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SAP HANA vs SingleStore

SAP HANA: SAP's in-memory columnar HTAP database, the mandatory engine under S/4HANA. SingleStore: Distributed SQL mixing in-memory rowstore and columnstore for real-time analytics, search and vectors.

key differences

  • Only SAP HANA has triggers.
  • Only SingleStore has change data capture, online schema changes, streaming ingest.

choose sap-hana for

  • +Running SAP S/4HANA and BW/4HANA
  • +Real-time operational reporting on ERP data
  • +Embedding analytics and ML (PAL/APL) in SAP business processes
  • +Grounding SAP Joule/AI scenarios with the vector and knowledge-graph engines

best at · HTAP, OLTP, OLAP

choose singlestore for

  • +Real-time customer-facing analytics
  • +Fraud detection and risk scoring on streaming data
  • +Ad-tech and IoT ingestion with immediate querying
  • +Hybrid vector plus keyword search for RAG

best at · HTAP, Real-time analytics, Vector search

SAP HANASAP's in-memory columnar HTAP database, the mandatory engine under S/4HANA.
SingleStoreDistributed SQL mixing in-memory rowstore and columnstore for real-time analytics, search and vectors.
overview
Primary model
Relational
Relational
Also supports
Columnar / OLAP, Document, Graph, Spatial, Vector
Columnar / OLAP, Document, Vector, Search Engine, Spatial
Type
Database engine
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
SAP SE
SingleStore, Inc.
First release
2010
2013
Latest version
HANA Cloud QRC 2/2026 (Jun 2026)
9.0.44 (Sep 24, 2026)
License
ProprietaryProprietary commercial license
ProprietaryProprietary (free developer/standard licenses with limits)
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
39.7
29.0
Rank
#48
#92
GitHub stars
–
–
Stack Overflow questions
2K
403
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Horizontal scaling
Native
Native
Multi-region
Read replicas
Read replicas
ACID
Full
Full
Consistency
Strong
Strong
Schema
Strict
Strict
Architecture
In memory, Distributed, Primary replica, Client server
Distributed, In memory, Client server
deployment
Self-hosted
✓
✓
Vendor-managed cloud
✓
✓
Serverless
—
—
Embedded
—
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Alibaba Cloud
AWS, Google Cloud, 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, SQLScript, openCypher
SQL, MPSQL (stored procedures)
Client languages
Java, Python, JavaScript, C#, Go, C++, ABAP
Java, Python, JavaScript, Go, C#, PHP, Rust
Best for
HTAP, OLTP, OLAP, Real-time analytics
HTAP, Real-time analytics, Vector search, Search
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

SAP HANA vs SingleStore: FAQ

What is the difference between SAP HANA and SingleStore?

SAP HANA: SAP's in-memory columnar HTAP database, the mandatory engine under S/4HANA. SingleStore: Distributed SQL mixing in-memory rowstore and columnstore for real-time analytics, search and vectors. Only SAP HANA has triggers. Only SingleStore has change data capture, online schema changes, streaming ingest.

When should I choose SAP HANA over SingleStore?

Choose SAP HANA for running SAP S/4HANA and BW/4HANA; real-time operational reporting on ERP data; and embedding analytics and ML (PAL/APL) in SAP business processes. Choose SingleStore for real-time customer-facing analytics; fraud detection and risk scoring on streaming data; and ad-tech and IoT ingestion with immediate querying.

Is SAP HANA or SingleStore more popular?

SAP HANA ranks #48 on the WhichDB Score (39.7/100) and SingleStore ranks #92 (29.0/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are SAP HANA and SingleStore open source?

No. SAP HANA is proprietary, closed-source software. No. SingleStore is proprietary, closed-source software.