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Microsoft Azure SQL Database vs SAP HANA Cloud comparison

 

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
134
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 August 2026, in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Azure SQL Database is 9.2%, down from 14.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP HANA Cloud is 1.8%, up from 0.5% 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 Database9.2%
SAP HANA Cloud1.8%
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

"It's user-friendly. Compared to other solutions, it's based more on clicks, not on scripts. It's easy to manage."
"The stability is good."
"The main advantage of it is that there is no infrastructure cost; we don't have to host it here, and we can grow it or shrink it depending on the demand with no restraint on capacity."
"It's the type of product that doesn't need much technical support assistance as it works seamlessly."
"It is quick to set up and easy to scale."
"The ease of scaling the server up and down by simply pressing a few buttons in a dropdown menu has made our lives significantly more comfortable, especially as we aim to process more data this year by utilizing the cloud."
"I rate Microsoft Azure SQL Database nine out of 10."
"The most valuable feature of SQL Azure is the user-friendly VMs."
"Using SAP HANA Cloud, we can replicate the data into HANA and use live data, which improves our business decision-making."
"The solution has integrated many different value chains across the organization, as previously there were multiple systems managing those value chains."
"The real-time analytics feature is good; there is no doubt about it."
"I would rate SAP HANA Cloud nine to ten out of ten."
"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."
"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."
"SAP HANA Cloud provides a single version of truth, automation, intelligence, process control, and best practices."
 

Cons

"There is a need for dynamic scaling support without losing current transactions. That should be part of the standard offering to SKUs. It doesn't have Auto SQL. We have HyperSQL, but there are limitations on the Elastic Pool. It only allows 25 databases. It would help if we could automatically analyze and optimize long-running queries instead of handling these tasks manually."
"There is so much information that it becomes confusing at times. The information can be more friendly. They could also provide additional training, especially at the beginning."
"If you don't have Premium support, you need to wait for 24 hours to receive support."
"SQL Azure's performance monitoring features need to be improved."
"I need something which is in one place so I can automate the Azure data factory, but it's a different tool. It's not easy and in one place, so I can't switch to the other tool and do something there, automate everything there in the on-prem infrastructure, and then have everything in the agent. I can just pick one packet and use it. However, I want to be able to click it and run it."
"Historically, SQL Azure has tended to choke at databases larger than 50GB, and in some cases, as small as 20GB."
"Scalability is an issue because we can't upgrade to new versions due to hardware limitations."
"Azure SQL can improve by adding more machine learning features like other databases, such as Cassandra or Cosmos DB."
"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."
"SAP HANA Cloud requires extensive documentation before connecting with a human being to troubleshoot an issue."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We pay less than $1000 monthly in licensing fees. There are no additional costs."
"We have the licensing fee, and we are also paying a third party to maintain it with an SLA. There is no infrastructure cost, but its running costs are higher than expected. There is the cost of the Azure cloud, which is pricier than expected, but it is not specific to SQL Azure. It is specific to the cloud. You expect it to be cheaper, but it is more expensive to run it."
"The solution is more cost-effective than Google BigQuery. Compared to Google BigQuery, downloading data can be more expensive."
"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."
"I would rate the pricing a seven out of ten."
"The price could be slightly cheaper."
"The pricing is actually complicated, and that is probably one downside of it. In some respects, although we can plan for the costs on a month-by-month basis, we are finding it hard to project our costings for it. Fundamentally, Microsoft is offering two pricing models, and it is challenging to understand the differences between the two. We're basically on the DTU model at the moment. That may change in the future as the size grows, but it is one of those things that we'll end up monitoring as we progress. At the moment, to get a reasonable response, generally, the price is a little high for us, but it is one of those things for which we know that we can do improvements on our code. So, it is not just the service that's the problem; it is some of the things that we need to do as well."
"I would like it to be cheaper, but comparatively, it is reasonably priced."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Outsourcing Company
12%
Construction Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business60
Midsize Enterprise17
Large Enterprise61
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SQL Azure?
I would say I am at a basic experience level with the pricing, setup costs and licensing because while I am the administrator for the service, I do not provision the services and worry about the co...
What needs improvement with SQL Azure?
I have no comments at the moment on how Microsoft Azure SQL Database can be improved. I have no comments on additional features that I would like to see released in the next release. I do not have ...
What is your primary use case for SQL Azure?
My main use cases for Microsoft Azure SQL Database are third-party applications.
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: August 2026.
908,800 professionals have used our research since 2012.