Starburst Galaxy vs SAS Federation Server

Starburst Galaxy9.1Visit SAS Federation Server8.2Visit

Higher score Starburst Galaxy #2 in Data Federation Software 9.1/10 Free plan · 30-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 0 of 7 features Try Starburst Galaxy

vs

SAS Federation Server #7 in Data Federation Software 8.2/10 Pricing on request ✓ 6 of 7 features Visit SAS

• Starburst Galaxy fits best

  Cloud-native federation with a free starting tier

• SAS Federation Server fits best

  Mature SAS-centered enterprise federation

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	Starburst Galaxy 9.1/10 Visit ↗	SAS Federation Server 8.2/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.1	8.2
Ranking	#2 in Data Federation Software	#7 in Data Federation Software
Best for	Cloud-native federation with a free starting tier	Mature SAS-centered enterprise federation
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Paid
Starting price	$0.50/unit usage-based	Pricing on request
Free plan	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Free trial	30 days	—
Deployment	Cloud	Self-hosted
Platforms	Web	Web, Windows, Linux
Support	Live chat, Tickets, Community, Docs · 24/7	Email, Phone, Live chat, Docs
Integrations	50+ integrations	11 integrations
Built for	Mid-market, Enterprise	Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Starburst Galaxy 0/7 · SAS Federation Server 6/7
Cloud hosted	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Self-hosted	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
SQL querying	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Query result cache	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Row-level security	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
API access	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Scheduled queries	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Our review
Pros	Federates SQL queries across lakes, warehouses, databases, and streaming systems Supports Iceberg tables, snapshots, time travel, and Kafka streaming ingestion Includes governance controls, APIs, autoscaling, and optional AI capabilities	FedSQL queries across multiple sources with common SQL syntax Row-level security with predicates and user or group permissions Cached views, scheduled refreshes, APIs, and browser management
Cons	Paid usage is priced per compute credit rather than a fixed plan fee Advanced governance and execution features require paid tiers Not open source; access is provided through web and API interfaces	Pricing requires contacting SAS for a quote Self-hosted deployment requires server infrastructure Its enterprise scope may exceed narrow federation needs
Our verdict	Starburst Galaxy is a fully managed cloud data lake analytics platform built on Trino. It is designed for data teams and enterprises that need SQL access across object storage, data warehouses, relational databases, and streaming systems… Read the review →	SAS Federation Server is a server-based data access and virtualization platform for organizations that need to query, combine, and govern data across disparate systems. It is aimed at enterprise data integration, analytics, and governed… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Starburst Galaxy — where it wins

  • Federates SQL queries across lakes, warehouses, databases, and streaming systems
  • Supports Iceberg tables, snapshots, time travel, and Kafka streaming ingestion
  • Includes governance controls, APIs, autoscaling, and optional AI capabilities

  Where it doesn't

  • Paid usage is priced per compute credit rather than a fixed plan fee
  • Advanced governance and execution features require paid tiers
  • Not open source; access is provided through web and API interfaces

• SAS Federation Server — where it wins

  • FedSQL queries across multiple sources with common SQL syntax
  • Row-level security with predicates and user or group permissions
  • Cached views, scheduled refreshes, APIs, and browser management

  Where it doesn't

  • Pricing requires contacting SAS for a quote
  • Self-hosted deployment requires server infrastructure
  • Its enterprise scope may exceed narrow federation needs

• Starburst Galaxy9.1/10 · Free plan · 30-day trial

  A cloud-native federation platform with a free tier and usage-based paid plans.

  Try Starburst GalaxyFull verdict →
• SAS Federation Server8.2/10 · Pricing on request

  A mature SAS-centered federation server for governed, cross-source SQL access.

  Visit SASFull verdict →