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Azure Data Factory vs Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 5, 2026

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
5.3
Azure Data Factory centralizes data, cuts costs, boosts efficiency, enhances client satisfaction, and delivers a 20-30% return.
Sentiment score
6.1
Companies benefited from Azure Synapse's cost savings, flexibility, and improved efficiency, though financial specifics and satisfaction varied.
Our stakeholders and clients have expressed satisfaction with Azure Data Factory's efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
Data Engineer at Vthinktechnologies
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
6.2
Azure Data Factory support is generally proficient and accessible, though response times and costs can vary for dedicated support.
Sentiment score
6.5
Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics support experiences vary, with larger clients generally receiving faster, more knowledgeable assistance.
On a scale of one to ten, I would rate the technical support as nine.
Senior Consultant Oracle Technologies at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
The technical support from Microsoft is rated an eight out of ten.
Chief Analytics Officer at Idiro Analytics
The technical support is responsive and helpful
Sr. Technical Architect at Hexaware Technologies Limited
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
7.3
Azure Data Factory is scalable and flexible but sometimes requires support for quotas and improvements for broader scalability.
Sentiment score
7.4
Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics is praised for its scalability, flexibility, and auto-scaling, despite occasional cost and latency concerns.
Azure Data Factory is highly scalable.
Chief Analytics Officer at Idiro Analytics
I did not experience scalability issues.
Principal Data Engineer at Oracle
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
7.8
Azure Data Factory is highly rated for stability, though performance varies with setup, data volume, and resource allocation.
Sentiment score
7.4
Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics is praised for its stability, despite occasional minor outages and performance issues with large datasets.
The solution has a high level of stability, roughly a nine out of ten.
Chief Analytics Officer at Idiro Analytics
It gives me the accurate result.
Test Engineer at Happiest Minds Technologies
I have been using Azure Data Factory for a very long time, and I did not find too many issues.
Principal Data Engineer at Oracle
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

Azure Data Factory needs better setup, connectivity, documentation, support, performance, and UI for enhanced functionality and user experience.
Microsoft Azure Synapse needs improvements in integration, pricing, ease of use, setup, and advanced analytics features for better adoption.
The ability to handle the largest volumes of data is another concern; if I have to manage more than one terabyte of data every day, I am not comfortable dealing with Azure Data Factory and had to switch to Oracle Data Integrators (ODI) because it lacks performance features.
Senior Consultant Oracle Technologies at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
If I am making a pipeline, it should give me suggestions, such as which activity should be used, so that I don't have to remember each activity.
Test Engineer at Happiest Minds Technologies
Incorporating more dedicated API sources to specific services like HubSpot CRM or Salesforce would be beneficial.
Chief Analytics Officer at Idiro Analytics
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

Azure Data Factory's pricing is competitive but complex, requiring careful monitoring to manage costs for high data usage.
Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics offers flexible pricing but requires careful cost management due to unpredictable expenses and competitive services.
The pricing is cost-effective.
Chief Analytics Officer at Idiro Analytics
It is considered cost-effective.
Sr. Technical Architect at Hexaware Technologies Limited
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

Azure Data Factory excels in performance, ease of use, scalability, and integration, making it highly valued for ETL processes.
Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics offers scalability, integration, and advanced analytics with easy management, data protection, and familiar Microsoft interface.
It connects to different sources out-of-the-box, making integration much easier.
Sr. Technical Architect at Hexaware Technologies Limited
The platform excels in handling major datasets, particularly when working with Power BI for reporting purposes.
Data Engineer at Vthinktechnologies
Regarding the integration feature in Azure Data Factory, the integration part is excellent; we have major source connectors, so we can integrate the data from different data sources and also perform basic transformation while transforming, which is a great feature in Azure Data Factory.
Director at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
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

Azure Data Factory
Ranking in Cloud Data Warehouse
7th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
97
Ranking in other categories
Data Integration (5th)
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 September 2026, in the Cloud Data Warehouse category, the mindshare of Azure Data Factory is 5.2%, down from 6.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics is 6.1%, up from 6.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud Data Warehouse Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics6.1%
Azure Data Factory5.2%
Other88.7%
Cloud Data Warehouse
 

Q&A Highlights

PS
BA at Maxima
Aug 03, 2023
 

Featured Reviews

Kunal Das - PeerSpot reviewer
Test Engineer at Happiest Minds Technologies
Drag-and-drop pipelines have saved days of work and now automate data movement and backfilling
If the AI features were more improved so that I don't have to provide each and every detail, Azure Data Factory could be improved in a much better way by improving the AI features. For example, if I want to fetch any data from a raw source, I need to provide each and every detail. But if I am just uploading my raw data and if AI will sync with that data, it can analyze that data and give me proper suggestions on how that should be done in a proper way. Automatic suggestions could improve in a much better way. As I have mentioned, the AI features as well as more drag-and-drop activities could be improved. If I am making a pipeline, it should give me suggestions, such as which activity should be used, so that I don't have to remember each activity. If I have used one activity, I shouldn't have to remember what activity should I use next. It should give auto-suggestions. That is why I have given a nine out of 10. Currently, I don't know about its governance and security, but in view of its improvement, I think Azure Data Factory should improve in these areas. As I already mentioned, the AI features should be improved. Also, the auto-suggestion features should also improve.
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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Answers from the Community

PS
BA at Maxima
Aug 3, 2023
Aug 3, 2023
I know you're looking for someone who's done research for you but realize that's actually something people get paid to do. That said, what you're asking about is a mix of quite different tools when you throw KNIME in the mix. I don't know that tool but sounds like its for specific purpose and it's not an Azure tool. Realize there's endless ETL tools out there. I've used about 1/2 dozen in ...
2 out of 4 answers
reviewer2009835 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Solutions Architect at a tech consulting company with 201-500 employees
Apr 27, 2023
A couple of questions before starting the feature comparison:  i. Are you fine with an open-source solution? ii. Any specific reason you have listed ADF? iii. Who will be using these tools and how much learning curve is involved within the team? iv. What kind of data you are dealing with? v. Is data privacy an important factor? vi. Are you looking for only a cloud-based solution or open to a hybrid solution also? vii. What is the maturity level of the team when it comes to working on the cloud ........ These are just a few of the many questions basis which we do self-assessment or measure our preparedness. Let me know if you need more insights. Happy to help!!
BA
Sr. Architect - Data warehousing & BI at Molina Healthcare, Inc.
Apr 27, 2023
I believe Synapse is not an ETL tool.  ADF is one optional ETL tool for a Synapse Data warehouse.. What Are the Top ETL Tools for Azure Data Warehouse? | Integrate.ioI'd like to step back and pose a bigger option. You see, ETL means making a copy of data you have already. Have you considered a data fabric or mesh, where the data is used where it lies now?  Consider this if your data is already used by some systems, but you need to do a more comprehensive analysis of it.I always want to reduce the replication of databases. The concept of build yet another database to "replace" all the others rarely works out that way.  I'd rather beef up the origination system, or use a replica than build a huge portfolio of ETL programs and an army of ops, data governance, and system support to keep them in sync. Finally, if you really need an ETL tool, i.e. copies of all that data... look for existing talent in your staff. Otherwise, expect to hire some people experienced with the new tool that can advise on design and development and mentor existing staff.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Construction Company
7%
Outsourcing Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Construction Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business31
Midsize Enterprise21
Large Enterprise64
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business28
Midsize Enterprise18
Large Enterprise60
 

Questions from the Community

How do you select the right cloud ETL tool?
AWS Glue and Azure Data factory for ELT best performance cloud services.
How does Azure Data Factory compare with Informatica PowerCenter?
Azure Data Factory is flexible, modular, and works well. In terms of cost, it is not too pricey. It offers the stability and reliability I am looking for, good scalability, and is easy to set up an...
How does Azure Data Factory compare with Informatica Cloud Data Integration?
Azure Data Factory is a solid product offering many transformation functions; It has pre-load and post-load transformations, allowing users to apply transformations either in code by using Power Q...
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 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.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics?
I am hoping that in the future Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics may have AI support.
 

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

1. Adobe 2. BMW 3. Coca-Cola 4. General Electric 5. Johnson & Johnson 6. LinkedIn 7. Mastercard 8. Nestle 9. Pfizer 10. Samsung 11. Siemens 12. Toyota 13. Unilever 14. Verizon 15. Walmart 16. Accenture 17. American Express 18. AT&T 19. Bank of America 20. Cisco 21. Deloitte 22. ExxonMobil 23. Ford 24. General Motors 25. IBM 26. JPMorgan Chase 27. Microsoft (Azure Data Factory is developed by Microsoft) 28. Oracle 29. Procter & Gamble 30. Salesforce 31. Shell 32. Visa
Toshiba, Carnival, LG Electronics, Jet.com, Adobe, 
Find out what your peers are saying about Azure Data Factory vs. Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
913,806 professionals have used our research since 2012.