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Amazon Redshift

Data Warehouse

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★★★★☆ 4.3 / 5 on G2 · 4.4 on Capterra (400+ G2 reviews)
4.3 / 5
G2 rating, 400+ reviews [source]
AWS
Native [source]
Scalable
Warehouse [source]
Usage
Based pricing [source]

Quick facts

CategoryCloud data warehouse (AWS)
VendorAmazon Web Services
Starts atUsage based (provisioned or serverless)
Best forAWS ecosystem
DeploymentAWS
Free planFree trial
IntegrationsAWS, BI, ETL
G2 rating4.3 / 5
Capterra rating4.4 / 5

What is Amazon Redshift?

Amazon Redshift is Amazon's cloud data warehouse, integrated with the AWS ecosystem, scalable and widely used, suited to organisations on AWS wanting a data warehouse within their cloud for analytics at scale. One of the first major cloud data warehouses, it stores and analyses large volumes of data with fast SQL queries, offering provisioned clusters or serverless, columnar storage, and tight integration with the AWS ecosystem (S3, Glue, QuickSight, and more), plus features like Redshift Spectrum (querying data in S3) and ML integration. Widely adopted by AWS organisations, Redshift is the natural data warehouse for those building on AWS. For the AWS ecosystem, Amazon Redshift is a leading choice.

Amazon Redshift's distinction is being AWS's native, integrated data warehouse. For organisations on AWS, it fits seamlessly into their cloud, integrating with S3, Glue, QuickSight and the AWS data and analytics stack, with provisioned or serverless options and querying across the lake (Spectrum), which non AWS warehouses do not match for AWS integration. That AWS native integration and ecosystem fit set it apart.

Redshift at a glanceAmazon Redshift is Amazon's cloud data warehouse, integrated with the AWS ecosystem [AWS]. It holds a 4.3 out of 5 rating across more than 400 reviews on G2 and 4.4 on Capterra, a leading choice for the AWS ecosystem.

Who Amazon Redshift is best for

Amazon Redshift is best for organisations building on AWS that want a scalable data warehouse integrated with their AWS cloud (S3, Glue, QuickSight and more) for analytics at scale. It suits the AWS ecosystem. It is a weaker fit for those wanting multi cloud neutrality and data sharing, where Snowflake fits, a unified lakehouse and AI, where Databricks fits, serverless on Google Cloud, where BigQuery fits, or the Microsoft ecosystem, where Synapse or Fabric fit.

Key features

The core strengths are a scalable columnar data warehouse with fast SQL, provisioned clusters or serverless, tight AWS ecosystem integration (S3, Glue, QuickSight), Redshift Spectrum (querying data in S3 data lakes), ML integration, and security and governance. Redshift offers AWS native warehousing. Its AWS integration, scalability and ecosystem fit are its defining advantages.

Amazon Redshift pricing

Amazon Redshift is usage based: you pay for compute (provisioned clusters by node and time, or serverless by usage) and storage, with options like reserved pricing, plus a free trial. So costs depend on cluster or serverless usage and storage. Confirm details on the Redshift pricing page.

Integrations and ecosystem

Amazon Redshift integrates deeply with the AWS ecosystem (S3, Glue, Kinesis, QuickSight, SageMaker and more), plus BI and ETL tools, and queries data lakes via Spectrum. Its deep AWS integration, which makes Redshift the warehouse within the AWS data stack, is a signature strength for AWS organisations.

Redshift and AWS integration

Being AWS's native, integrated data warehouse is the signature strength: for AWS organisations, Redshift fits seamlessly into their cloud, integrating with S3, Glue, QuickSight and the AWS stack, with provisioned or serverless options and lake querying, which non AWS warehouses do not match for AWS integration. For the AWS ecosystem, this is the main reason to choose Redshift.

Ease of use and support

Amazon Redshift is well rated for AWS integration, scalability and performance, with AWS support, widely used, though reviewers note it can require more management and tuning than fully managed rivals and costs need monitoring, reflected in its 4.3 rating. Its G2 reviews praise AWS integration and scale, with management and cost the main considerations.

Is Amazon Redshift worth it?

For organisations on AWS that want a scalable data warehouse integrated with their cloud, Amazon Redshift is an excellent choice. The main caution is more management and tuning than some fully managed rivals, so multi cloud and sharing suit Snowflake, a lakehouse Databricks, serverless Google BigQuery, and Microsoft Synapse or Fabric, but for the AWS ecosystem Redshift leads.

Pricing

Serverless

Usage
by usage
  • No clusters to manage
  • Pay per use
  • Flexible

Provisioned

Usage
by node / time
  • Dedicated clusters
  • Reserved options
  • Steady workloads

Storage

Usage
per TB
  • Managed storage
  • Spectrum (S3)
  • Scale

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Native AWS integration
  • Scalable columnar warehouse
  • Provisioned or serverless
  • Query data lakes (Spectrum)
  • Widely adopted on AWS

Cons

  • More management and tuning than some rivals
  • Costs need monitoring
  • Best within AWS
  • Less fully managed ease than Snowflake

Amazon Redshift alternatives

These data warehouse tools come up most often against Amazon Redshift.

Snowflake

Cloud data platform with separated storage and compute

Databricks

Lakehouse platform unifying data warehousing and AI

Google BigQuery

Serverless cloud data warehouse on Google Cloud

Amazon Redshift FAQ

What is Amazon Redshift used for?
Amazon Redshift is used as a cloud data warehouse on AWS: storing and analysing large volumes of data with fast SQL, in provisioned clusters or serverless, integrated with the AWS ecosystem (S3, Glue, QuickSight) and able to query data lakes, for analytics at scale.
How much does Amazon Redshift cost?
Redshift is usage based: you pay for compute (provisioned clusters by node and time, or serverless by usage) and storage, with reserved options and a free trial. Costs depend on usage. See the Redshift pricing page.
Redshift vs Snowflake, which is better?
Amazon Redshift is AWS's native, integrated warehouse, while Snowflake is a multi cloud data platform known for ease, elasticity and sharing. Redshift suits organisations on AWS wanting native integration; Snowflake suits multi cloud, fully managed ease and data sharing.
Is Redshift good for AWS?
Yes. Redshift is designed for AWS, integrating deeply with S3, Glue, QuickSight, SageMaker and the AWS data and analytics stack, so organisations building on AWS get a warehouse that fits seamlessly into their cloud, which is its key strength.
Does Redshift have a serverless option?
Yes. Amazon Redshift offers Redshift Serverless, which runs queries without managing clusters and scales automatically, as well as traditional provisioned clusters, so organisations can choose serverless convenience or dedicated capacity.
What is Redshift Spectrum?
Redshift Spectrum lets Redshift query data stored in Amazon S3 data lakes directly, without loading it into the warehouse, so you can analyse warehouse and lake data together, extending Redshift across the AWS data stack.

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