Databricks SQL vs Snowflake
Databricks SQL: Serverless SQL warehouses on the Databricks lakehouse, powered by the Photon C++ engine. Snowflake: Fully managed cloud data warehouse with separate storage and compute, now spanning AI and apps.
key differences
- Only Snowflake has full-text search, stored procedures, branching.
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 snowflake for
- +Enterprise data warehouse
- +ELT pipelines with dbt
- +Cross-company data sharing
- +BI and reporting at scale
best at · Warehouse, OLAP, Lakehouse
Databricks SQL vs Snowflake: FAQ
What is the difference between Databricks SQL and Snowflake?
Databricks SQL: Serverless SQL warehouses on the Databricks lakehouse, powered by the Photon C++ engine. Snowflake: Fully managed cloud data warehouse with separate storage and compute, now spanning AI and apps. Only Snowflake has full-text search, stored procedures, branching.
When should I choose Databricks SQL over Snowflake?
Choose Databricks SQL for lakehouse SQL and BI on Delta Lake; consolidating a separate warehouse into Databricks; and dbt transformations on the lakehouse. Choose Snowflake for enterprise data warehouse, ELT pipelines with dbt and cross-company data sharing.
Is Databricks SQL or Snowflake more popular?
Snowflake ranks #7 on the WhichDB Score (74.4/100) and Databricks SQL ranks #147 (20.8/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.
Are Databricks SQL and Snowflake open source?
No. Databricks SQL is proprietary, closed-source software. No. Snowflake is proprietary, closed-source software.