Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

BigQuery vs Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 18, 2024

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
7.4
Organizations experienced improved performance and cost savings after adopting BigQuery, achieving a 75% cost reduction and efficient data management.
Sentiment score
6.6
Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics provides cost savings and efficiency with serverless options, achieving up to 70% ROI in years.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.2
Customers generally find BigQuery support helpful, but integration challenges and resource availability need improvement despite positive responsiveness.
Sentiment score
6.8
Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics support varies, with larger clients benefiting more, while smaller clients face slower, less expert assistance.
rating the customer support at ten points out of ten
I have been self-taught and I have been able to handle all my problems alone.
This is an underestimation of the real impact because we use big data also to monitor the network and the customer.
They are slow to respond and not very knowledgeable.
I would say the technical support for Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics rates around six; they are friendly but there is a gap in knowledge, which makes it a little difficult to deal with.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
8.0
BigQuery offers impressive scalability and efficiency for large data, but may be costly and present integration challenges for smaller users.
Sentiment score
7.6
Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics offers scalable solutions with serverless architecture, appreciated for flexibility and adaptability despite potential costs.
It is a 10 out of 10 in terms of scalability.
The scalability is definitely good because we are migrating to the cloud since the computers on the premises or the big database we need are no longer enough.
For the scalability of Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics, I would rate it a 10 until you remain in the Azure Cloud scalability framework.
Recovering from such scenarios becomes a bit problematic or time-consuming.
Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics is scalable, offering numerous opportunities for scalability.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.5
BigQuery is highly stable and reliable for cloud data analytics, efficiently handling large volumes with minor issues.
Sentiment score
7.5
Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics is reliable and efficient, with high user satisfaction despite occasional issues with large datasets.
I find the service stable as I have not encountered many issues.
 

Room For Improvement

BigQuery users face challenges with migration, integration, cost, scaling, user interfaces, and call for better machine learning capabilities.
Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics users seek better integration, performance, simpler interfaces, affordability, and expanded support for IoT and machine learning.
In general, if I know SQL and start playing around, it will start making sense.
Troubleshooting requires opening each pipeline individually, which is time-consuming.
BigQuery is already integrating Gemini AI into the data extraction process directly in order to reduce costs.
Sometimes, when jobs are running in production, it might show some faults, and recovering from such scenarios becomes a bit problematic or time-consuming.
Databricks is a very rich solution, with numerous open sources and capabilities in terms of extract, transform, load, database query, and so forth.
There is a need for more expertise among the support team to guide us effectively.
 

Setup Cost

BigQuery offers flexible, pay-as-you-go pricing based on data usage, with low storage costs and adaptable enterprise plans.
Azure Synapse Analytics is costly yet appreciated for Microsoft integration, requiring careful cost management due to variable pricing.
Being able to optimize the queries to data is critical. Otherwise, you could spend a fortune.
The price is perceived as expensive, rated at eight out of ten in terms of costliness.
I find the pricing of Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics reasonable.
When you scale the solution, the cloud doesn't work anymore in terms of cost.
 

Valuable Features

BigQuery excels in scalability, performance, cost-efficiency, and integration with Google products, making it ideal for complex data analyses.
Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics provides scalable, secure data processing with seamless integration, user-friendly operations, and Power BI compatibility.
It is really fast because it can process millions of rows in just a matter of one or two seconds.
BigQuery processes a substantial amount of data, whether in gigabytes or terabytes, swiftly producing desired data within one or two minutes.
The features I find most valuable in this solution are the ability to run and handle large data sets in a very efficient way with multiple types of data, relational as SQL data.
For Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics, the integration is the most valuable feature, meaning that whatever you need is fast and easy to use.
Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics offers significant visibility, which helps us understand our usage more clearly.
The best feature of Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics is the notebook functionality; it provides a very good interface, and we can easily do our experiments, POCs, and check things before migration or deployment to higher environments such as from development to SIT and then production.
 

Categories and Ranking

BigQuery
Ranking in Cloud Data Warehouse
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
41
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Azure Synapse Ana...
Ranking in Cloud Data Warehouse
5th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
94
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Cloud Data Warehouse category, the mindshare of BigQuery is 7.7%, down from 7.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics is 6.2%, down from 8.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud Data Warehouse Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
BigQuery7.7%
Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics6.2%
Other86.1%
Cloud Data Warehouse
 

Featured Reviews

Luís Silva - PeerSpot reviewer
Handles large data sets efficiently and offers flexible data management capabilities
The features I find most valuable in this solution are the ability to run and handle large data sets in a very efficient way with multiple types of data, relational as SQL data. It is kind of difficult to explain, but structured data and the ability to handle large data sets are key features. The data integration capabilities in BigQuery were, in fact, an issue at the beginning. There are two types of integrations. As long as integration is within Google, it is pretty simple. When you start to try to connect external clients to that data, it becomes more complex. It is not related to BigQuery, it is related to Google security model, which is not easy to manage. I would not call it an integration issue of BigQuery, I would call it an integration issue of Google security model.
Joy Maitra - PeerSpot reviewer
Has supported data pipeline development but still requires better integration and support
The best feature of Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics is the notebook functionality; it provides a very good interface, and we can easily do our experiments, POCs, and check things before migration or deployment to higher environments such as from development to SIT and then production. The deployment process is also much smoother. Driving data-driven insights in my organization depends upon the preparation of the data. If your data is not good, then insights won't be good, and Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics helps in preparing your data, so it is very helpful. I find Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics' native data lake support beneficial.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Cloud Data Warehouse solutions are best for your needs.
867,370 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Retailer
7%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise20
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business27
Midsize Enterprise18
Large Enterprise54
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about BigQuery?
The initial setup process is easy.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for BigQuery?
I believe the cost of BigQuery is competitive versus the alternatives in the market, but it can become expensive if the tool is not used properly. It is on a per-consumption basis, the billing, so ...
What needs improvement with BigQuery?
I have not used BigQuery for AI and machine learning projects myself. I know how to use it, and I can see where it would be useful, but so far, in my projects, I have not included a BigQuery compon...
How does Amazon Redshift compare with Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics?
Amazon Redshift is very fast, has a very good response time, and is very user-friendly. The initial setup is very straightforward. This solution can merge and integrate well with many different dat...
What do you like most about Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics?
The product is easy to use, and anybody can easily migrate to advanced DB.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics?
I think the price of Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics is very expensive, but that's not only for Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics—it's for the cloud in general. The cloud is not cost-effective. I...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Azure Synapse Analytics, Microsoft Azure SQL Data Warehouse, Microsoft Azure SQL DW, Azure SQL Data Warehouse, MS Azure Synapse Analytics
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Toshiba, Carnival, LG Electronics, Jet.com, Adobe, 
Find out what your peers are saying about BigQuery vs. Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
867,370 professionals have used our research since 2012.