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Apache Hadoop vs Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 2, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
5.4
Apache Hadoop offers cost-effective storage and processing, benefiting some with analytics and optimizing data applications for resource savings.
Sentiment score
6.1
Companies benefited from Azure Synapse's cost savings, flexibility, and improved efficiency, though financial specifics and satisfaction varied.
Some of my customers have indeed seen a return on investment with Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics as they used it for analytics to drive decision-making, improving their processes or increasing revenue.
Data Strategist, Cloud Solutions Architect at Strategic Architects
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.1
Customer service for Apache Hadoop varies, with differing satisfaction levels and reliance on external resources and forums for support.
Sentiment score
6.5
Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics support experiences vary, with larger clients generally receiving faster, more knowledgeable assistance.
It's not structured support, which is why we don't use purely open-source projects without additional structured support.
Financial Advisor at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
They are slow to respond and not very knowledgeable.
IT Manager at KONGSBERG
This is an underestimation of the real impact because we use big data also to monitor the network and the customer.
Director Information Technology Services at a insurance company with 10,001+ employees
I would rate the support for Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics as an eight out of ten.
Data Strategist, Cloud Solutions Architect at Strategic Architects
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
Apache Hadoop is valued for its scalability, supporting large data and users effectively, especially in cloud environments.
Sentiment score
7.4
Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics is praised for its scalability, flexibility, and auto-scaling, despite occasional cost and latency concerns.
It is a distributed file system and scales reasonably well as long as it is given sufficient resources.
Financial Advisor at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics is scalable, offering numerous opportunities for scalability.
IT Manager at KONGSBERG
For the scalability of Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics, I would rate it a 10 until you remain in the Azure Cloud scalability framework.
Director Information Technology Services at a insurance company with 10,001+ employees
Recovering from such scenarios becomes a bit problematic or time-consuming.
Sr. Technical Architect at Hexaware Technologies Limited
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.1
Apache Hadoop is stable and reliable in multi-node clusters, performing well with minimal instability during high-load operations.
Sentiment score
7.4
Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics is praised for its stability, despite occasional minor outages and performance issues with large datasets.
Continuous management in the way of upgrades and technical management is necessary to ensure that it remains effective.
Financial Advisor at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Performance and stability are absolutely fine because Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics is a PaaS service.
CTO at New Turn Technologies
I find the service stable as I have not encountered many issues.
IT Manager at KONGSBERG
We have never integrated Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics with Databricks, but we have mostly pulled data from on-premises systems into Azure Databricks.
Practice Head BI at Nous Infosystems
 

Room For Improvement

Apache Hadoop needs user-friendly enhancements, better integration, improved security, streamlined setup, and modernized features and support.
Microsoft Azure Synapse needs improvements in integration, pricing, ease of use, setup, and advanced analytics features for better adoption.
The problem with Apache Hadoop arose when the guys that originally set it up left the firm, and the group that later owned it didn't have enough technical resources to properly maintain it.
Financial Advisor at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics is an excellent product because it includes both SIEM and orchestration capabilities with playbooks.
CTO at New Turn Technologies
There is a need for better documentation, particularly for customized tasks with Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics.
IT Manager at KONGSBERG
Databricks is a very rich solution, with numerous open sources and capabilities in terms of extract, transform, load, database query, and so forth.
Director Information Technology Services at a insurance company with 10,001+ employees
 

Setup Cost

Enterprise Apache Hadoop pricing varies greatly, influenced by distribution choice, deployment type, and specific usage requirements.
Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics offers flexible pricing but requires careful cost management due to unpredictable expenses and competitive services.
The cheapest tier costs about $4,000 to $4,700 a year, while the most expensive tier can reach up to $300,000 a year.
Data Strategist, Cloud Solutions Architect at Strategic Architects
I think the price of Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics is very expensive, but that's not only for Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics—it's for the cloud in general.
Director Information Technology Services at a insurance company with 10,001+ employees
I find the pricing of Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics reasonable.
Sr. Technical Architect at Hexaware Technologies Limited
 

Valuable Features

Apache Hadoop offers scalable, cost-effective data processing, supporting diverse environments with fault tolerance, integration, and analytics tools like Hive.
Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics offers scalability, integration, and advanced analytics with easy management, data protection, and familiar Microsoft interface.
If you don't do the upgrades, the platform ages out, and that's what happened to the Hadoop content.
Financial Advisor at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
I assess Apache Hadoop's fault tolerance during hardware failures positively since we have hardware failover, which works without problems.
Principle Network and Database Engr at Parsons Corporation
One of the most valuable features in Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics is the ability to write your own ETL code using Azure Data Factory, which is a component within Synapse.
Data Strategist, Cloud Solutions Architect at Strategic Architects
Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics offers significant visibility, which helps us understand our usage more clearly.
IT Manager at KONGSBERG
For Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics, the integration is the most valuable feature, meaning that whatever you need is fast and easy to use.
Director Information Technology Services at a insurance company with 10,001+ employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Apache Hadoop
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
41
Ranking in other categories
Data Warehouse (7th)
Microsoft Azure Synapse Ana...
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
98
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Data Warehouse (6th)
 

Featured Reviews

NR
Financial Advisor at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Reliable performance maintained but requires ongoing management and support
Hadoop was used for years, but there were problems since the people who originally set it up left the firm. The group that owned it later didn't have the technical resources to properly maintain it. Although there was nothing wrong with Hadoop itself, issues arose without proper management and upgrades.
AnandTiwari - PeerSpot reviewer
CTO at New Turn Technologies
Has consistently supported integration across diverse environments and streamlined deployment processes
Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics could improve their pricing structure. They currently have two separate pricing tiers: full log and partial log. I suggest they implement a single price and reduce charges on logs. They could implement a cap with some free tier or price tier based on the GBs of log collected. This would help customers use Azure more effectively. Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics is an excellent product because it includes both SIEM and orchestration capabilities with playbooks, but the log management part is very costly. Regarding future improvements, I would appreciate more application connectors for integration, particularly for on-premise based solutions. Many customers still maintain on-premise infrastructure, so having more integration possibilities for these environments would be beneficial.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
34%
Computer Software Company
7%
University
5%
Manufacturing Company
5%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
6%
Retailer
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business14
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise21
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business29
Midsize Enterprise18
Large Enterprise56
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Apache Hadoop?
It's primarily open source. You can handle huge data volumes and create your own views, workflows, and tables. I can also use it for real-time data streaming.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Apache Hadoop?
The product is open-source, but some associated licensing fees depend on the subscription level. While it might be free for students, organizations typically need to pay for their subscriptions. Th...
What needs improvement with Apache Hadoop?
The problem with Apache Hadoop arose when the guys that originally set it up left the firm, and the group that later owned it didn't have enough technical resources to properly maintain it. This wa...
How does Amazon Redshift compare with Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics?
Amazon Redshift is very fast, has a very good response time, and is very user-friendly. The initial setup is very straightforward. This solution can merge and integrate well with many different dat...
What do you like most about Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics?
The product is easy to use, and anybody can easily migrate to advanced DB.
 

Also Known As

No data available
Azure Synapse Analytics, Microsoft Azure SQL Data Warehouse, Microsoft Azure SQL DW, Azure SQL Data Warehouse, MS Azure Synapse Analytics
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Amazon, Adobe, eBay, Facebook, Google, Hulu, IBM, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Spotify, AOL, Twitter, University of Maryland, Yahoo!, Cornell University Web Lab
Toshiba, Carnival, LG Electronics, Jet.com, Adobe, 
Find out what your peers are saying about Apache Hadoop vs. Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics and other solutions. Updated: January 2026.
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