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Pros & Cons summary

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Prominent pros & cons

PROS

AWS Glue's integration with other AWS services and features such as Jupyter Notebook and S3 make it highly valuable for users.
The scalability and serverless nature of AWS Glue allow for cost-effective and efficient data processing.
The data catalog and triggers are highlighted as some of the best features, offering efficient scheduling and metadata management.
AWS Glue's ETL capabilities, including automatic schema detection and incremental data updates, simplify data transformation.
The code-generation feature and compatibility with common languages like Python enhance AWS Glue's flexibility and ease of use in data tasks.

CONS

The start-up time for jobs is currently high, requiring five to eight minutes, and would benefit from being reduced to one or two minutes.
The current support is limited to Python and Scala; adding Java would enhance customization options.
AWS Glue is considered expensive, and its pricing could be improved.
It lacks multi-cloud capability, limiting its flexibility compared to more agnostic tools.
Training materials and resources for AWS Glue usage are insufficient, making it challenging for new users to learn efficiently.
 

AWS Glue Pros review quotes

Muthuvel Sivaraman - PeerSpot reviewer
Jun 21, 2024
It is a very scalable solution.
NS
Jan 2, 2025
For ETL, I feel the performance is excellent.
Syed Zakaulla - PeerSpot reviewer
Feb 13, 2023
What I like best about AWS Glue is its real-time data backup feature. Last week, there was a production push, and what used to take almost ten days to send out around fifty-six thousand emails now takes only two hours.
Learn what your peers think about AWS Glue. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: August 2025.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.
reviewer1084386 - PeerSpot reviewer
Dec 2, 2021
Glue is a NoSQL-based data ETL tool that has some advantages over IIS and ISAs.
Sunil Morya - PeerSpot reviewer
Dec 9, 2022
The solution helps organizations gain flexibility in defining the structure of the data.
BR
Dec 17, 2020
The facility to integrate with S3 and the possibility to use Jupyter Notebook inside the pipeline are the most valuable features.
ParamShah - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 16, 2024
Our entire use case was very easily handled or solved using this solution.
Joaquin Marques - PeerSpot reviewer
Nov 25, 2022
It's fairly straightforward as a product; it's not very complicated.
SC
Aug 5, 2025
AWS Glue has reduced efforts by 60%, which is the main benefit.
UjjwalGupta - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 9, 2024
The most valuable feature of AWS Glue is that it provides a GUI format with a drag-and-drop feature.
 

AWS Glue Cons review quotes

Muthuvel Sivaraman - PeerSpot reviewer
Jun 21, 2024
The drawbacks associated with the product stem from the fact that, based on the data volume, it can become very costly.
NS
Jan 2, 2025
Improvements in the UI are needed, as it is challenging to understand some functionalities.
Syed Zakaulla - PeerSpot reviewer
Feb 13, 2023
Cost-wise, AWS Glue is expensive, so that's an area for improvement. The process for setting up the solution was also complex, which is another area for improvement.
Learn what your peers think about AWS Glue. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: August 2025.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.
reviewer1084386 - PeerSpot reviewer
Dec 2, 2021
There is a learning curve to this tool.
Sunil Morya - PeerSpot reviewer
Dec 9, 2022
I haven't looked into Glue in terms of seeking out flaws. I've not come across missing features.
BR
Dec 17, 2020
The crucial problem with AWS Glue is that it only works with AWS. It is not an agnostic tool like Pentaho. In PowerCenter, we can install the forms from Google and other vendors, but in the case of AWS Glue, we can only use AWS.
ParamShah - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 16, 2024
It is not clear how the partition discovery would have been affected by more data coming in.
Joaquin Marques - PeerSpot reviewer
Nov 25, 2022
The mapping area and the use of the data catalog from Glue could be better.
SC
Aug 5, 2025
When comparing to tools such as Airflow, Glue workflows are still relatively basic in terms of flexibility and complex branching.
UjjwalGupta - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 9, 2024
AWS Glue is more costly compared to other tools like Airflow.