Which is cheaper: Redshift or Snowflake?

Redshift offers lower base costs ($2-4/TB/month) compared to Snowflake ($4-6/TB/month), making it more cost-effective for large-scale, consistent workloads on AWS. However, Snowflake's transparent, per-second billing and elimination of tuning overhead can reduce hidden costs. Total cost depends on your usage patterns and optimization efforts.

Can I use Snowflake if I'm heavily invested in AWS?

Yes. Snowflake runs on AWS and integrates well with AWS services. However, you won't benefit from multi-cloud portability. If AWS is your exclusive cloud provider and you need tighter integration, Redshift may be more efficient. Snowflake is better if you want flexibility to expand to other clouds later.

Which is easier to learn and implement?

Snowflake is significantly easier for teams without data warehouse expertise. It requires minimal tuning, features auto-scaling, and abstracts infrastructure complexity. Redshift requires deeper knowledge of distribution keys, sort keys, and cluster optimization, making it steeper but potentially more powerful for experienced teams.

How do data sharing capabilities differ?

Snowflake offers seamless, secure zero-copy data sharing across accounts and clouds without data duplication. Redshift's Data Sharing is more limited and requires data to be replicated. Snowflake is the clear winner for organizations prioritizing data monetization and cross-organizational collaboration.

What's the performance difference in practice?

Both deliver excellent analytical query performance (2-5 seconds typical). Redshift requires manual optimization (distribution keys, compression) to achieve peak performance, while Snowflake achieves similar results automatically. Real-world differences are minimal; Redshift may excel with proper tuning, but Snowflake delivers consistency with less effort.

Redshift vs Snowflake

Updated May 28, 2026

Redshift

AWS's MPP data warehouse for high-performance analytics and OLAP workloads.

AWS-committed enterprises with complex analytical workloads, large-scale data warehousing, and teams experienced in data warehouse optimization.

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Snowflake

Cloud-native data warehouse platform optimized for analytics and data sharing.

Enterprises requiring multi-cloud flexibility, data monetization through sharing, organizations with limited data warehouse expertise, and companies prioritizing operational simplicity over cost optimization.

Short Answer

Redshift is AWS's data warehouse tightly integrated with the AWS ecosystem and optimized for cost-efficient analytics at scale, while Snowflake is a cloud-agnostic platform emphasizing ease of use, data sharing, and multi-cloud flexibility. The choice depends on your existing infrastructure and operational priorities.

Our Verdict

AI-assisted

Redshift excels for AWS-committed organizations seeking cost efficiency and tight ecosystem integration with strong analytical performance. Snowflake leads for enterprises prioritizing multi-cloud flexibility, ease of administration, and innovative features like data sharing and zero-copy cloning. Your decision should align with your cloud strategy and operational maturity.

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Redshift6

9Snowflake

Choose Redshift if

AWS-committed enterprises with complex analytical workloads, large-scale data warehousing, and teams experienced in data warehouse optimization.

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Key Differences at a Glance

🔹

Cloud Platform Support: Snowflake wins (AWS, Azure, GCP (multi-cloud) vs AWS only)

🔹

Architecture: Snowflake wins (Compute-storage separation (true decoupling) vs Cluster-based, shared storage)

💰

Starting Price (per TB/month): Redshift wins ($2-4 vs $4-6)

See all 8 differences

Key Facts & Figures

Metric	Redshift	Snowflake	Diff
Base Cost per TB (Monthly)(USD)	$2-4	$4-6	-40%
Available Cloud Providers(count)	AWS only	AWS, Azure, GCP	-67%
Average Query Response Time(seconds)	2-5 seconds	2-4 seconds

Key Differences

Redshift

Attribute

Snowflake

AWS only

Cloud Platform Support

AWS, Azure, GCP (multi-cloud)🏆

Cluster-based, shared storage

Architecture

Compute-storage separation (true decoupling)🏆

$2-4🏆

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Cloud Platform Support

Redshift

AWS only

Snowflake

AWS, Azure, GCP (multi-cloud)🏆

Architecture

Redshift

Cluster-based, shared storage

Snowflake

Compute-storage separation (true decoupling)🏆

Starting Price (per TB/month)

Redshift

$2-4🏆

Snowflake

$4-6

Data Sharing Feature

Redshift

Limited (Redshift Data Sharing)

Snowflake

Native, seamless sharing across accounts🏆

Learning Curve

Redshift

Steeper (SQL optimization required)

Snowflake

Gentler (auto-scaling, auto-optimization)🏆

Query Performance (typical)

Redshift

Excellent with tuning (2-5s avg)

Snowflake

Excellent with less tuning (2-4s avg)

AWS Ecosystem Integration

Redshift

Native, deep integration🏆

Snowflake

Good but requires additional setup

Zero-Copy Cloning

Redshift

Not available

Snowflake

Available (instant, cost-free)🏆

Full Comparison

Attribute	Redshift	Snowflake

Base Cost per TB (Monthly)(USD)	$2-4	$4-6
Starting Monthly Cost(USD)	$2,000-$5,000	—
Base Query Cost(USD per TB scanned)	$2-4 per credit	—
Average Enterprise Contract Value(USD thousands per year)	$200-500	—
Monthly Cost (100 GB compressed)(USD)	$1,500	—

Available Cloud Providers(count)	AWS only	AWS, Azure, GCP
Supported Cloud Providers(number of platforms)	3 (AWS, Azure, GCP)	—

Average Query Response Time(seconds)	2-5 seconds	2-4 seconds
Query Performance (TPC-DS)(seconds)	15-20	—
Maximum Query Timeout(hours)	Limited by warehouse size	—
Concurrent User Support(scalability level)	Limited by warehouse size, manual tuning	—
Query Latency (1 billion rows)(seconds)	30 seconds	—
Show 2 more attributes Ingestion Throughput(events/sec) 100,000 events/sec — Data Warehouse Query Speed (Typical)(seconds) <5 seconds —

Data Sharing Capability	Limited (Redshift Data Sharing)	Native, cross-account/cross-cloud
Zero-Copy Cloning	Not available	Available (instant, free)
Data Sharing Standard(technology)	Snowflake Marketplace (proprietary)	—
Data Retention for Time-Travel(days)	90 days	—

Compute-Storage Decoupling	Partial (RA3 nodes)	Complete separation

Time to Production (median)(weeks)	4-8 weeks	1-3 weeks

Market Share 2026(percent)	28%	32%
Global Enterprise Customers(count (2026))	10,000+	—

Setup Time(minutes)	1-3 days	—
Setup Time(minutes)	15 minutes	—

ML/AI Integration Score(out of 10)	4/10	—

Supported Data Formats(types)	Structured (Parquet, CSV, JSON)	—

Multi-Language Support(languages)	SQL primarily	—

Setup Time to First Query(minutes)	20-30 minutes	—

Data Marketplace Size(number of datasets)	1,000+ datasets	—

Annual Customer Growth Rate (2025)(percent)	22% YoY	—

Compression Ratio(ratio)	4:1 to 8:1	—

Licensing Model	Consumption-based (compute + storage)	—

Learning Curve (1-10 scale)(difficulty rating)	3/10 (very easy)	—

Redshift

Snowflake

Base Cost per TB (Monthly)(USD)

$2-4

$4-6

Starting Monthly Cost(USD)

$2,000-$5,000

—

Base Query Cost(USD per TB scanned)

$2-4 per credit

—

Average Enterprise Contract Value(USD thousands per year)

$200-500

—

Monthly Cost (100 GB compressed)(USD)

$1,500

—

Available Cloud Providers(count)

AWS only

AWS, Azure, GCP

Supported Cloud Providers(number of platforms)

3 (AWS, Azure, GCP)

—

Average Query Response Time(seconds)

2-5 seconds

2-4 seconds

Query Performance (TPC-DS)(seconds)

15-20

—

Maximum Query Timeout(hours)

Limited by warehouse size

—

Concurrent User Support(scalability level)

Limited by warehouse size, manual tuning

—

Query Latency (1 billion rows)(seconds)

30 seconds

—

Show 2 more attributes

Ingestion Throughput(events/sec)

100,000 events/sec

—

Data Warehouse Query Speed (Typical)(seconds)

<5 seconds

—

Data Sharing Capability

Limited (Redshift Data Sharing)

Native, cross-account/cross-cloud

Zero-Copy Cloning

Not available

Available (instant, free)

Data Sharing Standard(technology)

Snowflake Marketplace (proprietary)

—

Data Retention for Time-Travel(days)

90 days

—

Compute-Storage Decoupling

Partial (RA3 nodes)

Complete separation

Time to Production (median)(weeks)

4-8 weeks

1-3 weeks

Market Share 2026(percent)

28%

32%

Global Enterprise Customers(count (2026))

10,000+

—

Setup Time(minutes)

1-3 days

—

Setup Time(minutes)

15 minutes

—

ML/AI Integration Score(out of 10)

4/10

—

Supported Data Formats(types)

Structured (Parquet, CSV, JSON)

—

Multi-Language Support(languages)

SQL primarily

—

Setup Time to First Query(minutes)

20-30 minutes

—

Data Marketplace Size(number of datasets)

1,000+ datasets

—

Annual Customer Growth Rate (2025)(percent)

22% YoY

—

Compression Ratio(ratio)

4:1 to 8:1

—

Licensing Model

Consumption-based (compute + storage)

—

Learning Curve (1-10 scale)(difficulty rating)

3/10 (very easy)

—

Full Comparison

Attribute	Redshift	Snowflake

Base Cost per TB (Monthly)(USD)	$2-4	$4-6
Starting Monthly Cost(USD)	$2,000-$5,000	—
Base Query Cost(USD per TB scanned)	$2-4 per credit	—
Average Enterprise Contract Value(USD thousands per year)	$200-500	—
Monthly Cost (100 GB compressed)(USD)	$1,500	—

Available Cloud Providers(count)	AWS only	AWS, Azure, GCP
Supported Cloud Providers(number of platforms)	3 (AWS, Azure, GCP)	—

Average Query Response Time(seconds)	2-5 seconds	2-4 seconds
Query Performance (TPC-DS)(seconds)	15-20	—
Maximum Query Timeout(hours)	Limited by warehouse size	—
Concurrent User Support(scalability level)	Limited by warehouse size, manual tuning	—
Query Latency (1 billion rows)(seconds)	30 seconds	—
Show 2 more attributes Ingestion Throughput(events/sec) 100,000 events/sec — Data Warehouse Query Speed (Typical)(seconds) <5 seconds —

Data Sharing Capability	Limited (Redshift Data Sharing)	Native, cross-account/cross-cloud
Zero-Copy Cloning	Not available	Available (instant, free)
Data Sharing Standard(technology)	Snowflake Marketplace (proprietary)	—
Data Retention for Time-Travel(days)	90 days	—

Compute-Storage Decoupling	Partial (RA3 nodes)	Complete separation

Time to Production (median)(weeks)	4-8 weeks	1-3 weeks

Market Share 2026(percent)	28%	32%
Global Enterprise Customers(count (2026))	10,000+	—

Setup Time(minutes)	1-3 days	—
Setup Time(minutes)	15 minutes	—

ML/AI Integration Score(out of 10)	4/10	—

Supported Data Formats(types)	Structured (Parquet, CSV, JSON)	—

Multi-Language Support(languages)	SQL primarily	—

Setup Time to First Query(minutes)	20-30 minutes	—

Data Marketplace Size(number of datasets)	1,000+ datasets	—

Annual Customer Growth Rate (2025)(percent)	22% YoY	—

Compression Ratio(ratio)	4:1 to 8:1	—

Licensing Model	Consumption-based (compute + storage)	—

Learning Curve (1-10 scale)(difficulty rating)	3/10 (very easy)	—

Redshift

Snowflake

Base Cost per TB (Monthly)(USD)

$2-4

$4-6

Starting Monthly Cost(USD)

$2,000-$5,000

—

Base Query Cost(USD per TB scanned)

$2-4 per credit

—

Average Enterprise Contract Value(USD thousands per year)

$200-500

—

Monthly Cost (100 GB compressed)(USD)

$1,500

—

Available Cloud Providers(count)

AWS only

AWS, Azure, GCP

Supported Cloud Providers(number of platforms)

3 (AWS, Azure, GCP)

—

Average Query Response Time(seconds)

2-5 seconds

2-4 seconds

Query Performance (TPC-DS)(seconds)

15-20

—

Maximum Query Timeout(hours)

Limited by warehouse size

—

Concurrent User Support(scalability level)

Limited by warehouse size, manual tuning

—

Query Latency (1 billion rows)(seconds)

30 seconds

—

Show 2 more attributes

Ingestion Throughput(events/sec)

100,000 events/sec

—

Data Warehouse Query Speed (Typical)(seconds)

<5 seconds

—

Data Sharing Capability

Limited (Redshift Data Sharing)

Native, cross-account/cross-cloud

Zero-Copy Cloning

Not available

Available (instant, free)

Data Sharing Standard(technology)

Snowflake Marketplace (proprietary)

—

Data Retention for Time-Travel(days)

90 days

—

Compute-Storage Decoupling

Partial (RA3 nodes)

Complete separation

Time to Production (median)(weeks)

4-8 weeks

1-3 weeks

Market Share 2026(percent)

28%

32%

Global Enterprise Customers(count (2026))

10,000+

—

Setup Time(minutes)

1-3 days

—

Setup Time(minutes)

15 minutes

—

ML/AI Integration Score(out of 10)

4/10

—

Supported Data Formats(types)

Structured (Parquet, CSV, JSON)

—

Multi-Language Support(languages)

SQL primarily

—

Setup Time to First Query(minutes)

20-30 minutes

—

Data Marketplace Size(number of datasets)

1,000+ datasets

—

Annual Customer Growth Rate (2025)(percent)

22% YoY

—

Compression Ratio(ratio)

4:1 to 8:1

—

Licensing Model

Consumption-based (compute + storage)

—

Learning Curve (1-10 scale)(difficulty rating)

3/10 (very easy)

—

Redshift vs Snowflake

Redshift

Snowflake

Short Answer

Our Verdict

Track this comparison

Key Differences at a Glance

Key Facts & Figures

Key Differences

Related Comparisons

Related Articles

Explore Entities

More Products

People Also Compare

Full Comparison

Visual Comparison

Pros & Cons

Redshift

Pros

Cons

Snowflake

Pros

Frequently Asked Questions

Resources & Learn More

Where to Buy

Wikipedia

Videos

Full Comparison

Visual Comparison

Cons

Redshift vs Snowflake

Redshift

Snowflake

Short Answer

Our Verdict

🔔Track this comparison

Key Differences at a Glance

Key Facts & Figures

Key Differences

Related Comparisons

Related Articles

Explore Entities

More Products

People Also Compare

Full Comparison

Visual Comparison

Pros & Cons

Redshift

Pros

Cons

Snowflake

Pros

Frequently Asked Questions

Resources & Learn More

Where to Buy

Wikipedia

Videos

Full Comparison

Visual Comparison

Cons

Track this comparison