Head-to-head · Data Warehouse Software
Databricks SQL Warehouse vs Alibaba Cloud Hologres
Databricks SQL Warehouse leads on 0 checks, Alibaba Cloud Hologres on 0, and 4 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 4 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.
Our verdict
- Highest scoreDatabricks SQL Warehouse · 8.9/10
Databricks SQL Warehouse scores higher on our rubric for data warehouse software: 8.9 against 8.4 out of 10; our editors rank them #4 and #8.
On pricing model, Alibaba Cloud Hologres gives you Hybrid where Databricks SQL Warehouse offers Usage_based.
Databricks SQL Warehouse is the better fit for lakehouse teams building governed SQL analytics. Alibaba Cloud Hologres is the better fit for interactive real-time analytics on Alibaba Cloud.
- Databricks SQL Warehouse fits best
Lakehouse teams building governed SQL analytics
- Alibaba Cloud Hologres fits best
Interactive real-time analytics on Alibaba Cloud
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Side by side
| Feature | Databricks SQL Warehouse 8.9/10 Visit ↗ | Alibaba Cloud Hologres 8.4/10 Visit ↗ |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Editor score | 8.9 | 8.4 |
| Ranking | #4 in Data Warehouse Software | #8 in Data Warehouse Software |
| Best for | Lakehouse teams building governed SQL analytics | Interactive real-time analytics on Alibaba Cloud |
| Pricing model | Paid | Paid |
| Starting price | — | $0.04/GB usage-based |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Deployment | Cloud | Cloud |
| Platforms | Web | Web |
| Support | Community, Docs | Live chat, Tickets, Docs |
| Compliance | SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS, SSO/SAML | PCI DSS |
| Integrations | 15 integrations | 13 integrations |
| Built for | Mid-market, Enterprise | Mid-market, Enterprise |
| Features Databricks SQL Warehouse 3/4 · Alibaba Cloud Hologres 3/4 | ||
| Separate storage and compute | ✓ | ✓ |
| Data lake support | ✓ | ✓ |
| Streaming ingestion | ✓ | ✓ |
| In-database machine learning | Not checked yet | Not checked yet |
| Specs | ||
| Deployment model | Cloud | Cloud |
| Pricing model | Usage_based | Hybrid |
| Our review | ||
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| Cons |
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| Our verdict | Databricks SQL Warehouse is a cloud data warehousing service for analysts and data teams querying data in cloud data lakes with SQL. It combines managed, elastic serverless compute with SQL authoring, interactive AI/BI dashboards,… Read the review → |
Alibaba Cloud Hologres is a cloud-native, PostgreSQL-compatible data warehouse for interactive analytics, online data serving, and ad hoc analysis. It is designed for teams that need real-time writes and updates, high-concurrency querying,… Read the review → |
Strengths and trade-offs
Databricks SQL Warehouse — where it wins
- Elastic serverless compute with per-second usage billing
- AI-assisted SQL, dashboards, alerts, and scheduled jobs
- Governance, federation, streaming tables, and broad BI connectivity
Where it doesn't
- No free plan for low-commitment evaluation
- Usage-based billing can make costs harder to forecast
- Feature availability may vary by cloud, region, contract, and tier
Alibaba Cloud Hologres — where it wins
- Sub-second analytics with high-throughput writes and updates
- Federated MaxCompute and data lake queries without moving data
- PostgreSQL-compatible SQL with broad BI and pipeline connectivity
Where it doesn't
- No free plan is available
- Pricing is contact-sales and varies by region
- Compute, storage, and some advanced features bill separately
- Databricks SQL Warehouse8.9/10 · Paid
A governed SQL warehouse for teams combining lakehouse data, BI, and elastic compute.
Visit DatabricksFull verdict → - Alibaba Cloud Hologres8.4/10 · Pricing on request
A strong fit for sub-second analytics and lakehouse workloads on Alibaba Cloud.
Visit Alibaba CloudFull verdict →
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Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Last updated · How we research and update







