Microsoft Azure SQL Database vs SingleStore comparison

Microsoft Azure SQL Database

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 12, 2024

Microsoft Azure SQL Database and SingleStore compete in the enterprise database solutions category. Azure SQL Database has an edge in integration and scalability, while SingleStore leads in performance and real-time analytics capabilities.

Features: Azure SQL Database integrates comprehensively with the Microsoft ecosystem, offers high availability, and advanced security features. SingleStore is known for high-performance analytical processing, real-time data capabilities, and handling complex queries efficiently.

Room for Improvement: Azure SQL Database needs better documentation, enhanced technical support, and more cost-effective advanced features. SingleStore should improve integration with third-party tools, offer more flexible pricing models, and better address initial setup difficulties.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Azure SQL Database is straightforward to deploy within the Azure ecosystem and has responsive customer service. SingleStore has a steeper learning curve, but users benefit from performance improvements post-deployment.

Pricing and ROI: Azure SQL Database involves high initial setup costs but provides long-term ROI with its integration and scalability. SingleStore demands a higher upfront investment but offers significant ROI through high performance and real-time analytics gains.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Azure SQL Database vs. SingleStore Report (Updated: September 2025).

Microsoft Azure SQL Database vs. SingleStore

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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)

2nd

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

118

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

SingleStore

Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)

12th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Vector Databases (15th)

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Azure SQL Database is 13.0%, down from 17.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SingleStore is 2.7%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Database as a Service (DBaaS) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Microsoft Azure SQL Database	13.0%
SingleStore	2.7%
Other	84.3%

Database as a Service (DBaaS)

Featured Reviews

Charley Hanania

Data Platform Specialist at QS2 AG - Quality Software Solutions

It is very easy to implement, manage, and offers great insights into what is happening inside the engine

Microsoft Azure SQL Database is integrated into other Azure capabilities and has a great foundation being on SQL Server with a long history of security, performance, and usability from a DBA perspective. Once you've set up a server, adding databases is easy. There's a minor challenge with having data in separate databases that you want to connect like we do on premises. I'm looking forward to using some of these new AI-driven functions that have come out around vectorization. Having the data closer to my transactional databases or data makes it easy to augment and enhance the Database and applications I currently use. It's great that Azure SQL now seamlessly integrates with Microsoft Fabric. It's a first-tier service in the cloud that connects to web applications and other databases. The data transformation orchestration capabilities within Database Factory and similar capabilities make it effortless to move that stuff forward.

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Yasin Sarı

Senior Data Analyst at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees

High-speed data processing, seamless scalability, and excellent high availability making it an optimal choice for those prioritizing performance and efficiency in a database solution

There's a noteworthy consideration when it comes to collecting massive amounts of data. It is not the optimal choice for direct data collection through queries, and it's more suited for aggregation tasks. Attempting to use it for direct extraction, for instance, might lead to memory-related challenges. While MySQL version five might lack extensive SQL capabilities, SingleStore also has its constraints, requiring simpler SQL writing. This becomes evident when seeking advanced functionalities like window functions or JSON functions, where SingleStore doesn't offer an extensive toolkit, necessitating a more straightforward approach to SQL.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"SQL Server has helped to significantly reduce the total cost of ownership."

"What I like the most is the processes and the easiness of deployments."

"The initial setup is very easy. It's extremely straightforward."

"The hardware is all managed by Microsoft."

"SQL Azure is good with transactional systems."

"The stability is good."

"The tool set is familiar since I've used SQL Server on-premises for quite a few years."

"The database is extremely scalable, allowing seamless scaling up or down with a simple change in parameters."

More Microsoft Azure SQL Database pros

"The most valuable feature is the ability to create pipelines, streamline and extract data from the pipelines."

"MemSQL supports the MySQL protocol, and many functions are similar, so the learning curve is very short."

"It's a distributed relational database, so it does not have a single server, it has multiple servers. Its architecture itself is fast because it has multiple nodes to distribute the workload and process large amounts of data."

"The paramount advantage is the exceptional speed."

"The ability to store data in memory is a standout feature, enhanced by robust failover mechanisms."

"The product can automatically reinstall and reconfigure in case of a shutdown."

Cons

"One area for improvement could be expanding the search queries using vectors or AI inside the database. After seeing its potential in a workshop, I realized the usefulness of more advanced search queries with AI."

"Improvement could be made in the performance tools, offering a better overview of core issues like process activity and latency, as we currently rely on third-party tools and SQL jobs for monitoring and alerts. A comprehensive built-in solution for performance analysis would be beneficial."

"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."

"The preset configuration switches we can select on SQL Azure should be made more liberal to work on."

"There are some limitations for cross-database queries and features. The migration of data from older systems should be easier. For deployment, there are too many options, which sometimes makes it difficult to figure out the best option. There is not enough information to help you to find the best option for deployment. There should be more documentation about this."

"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."

"We've noticed an unexpected increase in the cost of running the server over the past few months."

"In terms of improvement, making Microsoft Azure SQL Database faster would cater to big companies that require speed."

More Microsoft Azure SQL Database cons

"It is not the optimal choice for direct data collection through queries, and it's more suited for aggregation tasks."

"Poor key distribution can significantly impact performance, requiring a backward approach in design rather than adding tables incrementally."

"For new customers, it's very tough to start. Their documentation isn't organized, and there's no online training available. SingleStore is working on it, but that's a major drawback."

"Having the ability to migrate servers using a single command would be extremely beneficial."

"We don't get good discounts in Pakistan."

"There should be more pipelines available because I think that if MemSQL can connect to other services, that would be great."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"You can use it for smaller instances and pay less. You can also go for the premium product with all the security, scalability, and business continuity features, but you have to pay a premium amount."

"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 price in general of Azure SQL could improve."

"It is quite expensive. I would definitely recommend not using the pay-as-you-go model because this will just mean all your money will go to Microsoft. So, really make sure to control resource usage as much as possible."

"The solution is expensive."

"The solution is moderately expensive."

"There is a license required to use the solution and it cost $30 to do the installation."

"I would rate the pricing a seven out of ten."

More Microsoft Azure SQL Database pricing and cost advice

"Using it for analytical purposes can be cost-effective in the long run, especially in terms of infrastructure."

"They have two main options: cloud installation and bare-metal installation, each with different pricing models."

"The product's licensing is not expensive. It is comparable."

"I would advise users to try the free 128GB version."

"SingleStore is a bit expensive."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

13%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Retailer

Financial Services Firm

32%

Computer Software Company

12%

Comms Service Provider

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	55
Midsize Enterprise	15
Large Enterprise	50

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Large Enterprise	3

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about SQL Azure?

The automated scalability feature of SQL Azure has proven to be highly beneficial, particularly when deployed in the cloud.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SQL Azure?

The pricing of Microsoft Azure SQL Database is not cheap, affecting user uptake. A gradual reduction in price could improve accessibility and user numbers, making it easier for users to adopt the s...

What needs improvement with SQL Azure?

I have used the Microsoft Azure SQL Database for two years now, and I don't find it satisfactory. It's slow and expensive. The Microsoft Azure SQL Database is not the latest version of Microsoft SQ...

What do you like most about SingleStore DB?

The paramount advantage is the exceptional speed.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SingleStore DB?

Using it for analytical purposes can be cost-effective in the long run, especially in terms of infrastructure. While building an on-premise cluster incurs an initial cost for servers with ample RAM...

What needs improvement with SingleStore DB?

Google Cloud SQL vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database

Comparisons

Compared 24% of the time

Amazon RDS vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database

Compared 19% of the time

MongoDB Atlas vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database

Compared 17% of the time

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database

Compared 7% of the time

More Microsoft Azure SQL Database Competitors

ClickHouse vs SingleStore

Compared 11% of the time

SQL Server vs SingleStore

Compared 9% of the time

Supabase Vector vs SingleStore

Compared 8% of the time

CockroachDB vs SingleStore

Compared 7% of the time

Oracle Database vs SingleStore

Compared 6% of the time

More SingleStore Competitors

Product Reports

Microsoft Azure SQL Database

Download Microsoft Azure SQL Database product report

Download SingleStore product report

Overview

Microsoft Azure SQL Database is a relational database-as-a-service that delivers predictable performance, scalability, business continuity, data protection, and near-zero administration to cloud developers and solution architects. This is the deep technical library for Azure SQL Database.

Microsoft

SingleStore delivers the performance you need for enterprise AI, providing the most performant data platform for apps and analytics at scale. SingleStore enables organizations to scale from one to one million customers in one unified platform. SingleStore offers transparent pricing as shown here https://www.singlestore.com/pricing/

SingleStore caters to over 400 customers globally, including major banks and tech companies in 50+ countries and 40+ verticals. It offers seamless scaling for both transactional and analytical workloads, simplifying data management with its MySQL compatibility and real-time processing capabilities. SingleStore's distributed architecture ensures speed and reliability, efficiently handling large data volumes.

What are the key features of SingleStore?

MySQL Compatibility: Eases the learning curve for users.
Built-in Pipelines: Connects to S3, Kafka, and more.
High Concurrency: Processes billions of records swiftly.
Replication & Failover: Enhances speed and reliability.
In-memory Storage: Ensures data safety and quick access.

What benefits can users find in SingleStore reviews?

Automatic Reconfiguration: Simplifies management tasks.
Impressive SQL Performance: Supports complex queries efficiently.
Scalability: Handles large datasets with a multi-node setup.

Top banks and fintech companies leverage SingleStore for efficient management of financial data, while media and telecom industries use it for scalable metadata management and improved data processing. Retail and eCommerce sectors benefit from enhanced transactional capabilities, reducing the need for separate databases and optimizing reporting processes. SingleStore's capacity to unite diverse workloads makes it a strategic choice across many sectors.

Sample Customers

adnymics GmbH, LG CNS, Centrebet, netfabb GmbH, MedPlast, Accelera Solutions, Sochi Organizing Committee, realzeit GmbH

400+ customers including: 6sense, Adobe, Akamai, Ant Money, Arcules, CARFAX, Cigna, Cisco, Comcast, DELL, DBS Bank, Dentsu, DirectlyApply, EY, Factors.AI, Fathom Analytics, FirstEnergy, GE, Goldman Sachs, Heap, Hulu, IMAX, impact.com, Kroger, LG, LiveRamp, Lumana, Nvidia, OpenDialog, Outreach, Palo Alto Networks, PicPay, RBC, Samsung, SegMetrics, Siemens, SiteImprove, SiriusXM, SK Telecom, SKAI, SONY, STC, SunRun, TATA, Thorn, ZoomInfo.

Microsoft Azure SQL Database vs. SingleStore