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Head-to-head · Columnar Databases

Exasol vs Azure Synapse Analytics

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 1 check side by side
Higher score Exasol #6 in Columnar Databases 8.6/10 Free plan · 30-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 0 of 3 features Visit Exasol
Azure Synapse Analytics #7 in Columnar Databases 8.5/10 Pricing on request ✓ 0 of 3 features Visit Azure Synapse

Exasol leads on 1 check, Azure Synapse Analytics on 0, and 0 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 1 yes/no, price and count check where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreExasol · 8.6/10
  • Free planonly Exasol
  • Free trialonly Exasol

Exasol scores higher on our rubric for columnar databases: 8.6 against 8.5 out of 10; our editors rank them #6 and #7.

Exasol offers free plan; Azure Synapse Analytics doesn't. On deployment model, Exasol gives you Hybrid where Azure Synapse Analytics offers Cloud.

Exasol is the better fit for managed and self-hosted enterprise warehousing. Azure Synapse Analytics is the better fit for microsoft-centric enterprise data platforms.

  • Exasol fits best

    Managed and self-hosted enterprise warehousing

  • Azure Synapse Analytics fits best

    Microsoft-centric enterprise data platforms

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Side by side

Feature Exasol 8.6/10 Visit ↗ Azure Synapse Analytics 8.5/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 8.6 8.5
Ranking #6 in Columnar Databases #7 in Columnar Databases
Best for Managed and self-hosted enterprise warehousing Microsoft-centric enterprise data platforms
Pricing model Free plan + paid Paid
Starting price $25/GB/mo —
Free plan ✓ (best) —
Free trial 30 days —
Deployment Cloud, Self-hosted, Desktop Cloud
Platforms Web, macOS, Linux Web
Support Email, Phone, Tickets, Community, Docs · 24/7 Docs, Community
Integrations 14 integrations 90+ integrations
Built for Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Exasol 0/3 · Azure Synapse Analytics 0/3
Managed service Not checked yet Not checked yet
Object storage support Not checked yet Not checked yet
Streaming ingestion Not checked yet Not checked yet
Specs
Deployment model Hybrid Cloud
Supported data formats Not checked yet Not checked yet
Included storage Not checked yet Not checked yet
Our review
Pros
  • In-memory MPP processing supports high-concurrency analytical queries
  • Separate storage and compute with S3 and Azure Data Lake querying
  • Native Python, R, and Java machine-learning model execution
  • Combines dedicated and serverless SQL pools with Apache Spark
  • Queries Parquet, CSV, TSV, JSON, and Delta Lake data
  • Connects with Power BI, Azure services, pipelines, and ML tools
Cons
  • Storage costs are billed separately at $25 per TB per month
  • Advanced capacity tiers can reach $158.40 per hour
  • The platform is proprietary rather than open source
  • Contact-sales pricing makes budgeting less direct
  • Cloud-only deployment may not suit non-cloud requirements
  • Its broad scope may exceed teams seeking a narrow database service
Our verdict

Exasol is an in-memory, massively parallel analytics database for data warehousing, business intelligence, lakehouse acceleration, and AI/ML workloads. It is aimed at data teams, developers, and enterprises that need high-concurrency SQL…

Read the review →

Azure Synapse Analytics is Microsoft's cloud analytics service for enterprise data warehousing, data lake exploration, big data processing, and data integration. It is designed for teams that need SQL analytics, Spark-based data…

Read the review →
  1. ExasolColumnar Databases 8.6Free plan · 30-day trial
  2. Azure Synapse AnalyticsColumnar Databases 8.5Pricing on request

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Exasol — where it wins

    • In-memory MPP processing supports high-concurrency analytical queries
    • Separate storage and compute with S3 and Azure Data Lake querying
    • Native Python, R, and Java machine-learning model execution

    Where it doesn't

    • Storage costs are billed separately at $25 per TB per month
    • Advanced capacity tiers can reach $158.40 per hour
    • The platform is proprietary rather than open source

  • Azure Synapse Analytics — where it wins

    • Combines dedicated and serverless SQL pools with Apache Spark
    • Queries Parquet, CSV, TSV, JSON, and Delta Lake data
    • Connects with Power BI, Azure services, pipelines, and ML tools

    Where it doesn't

    • Contact-sales pricing makes budgeting less direct
    • Cloud-only deployment may not suit non-cloud requirements
    • Its broad scope may exceed teams seeking a narrow database service
  • Exasol8.6/10 · Free plan · 30-day trial

    A flexible columnar warehouse for demanding analytics, lakehouse, and machine-learning workloads.

    Visit ExasolFull verdict →
  • Azure Synapse Analytics8.5/10 · Pricing on request

    A broad Microsoft cloud analytics platform for warehousing, lakes, streaming, and machine learning.

    Visit Azure SynapseFull verdict →

More comparisons

All columnar databases comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update