Independent comparison for technology buyers. Updated May 2026.
Quick verdict: Choose Amazon Redshift for AWS-native warehousing with deep S3, Glue, Lake Formation, and SageMaker integration. Choose Azure Synapse Analytics for Azure-native dedicated and serverless SQL pools with Power BI integration on a Microsoft Fabric path. The differentiator is AWS-coupled MPP with strong RI economics versus Azure-coupled analytics stack converging to Fabric.
| Criteria | Amazon Redshift | Azure Synapse Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.2 / 5.0 (2,100 reviews) | 4.2 / 5.0 (1,600 reviews) |
| Architecture | RA3 nodes + RMS, Redshift Serverless | Dedicated SQL pool, serverless SQL, Spark |
| Cloud Deployment | AWS only | Azure only |
| Pricing Model | Node-hour, RPU-hour, RMS storage | DWU-hour, per-TB scanned, vCore-hour |
| ML / AI | Redshift ML + SageMaker | Azure ML, Synapse ML, Azure OpenAI |
| Lake Integration | Spectrum, Iceberg, Lake Formation | Serverless SQL on ADLS Gen2 |
| BI Integration | Power BI, Tableau, QuickSight | Power BI native, DirectQuery |
| Future Direction | Redshift Serverless, Iceberg, AI extensions | Migration path to Microsoft Fabric |
| Best For | AWS estates, S3 lakehouse, RI economics | Azure SQL DW workloads, Fabric path |
Amazon Redshift is AWS-native, with RA3 decoupling compute from Redshift Managed Storage on S3. Redshift Serverless handles spiky workloads without node management. Redshift Spectrum queries S3 (Parquet, Iceberg) directly. Redshift ML wraps SageMaker for in-database training and inference. Federated queries reach into Aurora, RDS, and other AWS sources without ETL.
Azure Synapse Analytics is Microsoft's Azure analytics platform with a dedicated SQL pool (MPP), serverless SQL pool, Spark pools, and Synapse pipelines. Power BI integrates natively. Microsoft Fabric is the strategic platform going forward, and Synapse workloads have a documented migration path.
For AWS-only estates, Redshift retains a clear integration advantage. For Azure-only estates, Synapse continues to be viable but new deployments should evaluate Fabric. Multi-cloud or cross-platform organisations frequently introduce Snowflake or Databricks. See Snowflake vs Redshift and Snowflake vs Synapse.
Redshift RA3 dc2 instances start around $0.85/hour on demand, with 1-year and 3-year Reserved Instance discounts of 30-60%. Redshift Serverless is around $0.36/RPU-hour with an 8-RPU minimum. Storage on RMS runs about $0.024/GB/month. Enterprise spend typically lands $200,000-$8M ARR; AWS Enterprise Discount Program (EDP) can substantially reduce effective cost.
Azure Synapse dedicated SQL pool runs around $1.20/hour per 100 DWU on demand, with reserved discounts. Serverless SQL pool is around $5/TB scanned. Storage uses ADLS Gen2 standard rates. Enterprise spend typically lands $200,000-$6M ARR with Microsoft EA discounts often material.
Choose Amazon Redshift when the data estate is AWS-native, when tight integration with S3 (Spectrum, Iceberg), Glue, Lake Formation, Kinesis, and SageMaker matters, when Reserved Instance discounts align with predictable workloads, or when AWS EDP terms drive the procurement comparison.
Choose Azure Synapse Analytics when existing dedicated SQL pool workloads must continue, when Power BI dependency is high, or when migration to Microsoft Fabric is the planned medium-term direction.
This Redshift vs. Synapse comparison summarises the practical differences between the two options for enterprise buyers. The analysis covers pricing models, target customer size, deployment options, integration coverage, and customer-reported strengths. Use the related comparisons below to evaluate either product against other alternatives.