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Microsoft Azure SQL Database vs SAP HANA Cloud comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 29, 2026

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

Microsoft Azure SQL Database
Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
136
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SAP HANA Cloud
Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)
11th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
3.3
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Azure SQL Database is 9.2%, down from 14.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP HANA Cloud is 1.8%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Database as a Service (DBaaS) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Azure SQL Database9.2%
SAP HANA Cloud1.8%
Other89.0%
Database as a Service (DBaaS)
 

Featured Reviews

Thomas Sawyer - PeerSpot reviewer
Executive Director, Platform Architecture at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation – SMBC Group
Automatic tuning and multi-region availability have reduced manual workloads and improved performance management
The features of Microsoft Azure SQL Database that I like the most are easy scaling and high availability. I appreciate those features because it's easy to make Microsoft Azure SQL Database readily available in a multi-region infrastructure. Using Microsoft Azure SQL Database is very easy; it's much easier than SQL on-premise because I don't have to worry about deploying infrastructure, and I can rapidly deploy via infrastructure as code. I am using the automatic tuning feature in Microsoft Azure SQL Database. We are using the new feature of data encryption in Microsoft Azure SQL Database with customer-managed keys only. The reliability and stability of Microsoft Azure SQL Database platform are rock-solid; it's as good, if not better, than what our on-premise stability has been from an uptime perspective.
Bassem Mohammed - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Application Manager at TBTD
Has improved performance by enabling smoother business operations and real-time data integration
I am satisfied with SAP HANA Cloud and don't see any room for improvement. I don't use SAP HANA Cloud's machine learning feature at this moment. Currently, we don't use SAP HANA Cloud's ability to support hybrid data landscapes in our organization. SAP HANA Cloud can integrate real-time analytics with transactional data processing in my businesses by connecting it with other systems such as government systems and HR systems for fingerprint recognition. We are already using BOBJ or SAP BW for predictive analytics, which is an old solution from SAP. My overall rating for SAP HANA Cloud is eight out of 10. The reason I don't give it a higher score is that there are some concerns related to security and certain features that I have not seen yet.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The main valuable feature is the auto scaling, and the security features they've implemented on cloud make it a little easier compared to on-prem SQL, enabling added scalability while making costing more reliable, flexible, and cost effective."
"We have come from hosting on-premise for customers, or they've done it themselves with SQL. We've now taken a cloud offering for the equivalent services of standard database management and the inbuilt backup and restore offerings. The scalability is probably the biggest feature that we are benefiting from by being in the cloud."
"We're a Microsoft customer, so it fits in with everything else we work with."
"Microsoft Azure SQL Database scales well, allowing us to increase our compute level or add more instances as required."
"The scalability and simple management of the infrastructure are the most valuable features."
"We have used SQL for a long time. Azure SQL has helped teams across the organization to use SQL's full potential. I can't say what the cost savings were precisely, but I believe it has reduced the total cost of ownership."
"Microsoft Azure SQL Database is integrated into other Azure capabilities and has a great foundation being on SQL Server with a long history of security, performance, and usability from a DBA perspective."
"The impact of the automatic tuning feature on my database performance has increased performance while keeping costs at realistic levels, and it has removed some of the engineering workloads for our DBAs who would have had to worry about manually performing tuning."
"The solution has integrated many different value chains across the organization, as previously there were multiple systems managing those value chains."
"From my perspective, the best features of SAP HANA Cloud are that it's an ERP system connecting all departments together, making it a very smooth software for business operations."
"The real-time analytics feature is good; there is no doubt about it."
"Using SAP HANA Cloud, we can replicate the data into HANA and use live data, which improves our business decision-making."
"SAP HANA Cloud provides a single version of truth, automation, intelligence, process control, and best practices."
"I would rate SAP HANA Cloud nine to ten out of ten."
"The best features of SAP HANA Cloud are that its software is effective because it has tight integration between other functions, such as finance, materials, and sales."
 

Cons

"We haven't had any major issues that have prevented us from doing stuff fundamentally. For its implementation, sometimes, it is complicated to understand what your needs are. It would be good to have a few use cases that provide different cloud variations that match on-premise installations and show how they can be moved to the cloud a bit better."
"They could improve Azure SQL by adding some of the features available on-prem, such as cross-database queries and the ability to run particular jobs. We need to migrate those to something else, like a function or logic app."
"Certain features available commercially may not be applicable in our gov cloud."
"Azure SQL had a bit of a learning curve to start, but it was fairly simple once I understood how to develop it. I was using PowerShell to connect to it, and I've never connected to online databases through Azure using PowerShell. Scripting the PowerShell connections could be simpler. The coding is familiar, but figuring out how to use it initially can be easier."
"In terms of management, you can't really pause things."
"One area for improvement could be expanding the search queries using vectors or AI inside the database. After seeing its potential in a workshop, I realized the usefulness of more advanced search queries with AI."
"If the product could support applications requiring an SQL server for installation, by using SQL Azure as a backend, that would be useful."
"I would like to see integration with Snowflake."
"I see some weaknesses in SAP HANA Cloud regarding innovations, as they take their own time compared to what the market brings in with new features."
"The technical support from SAP is inadequate. We don't get timely responses, with support tickets taking more than 25 days to process."
"My opinion on SAP HANA Cloud is that it is a waste of time."
"SAP HANA Cloud requires extensive documentation before connecting with a human being to troubleshoot an issue."
"In future updates of SAP HANA Cloud, I would suggest some changes in the user interfaces to make it more user-friendly."
"From a UX point of view, there could be better improvements in the user experience and how users interact with the system."
"Regarding SAP HANA Cloud, one significant pain point is the lack of access to the database from the HANA Studio for developers."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Its price can definitely be lower. It is pretty pricey."
"It is reasonable."
"The pricing is actually complicated, and that is probably one downside of it. In some respects, although we can plan for the costs on a month-by-month basis, we are finding it hard to project our costings for it. Fundamentally, Microsoft is offering two pricing models, and it is challenging to understand the differences between the two. We're basically on the DTU model at the moment. That may change in the future as the size grows, but it is one of those things that we'll end up monitoring as we progress. At the moment, to get a reasonable response, generally, the price is a little high for us, but it is one of those things for which we know that we can do improvements on our code. So, it is not just the service that's the problem; it is some of the things that we need to do as well."
"Compared to other providers, the pricing is definitely on the affordable side."
"It's reasonably priced and when you compare it with other products in the cloud environment, it's cheaper."
"The solution is more cost-effective than Google BigQuery. Compared to Google BigQuery, downloading data can be more expensive."
"It is quite expensive. I would definitely recommend not using the pay-as-you-go model because this will just mean all your money will go to Microsoft. So, really make sure to control resource usage as much as possible."
"The pricing is flexible and can be adapted based on our requirements but the pricing options are complex especially if we are using a VM."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
12%
Outsourcing Company
12%
Construction Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business62
Midsize Enterprise17
Large Enterprise62
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SQL Azure?
I would say I am at a basic experience level with the pricing, setup costs and licensing because while I am the administrator for the service, I do not provision the services and worry about the co...
What needs improvement with SQL Azure?
I have no comments at the moment on how Microsoft Azure SQL Database can be improved. I have no comments on additional features that I would like to see released in the next release. I do not have ...
What is your primary use case for SQL Azure?
My main use cases for Microsoft Azure SQL Database are third-party applications.
What needs improvement with SAP HANA Cloud?
In future updates of SAP HANA Cloud, I would suggest some changes in the user interfaces to make it more user-friendly.
What is your primary use case for SAP HANA Cloud?
SAP HANA Cloud is used in many different organizations such as retail, manufacturing, and pharmacy; most businesses can use SAP HANA Cloud.
What advice do you have for others considering SAP HANA Cloud?
I am satisfied with SAP HANA Cloud and don't see any room for improvement. I don't use SAP HANA Cloud's machine learning feature at this moment. Currently, we don't use SAP HANA Cloud's ability to ...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

adnymics GmbH, LG CNS, Centrebet, netfabb GmbH, MedPlast, Accelera Solutions, Sochi Organizing Committee, realzeit GmbH
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Azure SQL Database vs. SAP HANA Cloud and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.