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Apache Hadoop vs Databricks comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
5.4
Apache Hadoop offers cost-effective storage and processing, benefiting some with analytics and optimizing data applications for resource savings.
Sentiment score
6.6
Organizations benefit from Databricks' cost-effectiveness and efficiency, though some find evaluating immediate gains challenging due to specific contexts.
When it comes to big data processing, I prefer Databricks over other solutions.
Head CEO at bizmetric
For a lot of different tasks, including machine learning, it is a nice solution.
Senior Data Engineer at a logistics company with 51-200 employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.1
Customer service for Apache Hadoop varies, with differing satisfaction levels and reliance on external resources and forums for support.
Sentiment score
7.1
Databricks customer service is praised for responsiveness and expertise, despite occasional delays and communication issues via Microsoft.
It's not structured support, which is why we don't use purely open-source projects without additional structured support.
Financial Advisor at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
As of now, we are raising issues and they are providing solutions without any problems.
Data Platform Architect at KELLANOVA
Whenever we reach out, they respond promptly.
Senior Data Engineer at a logistics company with 51-200 employees
I rate the technical support as fine because they have levels of technical support available, especially partners who get really good support from Databricks on new features.
Data Engineer at CRAFT Tech
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
Apache Hadoop is valued for its scalability, supporting large data and users effectively, especially in cloud environments.
Sentiment score
7.4
Databricks provides excellent scalability, supporting diverse data sizes and sectors with high-performance cloud infrastructure and cost-effective management.
It is a distributed file system and scales reasonably well as long as it is given sufficient resources.
Financial Advisor at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Databricks is an easily scalable platform.
Data Platform Architect at KELLANOVA
I would rate the scalability of this solution as very high, about nine out of ten.
Data Engineer at CRAFT Tech
The patches have sometimes caused issues leading to our jobs being paused for about six hours.
Senior Data Engineer at a logistics company with 51-200 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.1
Apache Hadoop is stable and reliable in multi-node clusters, performing well with minimal instability during high-load operations.
Sentiment score
7.7
Databricks is stable and reliable, with high performance and robustness, despite occasional minor issues resolved quickly.
Continuous management in the way of upgrades and technical management is necessary to ensure that it remains effective.
Financial Advisor at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Although it is too early to definitively state the platform's stability, we have not encountered any issues so far.
Data Platform Architect at KELLANOVA
They release patches that sometimes break our code.
Senior Data Engineer at a logistics company with 51-200 employees
Databricks is definitely a very stable product and reliable.
Data Engineer at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Apache Hadoop needs user-friendly enhancements, better integration, improved security, streamlined setup, and modernized features and support.
Databricks users desire advanced visualization, better integration, enhanced documentation, predictive analytics features, and improved user experience and tools.
The problem with Apache Hadoop arose when the guys that originally set it up left the firm, and the group that later owned it didn't have enough technical resources to properly maintain it.
Financial Advisor at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
We could use their job clusters, however, that increases costs, which is challenging for us as a startup.
Senior Data Engineer at a logistics company with 51-200 employees
This feature, if made publicly available, may act as a game-changer, considering many global organizations use SAP data for their ERP requirements.
Data Platform Architect at KELLANOVA
If I could right-click to copy absolute paths or to read files directly into a data frame, it would standardize and simplify the process.
Head CEO at bizmetric
 

Setup Cost

Enterprise Apache Hadoop pricing varies greatly, influenced by distribution choice, deployment type, and specific usage requirements.
Databricks' pricing is seen as high for large data volumes but competitive for batch processing on cloud platforms.
 

Valuable Features

Apache Hadoop offers scalable, cost-effective data processing, supporting diverse environments with fault tolerance, integration, and analytics tools like Hive.
Databricks simplifies large-scale analytics with user-friendly UI, powerful integrations, and scalable features for enhanced performance and collaboration.
Hadoop is a distributed file system, and it scales reasonably well provided you give it sufficient resources.
Financial Advisor at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Apache Hadoop helps us in cases of hardware failure because it works 24/7, and sometimes servers crash in the field.
Principle Network and Database Engr at Parsons Corporation
The Unity Catalog is for data governance, and the Delta Lake is to build the lakehouse.
Data Engineer at CRAFT Tech
The platform allows us to leverage cloud advantages effectively, enhancing our AI and ML projects.
Data Platform Architect at KELLANOVA
Databricks' capability to process data in parallel enhances data processing speed.
Data Engineer at a engineering company with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Apache Hadoop
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
41
Ranking in other categories
Data Warehouse (6th)
Databricks
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
91
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Data Warehouse (9th), Data Science Platforms (1st), Data Management Platforms (DMP) (5th), Streaming Analytics (1st)
 

Featured Reviews

NR
Financial Advisor at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Reliable performance maintained but requires ongoing management and support
Hadoop was used for years, but there were problems since the people who originally set it up left the firm. The group that owned it later didn't have the technical resources to properly maintain it. Although there was nothing wrong with Hadoop itself, issues arose without proper management and upgrades.
ShubhamSharma7 - PeerSpot reviewer
Data Engineer at a engineering company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Capability to integrate diverse coding languages in a single notebook greatly enhances workflow
Databricks offers various courses that I can use, whether it's PySpark, Scala, or R. I can leverage all these courses in a single notebook, which is beneficial for clients as they can access various tools in one place whenever needed. This is quite significant. I usually work with PySpark based on client requirements. After coding, I feed the Databricks notebooks into the ADF pipeline for updates. Databricks' capability to process data in parallel enhances data processing speed. Furthermore, I can connect our Databricks notebook directly with Power BI and other visualization tools like Qlik. Once we develop code, it allows us to transform raw data into visualizations for clients using analysis diagrams, which is very helpful.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
34%
Computer Software Company
8%
University
5%
Government
5%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business14
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise21
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business25
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise56
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Apache Hadoop?
It's primarily open source. You can handle huge data volumes and create your own views, workflows, and tables. I can also use it for real-time data streaming.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Apache Hadoop?
The product is open-source, but some associated licensing fees depend on the subscription level. While it might be free for students, organizations typically need to pay for their subscriptions. Th...
What needs improvement with Apache Hadoop?
The problem with Apache Hadoop arose when the guys that originally set it up left the firm, and the group that later owned it didn't have enough technical resources to properly maintain it. This wa...
Which do you prefer - Databricks or Azure Machine Learning Studio?
Databricks gives you the option of working with several different languages, such as SQL, R, Scala, Apache Spark, or Python. It offers many different cluster choices and excellent integration with ...
How would you compare Databricks vs Amazon SageMaker?
We researched AWS SageMaker, but in the end, we chose Databricks. Databricks is a Unified Analytics Platform designed to accelerate innovation projects. It is based on Spark so it is very fast. It...
Which would you choose - Databricks or Azure Stream Analytics?
Databricks is an easy-to-set-up and versatile tool for data management, analysis, and business analytics. For analytics teams that have to interpret data to further the business goals of their orga...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

No data available
Databricks Unified Analytics, Databricks Unified Analytics Platform, Redash
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Amazon, Adobe, eBay, Facebook, Google, Hulu, IBM, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Spotify, AOL, Twitter, University of Maryland, Yahoo!, Cornell University Web Lab
Elsevier, MyFitnessPal, Sharethrough, Automatic Labs, Celtra, Radius Intelligence, Yesware
Find out what your peers are saying about Apache Hadoop vs. Databricks and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,259 professionals have used our research since 2012.