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

Exasol Data Warehouse vs SAP HANA comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

Exasol Data Warehouse
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
24th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SAP HANA
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
89
Ranking in other categories
Data Virtualization (2nd), Embedded Database (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of Exasol Data Warehouse is 0.9%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP HANA is 10.5%, down from 11.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Relational Databases Tools
 

Featured Reviews

Shubham-Agarwal - PeerSpot reviewer
Fast query processing and easy-to-store all the data
There are very few companies that are using Exasol, but the majority of companies are using SQL Server, Cloud or IBM Db2 Database, or any other databases. Therefore, the resources are limited, which is my only concern. So if I face any issues, limited resources are available to help me resolve the issue with Exasol. From that perspective, it can be a bit of a struggle for me to find a solution. In the next release, I would like to see better compatibility issues. Currently, Exasol has limited compatibility with other software like Python and R. For example, If I talk about SQL Server, we can connect it to big data or Python, which is also compatible with different servers.
Dhiraj Jankar - PeerSpot reviewer
Users appreciate the mix of in-memory architecture and ease of backend management
The most valuable SAP HANA features are that, compared to Oracle, there is less administrative work and less complex work to handle, making it very straightforward. The tool itself takes care of the backend work. The main benefits SAP HANA provides to users include its architecture, which combines both column store and row store capabilities. Some places find the row feature important, whereas others find column store important. It allows some tables to be stored in a column base, others in a row base, and the In-Memory functionalities are mostly the highlight of SAP HANA, especially compared to disk-based memory users. This was the main reason SAP HANA was introduced initially.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is easy to scale."
"The solution is hands-off; you set it up insert your data and it self tunes queries."
"We can quickly scale the solution as it works on an MPP system."
"We mainly chose Exasol for its performance reasons."
"The speed is very good compared to other databases, like SQL Server or Oracle."
"The most valuable feature of Exasol is its speed."
"Performance is a top priority, and it excels in this aspect."
"Its speed is great."
"Our operations have grown from a hundred data operations a day to as many in a couple of seconds."
"The speed at which it gets the data is great."
"It's very convenient and very innovative."
"The solution is easy to manage enterprise resources and the reporting and analytics are including. It is good for company growth and all module are managed well."
"Probably the main feature is its in-memory database."
"Using this solution has given us better details for reporting and analytics."
"The most valuable feature of SAP HANA is the interaction it provides with external suppliers and clients."
"SAP HANA's best features are its programmability and extensibility - you can size and shape the software however you need."
 

Cons

"They don't talk very well to with other products when it comes to connectivity. Integration is lacking."
"You have to install Exasol drivers, and it's not easy to find or implement a driver into different systems."
"It's not cloud-native so many maintenance operations require downtime."
"The only area where we found it could improve was in custom role creation and security, and it was difficult to work with."
"There are limited resources available to help me resolve the issue with Exasol."
"Lacks a cloud-based platform."
"It would be beneficial if the updates would occur more often."
"They should improve the security features for MPP processing."
"Licensing costs with SAP HANA are very high. Due to high pricing, many clients are moving from BW on SAP HANA and S/4HANA to Azure SQL."
"This is an expensive solution."
"The relationship with a partner that sells SAP could be better. We depend much more on our own development, and the partner is for selling us the solutions, so we need them to be able to supply help and answers. The partner isn't very helpful, and we have to rely on our own knowledge and research."
"I would have rated the solution higher if this version was not missing some key features the newer version has."
"I would like more technical documentation. I would like it to be easier to find online help or have a better launch-based service. SAP has a lot of functions, so we need more best practices and more detailed documentation on industry solutions. For example, it would be good to have documentation on why a certain process needs to be set up and which kinds of configurations need to be set up."
"While SAP HANA is good, it would be better if it comes at a more affordable price."
"The solution could improve by having better migration flexibility. For example, it would be helpful if there was a way for customers could check their nonproduction and production deployments."
"I would like to see improvement on the feedback from the road-map; it is currently extremely hard to get insight in this area."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution's cost is mid-ranged."
"There is a yearly subscription to use SAP HANA. There is a fee for maintenance."
"While the cost of the license may seem high, it is important to note that the benefits of the solution far outweighs the cost."
"Price-wise, the product falls on the higher side of the spectrum. There is no need to pay for maintenance and support additionally. Support is available for bug fixes in the product."
"There is an annual license to use SAP HANA."
"The price of SAP HANA is very expensive and it is paid annually."
"It is expensive, which isn't a problem for us because SAP HANA is processing the data so fast."
"The cost of SAP HANA is high, and I would rate the price at eight out of ten."
"SAP HANA is expensive, but unfortunately, we do not have any alternatives."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Relational Databases Tools solutions are best for your needs.
861,390 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Retailer
19%
Logistics Company
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
15%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Exasol?
The most valuable feature of Exasol is its speed.
What needs improvement with Exasol?
You have to use upper-column names in Exasol, which is strange. You have to install Exasol drivers, and it's not easy to find or implement a driver into different systems.
What is your primary use case for Exasol?
We implemented our data problem issues from Tableau. We inserted the data into the Exasol database in order to run 10 to 20 reports from Tableau. This was just a small but problematic report for us.
What are the biggest benefits of using SAP HANA?
Based on my work with SAP HANA, the biggest benefit that it can bring to your business is total data management. This product is by SAP - a company that serves almost all needs a client may have co...
Is SAP HANA’s customer and technical support reliable?
We have been using SAP HANA for a fairly short period of time and have only taken advantage of their customer support. So far, we have not had issues that required specialized help from technical s...
Is SAP HANA difficult to set up and start using?
SAP HANA is fairly easy to set up, however, I do not think a complete beginner can do it. You certainly need some preparation - either you need to have experience with similar solutions, or with ot...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

No data available
SAP High-Performance Analytic Appliance, HANA
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

1&1 Internet SE 11880 Internet Services AG AB Svenska Spel Accarda AG Aera Technology Inc. AGRAVIS Raiffeisen AG Apotheken-Rechen-Zentrum GmbH AQR Capital Management, LLC arvato distribution GmbH ARZ Allgemeines Rechenzentrum GmbH Badoo Limited Baur Versand (GmbH & Co. KG) BIScience Ltd Blocket Blue Yonder GmbH Codilink UK Ltd T/A Coniq crealytics GmbH dailyme TV GmbH Dailymotion S.A. Dataforce Verlagsgesellschaft für Business Information mbH Deutsche Postbank AG Digitales Rezept Zentrum GmbH DIKW Groep direct services Gütersloh GmbH DR Technologies Ltd. dress-for-less GmbH econda GmbH emetriq GmbH empiriecom GmbH & Co. KG Flaconi GmbH Fresenius Netcare GmbH Fyber GmbH GfK SE Grant Street Group, Inc. Gruner + Jahr GmbH Gymshark UK Hahn Air Lines GmbH Hermes Einrichtungs Service GmbH & Co. KG INNOVATIVE SCHEDULING, LLC internetstores GmbH INTERSPORT Deutschland eG IQVIA Commercial GmbH & Co. OHG IQVIA Commercial Sp. z o.o. IQVIA Incorporated iVantage Health Analytics K - Mail Order GmbH & Co. KG LIQ CORP SA Manor AG Basel Match2Lists Limited MEDION AG Midasplayer AB Monsoon Accessorize Limited m-pathy GmbH msales Ltd. MTG Modern Services AB MW Aviation GmbH & Co. KG Myntra Designs Pvt Ltd Netzeffekt GmbH New Company Services Ltd. NOVENTI HealthCare GmbH Olympus Europa SE & Co. KG Operation Fistula OpsDataStore OTTO (GmbH & Co KG) Panda Retail Co. PAPSTAR GmbH Piedmont Healthcare, Inc. Questback GmbH RatePAY GmbH Revolut Ltd. Saarland-Sporttoto GmbH Sagarmatha Ltd. SIA Damara Technologies Supermärkte Nord Vertriebs GmbH & Co. KG The National Research Center for College & University Admissions, Inc. United Utilities Water Ltd. Verlag C.H. Beck oHG Vocal Planet Ltd. Vodafone Group Services GmbH Webtrekk GmbH wer liefert was? GmbH Windeln.de SE Wooga GmbH XING SE Zalando SE
Unilever, NHS 24, adidas Group, CHIO Aachen, Hamburg Port Authority (HPA), Bangkok Airways Public Company Limited
Find out what your peers are saying about Exasol Data Warehouse vs. SAP HANA and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
861,390 professionals have used our research since 2012.