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Exasol Data Warehouse vs SAP HANA comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 25, 2026

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

Exasol Data Warehouse
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
31st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SAP HANA
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
93
Ranking in other categories
Data Virtualization (2nd), Embedded Database (1st), Database Management Systems (DBMS) (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of Exasol Data Warehouse is 1.5%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP HANA is 5.9%, down from 10.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Relational Databases Tools Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
SAP HANA5.9%
Exasol Data Warehouse1.5%
Other92.6%
Relational Databases Tools
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2132565 - PeerSpot reviewer
Head Of Engineering Commercial Planning & Trading Data Platform at Zalando SE
Fast, reliable, and rock solid
The solution is intended as the backend for our reporting solution MicroStrategy. It's also used for ad-hoc analysis or to fuel other tools with data as it's the only place where some of the data points are available within an acceptable SLO We used it to decouple ETL and reporting databases. The…
HP
SAP Analytics Lead at Miracle Software Systems, Inc
Performs well with high database and reporting performance
We face difficulties replicating the AC DOCA table, which is a huge table, from S/4HANA to SAP HANA BAS, Business Application Studio, or HANA Studio using SLT. For developing Power BI reports using the AC DOCA table, we are replicating full data daily. We want to implement delta load, and while we used OData service for one client, the delta OData service link is not properly updating delta records. Licensing costs with SAP HANA are very high. Due to high pricing, many clients are moving from BW on SAP HANA and S/4HANA to Azure SQL. I have worked with several clients who have moved all data flows to Azure and developed Power BI queries on top of Azure. Many clients are also using Google Cloud Platform (GCP). The certification costs are also very high, more than ₹1,40,000 INR. Previously, it was ₹30,000 to ₹40,000. I want to pursue three certifications but am unable to do so due to the cost.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The speed is very good compared to other databases, like SQL Server or Oracle."
"We can quickly scale the solution as it works on an MPP system."
"The speed is very good compared to other databases, like SQL Server or Oracle."
"Its speed is great."
"The solution is hands-off; you set it up insert your data and it self tunes queries."
"It is easy to scale."
"The most valuable feature of Exasol is its speed."
"We mainly chose Exasol for its performance reasons."
"The initial setup is straightforward. It usually takes around eight months but it depends on a customer's requirements. We can spend a month or two customizing."
"As I only worked part-time on SAP HANA, I did not have the opportunity to explore the advanced features of the solution. However, I did work with basic features, such as user administration and access controls for the accounting department. The feature that stood out to me the most was the Single Sign-On and user administration, backup, and server management. My experience with SAP HANA was mainly focused on basic server improvements."
"The most valuable feature of SAP HANA is its performance and integration."
"It is difficult for me to narrow down what the best features are in SAP HANA because they work together to provide the overall functionality of the solution."
"On the basis of my experience, SAP HANA is better than other solutions."
"The most valuable features are the flexibility and the integration with other solutions in data quality."
"SAP HANA's best features are its programmability and extensibility - you can size and shape the software however you need."
"Integration is the most valuable feature we use SAP HANA for."
 

Cons

"The only area where we found it could improve was in custom role creation and security, and it was difficult to work with."
"They should improve the security features for MPP processing."
"It's not cloud-native so many maintenance operations require downtime."
"The price is quite expensive relative to other similar solutions, it could be more accessible in that sense."
"There are limited resources available to help me resolve the issue with Exasol."
"They don't talk very well to with other products when it comes to connectivity. Integration is lacking."
"They don't talk very well to with other products when it comes to connectivity. Integration is lacking."
"It would be beneficial if the updates would occur more often."
"The high price of the product is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"The product lacks some flexibility in its settings and configurations."
"We have not really received any technical support from SAP HANA. I think that's also one thing that maybe SAP would be most helpful, especially if we encounter several errors during installation."
"I think that the pricing is high and it needs improvement."
"There's an issue in the partition. When you record more than two million records, partitioning does not work well. In Oracle it's easy. SAP must resolve this issue in order to be more competitive with Oracle."
"Licensing costs with SAP HANA are very high. Due to high pricing, many clients are moving from BW on SAP HANA and S/4HANA to Azure SQL."
"The installation process could be more straightforward."
"In terms of improvement, the speed is not as good as we thought it would be. That is why we are trying different solutions that will be built with different technologies."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution's cost is mid-ranged."
"The licensing could improve."
"The price is high and could be a bit cheaper."
"People who are technical will accept the cost, but financially they will assess whether this solution will bring them revenue or not. People often ask, how will I profit when the cost is so high?"
"The price of the solution could be reduced, it is expensive."
"The price of SAP HANA is very expensive and it is paid annually."
"We pay annually for the license of the solution."
"It is expensive, which isn't a problem for us because SAP HANA is processing the data so fast."
"The price of licensing is dependent on the size of the project, however, we have found that there is scope to negotiate the cost. If the solution is implemented on-premises there may be some extra costs for hosting etc."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Government
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business1
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise6
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business26
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise62
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
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What are the biggest benefits of using SAP HANA?
Based on my work with SAP HANA, the biggest benefit that it can bring to your business is total data management. This product is by SAP - a company that serves almost all needs a client may have co...
Is SAP HANA’s customer and technical support reliable?
We have been using SAP HANA for a fairly short period of time and have only taken advantage of their customer support. So far, we have not had issues that required specialized help from technical s...
Is SAP HANA difficult to set up and start using?
SAP HANA is fairly easy to set up, however, I do not think a complete beginner can do it. You certainly need some preparation - either you need to have experience with similar solutions, or with ot...
 

Also Known As

No data available
SAP High-Performance Analytic Appliance, HANA
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

1&1 Internet SE 11880 Internet Services AG AB Svenska Spel Accarda AG Aera Technology Inc. AGRAVIS Raiffeisen AG Apotheken-Rechen-Zentrum GmbH AQR Capital Management, LLC arvato distribution GmbH ARZ Allgemeines Rechenzentrum GmbH Badoo Limited Baur Versand (GmbH & Co. KG) BIScience Ltd Blocket Blue Yonder GmbH Codilink UK Ltd T/A Coniq crealytics GmbH dailyme TV GmbH Dailymotion S.A. Dataforce Verlagsgesellschaft für Business Information mbH Deutsche Postbank AG Digitales Rezept Zentrum GmbH DIKW Groep direct services Gütersloh GmbH DR Technologies Ltd. dress-for-less GmbH econda GmbH emetriq GmbH empiriecom GmbH & Co. KG Flaconi GmbH Fresenius Netcare GmbH Fyber GmbH GfK SE Grant Street Group, Inc. Gruner + Jahr GmbH Gymshark UK Hahn Air Lines GmbH Hermes Einrichtungs Service GmbH & Co. KG INNOVATIVE SCHEDULING, LLC internetstores GmbH INTERSPORT Deutschland eG IQVIA Commercial GmbH & Co. OHG IQVIA Commercial Sp. z o.o. IQVIA Incorporated iVantage Health Analytics K - Mail Order GmbH & Co. KG LIQ CORP SA Manor AG Basel Match2Lists Limited MEDION AG Midasplayer AB Monsoon Accessorize Limited m-pathy GmbH msales Ltd. MTG Modern Services AB MW Aviation GmbH & Co. KG Myntra Designs Pvt Ltd Netzeffekt GmbH New Company Services Ltd. NOVENTI HealthCare GmbH Olympus Europa SE & Co. KG Operation Fistula OpsDataStore OTTO (GmbH & Co KG) Panda Retail Co. PAPSTAR GmbH Piedmont Healthcare, Inc. Questback GmbH RatePAY GmbH Revolut Ltd. Saarland-Sporttoto GmbH Sagarmatha Ltd. SIA Damara Technologies Supermärkte Nord Vertriebs GmbH & Co. KG The National Research Center for College & University Admissions, Inc. United Utilities Water Ltd. Verlag C.H. Beck oHG Vocal Planet Ltd. Vodafone Group Services GmbH Webtrekk GmbH wer liefert was? GmbH Windeln.de SE Wooga GmbH XING SE Zalando SE
Unilever, NHS 24, adidas Group, CHIO Aachen, Hamburg Port Authority (HPA), Bangkok Airways Public Company Limited
Find out what your peers are saying about Exasol Data Warehouse vs. SAP HANA and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,244 professionals have used our research since 2012.