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AWS Lake Formation vs Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics comparison

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft are both solutions in the Cloud Data Warehouse category. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is ranked #8 with an average rating of 8.1, while Microsoft is ranked #6 with an average rating of 7.7. Amazon Web Services (AWS) holds a 3.8% mindshare in CDW, compared to Microsoft’s 5.8% mindshare. Additionally, 85% of Amazon Web Services (AWS) users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.
AWS Lake Formation
Read 21 AWS Lake Formation reviews
  • 2,153 Views
  • 1,744 Comparison Views
85% willing to recommend
Microsoft Azure Synapse Ana...
Read 98 Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics reviews
  • 5,978 Views
  • 3,826 Comparison Views
94% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 18, 2024

Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics and AWS Lake Formation are competing in the data integration and analytics platform category. Azure Synapse Analytics seems to have an edge in terms of support and pricing, while AWS Lake Formation offers greater value through its comprehensive feature set.

Features: Azure Synapse Analytics provides integrated analytics services, seamless scalability, and a user-friendly interface for Microsoft product integration. These features make it particularly suitable for businesses utilizing other Azure services. AWS Lake Formation stands out with its robust data cataloging, advanced security capabilities, and strong interoperability within the AWS ecosystem. These strengths facilitate superior data governance and management.

Room for Improvement: Azure Synapse Analytics may lack some advanced data security features compared to AWS, potentially requiring enhancements in data cataloging for non-Microsoft environments. It might benefit from improved interoperability with non-Microsoft platforms. AWS Lake Formation could improve ease of deployment and user experience for those unfamiliar with AWS. Additionally, streamlining integration processes for non-native AWS services could increase its appeal outside the AWS environment.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Azure Synapse Analytics offers a streamlined deployment process, particularly within the Azure ecosystem, bolstered by reliable customer support. AWS Lake Formation, while posing a more comprehensive setup due to its wide-ranging data management capabilities, provides strong backing with customer support tailored to meet enterprise-level requirements. This distinction underscores ease of use in environments where each solution excels, with Azure Synapse integrating more smoothly within Microsoft-based infrastructures.

Pricing and ROI: Azure Synapse Analytics presents competitive pricing, especially for Microsoft-centric organizations, offering efficient ROI through streamlined data processing workflows. AWS Lake Formation may require a higher initial financial commitment but promises significant ROI owing to its extensive security and robust data management features. Deciding between the two requires organizations to weigh cost against long-term value, considering their strategic priorities around data governance and security.

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To learn more, read our detailed AWS Lake Formation vs. Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics Report (Updated: June 2026).
Buyer's Guide
AWS Lake Formation vs. Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics
June 2026
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Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

AWS Lake Formation
Ranking in Cloud Data Warehouse
8th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.7
Number of Reviews
21
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Azure Synapse Ana...
Ranking in Cloud Data Warehouse
6th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
98
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Cloud Data Warehouse category, the mindshare of AWS Lake Formation is 3.8%, down from 5.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics is 5.8%, down from 6.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud Data Warehouse Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics5.8%
AWS Lake Formation3.8%
Other90.4%
Cloud Data Warehouse
 

Featured Reviews

Ciro Baldim Guerra - PeerSpot reviewer
Ciro Baldim Guerra
Sr Analytics Engineer at Itau Unibanco S.A.
Has improved data governance by enabling clear ownership and structured access across teams
In my company, Itaú, we don't utilize all AWS offerings due to rigorous security measures. We operate approximately six to eight months behind other available services. I'm uncertain if gaps exist because of this limitation, though the system functions effectively for us. AWS Lake Formation offers column-level access control for databases, but we haven't implemented this feature either because it hasn't been approved by our compliance, governance, or security areas. In our current setup, everyone from my business unit uses the same consumer account. When access is requested for a table, everyone using that business unit account receives access. This could present a security concern, though it benefits new team members who automatically receive all necessary access permissions. However, I struggle to identify specific improvements needed in AWS Lake Formation.
Read full review
AnandTiwari - PeerSpot reviewer
AnandTiwari
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.
Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The main benefits that I have seen from using AWS Lake Formation are related to FinOps because you have control of your data and can track your costs since AWS Lake Formation is integrated into a unique platform, which is AWS Cloud Service."
"The solution has many features that are applicable to events such as audits."
"In the shortest form, what I appreciated about AWS Lake Formation was that the schema definition and data cataloging were quite good."
"We use this to reduce latency from minutes to seconds, as we aim for real-time visibility into patient healthcare monitoring."
"The features and capabilities of AWS Lake Formation that I have found most valuable are that it is really convenient to see all the different data assets that were configured and understand who has and what type of service has or does not have access to those services."
"The solution is quite good at handling analytics. It's done a good job at helping us centralize them."
"We use AWS Lake Formation typically for the data warehouse."
"AWS Lake Formation works hand in hand with other products."
More AWS Lake Formation pros
"What I actually appreciate in Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics is that it is easy and intuitive, providing a straightforward configuration experience for my purposes."
"I love the way all the application resources from Microsoft can synchronize, help me with a lot of stuff, and reduce the time or hour of having maybe a resource for an hour a day while also being able to use artificial intelligence."
"Its scalability and ease of use are valuable; it is fairly simple for a tool that's that powerful, and if you have a background in Microsoft SQL Server, it is a very easy-to-transition path."
"The most valuable features are the flexibility and that it's easy to use as an end-user compared to AWS."
"Its seamless integration with Azure services is most valuable. If somebody wants to use all Azure services, it is the best solution."
"I like the solution because it's very interactive and provides flexibility, and it also provides a lot of design choices."
"The solution's best feature is its predictive analytics."
"Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics will scale automatically behind the scenes, which is one of its main powerful features."
More Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics pros
 

Cons

"I would appreciate online support, which I don't have access to in my corporation at the bank, so that is important."
"The initial onboarding process is challenging because creating a plan takes a month to a month and a half to build out."
"Rather than creating an additional hundred tools, optimizing a tool to have a centralized location to do governance would be beneficial."
"You need to have data experience to use the product."
"For the end-users, it's not as user-friendly as it could be."
"AWS Lake Formation's pricing could be cheaper."
"I think AWS Lake Formation could improve by enforcing the least privilege by design, moving from ad hoc grants to role-based access controls."
"Information about the pricing, cost, and setup cost of the AWS solutions would be beneficial."
More AWS Lake Formation cons
"Synapse Analytics needs to develop an automation framework because now you have to build a cache yourself."
"It could be more stable."
"The solution can get expensive, and it's hard to monitor the costs."
"This solution needs to have query caching so that if the same query is run and the results are available, it will return the data from the cache without having to re-run the query."
"Right now, we are really struggling with the performance. it's not as good as we had hoped."
"The initial setup is complex."
"An area for improvement in Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics is its user interface. You can use it for analytical purposes, but its platform should be a little bit more user-friendly. Another small point for improvement in Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics is its stability. It's good currently, but it could still be improved. Microsoft is combining different tools and technologies into one solution, so in the future, I'm expecting to see even more improvement in Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics. An additional feature I'd like to see in the next version of Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics is the drag-and-drop feature. If you're doing some integrations where you can write Scala or you have SPARK programming or SQL, or you're combining different programming, the process should be seamless, and you should be able to drag and drop in Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics. When doing reporting in the solution, you should also be able to drag and drop. There should be connectors available and a drag-and-drop feature available in the user interface of Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics, so you won't have to worry about how all processes would work together. You need to be able to drag and drop even from the backend, and having this feature will make the solution more user-friendly."
"Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics can improve by increasing the size of the files that we can load on the platform."
More Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"AWS Lake Formation is a bit expensive."
"When we are not using this solution we can simply shut it down saving us costs, which is a nice advantage."
"It requires a less expensive version because currently, not every customer is able to buy it. If it could have a smaller setup that doesn't require so many resources, it would be helpful, and we would be able to use it in more cases. We are a small country, and most of our customers are quite small businesses."
"I think Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics is priced well, and I would rate the price at eight out of ten."
"The solution is very expensive because it often requires the purchase of additional storage."
"The price of Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics can vary. Other solutions are typically fixed prices and a fixed cost regardless of usage, but this solution is based on usage or consumption."
"I would rate the ROI a nine out of ten, where one is zero value and ten is 100% value."
"Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics can be costly, however, a cost-effective approach would be to purchase it in advance through reservation for either one or three years. This will significantly reduce the overall expenses incurred."
"They are cost aggressive, and it integrates well with other Microsoft tools."
More Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics pricing and cost advice
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
21%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Construction Company
6%
Retailer
5%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Construction Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise15
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business29
Midsize Enterprise18
Large Enterprise59
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AWS Lake Formation?
I don't understand much about the pricing of AWS Lake Formation, but I know how to search for the cost of Glue jobs, and I use the calculator in Amazon. I use a tool to preview the cost based on th...
See all answers
What needs improvement with AWS Lake Formation?
Regarding areas of AWS Lake Formation that could be improved or enhanced, I prefer not to answer, mainly because I do not believe that I would be the most valuable person to ask, as I have not used...
See all answers
What is your primary use case for AWS Lake Formation?
My usual use cases for AWS Lake Formation involved securing and governing the data resources that we configured in AWS, but we did not use the analytics or machine learning capabilities specificall...
See all answers
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...
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics?
I think the licensing cost for Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics is very high, but I have a local system to support that, so I don't consider that in the near future.
See all answers
What needs improvement with Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics?
I am hoping that in the future Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics may have AI support.
See all answers
 

Comparisons

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Amazon Redshift vs AWS Lake Formation
Compared 13% of the time
Snowflake vs AWS Lake Formation Logo
Snowflake vs AWS Lake Formation
Compared 13% of the time
Azure Data Factory vs AWS Lake Formation Logo
Azure Data Factory vs AWS Lake Formation
Compared 10% of the time
Databricks vs AWS Lake Formation Logo
Databricks vs AWS Lake Formation
Compared 10% of the time
Amazon EMR vs AWS Lake Formation Logo
Amazon EMR vs AWS Lake Formation
Compared 5% of the time
More AWS Lake Formation Competitors
Snowflake vs Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics Logo
Snowflake vs Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics
Compared 19% of the time
Amazon Redshift vs Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics Logo
Amazon Redshift vs Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics
Compared 8% of the time
Oracle Autonomous Data Warehouse vs Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics Logo
Oracle Autonomous Data Warehouse vs Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics
Compared 6% of the time
Azure Data Factory vs Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics Logo
Azure Data Factory vs Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics
Compared 6% of the time
Amazon EMR vs Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics Logo
Amazon EMR vs Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics
Compared 3% of the time
More Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
AWS Lake Formation
June 2026
AWS Lake Formation reportDownload AWS Lake Formation product report
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics
June 2026
Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics reportDownload Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics product report
 

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

AWS Lake Formation streamlines data lake organization by integrating seamlessly with AWS services, ensuring robust access control, and facilitating effective data management. Its extensible framework and centralized data handling make it ideal for cloud environments that require scalability.

AWS Lake Formation offers comprehensive data synchronization with AWS, robust security through fine-grained policies, and seamless team collaboration tools. It centralizes data assets, supports analytics with Glue, and enhances data mesh structures. Its IAM integration supports efficient governance, with reliable data storage and retrieval backed by extensive documentation. While highly efficient within AWS ecosystems, Lake Formation faces integration challenges with third-party libraries, and users experience clutter in its interface. Aspects such as automation, policy management, and debugging are areas for improvement. Enhancements in orchestration, cross-account sharing, and integrations with services like SageMaker are user recommendations.

What are the key features of AWS Lake Formation?
  • Data Synchronization: Integrates with AWS services for seamless data management.
  • Security Policies: Implements fine-grained access control for secure data handling.
  • Team Collaboration: Facilitates cooperation through centralized data management.
  • Analytics Support: Enhances data processing with Glue integration.
  • Extensibility: IAM integration allows scalable governance.
What benefits or ROI can users expect?
  • Scalability: Efficiently manages expanding data volumes.
  • Cost Efficiency: Reduces cloud data management expenses.
  • Data Security: Ensures compliance with robust policies.
  • Comprehensive Support: Access to detailed documentation and AWS resources.

Organizations utilize AWS Lake Formation across various industries to build and manage data lakes, ensuring effective data governance and storage solutions. It helps integrate and transform data, control permissions, and support analytics. From e-commerce to healthcare, AWS Lake Formation delivers centralized data repositories for structured and unstructured data, securing information while providing scalable infrastructure and efficient resource management.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics integrates data warehousing and big data analytics seamlessly. It provides scalability and user-friendly features for efficient, real-time reporting and data management.

Azure Synapse Analytics is designed for seamless data integration, allowing users to scale their operations effectively while providing extensive analytics capabilities. It supports both traditional data warehousing and big data solutions with real-time reporting through an interactive interface that integrates well with Power BI. The platform's serverless flexibility optimizes cost while ensuring robust security, leveraging users' familiarity with SQL technologies. Scalability allows processing of large datasets efficiently, empowering companies to connect disparate data sources and support industry-specific needs. Despite its strengths, Synapse users often seek improved governance, schema management, and technical support. Enhanced integration with Microsoft and third-party tools, along with better data loading capabilities, are also desired.

What are the key features of Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics?
  • SQL Pooling: Provides a dedicated SQL pool for scalable data processing.
  • Massively Parallel Processing: Architecture that enhances efficiency for big data workloads.
  • Pipelines: Streamlines data orchestration and workflow automation.
  • Real-Time Reporting: Delivers quick insights by processing data in real time.
  • Power BI Integration: Seamlessly connects with Power BI for advanced data visualization.
  • Serverless Flexibility: Optimizes cost management by allowing on-demand resources.
What benefits and ROI should be considered in reviews of Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics?
  • Scalability: Efficiently handles expanding data loads.
  • Cost Management: Serverless architecture provides cost-efficient resource usage.
  • Security Features: Ensures data protection and compliance.
  • Data Integration: Connects various data sources for unified analytics.
  • SQL Familiarity: Leverages common SQL skills for ease of use.

Azure Synapse Analytics is extensively implemented across sectors like healthcare, finance, marketing, and government. Organizations use it to build data pipelines, perform analytics modeling, and facilitate reporting. It supports data transformation, migration, and orchestration, enhancing business intelligence and decision-making capabilities by efficiently handling big data and connecting disparate data sources.

Microsoft
 

Sample Customers

bp, Cerner, Expedia, Finra, HESS, intuit, Kellog's, Philips, TIME, workday
Toshiba, Carnival, LG Electronics, Jet.com, Adobe, 
Buyer's Guide
AWS Lake Formation vs. Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics
June 2026
Free Report: AWS Lake Formation vs. Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics
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