Link copied to clipboard # Amazon Athena vs Snowflake Comparison - What are their main differences? Share [ Export ](/compare/amazon-athena/snowflake/export.csv) Amazon AthenaSnowflake[+ Add Product](#) Pricing **Amazon Athena** No pricing available **Snowflake** Free Trial **$23.00** flat\_rate Per Month ยท Basic **Pricing Insights** from reviews Perceived Cost **Amazon Athena** $$$$$ **Snowflake** $$$$$ Average Discount **Amazon Athena** 10% **Snowflake** 13%3% more Uncover valuable pricing insights from real user feedback to improve your shopping experience. See it for free Time to Implement **Amazon Athena** 6 months Based on 100 responses **Snowflake** 6 months Based on 100 responses Return on Investment **Amazon Athena** 6 months Based on 100 responses **Snowflake** 6 months Based on 100 responses **Pros & Cons** from reviews **Amazon Athena** [ Analytics (1) ](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-athena/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=2486686&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews)[ Big Data Handling (1) ](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-athena/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=2486676&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews)[ Function Limitations (1) ](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-athena/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=2241438&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews)[ Limited SQL (1) ](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-athena/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=2241424&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews) **Snowflake** [ Ease of Use (89) ](https://www.g2.com/products/snowflake/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1116325&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews)[ Scalability (68) ](https://www.g2.com/products/snowflake/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1117770&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews)[ Expensive (53) ](https://www.g2.com/products/snowflake/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1108150&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews)[ Cost (36) ](https://www.g2.com/products/snowflake/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1110486&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews) Integrations **Amazon Athena** [ ![Product Avatar Image](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/large_detail/large_detail_216cb0c86043deb458f3480253d7d5e9/amazon-quick.jpg "Product Avatar Image") Amazon Quick ](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-quick/reviews)[ ![Product Avatar Image](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/large_detail/large_detail_3a97b9f1db5fb047add69c0bdedf5939/amazon-simple-storage-service-s3.jpg "Product Avatar Image") Amazon Simple Storage... ](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-simple-storage-service-s3/reviews)[ ![Product Avatar Image](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/large_detail/large_detail_b3390b4cc3d92e87d570895f7358c003/aws-glue.jpg "Product Avatar Image") AWS Glue ](https://www.g2.com/products/aws-glue/reviews)[ ![Product Avatar Image](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/large_detail/large_detail_b8b49f2b6f9cd484b0efa52a4abd8269/microsoft-microsoft-power-bi.png "Product Avatar Image") Microsoft Power BI ](https://www.g2.com/products/microsoft-microsoft-power-bi/reviews)[ View all ](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-athena/integrations) **Snowflake** [ ![Product Avatar Image](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/large_detail/large_detail_d8d487b67574b56a5ad57a2f0f159a30/airtable.jpg "Product Avatar Image") Airtable ](https://www.g2.com/products/airtable/reviews)[ ![Product Avatar Image](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/large_detail/large_detail_7c8d43b5b00c44acc1a3d106c9a36f4c/alation.png "Product Avatar Image") Alation ](https://www.g2.com/products/alation/reviews)[ ![Product Avatar Image](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/large_detail/large_detail_e9c6bbada2dee4f53b598699cbfc68c5/atscale.jpg "Product Avatar Image") AtScale ](https://www.g2.com/products/atscale/reviews)[ ![Product Avatar Image](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/large_detail/large_detail_f176b4154a751d10150daa67a57b7dc5/azure-blob-storage.jpg "Product Avatar Image") Azure Blob Storage ](https://www.g2.com/products/azure-blob-storage/reviews)[ View all ](https://www.g2.com/products/snowflake/integrations) Screenshots **Amazon Athena** No screenshot available **Snowflake** ![Snowflake screenshot](https://images.g2crowd.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=600,height=600,fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,/https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/attachment/file/89744/Screenshot-1b-Idealized.png) **Ratings** from reviews Meets Requirements **Amazon Athena** **8.4** /10 Based on 127 responses **Snowflake** **9.1** /10 Based on 597 responses Ease of Use **Amazon Athena** **8.9** /10 Based on 127 responses **Snowflake** **9.0** /10 Based on 637 responses Ease of Setup **Amazon Athena** **9.1** /10 Based on 62 responses **Snowflake** **9.0** /10 Based on 420 responses Ease of Admin **Amazon Athena** **8.5** /10 Based on 55 responses **Snowflake** **8.7** /10 Based on 223 responses Quality of Support **Amazon Athena** **8.5** /10 Based on 109 responses **Snowflake** **8.7** /10 Based on 548 responses Has the product been a good partner in doing business? **Amazon Athena** **8.7** /10 Based on 55 responses **Snowflake** **9.0** /10 Based on 225 responses Product Direction (% positive) **Amazon Athena** **9.2** /10 Based on 100 responses **Snowflake** **9.2** /10 Based on 559 responses **Features** ratings from reviews Database Management Systems (DBMS) **8.5** /10 Based on 33 responses **9.2** /10 Based on 110 responses MLOps Platforms Not enough data **9.2** /10 Based on 14 responses Data Science and Machine Learning Platforms Not enough data **8.7** /10 Based on 41 responses Uncover more feature rated insights from real users to improve your shopping experience. See it for free Data Warehouse Not enough data **8.8** /10 Based on 311 responses Columnar Databases Not enough data **9.2** /10 Based on 53 responses Data Clean Room Not enough data **9.2** /10 Based on 28 responses Database as a Service (DBaaS) **8.9** /10 Based on 56 responses Not enough data Big Data Processing and Distribution Not enough data **9.1** /10 Based on 120 responses Big Data Analytics Not enough data **9.0** /10 Based on 108 responses User Insights **Reviewers' Company Size** Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.) 22.2% Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.) 25.9% Enterprise(\> 1000 emp.) 51.9% Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.) 22.2% Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.) 25.9% Enterprise(\> 1000 emp.) 51.9% Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.) 13.0% Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.) 45.2% Enterprise(\> 1000 emp.) 41.8% Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.) 13.0% Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.) 45.2% Enterprise(\> 1000 emp.) 41.8% **Reviewers' Industry** [![Amazon Athena](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/1528476462/amazon-athena.svg "Amazon Athena")](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-athena/reviews) Amazon Athena Information Technology and Services 14.9% Computer Software 12.4% Financial Services 8.1% Computer & Network Security 4.3% Retail 4.3% Other 55.9% [![Snowflake](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/1544409170/snowflake.svg "Snowflake")](https://www.g2.com/products/snowflake/reviews) Snowflake Information Technology and Services 15.3% Computer Software 13.9% Financial Services 10.1% Marketing and Advertising 4.6% Hospital & Health Care 3.2% Other 52.9% Alternatives **Amazon Athena Alternatives** ![Microsoft SQL Server](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/a8a99a96fda235658139f710592f8a53/microsoft-sql-server.svg "Microsoft SQL Server") [ MS SQL ](/products/microsoft-sql-server/reviews) ![DBeaver](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/c70ecec3baa906b4d9eec0752e0a20c1/dbeaver.svg "DBeaver") [ DBeaver ](/products/dbeaver/reviews) ![SAP HANA Cloud](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/b5f8f986beca96ab0027c693ee762fb9/sap-hana-cloud-2025-10-01.svg "SAP HANA Cloud") [ SAP HANA Cloud ](/products/sap-hana-cloud-2025-10-01/reviews) ![Toad For Oracle](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/35e5c607084e1f32cd0ffd32d5abb9a7/quest-software-toad-for-oracle.svg "Toad For Oracle") [ Toad For Oracle ](/products/quest-software-toad-for-oracle/reviews) **Snowflake Alternatives** ![Cloudera](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/dcfb9e6879febb34cef773ddde921835/cloudera.svg "Cloudera") [ Cloudera ](/products/cloudera/reviews) ![Databricks](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/135d1c9e39e19ef56dc8d0bf90fce20f/databricks.svg "Databricks") [ Databricks ](/products/databricks/reviews) ![Google Cloud BigQuery](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/875b8a68eca98ce3458f26e9dd34cdf9/google-cloud-bigquery.svg "Google Cloud BigQuery") [ BigQuery ](/products/google-cloud-bigquery/reviews) ![Teradata Autonomous Knowledge Platform](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/18effe7340087cf76270e479644d3e42/teradata-autonomous-knowledge-platform.svg "Teradata Autonomous Knowledge Platform") [ Teradata Autonomous Knowledge Platform ](/products/teradata-autonomous-knowledge-platform/reviews) ## Amazon Athena vs Snowflake FAQs Generated using AI Last updated: August 14, 2026 ### What is the difference between Snowflake vs Amazon Athena? Snowflake and Amazon Athena differ most clearly in their architecture and reviewer-cited strengths, with Snowflake excelling in scalability and integrations, and Amazon Athena favored for serverless querying on S3 data. | [Snowflake](https://www.g2.com/products/snowflake/reviews) | [Amazon Athena](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-athena/reviews) | | --- | --- | | 4.5/5 (763 reviews) | 4.4/5 (173 reviews) | | Mid-Market | Enterprise | | 9.0 | 9.1 | | 8.7 | 8.5 | | Scalability, integrations, and separation of compute and storage | Serverless querying on S3, fast setup, and cost-effective analytics | ### How do the pricing models of Snowflake and Amazon Athena compare? Snowflake scores higher on price satisfaction than Amazon Athena, indicating reviewers consider Snowflake the stronger value. - **Snowflake:** Reviewers highlight Snowflake's flexible pay-as-you-go model, but note that costs can spike if compute resources are not monitored, and cost management requires attention. - **Amazon Athena:** Reviewers appreciate Athena's cost-effectiveness for querying S3 data, but mention that query costs can become unpredictable with large datasets or unoptimized queries. - **Switching reasons:** In recent reviews, buyers cite Snowflake's cost control challenges and Athena's unpredictable query costs as key factors in evaluating value for money. ### What are the best alternatives to Snowflake and Amazon Athena? The top three alternatives to Snowflake and Amazon Athena are Databricks, MS SQL, and BigQuery. | Product | G2 Rating (reviews) | Largest Segment | Pricing Insight | Top Reviewer-Cited Strength | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Snowflake](https://www.g2.com/products/snowflake/reviews) | 4.5/5 (763 reviews) | Mid-Market | Reviewers note flexible pay-as-you-go pricing but warn of cost spikes if not monitored | Scalability, integrations, and separation of compute and storage | | [Amazon Athena](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-athena/reviews) | 4.4/5 (173 reviews) | Enterprise | Reviewers highlight cost-effectiveness for S3 querying but mention unpredictable costs for large scans | Serverless querying on S3, fast setup, and cost-effective analytics | | [Databricks](https://www.g2.com/products/databricks/reviews) | 4.6/5 (1366 reviews) | Enterprise | โ€” | Unified analytics and machine learning platform | | [MS SQL](https://www.g2.com/products/microsoft-sql-server/reviews) | 4.4/5 (2287 reviews) | Enterprise | โ€” | Robust enterprise data management | | [BigQuery](https://www.g2.com/products/google-cloud-bigquery/reviews) | 4.5/5 (1224 reviews) | Enterprise | โ€” | High-performance analytics on large datasets | ### Which Data Warehouse features should I prioritize when comparing Snowflake and Amazon Athena? Buyers should prioritize scalability, integrations, cost management, ease of setup, and support when comparing Snowflake and Amazon Athena. - **Scalability:** Snowflake scores 9.1 on Meets Requirements and is frequently cited for elastic scaling and workload isolation; Athena is praised for serverless scaling but has a Meets Requirements score of 8.4. - **Integrations:** Snowflake is mentioned in 31 reviews for Tableau and 11 for Looker; Athena is cited in 7 reviews for AWS Glue and 1 for Python. - **Cost Management:** Snowflake's pay-as-you-go model is praised but requires careful monitoring; Athena is valued for cost-effectiveness but can have unpredictable costs with large scans. - **Ease of Setup:** Both products score above 9.0 (Snowflake 9.0, Athena 9.1), with reviewers noting fast and straightforward implementation. - **Support:** Snowflake scores 8.7 and Athena 8.5 on Quality of Support, with reviewers describing both as responsive and helpful. ### What are the pros and cons of Snowflake vs Amazon Athena? Snowflake's headline strength is scalability and integrations, while Amazon Athena's is serverless querying and cost-effective analytics. - **Snowflake strengths:** Reviewers highlight scalability, separation of compute and storage, strong integrations (31 mentions for Tableau, 11 for Looker), and ease of use for analytics and data sharing. - **Snowflake trade-offs:** Cost management requires attention, with reviewers noting potential for unexpected cost spikes and a learning curve for advanced features. - **Amazon Athena strengths:** Reviewers cite serverless architecture, fast setup, cost-effectiveness for S3 querying, and ease of use for ad hoc analytics. - **Amazon Athena trade-offs:** Query costs can be unpredictable with large or unoptimized datasets, limited SQL functionality, and performance drops with high concurrency or many small files. ### Is Snowflake or Amazon Athena better for small businesses? Snowflake is better suited for small businesses, as indicated by its strong mid-market presence and reviewer sentiment on ease of use and setup. - **Snowflake:** Largest segment is Mid-Market; reviewers consistently praise its straightforward setup, intuitive interface, and flexibility for growing teams. - **Amazon Athena:** Largest segment is Enterprise; reviewers note its value for analytics on S3 but focus on large-scale, enterprise use cases. ### Which Data Warehouse platform has better integrations? Snowflake is favored for integrations, with more reviewer-cited third-party tool connections than Amazon Athena. - **Snowflake:** Tableau (31 all-time mentions), Looker (11), Airtable (recent reviews); reviewers highlight strong integration with BI and data pipeline tools. - **Amazon Athena:** AWS Glue (7 all-time mentions), Python (recent reviews); reviewers note integration with AWS-native services and Python for analytics workflows. ### How do Snowflake and Amazon Athena compare on customer support? Snowflake and Amazon Athena are at near-parity on Quality of Support, with scores of 8.7 and 8.5 respectively, below the materiality threshold for a clear winner. - **Snowflake:** Reviewers describe support as responsive and helpful, with positive experiences during onboarding and troubleshooting. - **Amazon Athena:** Reviewers report helpful and supportive customer service, with several citing strong documentation and AWS support resources. ### Which is easier to implement, Snowflake or Amazon Athena? Amazon Athena and Snowflake are at near-parity on Ease of Setup, with scores of 9.1 and 9.0 respectively, indicating both are easy to implement. - **Snowflake:** Reviewers consistently describe setup as fast, straightforward, and well-documented, with minimal configuration required. - **Amazon Athena:** Reviewers highlight very fast setup, minimal infrastructure management, and ease of connecting to S3 and AWS Glue. ### Which product has better Cloud? Snowflake and Amazon Athena are both highly rated for Cloud, with reviewers citing strong cloud-native capabilities and performance. - **Snowflake:** Reviewers highlight its cloud-native architecture, multi-cloud support, and strong performance for analytics and data warehousing. - **Amazon Athena:** Reviewers emphasize its serverless cloud model, direct S3 querying, and cost-effective cloud analytics.