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Snowflake

Data Warehouse

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★★★★☆ 4.6 / 5 on G2 · 4.6 on Capterra (763 G2 reviews)
4.6 / 5
G2 rating, 763 reviews [source]
Multi-cloud
AWS/Azure/GCP [source]
Usage
Based pricing [source]
Sharing
+ AI (Cortex) [source]

Quick facts

CategoryCloud data platform
VendorSnowflake
Starts atUsage based (storage + compute)
Best forAll round cloud data platform
DeploymentCloud (AWS, Azure, GCP)
Free planTrial / credits
IntegrationsBI, ETL, ecosystem
G2 rating4.6 / 5
Capterra rating4.6 / 5

What is Snowflake?

Snowflake is the leading cloud data platform, separating compute and storage for elastic scale, with easy data sharing, multi cloud support and AI, the all round standard for the modern cloud data warehouse. It provides a fully managed cloud data warehouse where storage and compute scale independently (so you pay for what you use and run many workloads without contention), runs on AWS, Azure and Google Cloud (multi cloud and vendor neutral), and offers secure data sharing without copying, a marketplace, and AI (Cortex). Known for its ease, elasticity, performance and data sharing, Snowflake is the most popular modern cloud data platform and a benchmark for the category. For an all round cloud data platform, Snowflake is the benchmark.

Snowflake's distinction is easy, elastic, multi cloud data warehousing with standout data sharing. Its clean separation of storage and compute, fully managed ease, multi cloud neutrality and secure data sharing (sharing live data without copying, plus a marketplace) made it the modern cloud warehouse standard, which cloud native or legacy warehouses do not all match for ease, elasticity and sharing. That ease, elasticity, multi cloud and sharing set it apart.

Snowflake at a glanceSnowflake is the leading cloud data platform with elastic compute and easy data sharing [Snowflake]. It holds a 4.6 out of 5 rating across 763 reviews on G2 and 4.6 on Capterra, the all round standard for the cloud data warehouse.

Who Snowflake is best for

Snowflake is best for organisations and data teams that want an all round, easy, elastic, multi cloud data platform for analytics, with strong data sharing and the ability to run across AWS, Azure or Google Cloud. It suits all round cloud data warehousing. It is a weaker fit for those wanting a unified lakehouse with heavy data engineering and AI/ML, where Databricks fits, a single cloud native warehouse, where BigQuery, Redshift or Synapse fit, or real time specialist analytics, where ClickHouse fits.

Key features

The core strengths are separation of storage and compute (independent elastic scaling), a fully managed experience, multi cloud (AWS, Azure, GCP), secure data sharing and a data marketplace, strong performance and concurrency, governance, and AI (Cortex, including LLM features). Snowflake offers easy, elastic, multi cloud data warehousing. Its ease, elasticity, multi cloud and data sharing are its defining advantages.

Snowflake pricing

Snowflake is usage based: you pay for storage and for compute (credits consumed by virtual warehouses, by size and time running), with no upfront licence, plus a trial with credits. So costs scale with data and query workload, and optimisation matters (unoptimised use can be costly). Confirm details on the Snowflake pricing page.

Integrations and ecosystem

Snowflake integrates with BI tools (Tableau, Power BI, Looker), ETL and ELT (dbt, Fivetran), data science tools, and has a marketplace and partner ecosystem, across all three major clouds. Its broad ecosystem, multi cloud reach and data sharing marketplace, which make Snowflake a central, connected data platform, support its all round positioning.

Snowflake and elasticity

Easy, elastic, multi cloud data warehousing with standout data sharing is the signature strength: Snowflake's separation of storage and compute, managed ease, multi cloud neutrality and secure live data sharing made it the modern cloud warehouse standard, which cloud native or legacy warehouses do not all match. For all round cloud data warehousing, this is the main reason to choose Snowflake.

Ease of use and support

Snowflake is highly rated for ease, elasticity, performance, data sharing and multi cloud, the modern warehouse standard, with strong support and ecosystem, though reviewers note costs can rise without optimisation and a learning curve for advanced features. Its G2 reviews praise ease and elasticity, with cost management the main consideration.

Is Snowflake worth it?

For organisations and data teams that want an all round, easy, elastic, multi cloud data platform with strong data sharing, Snowflake is the benchmark choice. The main caution is usage based costs needing optimisation, so a unified lakehouse and AI suit Databricks, single cloud native warehouses BigQuery, Redshift or Synapse, and real time analytics ClickHouse, but for an all round cloud data platform Snowflake leads.

Pricing

Standard

Usage
storage + compute
  • Elastic warehousing
  • Data sharing
  • Pay per use

Enterprise

Usage
storage + compute
  • More features
  • Governance
  • Scale

Business Critical+

Usage
storage + compute
  • Advanced security
  • Compliance
  • Mission critical

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Separation of storage and compute
  • Elastic, easy, fully managed
  • Multi cloud (AWS, Azure, GCP)
  • Standout secure data sharing
  • AI (Cortex) and strong ecosystem

Cons

  • Usage costs need optimisation
  • Can get expensive at scale
  • Learning curve for advanced features
  • Not a full lakehouse like Databricks

Snowflake alternatives

These data warehouse tools come up most often against Snowflake.

Databricks

Lakehouse platform unifying data warehousing and AI

Google BigQuery

Serverless cloud data warehouse on Google Cloud

Amazon Redshift

AWS petabyte-scale cloud data warehouse

Snowflake FAQ

What is Snowflake used for?
Snowflake is used as a cloud data platform (data warehouse): storing and analysing large volumes of data with elastic, independently scaling compute and storage, running analytics and BI across an organisation's data, with secure data sharing, multi cloud support and AI, as the analytical foundation of the data stack.
How much does Snowflake cost?
Snowflake is usage based: you pay for storage and compute (credits used by virtual warehouses, by size and running time), with no upfront licence and a trial with credits. Costs scale with data and workload. See the Snowflake pricing page.
Snowflake vs BigQuery, which is better?
Snowflake is a multi cloud data platform known for elasticity and data sharing, while Google BigQuery is Google Cloud's serverless warehouse. Snowflake suits multi cloud, vendor neutral warehousing and sharing; BigQuery suits serverless analytics on Google Cloud.
Is Snowflake multi cloud?
Yes. Snowflake runs on AWS, Azure and Google Cloud, so organisations can use it on their chosen cloud or across clouds, vendor neutrally, which, with its data sharing, is a key reason it became the modern cloud warehouse standard.
Does Snowflake support data sharing?
Yes. Snowflake is known for secure data sharing, letting organisations share live data without copying it, plus a data marketplace, which is a standout capability for collaborating on and monetising data.
Why is Snowflake so popular?
Snowflake became popular for making cloud data warehousing easy and elastic by separating storage and compute, being fully managed and multi cloud, and offering standout secure data sharing, which together made it the modern cloud data platform standard for analytics.

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