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AWS Snowball vs Palantir Foundry comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 11, 2024

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 Snowball
Ranking in Data Migration Appliances
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Migration (12th)
Palantir Foundry
Ranking in Data Migration Appliances
3rd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Data Integration (14th), IT Operations Analytics (10th), Supply Chain Analytics (1st), Cloud Data Integration (11th), Data Management Platforms (DMP) (1st), Data and Analytics Service Providers (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Data Migration Appliances category, the mindshare of AWS Snowball is 39.9%, down from 43.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Palantir Foundry is 2.2%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Migration Appliances
 

Featured Reviews

Kevin-Davis - PeerSpot reviewer
Seamless data transfer and efficient migration with customizable storage sizes
I like that I can take data and send it straight to S3 when it loads in. The interface for getting my data onto the Snowball is so streamlined. I don't know if you've ever seen it before. It's really cool. I connect them to the backplane of our existing network. I'm able to address it quickly and move the data quickly inside my customers' data centers. There's a little screen on it, which changes the UPS codes and all that stuff. The label and everything AWS electronic, so I don't have to deal with shipping issues. It makes it super simple and easy to use from end to end.
Rama Subba Reddy Thavva - PeerSpot reviewer
A low-code/no-code platform with a user-friendly UI
We couldn't implement or use some of the latest functionalities, like Spark. Palantir Foundry is scalable, but it is costly compared to other cloud providers. The solution is more suitable for small and medium businesses. It might be difficult for large enterprises. I rate the solution’s scalability a seven out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution is elastic."
"The flexibility of AWS Snowball is valuable. Its security allows for the ability to move and secure data without concern if the device is lost and the option to trace it back to AWS data centers."
"You are able to scale the solution vertically. It's very scalable."
"It's a nice way of shipping a lot of data without using a network."
"AWS offers managed services which save time and reduce administrative overhead."
"The most valuable features of AWS Snowball for me are its security measures and its flexibility."
"AWS helps save time and costs, being a managed cloud provider with evolving services."
"I like that I can take data and send it straight to S3 when it loads in."
"The interface is really user-friendly."
"The predictive analytics capability within Palantir Foundry impacts financial forecasting strategies through its AIP functionality, which includes numerous pre-built models, LLMs, and data science application libraries."
"The solution offers very good end-to-end capabilities."
"It is easy to map out a workflow and run trigger-based scripts without having to deploy to another server."
"Live video sessions enhance the available documentation and allow you to ask questions directly."
"It's scalable."
"The ease of use is my favorite feature. We're able to build different models and projects or combine different projects to build one use case."
"The virtualization tool is useful."
 

Cons

"24/7 support is more expensive on AWS compared to Azure."
"It would be helpful if Snowball provided more kinds of connectivity. That will make it easier to add and move data."
"The stability of the solution isn't ideal and should be improved."
"It's not an easy product to start using for a beginner, but If you're a professional, it's easy to understand."
"AWS support could be more responsive."
"I think AWS Snowball could improve by expanding its availability to more countries."
"The costs of services the customer needs also matter, such as storage requirements and whether storage is rational."
"If AWS Snowball is intercepted, there is a potential risk of unauthorized access to the data."
"It requires a lot of manual work and is very time-consuming to get to a functional point."
"The startup pricing is high, causing concern despite being cost-effective in terms of total cost of ownership."
"The frontend capabilities of Palantir Foundry could be improved."
"If you want to create new models on specific data sets, computing that is quite costly."
"The solution could use more online documentation for new users."
"The data lineage was challenging. It's hard to track data from the sources as it moves through stages. Informatica EDC can easily capture and report it because it talks to the metadata. This is generated across those various staging points."
"The major hindrance with Palantir Foundry is that being a very closed product, the cost optimization and costing are not exposed to the end users."
"Some error messages can be very cryptic."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool's pricing depends on the type of Snowball device you choose, the amount of data you need to transfer, and the service fees involved. There’s a standard price for larger data transfers and a flat job fee, which includes the first ten days of on-site usage. Typically, there are no additional data transfer fees."
"It's not a cheap solution, but the price is right for the product."
"It's expensive."
"The solution’s pricing is high."
"Palantir Foundry has different pricing models that can be negotiated."
"Palantir Foundry is an expensive solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Which is better - Microsoft Azure Data Box or AWS Snowball?
Microsoft Azure Databox is a 45-pound, super rugged, tamper-resistant, human-managed hardware appliance that can transfer up to 100TB of data capacity to copy, store, then send to the Azure cloud. ...
What do you like most about AWS Snowball?
The most valuable features of AWS Snowball for me are its security measures and its flexibility.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AWS Snowball?
Depending of what is your priority; UseAWS Snowball if you are heavily invested in AWS or need edge computing features Choose Azure Data Box for smooth integration with Azure and potentially lower ...
What do you like most about Palantir Foundry?
Palantir Foundry is a robust platform that has really strong plugin connectors and provides features for real-time integration.
What needs improvement with Palantir Foundry?
Apart from the pricing and offline availability issues, improvements are needed in Palantir Foundry's costing factor. Cost-wise, it is not open for everybody, and they are not exposing anything out...
What is your primary use case for Palantir Foundry?
One of the leading European manufacturing plants uses Palantir Foundry for manufacturing interior parts of various car brands such as Honda, Hyundai, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW. This involves hig...
 

Also Known As

Amazon AWS Snowball, Amazon Snowball, Snowball
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Wazee Digital, Craftsy, Live Nation, Essess
Merck KGaA, Airbus, Ferrari,United States Intelligence Community, United States Department of Defense
Find out what your peers are saying about AWS Snowball vs. Palantir Foundry and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,168 professionals have used our research since 2012.