Databricks Data Intelligence Platform vs Apache Spark

Databricks Data Intelligence Platform9.3Visit Apache Spark8.9Visit

Higher score Databricks Data Intelligence Platform #2 in Big Data Analytics Software 9.3/10 Free plan · 14-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 0 of 1 features Visit Databricks

vs

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

• Databricks Data Intelligence Platform fits best

  Organizations building a lakehouse analytics platform

• Apache Spark fits best

  Teams building flexible distributed data pipelines

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Side by side

Feature	Databricks Data Intelligence Platform 9.3/10 Visit ↗	Apache Spark 8.9/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.3	8.9
Ranking	#2 in Big Data Analytics Software	#4 in Big Data Analytics Software
Best for	Organizations building a lakehouse analytics platform	Teams building flexible distributed data pipelines
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Free
Starting price	Free plan · 14-day trial	Free plan
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	14 days	—
Deployment	Cloud	Self-hosted
Platforms	Web	Windows, macOS, Linux
Support	Docs, Community	Community, Docs
Integrations	8 integrations	20 integrations
Built for	Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Databricks Data Intelligence Platform 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 Delta Lake storage with SQL, Spark, batch, and streaming processing. Includes ETL, workflows, machine learning, and AI/BI capabilities. Unity Catalog provides data and AI governance alongside cloud compliance options.	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	Usage-based pricing varies by cloud provider, region, product, and contract. The platform spans many workloads rather than focusing only on SQL analytics. Support channels listed are documentation and community.	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	Databricks Data Intelligence Platform brings data engineering, SQL analytics, machine learning, AI applications, and governance into a cloud platform. Its lakehouse approach combines Delta Lake with Apache Spark, SQL warehouses, and… 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

• Databricks Data Intelligence Platform — where it wins

  • Combines Delta Lake storage with SQL, Spark, batch, and streaming processing.
  • Includes ETL, workflows, machine learning, and AI/BI capabilities.
  • Unity Catalog provides data and AI governance alongside cloud compliance options.

  Where it doesn't

  • Usage-based pricing varies by cloud provider, region, product, and contract.
  • The platform spans many workloads rather than focusing only on SQL analytics.
  • Support channels listed are documentation and community.

• 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

• Databricks Data Intelligence Platform9.3/10 · Free plan · 14-day trial

  A broad cloud lakehouse platform for SQL, Spark processing, streaming, governance, and AI.

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

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

  Visit Apache SparkFull verdict →