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Microsoft Azure SQL Database vs SAP HANA Cloud comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 29, 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

Microsoft Azure SQL Database
Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
138
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SAP HANA Cloud
Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)
11th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
3.3
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Azure SQL Database is 9.1%, down from 13.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP HANA Cloud is 1.9%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Database as a Service (DBaaS) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Azure SQL Database9.1%
SAP HANA Cloud1.9%
Other89.0%
Database as a Service (DBaaS)
 

Featured Reviews

Thomas Sawyer - PeerSpot reviewer
Executive Director, Platform Architecture at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation – SMBC Group
Automatic tuning and multi-region availability have reduced manual workloads and improved performance management
The features of Microsoft Azure SQL Database that I like the most are easy scaling and high availability. I appreciate those features because it's easy to make Microsoft Azure SQL Database readily available in a multi-region infrastructure. Using Microsoft Azure SQL Database is very easy; it's much easier than SQL on-premise because I don't have to worry about deploying infrastructure, and I can rapidly deploy via infrastructure as code. I am using the automatic tuning feature in Microsoft Azure SQL Database. We are using the new feature of data encryption in Microsoft Azure SQL Database with customer-managed keys only. The reliability and stability of Microsoft Azure SQL Database platform are rock-solid; it's as good, if not better, than what our on-premise stability has been from an uptime perspective.
Bassem Mohammed - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Application Manager at TBTD
Has improved performance by enabling smoother business operations and real-time data integration
I am satisfied with SAP HANA Cloud and don't see any room for improvement. I don't use SAP HANA Cloud's machine learning feature at this moment. Currently, we don't use SAP HANA Cloud's ability to support hybrid data landscapes in our organization. SAP HANA Cloud can integrate real-time analytics with transactional data processing in my businesses by connecting it with other systems such as government systems and HR systems for fingerprint recognition. We are already using BOBJ or SAP BW for predictive analytics, which is an old solution from SAP. My overall rating for SAP HANA Cloud is eight out of 10. The reason I don't give it a higher score is that there are some concerns related to security and certain features that I have not seen yet.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We have come from hosting on-premise for customers, or they've done it themselves with SQL. We've now taken a cloud offering for the equivalent services of standard database management and the inbuilt backup and restore offerings. The scalability is probably the biggest feature that we are benefiting from by being in the cloud."
"What I found most valuable in Azure SQL are the functions related to Active Directory and the database services."
"Our productivity is the same as that of on-prem SQL."
"Using Azure Active Directory is a great feature for securing our connectivity for any clients or users connecting to our data."
"It is easily scalable, and it is faster than SQL Server. It is also less expensive than using SQL Server. It has the pay-as-you-go model, and the charges are based on the usage."
"It's easy to use in terms of their portal, which is very nicely organized."
"They have good documentation. It's concentrated information."
"Microsoft is very efficient and forward-looking, making it less expensive to build the setup for Azure SQL."
"The best features of SAP HANA Cloud are that its software is effective because it has tight integration between other functions, such as finance, materials, and sales."
"SAP HANA Cloud provides a single version of truth, automation, intelligence, process control, and best practices."
"The solution has integrated many different value chains across the organization, as previously there were multiple systems managing those value chains."
"Using SAP HANA Cloud, we can replicate the data into HANA and use live data, which improves our business decision-making."
"I would rate SAP HANA Cloud nine to ten out of ten."
"From my perspective, the best features of SAP HANA Cloud are that it's an ERP system connecting all departments together, making it a very smooth software for business operations."
"The real-time analytics feature is good; there is no doubt about it."
 

Cons

"Support isn't that great. They need to work on this aspect of their service. It can be challenging to reach them."
"I think Microsoft Azure SQL Database should be cheaper. The license is expensive, but not always; it depends on the case regarding pricing and licensing."
"What would make SQL Azure better is users having the capability of managing the database solution from the cloud, instead of having to do it from an actual machine because currently, database management via SQL Azure is done on a virtual machine or a PC. The solution should have the data functionality of managing SQL databases inside the cloud."
"Price definitely will be the negative point. It is quite expensive."
"The solution’s pricing needs improvement because it is too high."
"Microsoft doesn't provide technical support, the support structure is not good."
"Since Azure is a pay-by-use product, what is the provision for the future? If, for some reason, we lost this provision, what fallback parachute is Microsoft planning for customers?"
"I was using a user list for connecting a program in OTF for getting information. The connection in SQL Azure can improve by being easier because at the moment I have to use private certificates for user authentication. I had to do additional configuration to have the connections."
"My opinion on SAP HANA Cloud is that it is a waste of time."
"Regarding SAP HANA Cloud, one significant pain point is the lack of access to the database from the HANA Studio for developers."
"SAP HANA Cloud requires extensive documentation before connecting with a human being to troubleshoot an issue."
"From a UX point of view, there could be better improvements in the user experience and how users interact with the system."
"In future updates of SAP HANA Cloud, I would suggest some changes in the user interfaces to make it more user-friendly."
"The technical support from SAP is inadequate. We don't get timely responses, with support tickets taking more than 25 days to process."
"I see some weaknesses in SAP HANA Cloud regarding innovations, as they take their own time compared to what the market brings in with new features."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It only has a subscription-based license."
"I have an annual spend number, and it is in the hundred thousand dollar range. There are no additional costs to the standard licensing fees. Even though you have to look at the cost numbers of what you're going to be charged on a monthly basis, what you have to also remember is that your application may need a lot of rewriting and things like that. You get charged not just for the monthly costs but also for the transactions that occur. If your access to the data layer is not so efficient, your costs will go up because you're pulling far more data than you potentially need. These are hidden costs that nobody ever considers. If your application is not written very efficiently, you may actually increase your costs over on-prem versus cloud."
"The license is based on the number of users."
"When you go with SQL Azure Database, you can create a small database, which is around $4 to $5 per month for development purposes."
"The pricing is flexible and can be adapted based on our requirements but the pricing options are complex especially if we are using a VM."
"I recommend considering a pay-as-you-go pricing model initially."
"When looking at the long-term expenses associated with running software on an on-premises server, the costs are almost equivalent but when we include insurance for devices, onsite fees for servers, and other related costs, we may find that this is a cost-effective solution."
"It's reasonably priced and when you compare it with other products in the cloud environment, it's cheaper."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
19%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Construction Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business62
Midsize Enterprise17
Large Enterprise65
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SQL Azure?
I am not involved in the pricing part of Microsoft Azure SQL Database, so I have not heard anything.
What needs improvement with SQL Azure?
I have not worked much on Microsoft Azure SQL Database's ability to power next-generation AI applications. I cannot suggest anything about improvements in Microsoft Azure SQL Database because I am ...
What is your primary use case for SQL Azure?
I find the data migration part for Microsoft Azure SQL Database very good for connecting one database to another database. For the integration with other Microsoft applications, we are using SQL Se...
What needs improvement with SAP HANA Cloud?
In future updates of SAP HANA Cloud, I would suggest some changes in the user interfaces to make it more user-friendly.
What is your primary use case for SAP HANA Cloud?
SAP HANA Cloud is used in many different organizations such as retail, manufacturing, and pharmacy; most businesses can use SAP HANA Cloud.
What advice do you have for others considering SAP HANA Cloud?
I am satisfied with SAP HANA Cloud and don't see any room for improvement. I don't use SAP HANA Cloud's machine learning feature at this moment. Currently, we don't use SAP HANA Cloud's ability to ...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

adnymics GmbH, LG CNS, Centrebet, netfabb GmbH, MedPlast, Accelera Solutions, Sochi Organizing Committee, realzeit GmbH
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Azure SQL Database vs. SAP HANA Cloud and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
913,683 professionals have used our research since 2012.