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SAP HANA vs SQL Server 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

SAP HANA
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
85
Ranking in other categories
Data Virtualization (2nd), Embedded Database (4th)
SQL Server
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
268
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of SAP HANA is 11.0%, down from 11.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SQL Server is 17.9%, down from 23.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Relational Databases Tools
 

Q&A Highlights

AS
Feb 15, 2021
 

Featured Reviews

Jayarami Reddy Pujeri - PeerSpot reviewer
Comprehensive system with real-time analytics for versatile industry applications
Our primary use case is working with various clients in industries such as pharmaceuticals and other services. We support clients as implementers of SAP HANA, providing expertise in functionality, finance, logistics, and processes The solution is very user-friendly and supports all kinds of…
AhmadTalha - PeerSpot reviewer
A robust and secure solution that helps to store data
The GUI needs improvement. From a technical perspective, it's quite complex, which may not be a problem for individuals with technical backgrounds like ours, especially since we've encountered similar interfaces. However, navigating the GUI can be challenging for newcomers or product owners without technical experience. For example, as someone transitioning from a developer role to a product management role, I find it relatively easy to use the GUI. But for those without a technical background, it's much more challenging to grasp what's happening.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"A very feature-rich solution with excellent performance."
"The data storage requirement is reduced from the original database to the HANA database."
"This solution is very fast."
"The user interface is very good. You can do any kind of reporting analytics from the platform."
"The speed at which it gets the data is great."
"What I like most are the dashboards and pervasive analytics."
"The UX experience is very good."
"SAP HANA's best features are its programmability and extensibility - you can size and shape the software however you need."
"The feature that I have found most valuable is that it is easy to code."
"I have contacted technical support, and overall my experience with technical support was okay."
"The performance is reliable."
"One of the most valuable features of SQL Server is that it's easy to use."
"It is one of the most stable relational databases out there."
"It is easy to use for a BI specialist."
"The initial setup is easy, flawless."
"SQL Server is a stable product."
 

Cons

"When we are using SAP HANA we have some difficulty with the customization. We would like to be able to add and make customized menus."
"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."
"The main issue is the ecosystem, which lacks the widespread support that SQL enjoys."
"SAP HANA's long run time to extract data could be improved upon."
"More standards would help in the future."
"In a future release, SAP HANA should add a module for taxation, such as income tax and withholding tax."
"The bid process needs to be improved."
"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."
"The solution could offer better integration with other solutions - specifically Microsoft."
"For a big amount of data, when we are speaking about IoT Segments, and Big Data projects, there are performance issues."
"The solution is lacking a compound index for comparing values."
"The backup capacity needs to be bigger."
"If this solution could provide an automatic indexing feature it would be very useful."
"The scalability and the high availability feature can be expanded or improved. Currently, there is a limitation on scalability. A feature similar to the Oracle Diagnostic feature can be included to provide a better user experience."
"When we run into problems, it's usually during installation, and finding answers to the problem has been a nightmare because the documentation is terrible."
"I would like to see the database become fully automated."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We are spending about 20,000 to 30,000 euros on the solution."
"The price of licensing is dependent on the size of the project, however, we have found that there is scope to negotiate the cost. If the solution is implemented on-premises there may be some extra costs for hosting etc."
"The pricing is a bit on the high side."
"Its licensing is expensive for SMEs and large enterprises alike."
"It is expensive."
"The tool’s subscription is yearly."
"SAP HANA is expensive, but unfortunately, we do not have any alternatives."
"The price of the solution could be reduced, it is expensive."
"It is annual."
"Synapse is a bit costly. If I compare it with different databases, I think it's a reasonable price"
"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a seven out of ten."
"Pricing is a bit on the higher side."
"For a brief period, approximately one year before 2018, I had experience working with the open-source version of SQL Server. During that time, I found SQL Server to be the preferred choice, in my opinion."
"SQL Server has the best licensing price."
"The price has been going higher and higher. The market is quite price sensitive."
"Their options for concurrency and locking are good, as well as their prices."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
15%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
7%
Educational Organization
47%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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...
Would you say the price of SQL Server is high compared to that of similar products?
SQL Server is fairly priced because it has various editions, depending on the number of users, servers, or core packs you are using. If you compare the product to others in this category, the price...
Has using SQL Server helped your organization in any way?
SQL Server has helped my organization through partitioning to distribute the workload, as it splits them up into smaller pieces so the machines can easily deal with it. However, this comes with a h...
Which authentication mode is best for SQL Server?
My company connects through SQL Server authentication. We have company Windows accounts, but we do not want to connect the two, out of security concerns and to keep things separated for our own pur...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

SAP High-Performance Analytic Appliance, HANA
Microsoft SQL Server, MSSQL, MS SQL
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Unilever, NHS 24, adidas Group, CHIO Aachen, Hamburg Port Authority (HPA), Bangkok Airways Public Company Limited
Microsoft SQL Server is used by businesses in every industry, including Great Western Bank, Aviva, the Volvo Car Corporation, BMW, Samsung, Principality Building Society, Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario.
Find out what your peers are saying about SAP HANA vs. SQL Server and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
850,671 professionals have used our research since 2012.