Azure Synapse Analytics vs Apache Spark

Azure Synapse Analytics9.0Visit Apache Spark8.9Visit

Higher score Azure Synapse Analytics #3 in Big Data Analytics Software 9.0/10 Pricing on request ✓ 0 of 1 features Visit Microsoft

vs

Apache Spark #4 in Big Data Analytics Software 8.9/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 1 features Visit Apache Spark

• Azure Synapse Analytics fits best

  Azure-centric enterprise analytics teams

• Apache Spark fits best

  Teams building flexible distributed data pipelines

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Side by side

Feature	Azure Synapse Analytics 9.0/10 Visit ↗	Apache Spark 8.9/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.0	8.9
Ranking	#3 in Big Data Analytics Software	#4 in Big Data Analytics Software
Best for	Azure-centric enterprise analytics teams	Teams building flexible distributed data pipelines
Pricing model	Paid	Free
Starting price	—	Free plan
Free plan	—	✓ (best)
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud	Self-hosted
Platforms	Web	Windows, macOS, Linux
Support	Docs, Community	Community, Docs
Integrations	90+ integrations	20 integrations
Built for	Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Azure Synapse Analytics 0/1 · Apache Spark 0/1
Built-in visualization	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Specs
Deployment	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Processing model	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Documented data scale	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Data source connectors	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Query languages	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Combines dedicated and serverless SQL with Apache Spark and Data Explorer Queries Parquet, CSV, TSV, JSON, and Delta Lake data in data lakes Connects pipelines, streaming ingestion, and machine learning workloads	Processes batch and streaming workloads with SQL and DataFrame APIs Supports Python, SQL, Scala, Java, and R interfaces Runs on Standalone, YARN, or Kubernetes and connects to varied data sources
Cons	No free plan; pricing is usage- and agreement-dependent Broad scope can be more than teams needing a focused analytics tool require Cloud deployment and Azure integrations make it a less natural fit outside Azure	Self-hosted deployment requires teams to manage their environment Not a managed warehouse or hosted ETL service Support is through community resources and documentation
Our verdict	Azure Synapse Analytics brings data warehousing, data-lake exploration, big data processing, and integration into Microsoft's cloud. It is aimed at mid-market and enterprise teams, particularly those building analytics around Azure… Read the review →	Apache Spark is an open-source distributed computing engine for large-scale data processing and analytics. Developers, data engineers, analysts, and organizations processing data across clusters can use it for batch workloads, incremental… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Azure Synapse Analytics — where it wins

  • Combines dedicated and serverless SQL with Apache Spark and Data Explorer
  • Queries Parquet, CSV, TSV, JSON, and Delta Lake data in data lakes
  • Connects pipelines, streaming ingestion, and machine learning workloads

  Where it doesn't

  • No free plan; pricing is usage- and agreement-dependent
  • Broad scope can be more than teams needing a focused analytics tool require
  • Cloud deployment and Azure integrations make it a less natural fit outside Azure

• Apache Spark — where it wins

  • Processes batch and streaming workloads with SQL and DataFrame APIs
  • Supports Python, SQL, Scala, Java, and R interfaces
  • Runs on Standalone, YARN, or Kubernetes and connects to varied data sources

  Where it doesn't

  • Self-hosted deployment requires teams to manage their environment
  • Not a managed warehouse or hosted ETL service
  • Support is through community resources and documentation

• Azure Synapse Analytics9.0/10 · Pricing on request

  A broad Azure analytics service for teams combining SQL, Spark, data lakes, and pipelines.

  Visit MicrosoftFull verdict →
• Apache Spark8.9/10 · Free plan

  Flexible distributed processing for teams building batch and streaming data pipelines.

  Visit Apache SparkFull verdict →