--- title: Azure SQL Server Stretch Database Reviews meta_title: 'Azure SQL Server Stretch Database Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Features | G2' meta_description: Filter 17 reviews by the users' company size, role or industry to find out how Azure SQL Server Stretch Database works for a business like yours. aggregate_rating: rating_value: 4.1 review_count: 17 scale: '5' date_modified: '2026-07-17' parent_category: name: Database Software url: https://www.g2.com/categories/database-software --- # Azure SQL Server Stretch Database Reviews **Vendor:** Microsoft **Category:** [Database Management Systems (DBMS)](https://www.g2.com/categories/database-management-systems-dbms) **Average Rating:** 4.1/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 17 ## About Azure SQL Server Stretch Database Azure SQL Server Stretch Database was a feature introduced in SQL Server 2016 that allowed organizations to dynamically extend their on-premises databases to Azure, enabling seamless access to both hot and cold data without significant changes to existing applications. This capability provided virtually unlimited storage and compute capacity, facilitating efficient management of large datasets. Key Features and Functionality: - Dynamic Data Stretching: Automatically migrate cold or infrequently accessed data from on-premises SQL Server databases to Azure, while keeping hot data on-premises for optimal performance. - Transparent Query Processing: Execute queries across both on-premises and Azure-stored data without modifying existing applications, as the process is transparent to users. - Integrated Security: Utilize Always Encrypted technology to ensure that sensitive data is encrypted before being transferred to Azure, with encryption keys remaining on-premises. - Scalability: Leverage Azure's scalable storage and compute resources to manage growing data volumes without the need for significant infrastructure investments. Primary Value and User Solutions: Azure SQL Server Stretch Database addressed the challenges of managing large and growing datasets by providing a cost-effective solution for archiving cold data without compromising accessibility. It enabled organizations to maintain compliance with data retention policies and regulatory requirements by keeping data online and readily available. By offloading cold data to Azure, businesses could optimize on-premises storage and compute resources, leading to improved performance and reduced maintenance costs. However, it's important to note that Microsoft announced the deprecation of the SQL Server Stretch Database feature in SQL Server 2022, with the supporting Azure service retired as of July 9, 2024. Organizations are advised to explore alternative solutions for managing cold data, such as utilizing the CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE AS SELECT (CETaS) feature in SQL Server 2022, which allows archiving data to Azure Storage in Parquet format for cost-effective storage and analytics. ## Azure SQL Server Stretch Database Pros & Cons **What users like:** - Users value the **seamless integration** of Azure SQL Server Stretch Database, especially for large enterprises. (1 reviews) - Users value the **solution efficiency** of Azure SQL Server Stretch Database, noting its seamless operation for large enterprises. (1 reviews) **What users dislike:** - Users find the **poor customer support** for Azure SQL Server Stretch Database to be frustrating and unhelpful. (1 reviews) ## Azure SQL Server Stretch Database Reviews ### 1. Great business tool for large database locations **Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Hospital & Health Care | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 28, 2021 **What do you like best about Azure SQL Server Stretch Database?** I had limited engagement with this tool, but we did use it to move items to cloud storage and to allow access of data to customers with that need. **What do you dislike about Azure SQL Server Stretch Database?** This product is pretty massive in its capability, and I could not use all of its features within my position. **What problems is Azure SQL Server Stretch Database solving and how is that benefiting you?** We used it to make cloud storage transfers, as well as to make old data available to researchers in need of longitudinal data. ## Azure SQL Server Stretch Database Discussions - [What is a similar product? Who are its' competitors?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/32519-what-is-a-similar-product-who-are-its-competitors) - 1 comment, 1 upvote - [What is stretch database in SQL Server?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-is-stretch-database-in-sql-server) - 1 comment - [View Azure SQL Server Stretch Database pricing details and edition comparison](https://www.g2.com/products/azure-sql-server-stretch-database/reviews?filters%5Bnps_score%5D%5B%5D=3§ion=pricing&secure%5Bexpires_at%5D=2026-08-04+01%3A51%3A04+-0500&secure%5Bsession_id%5D=a8f839e8-dcf9-4f6f-8c9d-f868a7cfb72b&secure%5Btoken%5D=5520d8c7b6e52afbe44369e53d3d336a9515881752ef4083c7bfa2b93c2db395&format=llm_user) ## Azure SQL Server Stretch Database Features **Management** - Data dictionary - Data Replication - Query Language - Data Modeling - Performance Analysis **Maintenance** - Data Migration - Backup and Recovery - Multi-User Environment **Security** - Data Encryption - User Access Control ## Top Azure SQL Server Stretch Database Alternatives - [Snowflake](https://www.g2.com/products/snowflake/reviews) - 4.5/5.0 (712 reviews) - [Toad For Oracle](https://www.g2.com/products/quest-software-toad-for-oracle/reviews) - 4.4/5.0 (281 reviews) - [SAS Viya](https://www.g2.com/products/sas-sas-viya/reviews) - 4.3/5.0 (774 reviews)