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Apache Hadoop vs Snowflake comparison

Apache and Snowflake Computing are both solutions in the Data Warehouse category. Apache is ranked #8 with an average rating of 8.0, while Snowflake Computing is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.1. Apache holds a 4.8% mindshare in Data Warehouse, compared to Snowflake Computing’s 14.0% mindshare. Additionally, 89% of Apache users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 97% of Snowflake Computing users who would recommend it.
Apache Hadoop
Read 40 Apache Hadoop reviews
  • 1,940 Views
  • 1,028 Comparison Views
89% willing to recommend
Snowflake
Read 101 Snowflake reviews
  • 10,613 Views
  • 3,715 Comparison Views
97% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 24, 2025

Snowflake and Apache Hadoop are two well-known competitors in the data management category. Based on the comparison, Snowflake seems to have the upper hand due to its ease of deployment and customer service, scalability, and cloud-native features.

Features: Snowflake's architecture offers remarkable scalability and performance, with a separation of storage and computing resources for easy scaling. It supports a range of data formats ensuring flexibility but lacks in-depth spatial components. Apache Hadoop has a distributed file system that efficiently handles large data sets and provides robust processing capabilities, though users often find its ecosystem integration complex.

Room for Improvement: Snowflake requires enhancements in spatial data handling and more intuitive ETL capabilities, alongside improved pricing transparency. Its auto-ingest features and client interfaces could also be optimized. Apache Hadoop's complexity, user-friendliness, and real-time data processing capabilities are key areas for improvement, with its open-source nature resulting in limited support and higher cognitive demands on users.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Snowflake, with its cloud-native design, offers flexibility across public and hybrid clouds. Customer support is generally responsive; however, improvements are needed in SLAs and deployment experiences. Apache Hadoop's deployments, both on-premises and cloud, are complex, requiring specialized skills. Although the support is decent, it lacks the promptness of cloud-native services like Snowflake.

Pricing and ROI: Snowflake's pricing is competitive with a flexible pay-as-you-go model, though some users find it expensive and complex to predict costs. Many report a positive ROI due to its scalability and low maintenance. Apache Hadoop offers savings on infrastructure but imposes costs for commercial distributions. Its ROI depends on the expertise and resources available to manage its deployments effectively.

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Buyer's Guide
Apache Hadoop vs. Snowflake
August 2025
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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
6.5
Apache Hadoop provides cost-effective data storage and processing, though ROI varies based on analytics use and sophistication.
Sentiment score
6.8
Snowflake users praise its scalability and ease of use, though financial gains vary and may require longer usage periods.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.4
Customer service varies by Hadoop distributor, with Hortonworks rated highly; support depends on vendor, community resources, or external vendors.
Sentiment score
5.7
Snowflake support is responsive and helpful, with high user satisfaction, despite occasional slower response times and ticketing reliance.
It's not structured support, which is why we don't use purely open-source projects without additional structured support.
For more quotes and insights, download the Apache Hadoop report
I received great support in migrating data to Snowflake, with quick responses and innovative solutions.
The technical support from Snowflake is very good, nice, and efficient.
For more quotes and insights, download the Snowflake report
NR
Snehasish Das - PeerSpot reviewerreviewer1438647 - PeerSpot reviewer
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Apache Hadoop excels in scalability, allowing easy cluster expansion and efficient data handling, ideal for varied organizational needs.
Sentiment score
7.8
Snowflake offers excellent scalability, adaptable to varying needs, with minimal challenges but requires cost and resource management attention.
It is a distributed file system and scales reasonably well as long as it is given sufficient resources.
For more quotes and insights, download the Apache Hadoop report
Snowflake is very scalable and has a dedicated team constantly improving the product.
The billing doubles with size increase, but processing does not necessarily speed up accordingly.
For more quotes and insights, download the Snowflake report
NR
Snehasish Das - PeerSpot reviewerreviewer1438647 - PeerSpot reviewer
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
Apache Hadoop's stability, rated 8/10, improves with newer versions, though minor issues exist with memory and data processing.
Sentiment score
8.2
Snowflake offers high stability and reliability with minimal downtime, rapid recovery, and seamless failover across platforms, especially AWS.
Continuous management in the way of upgrades and technical management is necessary to ensure that it remains effective.
For more quotes and insights, download the Apache Hadoop report
Snowflake is very stable, especially when used with AWS.
Snowflake as a SaaS offering means that maintenance isn't an issue for me.
For more quotes and insights, download the Snowflake report
NR
Snehasish Das - PeerSpot reviewerreviewer1438647 - PeerSpot reviewer
 

Room For Improvement

Apache Hadoop needs improved usability, integration, security, support, and performance for efficient high-volume data processing and better community resources.
Snowflake needs interface improvements, better ETL, machine learning features, pricing clarity, advanced tools, and enhanced documentation and security.
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.
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Enhancements in user experience for data observability and quality checks would be beneficial, as these tasks currently require SQL coding, which might be challenging for some users.
Cost reduction is one area I would like Snowflake to improve.
For more quotes and insights, download the Snowflake report
NR
reviewer1438647 - PeerSpot reviewerSnehasish Das - PeerSpot reviewer
 

Setup Cost

Enterprise Hadoop offers cost benefits but varies with deployment type and distribution, impacting smaller organizations more heavily.
Snowflake offers competitive pay-as-you-go pricing with some concerns over transparency, predictability, and potential cost escalation.
No quotes available
For more quotes and insights, download the Apache Hadoop report
Snowflake's pricing is on the higher side.
Snowflake lacks transparency in estimating resource usage.
For more quotes and insights, download the Snowflake report
 

Valuable Features

Apache Hadoop excels with a scalable, cost-effective system handling diverse data types, integrating with tools, and supporting big data analytics.
Snowflake excels in scalability, efficiency, ease of use, AI/ML capabilities, security, and seamless third-party integration, enhancing user experience.
If you don't do the upgrades, the platform ages out, and that's what happened to the Hadoop content.
For more quotes and insights, download the Apache Hadoop report
The independence of the compute and storage within Snowflake is key.
Snowflake is a data lake on the cloud where all processing happens in memory, resulting in very fast query responses.
For more quotes and insights, download the Snowflake report
NR
reviewer1438647 - PeerSpot reviewerSnehasish Das - PeerSpot reviewer
 

Categories and Ranking

Apache Hadoop
Ranking in Data Warehouse
8th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
40
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Snowflake
Ranking in Data Warehouse
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
101
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Data Warehouse (1st), AI Synthetic Data (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Data Warehouse category, the mindshare of Apache Hadoop is 4.8%, down from 4.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Snowflake is 14.0%, down from 19.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Warehouse
 

Q&A Highlights

Miriam Tover - PeerSpot reviewer
Feb 03, 2020
What is the biggest difference between Apache Hadoop and Snowflake?
Interactive querying as a consumption pattern is something Snowflake handles much better than Hadoop and related query engine options - Impala, Presto, Drill etc. Heavy data scientists query workload can be an expensive query pattern on Snowflake and Hadoop can provide a more cost-efficient solution. Hadoop is also still relevant as a back-end data processing engine, instead of leveraging Snowflake for data transformation due to higher cost as well as limited procedural language capabilities (javascript based stored procedures). Snowflake fares much better than Hadoop in terms of administrative complexity.
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Featured Reviews

Sushil Arya - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides ease of integration with the IT workflow of a business
When working with Kafka, I saw that the data came in an incremental order. The incremental data processing part is still not very effective in Apache Hadoop. If the data is already there, it can be processed very effectively, especially if the data is coming in every second. If you want to know the location of some data every second, then such data is not processed effectively in Apache Hadoop. I can say that one of the features where improvements are required revolves around the licensing cost of the tool. If the tool can build some licensing structures in a pay-per-use manner, organizations can get the look and feel of Apache Hadoop. Apache Hadoop can offer a licensing structure of the product that can be seen as similar to how AWS operates. Apache Hadoop can look into the capability of processing incremental data. The tool's setup process can be a scope of improvement. Also, it is not very simple because while doing the setup, we need to do all the server settings, including port listing and firewall configurations. If we look at other products on the market, then they can be made simpler. There are certain shortcomings when it comes to the product's technical support part, making it an area where improvements are required. The time frame for the resolution is an area that needs to be improved. The overall communication part of the technical support team also needs improvement.
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Snehasish Das - PeerSpot reviewer
Transformation in data querying speed with good migration capabilities
Snowflake is a data lake on the cloud where all processing happens in memory, resulting in very fast query responses. One key feature is the separation of compute and storage, which eliminates storage limitations. It also has tools for migrating data from legacy databases like Oracle. Its stability and efficiency enhance performance greatly. Tools in the AI/ML marketplace are readily available without needing development.
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Answers from the Community

Miriam Tover - PeerSpot reviewer
Feb 3, 2020
Feb 3, 2020
What is the biggest difference between Apache Hadoop and Snowflake?
Interactive querying as a consumption pattern is something Snowflake handles much better than Hadoop and related query engine options - Impala, Presto, Drill etc. Heavy data scientists query workload can be an expensive query pattern on Snowflake and Hadoop can provide a more cost-efficient solution. Hadoop is also still relevant as a back-end data processing engine, instead of leveraging Snowf...
2 out of 3 answers
it_user1108338 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jun 26, 2019
Interactive querying as a consumption pattern is something Snowflake handles much better than Hadoop and related query engine options - Impala, Presto, Drill etc. Heavy data scientists query workload can be an expensive query pattern on Snowflake and Hadoop can provide a more cost-efficient solution. Hadoop is also still relevant as a back-end data processing engine, instead of leveraging Snowflake for data transformation due to higher cost as well as limited procedural language capabilities (javascript based stored procedures). Snowflake fares much better than Hadoop in terms of administrative complexity.
Read full answer
RL
Jun 27, 2019
Hi Nick, I am on vacation this week. Adding Arun on my team but it would probably be valuable to understand the specific context, background and situation that your colleague has to determine the proper advice. I’ll defer to Arun to respond since my bandwidth is limited this week. From: Nick Regan from IT Central Station Reply-To: "replies@itcentralstation.com" Date: Wednesday, June 26, 2019 at 6:15 AM To: "Lescano, Robert" Subject: Seeking expertise in Apache Hadoop Hi Robert, Can you help out a colleague with the following question about Apache Hadoop: ----- What is the biggest difference between Apache Hadoop and Snowflake? One of the most popular comparisons on IT Central Station is Apache Hadoop vs Snowflake. People like you are trying to decide which one is best for their company. Can you help them out? What is the biggest difference between Apache Hadoop and Snowflake? Which of these two solutions would you recommend to a colleague evaluating data warehouse systems and why? Thanks for helping your peers make the best decision! ----- Please reply to this email with your response or post your answer here. You've been a member of IT Central Station since April 2019. In a market full of vendor hype, we provide free connections between real users of Apache Hadoop to share advice and make better buying decisions. Thanks for being part of the community. Nick Regan Community Director, IT Central Station IT Central Station 244 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10001 (646) 328-1944 um-nqn 354819 To change notifications, please visit your subscription page or unsubscribe completely. gitbdelSFBuZk85SktJK3pxbGt0NEhxQ2RHd0tuVkJBeDZiSktUL2N0KzFZQktFNU8vMW9GZ0Y4ZEpleGZCQmwvQkVwbC0tVzhQSU1tdjdlUjA2VzJMdHBCdlZNQT09--6e1706b96a47f6f1637e3d97f57cf04aad6d5362gitbdel
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See all 3 answers
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
35%
Computer Software Company
11%
University
6%
Energy/Utilities Company
5%
Financial Services Firm
21%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Healthcare Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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.
See all answers
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...
See all answers
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...
See all answers
What do you like most about Snowflake?
The best thing about Snowflake is its flexibility in changing warehouse sizes or computational power.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Snowflake?
It is complicated to understand how requests impact warehouse size. Unlike competitors such as Microsoft and Databricks ( /products/databricks-reviews ), Snowflake lacks transparency in estimating ...
See all answers
What needs improvement with Snowflake?
Pricing is quite high for Snowflake Data Cloud, which is an area that could be improved. Snowflake Data Cloud is still beneficial to use, but only if you can afford it. It can be cost-effective if ...
See all answers
 

Comparisons

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Teradata vs Apache Hadoop Logo
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Compared 13% of the time
Azure Data Factory vs Apache Hadoop Logo
Azure Data Factory vs Apache Hadoop
Compared 11% of the time
BigQuery vs Apache Hadoop Logo
BigQuery vs Apache Hadoop
Compared 11% of the time
Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics vs Apache Hadoop Logo
Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics vs Apache Hadoop
Compared 7% of the time
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Azure Data Factory vs Snowflake Logo
Azure Data Factory vs Snowflake
Compared 13% of the time
Dremio vs Snowflake Logo
Dremio vs Snowflake
Compared 8% of the time
Teradata vs Snowflake Logo
Teradata vs Snowflake
Compared 7% of the time
Amazon EMR vs Snowflake Logo
Amazon EMR vs Snowflake
Compared 7% of the time
SAP BW4HANA vs Snowflake Logo
SAP BW4HANA vs Snowflake
Compared 6% of the time
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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Apache Hadoop
August 2025
Apache Hadoop reportDownload Apache Hadoop product report
Buyer's Guide
Snowflake
July 2025
Snowflake reportDownload Snowflake product report
 

Also Known As

No data available
Snowflake Computing, Snowflake Data Cloud
 

Overview

The Apache Hadoop project develops open-source software for reliable, scalable, distributed computing. The Apache Hadoop software library is a framework that allows for the distributed processing of large data sets across clusters of computers using simple programming models. It is designed to scale up from single servers to thousands of machines, each offering local computation and storage. Rather than rely on hardware to deliver high-availability, the library itself is designed to detect and handle failures at the application layer, so delivering a highly-available service on top of a cluster of computers, each of which may be prone to failures.
Apache

Snowflake provides a modern data warehousing solution with features designed for seamless integration, scalability, and consumption-based pricing. It handles large datasets efficiently, making it a market leader for businesses migrating to the cloud.

Snowflake offers a flexible architecture that separates storage and compute resources, supporting efficient ETL jobs. Known for scalability and ease of use, it features built-in time zone conversion and robust data sharing capabilities. Its enhanced security, performance, and ability to handle semi-structured data are notable. Users suggest improvements in UI, pricing, on-premises integration, and data science functions, while calling for better transaction performance and machine learning capabilities. Users benefit from effective SQL querying, real-time analytics, and sharing options, supporting comprehensive data analysis with tools like Tableau and Power BI.

What are Snowflake's Key Features?
  • Scalability: Easily adjusts to handle growing data volumes.
  • Seamless Integration: Works with a wide range of platforms.
  • Consumption-Based Costs: Pay only for what you use.
  • Time Travel: Access historical data effortlessly.
  • Data Sharing: Secure and efficient sharing of datasets.
  • Time Zone Conversion: Built-in feature for global operations.
  • Security: Robust measures to protect sensitive information.
  • Compute and Storage Separation: Independent scaling for optimal performance.
What Benefits Should You Look for?
  • Cost Efficiency: Optimized pricing models for minimal waste.
  • Enhanced Performance: Fast queries and processing times.
  • Flexibility: Handles both structured and semi-structured data.
  • Analytics Capabilities: Supports advanced data analysis and reporting.

In industries like finance, healthcare, and retail, Snowflake's flexible data warehousing and analytics capabilities facilitate cloud migration, streamline data storage, and allow organizations to consolidate data from multiple sources for advanced insights and AI-driven strategies. Its integration with analytics tools supports comprehensive data analysis and reporting tasks.

Snowflake Computing
 

Sample Customers

Amazon, Adobe, eBay, Facebook, Google, Hulu, IBM, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Spotify, AOL, Twitter, University of Maryland, Yahoo!, Cornell University Web Lab
Accordant Media, Adobe, Kixeye Inc., Revana, SOASTA, White Ops
Buyer's Guide
Apache Hadoop vs. Snowflake
August 2025
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