SQL Server vs SingleStore comparison

The compared SingleStore and Microsoft solutions aren't in the same category. SingleStore is ranked #7 in DS , with an average rating of 8.8, and holds a 1.7% mindshare in the category. Microsoft is ranked #1 in SQL , with an average rating of 8.3, and holds a 17.9% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of SingleStore users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 93% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

SingleStore

Read 6 SingleStore reviews

204 Views
169 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

SQL Server

Read 268 SQL Server reviews

18,969 Views
14,206 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

SingleStore

SQL Server

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between SingleStore and SQL Server based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Amazon Web Services (AWS), MongoDB and others in Database as a Service (DBaaS).

To learn more, read our detailed Database as a Service (DBaaS) Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Database as a Service (DBaaS)

March 2025

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Helped 849,686 peers since 2012

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

SingleStore

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Database as a Service (DBaaS) (7th), Vector Databases (13th)

SQL Server

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

268

Ranking in other categories

Relational Databases Tools (1st)

Mindshare comparison

While both are Databases solutions, they serve different purposes. SingleStore is designed for Database as a Service (DBaaS) and holds a mindshare of 1.7%, up 0.7% compared to last year.
SQL Server, on the other hand, focuses on Relational Databases Tools, holds 17.9% mindshare, down 23.0% since last year.

Database as a Service (DBaaS)

Relational Databases Tools

Featured Reviews

Yasin Sarı

Senior Data Analyst at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees

High-speed data processing, seamless scalability, and excellent high availability making it an optimal choice for those prioritizing performance and efficiency in a database solution

There's a noteworthy consideration when it comes to collecting massive amounts of data. It is not the optimal choice for direct data collection through queries, and it's more suited for aggregation tasks. Attempting to use it for direct extraction, for instance, might lead to memory-related challenges. While MySQL version five might lack extensive SQL capabilities, SingleStore also has its constraints, requiring simpler SQL writing. This becomes evident when seeking advanced functionalities like window functions or JSON functions, where SingleStore doesn't offer an extensive toolkit, necessitating a more straightforward approach to SQL.

Read full review

Azizul Haque

AVP, IT Division at NCC BANK LIMITED

It has eliminated all kinds of inconsistencies, and it is reliable, secure, and fast

I don't know whether SQL Server can support large organizations where the database size is more than 100 GB. It might be because of SQL Server, or it might be because of the programming of the software vendor, but a lot of people think that it is a problem with SQL Server. It can't handle a large amount of data or large data size. In terms of its usage, about 90% of our applications are running on the SQL Server database. We have around 1,600 users for our software, and all the applications are connected to the SQL Server database.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The product can automatically reinstall and reconfigure in case of a shutdown."

"The most valuable feature is the ability to create pipelines, streamline and extract data from the pipelines."

"The ability to store data in memory is a standout feature, enhanced by robust failover mechanisms."

"It's a distributed relational database, so it does not have a single server, it has multiple servers. Its architecture itself is fast because it has multiple nodes to distribute the workload and process large amounts of data."

"The paramount advantage is the exceptional speed."

"MemSQL supports the MySQL protocol, and many functions are similar, so the learning curve is very short."

"The technical support that Microsoft provides is great."

"Easy to implement and user-friendly relational database management system. This product is stable and scalable."

"We have found there are many useful features such as the solution is continually being upgraded, ETL capabilities for extracting and transformation, and it is very easy to use."

"I have experience with this product for many years. I never have problems with it. It can handle a PC, and it can also handle huge data. It is fast and efficient."

"The performance is good."

"It is the latest technology and pretty powerful in terms of the high availability of the virtual server."

"One of the best features of SQL Server is the efficient retrieval of information."

"The solution can be deployed in a few minutes."

More SQL Server pros

Cons

"For new customers, it's very tough to start. Their documentation isn't organized, and there's no online training available. SingleStore is working on it, but that's a major drawback."

"We don't get good discounts in Pakistan."

"Having the ability to migrate servers using a single command would be extremely beneficial."

"It is not the optimal choice for direct data collection through queries, and it's more suited for aggregation tasks."

"There should be more pipelines available because I think that if MemSQL can connect to other services, that would be great."

"Poor key distribution can significantly impact performance, requiring a backward approach in design rather than adding tables incrementally."

"The agility of the non-SQL-based features is relevant on the market."

"Currently, I do not face any difficulties with SQL Server as all options and documentations are available."

"SQL Server database capacities could be further increased to be more accessible for larger data requirements."

"The solution could improve by having more integration with other operating systems and other platforms."

"The solution needs to be more secure. It's lacking, compared to, for example, Oracle."

"There should be more security updates for the product."

"I would like to see the integration with other platforms improved in the future."

"The solution’s pricing is high."

More SQL Server cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"They have two main options: cloud installation and bare-metal installation, each with different pricing models."

"SingleStore is a bit expensive."

"I would advise users to try the free 128GB version."

"Using it for analytical purposes can be cost-effective in the long run, especially in terms of infrastructure."

"The product's licensing is not expensive. It is comparable."

"The product's price is reasonable."

"My advice is quite straightforward. If you know the number of users who really and truly need access to the Server then it is a no-brainer. If you do not know, then get the basic package and minimum licenses and start from there. Needless to say, users can develop/use data structures outside and then deploy onto the Server."

"The product is expensive."

"The price for the Standard Edition is approximately $3,000 USD per core. Once you include technical support, SQL Server is cheaper than PostgreSQL and MySQL."

"The areas that need improvement are with regards to the commercial aspect of the solution, the licensing cost could be reduced in order to help customers to adopt it."

"For licensing, we pay yearly. The licensing is very expensive, and it should be cheaper."

"We have had to purchase the Enterprise version to the tune of a few hundred thousand dollars, which is just ridiculous."

"We didn't have any licensing costs for SQL Server."

More SQL Server pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

33%

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

University

Educational Organization

49%

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about SingleStore DB?

The paramount advantage is the exceptional speed.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SingleStore DB?

Using it for analytical purposes can be cost-effective in the long run, especially in terms of infrastructure. While building an on-premise cluster incurs an initial cost for servers with ample RAM...

See all answers

What needs improvement with SingleStore DB?

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

Comparisons

ClickHouse vs SingleStore

Compared 13% of the time

Chroma vs SingleStore

Compared 6% of the time

CockroachDB vs SingleStore

Compared 6% of the time

Teradata vs SingleStore

Compared 6% of the time

MongoDB vs SingleStore

Compared 6% of the time

More SingleStore Competitors

SAP HANA vs SQL Server

Compared 14% of the time

MariaDB vs SQL Server

Compared 14% of the time

IBM Db2 Database vs SQL Server

Compared 12% of the time

Oracle Database vs SQL Server

Compared 9% of the time

CockroachDB vs SQL Server

Compared 2% of the time

More SQL Server Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

SingleStore

April 2025

Download SingleStore product report

Buyer's Guide

SQL Server

March 2025

Download SQL Server product report

Also Known As

No data available

Microsoft SQL Server, MSSQL, MS SQL

Overview

SingleStore enables organizations to scale from one to one million customers, handling SQL, JSON, full text and vector workloads — all in one unified platform.

SingleStore

SQL Server is a relational database management system (RDBMS) by Microsoft. The product's main purposes are to store data and retrieve it as requested by other software applications - on the same computer or on another computer across a shared network. The solution is built on top of Structured Query Language (SQL), which is a standardized programming language used for relational database management.

The product is tied to Transact-SQL (T-SQL), which is an implementation of SQL from Microsoft that adds several proprietary programming extensions to the standard language. SQL Server is built similarly to other RDBMS products, as its structure is a row-based table that connects related data elements in different tables to one another. One of its most important components is the SQL Server Database Engine, as it controls data processing, storage, and security. Beneath the Database Engine is the SQL Server Operating System, which is used for memory and I/O management, locking data to avoid unneeded upgrades, and job scheduling.

The solution has four editions with different sets of services and tools. They include:

SQL Server Developer
SQL Server Expression
SQL Server Standard
SQL Server Enterprise

The first two are available for free and are typically utilized by smaller companies, as they work with fewer functions and storage. The second two editions are generally used by bigger organizations and enterprises and offer more features.

The solution has several functions through which users can facilitate different data-related processes. These include:

Aggregate functions: These functions are used to calculate one or more values and return a single value.
Window functions: Window functions calculate an aggregate value based on a group of rows and return multiple rows for each involved group.
Date functions: These functions allow clients to handle data and time data efficiently.
String functions: Through the string functions, SQL Server processes an input string and returns a string or numeric value.
System functions: The system functions of the product return objects, values, and settings.

SQL Server Services

SQL Server has a wide range of add-on services that provide additional benefits beyond database management. These services include:

Machine learning: SQL Server machine learning services allow users to do machine learning and data analytics within the product.
Service broker: This feature is a part of the database engine and offers messaging and message queuing for applications on the platform.
Replication: This feature consists of transaction replication, merge replication, and snapshot replication.
Analysis: SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) adds online analytical processing (OLAP) and data mining capabilities to SQL Server databases.
Reporting: This feature supports the development of custom reporting applications.
Notifications: This feature generates data-driven notifications which are sent to subscribers of Notification Services.
Integration: This SQL Server feature provides capabilities for data integration, data import, and data warehousing.
Full-text search: Through this feature, users can utilize specialized indexing and query for unstructured text stored in the solution.
Visual studio: This feature supports data programming with SQL Server.
Azure Data Studio: This is a cross-platform query editor that can be downloaded and used alongside SQL Server.

SQL Server Benefits

The solution has many benefits for users. These include the following:

The platform ensures a consistent experience across other platforms while being fast and agile.
Through the built-in intelligence features, users can understand their data better.
The solution has enterprise-level security, which ensures the smooth and safe performance of users' data.
SQL Server offers the ability to retrieve large amounts of data quickly and efficiently.
The product installation process is fairly easy, and it offers a user-friendly interface.
SQL Server offers improved data storage and retrieval functions through frequent upgrades.
The solution reduces the risk of database server attacks, since it is not an open-source database.

Reviews from Real Users

A president at a consultancy evaluates SQL Server as a veteran solution with critical log shipping feature.

Harkamal S., a user at a manufacturing company, rates SQL Server with a high mark because it is a stable, scalable, and easy-to-deploy solution that pretty much covers everything.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

6Sense, ADNOC, Adobe, Akamai, CARFAX, Cigna, Cisco, Comcast, DBS Bank, Dell, Dentsu, EY, FirstEnergy, GE, Goldman Sachs, Heap, Hulu, IMAX, Kakao, Kroger, LG, LiveRamp, Lumana, NBC, OpenDialog, Outreach, Palo Alto Networks, PicPay, RBC, Samsung, Siemens, SiriusXM, SK Telecom, SKAI, Sony, State Street Financial, STC, SunRun, TATA, Thorn, and ZoomInfo.

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.

Buyer's Guide

Database as a Service (DBaaS)

March 2025

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