Lakehouse SQL and BI on Delta Lake
  • +Consolidating a separate warehouse into Databricks
  • +dbt transformations on the lakehouse
  • +Serving features and aggregates for ML

best at · Lakehouse, Warehouse, OLAP

choose dremio for

  • +Iceberg lakehouse BI acceleration
  • +Semantic layer over a data lake
  • +SAP-centric data platforms
  • +Warehouse offload

best at · Lakehouse, OLAP, Warehouse

Databricks SQLServerless SQL warehouses on the Databricks lakehouse, powered by the Photon C++ engine.
DremioIceberg-native lakehouse query engine with reflections for acceleration, owned by SAP since 2026.
overview
Primary model
Columnar / OLAP
Relational
Also supports
Relational, Document, Vector, Spatial
Columnar / OLAP
Type
Managed service
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Databricks
Dremio (SAP)
First release
2020
2017
Latest version
–
–
License
ProprietaryProprietary
ProprietaryProprietary (legacy Community Edition under Apache-2.0)
Free tier
✓
—
popularity
WhichDB Score
20.8
12.7
Rank
#147
#262
GitHub stars
–
1.5K
Stack Overflow questions
543
74
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Massive (Multi-PB)
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Horizontal scaling
Native
Native
Multi-region
None
None
ACID
Full
Limited
Consistency
Strong
Strong
Schema
Flexible
Strict
Architecture
Serverless, Distributed, Shared storage
Distributed, Shared storage, Client server
deployment
Self-hosted
—
✓
Vendor-managed cloud
✓
✓
Serverless
✓
—
Embedded
—
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
AWS, Azure, Google Cloud
AWS, Azure
capabilities
Transactions
✓
—
Joins
✓
✓
Secondary indexes
—
—
Full-text search
—
—
Vector search
✓
—
Geospatial
✓
—
JSON
✓
✓
Change data capture
✓
—
Triggers
—
—
Stored procedures
—
—
Materialized views
✓
✓
TTL / expiry
—
—
Pub/Sub
—
—
Columnar storage
✓
—
In-memory
—
—
Durable persistence
✓
✓
Compression
✓
✓
Encryption at rest
✓
✓
Role-based access
✓
✓
Time travel
✓
✓
Branching
—
—
Online schema changes
✓
—
Streaming ingest
✓
—
Offline sync
—
—
Runs in WebAssembly
—
—
interfaces
Query languages
SQL (Databricks SQL / ANSI), Python
SQL
Client languages
Python, Java, JavaScript, Go, .NET
Python, Java, Go, JavaScript
Best for
Lakehouse, Warehouse, OLAP
Lakehouse, OLAP, Warehouse
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

Databricks SQL vs Dremio: FAQ

What is the difference between Databricks SQL and Dremio?

Databricks SQL: Serverless SQL warehouses on the Databricks lakehouse, powered by the Photon C++ engine. Dremio: Iceberg-native lakehouse query engine with reflections for acceleration, owned by SAP since 2026. Databricks SQL is primarily a columnar / OLAP database; Dremio is relational. Databricks SQL is built for larger datasets (Multi-PB) than Dremio (≤ 1 PB). Transactions: Databricks SQL offers full ACID; Dremio offers limited.

When should I choose Databricks SQL over Dremio?

Choose Databricks SQL for lakehouse SQL and BI on Delta Lake; consolidating a separate warehouse into Databricks; and dbt transformations on the lakehouse. Choose Dremio for iceberg lakehouse BI acceleration, semantic layer over a data lake and SAP-centric data platforms.

Is Databricks SQL or Dremio more popular?

Databricks SQL ranks #147 on the WhichDB Score (20.8/100) and Dremio ranks #262 (12.7/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are Databricks SQL and Dremio open source?

No. Databricks SQL is proprietary, closed-source software. No. Dremio is proprietary, closed-source software.