Link copied to clipboard # AWS Glue vs AWS Lake Formation Comparison - What are their main differences? Share [ Export ](/compare/aws-glue/aws-lake-formation/export.csv) AWS GlueAWS Lake Formation[+ Add Product](#) Pricing **AWS Glue** Free Trial **Contact Vendor for Pricing** · Basic **AWS Lake Formation** Free Trial No pricing available **Pricing Insights** from reviews Perceived Cost **AWS Glue** $$$$$ **AWS Lake Formation** $$$$$ Average Discount **AWS Glue** 13% **AWS Lake Formation** Not enough reviews yet Uncover valuable pricing insights from real user feedback to improve your shopping experience. See it for free Time to Implement **AWS Glue** 6 months Based on 100 responses **AWS Lake Formation** 6 months Based on 100 responses Return on Investment **AWS Glue** 6 months Based on 100 responses **AWS Lake Formation** 6 months Based on 100 responses **Pros & Cons** from reviews **AWS Glue** Ease of Use (6) Data Integration (3) Slow Performance (3) Debugging Difficulty (2) **AWS Lake Formation** Not enough data Integrations **AWS Glue** [ ![Product Avatar Image](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/large_detail/large_detail_b3390b4cc3d92e87d570895f7358c003/amazon-athena.jpg "Product Avatar Image") Amazon Athena ](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-athena/reviews)[ ![Product Avatar Image](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/large_detail/large_detail_5b5ecb6259c4c0d54368899a457a4e08/aws-step-functions.jpg "Product Avatar Image") AWS Step Functions ](https://www.g2.com/products/aws-step-functions/reviews)[ ![Product Avatar Image](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/large_detail/large_detail_a6c205d533dba77b318af96d91beb2ac/databricks.jpeg "Product Avatar Image") Databricks ](https://www.g2.com/products/databricks/reviews)[ View all ](https://www.g2.com/products/aws-glue/integrations) **AWS Lake Formation** Not enough data **Ratings** from reviews Meets Requirements **AWS Glue** **8.5** /10 Based on 158 responses **AWS Lake Formation** **8.8** /10 Based on 26 responses Ease of Use **AWS Glue** **8.4** /10 Based on 161 responses **AWS Lake Formation** **8.7** /10 Based on 26 responses Ease of Setup **AWS Glue** **8.6** /10 Based on 77 responses **AWS Lake Formation** **8.5** /10 Based on 11 responses Ease of Admin **AWS Glue** **8.3** /10 Based on 68 responses **AWS Lake Formation** **8.0** /10 Based on 9 responses Quality of Support **AWS Glue** **8.4** /10 Based on 156 responses **AWS Lake Formation** **8.3** /10 Based on 25 responses Has the product been a good partner in doing business? **AWS Glue** **8.8** /10 Based on 68 responses **AWS Lake Formation** **9.0** /10 Based on 8 responses Product Direction (% positive) **AWS Glue** **9.0** /10 Based on 157 responses **AWS Lake Formation** **10.0** /10 Based on 22 responses **Features** ratings from reviews Machine Learning Data Catalog **8.7** /10 Based on 20 responses Not enough data Data Preparation **8.4** /10 Based on 70 responses Not enough data Data Virtualization **9.0** /10 Based on 28 responses Not enough data Uncover more feature rated insights from real users to improve your shopping experience. See it for free ETL Tools **8.9** /10 Based on 82 responses Not enough data Data Replication **9.1** /10 Based on 22 responses Not enough data Big Data Processing and Distribution Not enough data **8.5** /10 Based on 20 responses User Insights **Reviewers' Company Size** Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.) 22.7% Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.) 29.4% Enterprise(\> 1000 emp.) 47.9% Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.) 22.7% Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.) 29.4% Enterprise(\> 1000 emp.) 47.9% Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.) 42.4% Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.) 27.3% Enterprise(\> 1000 emp.) 30.3% Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.) 42.4% Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.) 27.3% Enterprise(\> 1000 emp.) 30.3% **Reviewers' Industry** [![AWS Glue](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/1528476465/aws-glue.svg "AWS Glue")](https://www.g2.com/products/aws-glue/reviews) AWS Glue Information Technology and Services 18.1% Computer Software 15.0% Financial Services 6.7% Hospital & Health Care 5.7% Computer & Network Security 4.1% Other 50.3% [![AWS Lake Formation](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/5383be31b099738701f86724a8b5cf9a/aws-lake-formation.svg "AWS Lake Formation")](https://www.g2.com/products/aws-lake-formation/reviews) AWS Lake Formation Information Technology and Services 25.0% Banking 9.4% Retail 6.3% Computer Software 6.3% Management Consulting 6.3% Other 46.9% Alternatives **AWS Glue Alternatives** ![Alteryx](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/5200f776b24b5976b8f7d151d1d2e8fd/alteryx.svg "Alteryx") [ Alteryx ](/products/alteryx/reviews) ![Fivetran](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/1526948884/fivetran.svg "Fivetran") [ Fivetran ](/products/fivetran/reviews) ![Hevo Data](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/1a4069c8ee36ae34c4c9c55aeea3a96d/hevo-data.svg "Hevo Data") [ Hevo Data ](/products/hevo-data/reviews) ![Workato](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/5e21242185438a3b63b0b3cc5eb921b0/workato.svg "Workato") [ Workato ](/products/workato/reviews) **AWS Lake Formation Alternatives** ![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) ![Databricks](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/135d1c9e39e19ef56dc8d0bf90fce20f/databricks.svg "Databricks") [ Databricks ](/products/databricks/reviews) ![Snowflake](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/1544409170/snowflake.svg "Snowflake") [ Snowflake ](/products/snowflake/reviews) ![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) ## AWS Glue vs AWS Lake Formation FAQs Generated using AI Last updated: November 14, 2026 ### What is the difference between AWS Glue vs AWS Lake Formation? AWS Glue is the stronger fit for building and running ETL pipelines, while AWS Lake Formation is more focused on creating and governing secure data lakes. | Dimension | [AWS Glue](https://www.g2.com/products/aws-glue/reviews) | [AWS Lake Formation](https://www.g2.com/products/aws-lake-formation/reviews) | | --- | --- | --- | | G2 Rating (reviews) | 4.3/5 (200+ reviews) | 4.4/5 (30+ reviews) | | Largest Segment | Enterprise | Small-Business | | Ease of Setup | 8.6/10 | 8.5/10 | | Quality of Support | 8.4/10 | 8.3/10 | | Top Reviewer-Cited Strength | Ease of Use (fewer than 10 mentions) | Secure data lake setup and centralized access governance | ### How do the pricing models of AWS Glue and AWS Lake Formation compare? AWS Glue scores higher for price and cost satisfaction, with an 8.8/10 Ease of Doing Business With score versus 9.0/10 for AWS Lake Formation, while direct value sentiment favors neither product decisively. - **AWS Glue:** In recent reviews, users value serverless processing and paying for resources used, while warning that job runtime, optimization, and usage monitoring can affect costs. - **AWS Lake Formation:** In recent reviews, users cite setup and ongoing expense as trade-offs, particularly for larger data environments. - Recent AWS Glue reviews cite cost predictability and optimization as reasons to monitor usage; AWS Lake Formation reviews cite expense as a consideration when selecting a data lake service. ### What are the best alternatives to AWS Glue and AWS Lake Formation? BigQuery, Alteryx, and Databricks are the top three G2-ranked alternatives to AWS Glue and AWS Lake Formation. | Product | G2 Rating (reviews) | Largest Segment | Pricing Insight | Top Reviewer-Cited Strength | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [AWS Glue](https://www.g2.com/products/aws-glue/reviews) | 4.3/5 (200+ reviews) | Enterprise | Recent reviews describe usage-based costs as requiring monitoring and optimization. | Serverless ETL, data cataloging, and AWS service integration | | [AWS Lake Formation](https://www.g2.com/products/aws-lake-formation/reviews) | 4.4/5 (30+ reviews) | Small-Business | Recent reviews identify cost as a consideration. | Secure data lake setup and centralized access governance | | [BigQuery](https://www.g2.com/products/google-cloud-bigquery/reviews) | 4.5/5 (1.2k+ reviews) | Enterprise | — | — | | [Alteryx](https://www.g2.com/products/alteryx/reviews) | 4.6/5 (900+ reviews) | Enterprise | — | — | | [Databricks](https://www.g2.com/products/databricks/reviews) | 4.6/5 (1.4k+ reviews) | Enterprise | — | — | ### Which ETL Tools features should I prioritize when comparing AWS Glue and AWS Lake Formation? Prioritize data integration and ETL execution, data lake governance, ease of use, setup, and administration when evaluating AWS Glue and AWS Lake Formation. - **Data integration and ETL:** AWS Glue’s recent reviews emphasize automated pipelines, crawlers, and transformations; its Data Integration and ETL Solutions themes each have 3 all-time mentions. - **Data lake governance:** Recent AWS Lake Formation reviews emphasize centralized permissions, access control, and secure lake setup; AWS Glue reviews emphasize cataloging and schema discovery. - **Ease of use:** AWS Glue scores 8.4/10 and AWS Lake Formation 8.7/10; AWS Glue’s Ease of Use theme has 6 all-time mentions. - **Ease of setup:** AWS Glue scores 8.6/10 and AWS Lake Formation 8.5/10, a near-parity difference of 0.1 points. - **Administration:** AWS Glue scores 8.3/10 for Ease of Admin versus 8.0/10 for AWS Lake Formation. ### What are the pros and cons of AWS Glue vs AWS Lake Formation? AWS Glue’s headline strength is serverless ETL automation and integration, while AWS Lake Formation’s is secure data lake governance and centralized access control. - **AWS Glue strengths:** Recent reviewers value serverless scaling, crawlers, the Data Catalog, PySpark jobs, and integration with AWS analytics services. Ease of Use has 6 all-time mentions; Data Integration and ETL Solutions each have 3. - **AWS Glue trade-offs:** Recent reviews describe debugging and log visibility as challenging, startup delays for smaller jobs, and costs that require monitoring. - **AWS Lake Formation strengths:** Recent reviewers highlight simplified lake setup, centralized permissions, and governance across AWS analytics services. - **AWS Lake Formation trade-offs:** Recent reviews describe permission design and troubleshooting as complex in larger environments, and note limited integration beyond AWS. ### Is AWS Glue or AWS Lake Formation better for small businesses? AWS Lake Formation is the stronger small-business fit because Small-Business is its largest reviewer segment, while AWS Glue’s largest segment is Enterprise. - **AWS Glue:** Enterprise is the largest reviewer segment. Recent reviewers value serverless operation and automated ETL, but describe AWS and Spark learning requirements and cost monitoring as considerations for smaller workloads. - **AWS Lake Formation:** Small-Business is the largest reviewer segment. Recent reviewers highlight simplified data lake setup and centralized access control, while noting that governance configuration can require AWS expertise. ### Which ETL Tools platform has better integrations? AWS Glue has the stronger integration signal, with recent reviewers describing connections across AWS data and analytics services; AWS Lake Formation reviews emphasize AWS-native integration and note limits beyond that ecosystem. - **AWS Glue:** Recent reviews cite Amazon Athena, S3, Redshift, IAM, and Step Functions; Amazon Athena has fewer than 10 all-time integration mentions. - **AWS Lake Formation:** Recent reviews cite integration with AWS analytics services, including Glue, Athena, and Redshift, while describing integration with non-AWS tools as a constraint. ### How do AWS Glue and AWS Lake Formation compare on customer support? AWS Glue and AWS Lake Formation are at parity on Quality of Support: AWS Glue scores 8.4/10 and AWS Lake Formation 8.3/10, a 0.1-point difference below the materiality threshold. - **AWS Glue:** Recent reviewers report mixed support experiences, including praise for helpful assistance and criticism of poor customer support. - **AWS Lake Formation:** Recent reviewers describe support positively, including helpful customer service and support scores of 5.0 to 7.0 where rated. ### Which is easier to implement, AWS Glue or AWS Lake Formation? AWS Glue and AWS Lake Formation are at parity on Ease of Setup: AWS Glue scores 8.6/10 and AWS Lake Formation 8.5/10, a 0.1-point difference below the materiality threshold; AWS Glue scores 8.3/10 versus 8.0/10 on Ease of Admin. - **AWS Glue:** Recent reviewers describe setup as straightforward for basic jobs, while noting that AWS permissions, Spark knowledge, and complex debugging can add implementation effort. - **AWS Lake Formation:** Recent reviewers describe basic lake setup as manageable, while fine-grained permissions and scalable governance require AWS experience. ### Which product has better Data Lake? Data Lake is the most frequently mentioned feature across AWS Glue and AWS Lake Formation reviews. - **AWS Glue:** Reviewers describe using Glue to catalog, transform, and load data into data lakes; its Ease of Use theme has 6 all-time mentions, and Data Cataloging has 2. - **AWS Lake Formation:** Recent reviewers emphasize creating secure, centralized data lakes and controlling access to lake data. Its largest reviewer segment is Small-Business, and its Ease of Use score is 8.7/10. ## AWS Glue vs AWS Lake Formation When assessing the two solutions, reviewers found AWS Lake Formation easier to use and do business with overall. However, reviewers preferred the ease of set up with AWS Glue, along with administration. - Reviewers felt that AWS Lake Formation meets the needs of their business better than AWS Glue. - When comparing quality of ongoing product support, reviewers felt that AWS Glue is the preferred option. - For feature updates and roadmaps, our reviewers preferred the direction of AWS Lake Formation over AWS Glue.