Snowflake vs Teradata comparison

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Snowflake

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 4, 2026

Teradata and Snowflake are prominent in the data warehousing domain, each with distinct strengths. Teradata stands out in terms of processing large data volumes efficiently, whereas Snowflake is preferred for its flexibility and easy deployment owing to its cloud-native architecture.

Features: Teradata offers advanced query execution, comprehensive analytics capabilities, and real-time data processing, which support its infrastructure for massive data handling and reliable data recovery. Snowflake, on the other hand, is known for its user-friendliness and virtually unlimited scalability, highlighted by features like time travel and zero-copy cloning, which simplify data management.

Room for Improvement: Teradata users identify high costs and complexity in cloud implementations as areas needing attention. Improvements in big data integration and cloud functionalities are also sought. For Snowflake, there's a desire for better advanced analytical capabilities, including transaction processing and reporting tools, as well as possible refinements in pricing models and expanded feature sets.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Teradata provides robust on-premises support but needs to enhance its cloud adaptability. It is recognized for solid customer service and technical support. Snowflake offers easy cloud deployment and integration but requires careful understanding of its pricing structure to avoid unexpected costs; its customer service could benefit from quicker response times.

Pricing and ROI: Teradata is viewed as a premium-priced product, suitable for businesses prioritizing robust performance, justified by significant returns on investment through enhanced analytics and efficiency. Snowflake, with its competitive pay-as-you-go pricing model, aligns with businesses needing scalable usage. Although some users find its costs confusing, the affordability and efficient services offer high returns.

To learn more, read our detailed Snowflake vs. Teradata Report (Updated: January 2026).

Snowflake vs. Teradata

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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:

ROI

Sentiment score

6.2

Users find Snowflake challenging for ROI calculation, but it offers productivity gains, cost reduction, and valuable insights.

Sentiment score

6.9

Teradata significantly boosts speed, efficiency, and ROI, with studies showing a 427% average ROI over three years.

No quotes available

For more quotes and insights, download the Snowflake report

At least fifteen to twenty percent of our time has been saved using Teradata, which has positively affected team productivity and business outcomes.

Shugoyal Shugoyal

Senior product analyst at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

Independent research showed that Teradata VantageCloud users achieved an average ROI of 427% across three years with payback under a year, demonstrating the platform's ability to deliver a strong financial return.

Engineers at a consultancy with 11-50 employees

We have realized a return on investment, with a reduction of staff from 27 to eight, and our current return on investment is approximately 14%.

For more quotes and insights, download the Teradata report

Interim and Fractional CIO and CTO at a consultancy with 11-50 employees

Customer Service

Sentiment score

5.7

Snowflake customer service is praised for responsiveness and expertise, though improvements in timeliness and service-level agreements are suggested.

Sentiment score

7.1

Teradata's support is praised for professionalism and responsiveness, but feedback on speed is mixed; training resources enhance service.

I received great support in migrating data to Snowflake, with quick responses and innovative solutions.

Technology Leader at eTCaaS

I am satisfied with the work of technical support from Snowflake; they are responsive and helpful.

Asset Builder at Genpact - Headstrong

The technical support from Snowflake is very good, nice, and efficient.

For more quotes and insights, download the Snowflake report

Data Architect at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees

The customer support for Teradata has been great.

Interim and Fractional CIO and CTO at a consultancy with 11-50 employees

They are responsive and knowledgeable, and the documentation is very helpful.

Engineers at a consultancy with 11-50 employees

Customer support is very good, rated eight out of ten under our essential agreement.

For more quotes and insights, download the Teradata report

Team Leader for Data Base Administrators at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score

7.7

Snowflake offers seamless, flexible scalability for storage and computing, supporting diverse business needs with automatic cloud-based infrastructure scaling.

Sentiment score

7.5

Teradata offers scalable cloud and on-premise solutions with strong adaptability, overcoming hardware limitations and cost challenges efficiently.

Snowflake is very scalable and has a dedicated team constantly improving the product.

Technology Leader at eTCaaS

The billing doubles with size increase, but processing does not necessarily speed up accordingly.

For more quotes and insights, download the Snowflake report

Data Architect at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees

Recently, Snowflake has introduced streaming capabilities, real-time and dynamic tables, along with various connectors.

reviewer2403603

Senior Data Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

Whenever we need more resources, we can add that in Teradata, and when not needed, we can scale it down as well.

Shugoyal Shugoyal

Senior product analyst at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

This flexibility allows organizations to scale according to their needs, balancing performance, cost, and compliance requirements.

For more quotes and insights, download the Teradata report

Engineers at a consultancy with 11-50 employees

This expansion can occur without incurring downtime or taking systems offline.

RajeshKumar25

Principal Consultant & Director at Quensulting

Stability Issues

Sentiment score

8.2

Snowflake offers reliable, fast performance and high stability, with users praising its dependability and minimal disruptions.

Sentiment score

8.3

Teradata's robust architecture ensures exceptional stability and reliability, with minimal downtime and high user ratings despite some integration challenges.

Snowflake is very stable, especially when used with AWS.

Technology Leader at eTCaaS

Snowflake as a SaaS offering means that maintenance isn't an issue for me.

For more quotes and insights, download the Snowflake report

Data Architect at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees

Its massively parallel process architecture allows the platform to distribute workload efficiently, enabling organizations to run heavy analytic queries without compromising speed or stability.

Engineers at a consultancy with 11-50 employees

I find the stability to be almost a ten out of ten.

For more quotes and insights, download the Teradata report

Team Leader for Data Base Administrators at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees

The workload management and software maturity provide a reliable system.

RajeshKumar25

Principal Consultant & Director at Quensulting

Room For Improvement

Snowflake needs better UI, analytics, integration, documentation, governance, AI features, and cost management solutions to address user concerns.

Teradata requires improvements in transaction processing, scalability, UI, cost-effectiveness, analytics features, integration capabilities, and security measures.

Enhancements in user experience for data observability and quality checks would be beneficial, as these tasks currently require SQL coding, which might be challenging for some users.

Data Architect at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees

What things you are going with to ask the support and how we manage the relationship matters a lot.

For more quotes and insights, download the Snowflake report

Asset Builder at Genpact - Headstrong

If more connectors were brought in and more visibility features were added, particularly around cost tracking in the FinOps area, it would be beneficial.

reviewer2403603

Senior Data Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

I want to highlight two features for improvement: first, storing data in various formats without requiring a tabular structure, accommodating unstructured data; and second, adding AI ML features to better integrate Gen AI, LLM concepts, and user-friendly experiences such as text-to-SQL capabilities.

Ganesh Verma

Data Engineer at Tredence Inc.

Unlike SQL and Oracle, which have in-built replication capabilities, we don't have similar functionality with Teradata.

Team Leader for Data Base Administrators at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees

The most challenging aspect is finding Teradata resources, so we are focusing on internal training and looking for more Teradata experts.

For more quotes and insights, download the Teradata report

Interim and Fractional CIO and CTO at a consultancy with 11-50 employees

Setup Cost

Snowflake's pricing model offers affordability and flexibility but challenges with cost predictability and potential high processing fees.

Teradata offers high-value analytics with flexible pricing, excelling in performance and ROI, ideal for large enterprises and data-intensive sectors.

Snowflake's pricing is on the higher side.

Technology Leader at eTCaaS

Snowflake lacks transparency in estimating resource usage.

For more quotes and insights, download the Snowflake report

Data Architect at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees

Teradata is much more expensive than SQL, which is well-performed and cheaper.

Team Leader for Data Base Administrators at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees

Initially, it may seem expensive compared to similar cloud databases, however, it offers significant value in performance, stability, and overall output once in use.

RajeshKumar25

Principal Consultant & Director at Quensulting

Role-based access control (RBAC), strong audit and compliance features, high availability, fault tolerance, and encrypted data at rest and in-transit are key features.

For more quotes and insights, download the Teradata report

Engineers at a consultancy with 11-50 employees

Valuable Features

Snowflake is scalable and flexible with features like zero-copy cloning, time travel, and integrated security, enhancing efficiency and accessibility.

Teradata excels in parallel processing, scalability, and performance, offering robust data management, security, and integration for efficient data warehousing.

We had a comparison with Databricks and Snowflake a few months back, and this auto-scaling takes an edge within Snowflake; that's what our observation reflects.

Asset Builder at Genpact - Headstrong

I have used the Snowflake Zero-Copy Cloning feature in the past while prototyping data in lower environments. This feature is helpful as it saves a lot of time during the data replication process.

reviewer2403603

Senior Data Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

Snowflake is a data lake on the cloud where all processing happens in memory, resulting in very fast query responses.

For more quotes and insights, download the Snowflake report

Technology Leader at eTCaaS

Teradata's security helps our organization meet compliance requirements such as GDPR and IFRS, and it is particularly essential for revenue contracting or revenue recognition.

Interim and Fractional CIO and CTO at a consultancy with 11-50 employees

Its architecture allows information to be processed efficiently while maintaining stable performance, even in highly demanding environments.

For more quotes and insights, download the Teradata report

Engineers at a consultancy with 11-50 employees

It facilitates data integration, where we integrate and analyze data from various sources, making it a powerful and high-quality reliable solution for the company.

reviewer2783274

Senior Data Engineer at a media company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Categories and Ranking

Snowflake

Ranking in Data Warehouse

1st

Ranking in Cloud Data Warehouse

1st

Ranking in Database Management Systems (DBMS)

5th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

103

Ranking in other categories

AI Synthetic Data (1st), AI Software Development (10th)

Teradata

Ranking in Data Warehouse

3rd

Ranking in Cloud Data Warehouse

3rd

Ranking in Database Management Systems (DBMS)

3rd

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Customer Experience Management (6th), Backup and Recovery (15th), Data Integration (15th), Relational Databases Tools (6th), BI (Business Intelligence) Tools (8th), Marketing Management (5th)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Data Warehouse category, the mindshare of Snowflake is 10.4%, down from 15.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Teradata is 9.5%, down from 15.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Data Warehouse Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Snowflake	10.4%
Teradata	9.5%
Other	80.1%

Data Warehouse

Featured Reviews

Have prioritized security while managing multi-agent data migration and cloud adoption

Asset Builder at Genpact - Headstrong

We utilize Time Travel with Snowflake because this is a very useful feature. Everyone finds it crucial because in conventional data platforms, it's very difficult to handle these kinds of things. This feature is essential, though I don't have the use cases currently; it is just there for implementation. Regarding Snowflake's automated scaling and suspension features, this auto-scaling is very significant. We had a comparison with Databricks and Snowflake a few months back, and this auto-scaling takes an edge within Snowflake; that's what our observation reflects.

Read full review

Delivers consistent performance and enables advanced analytics across complex data environments

Engineers at a consultancy with 11-50 employees

Teradata stands out as a solid platform for managing and analyzing large volumes of data. Its architecture allows information to be processed efficiently while maintaining stable performance, even in highly demanding environments. One of its most notable strengths is the ability to run complex queries at high speed, which is essential for organizations that require timely and reliable analytics. Teradata offers a well-integrated ecosystem that supports working with different types of data and enables scalability as organizational needs grow. Its focus on advanced analytics, integration with modern business intelligence tools, and the ability to operate both on-premise and in the cloud make it a versatile solution for data warehousing and large-scale processing. Teradata's stability, technological maturity, and the availability of strong documentation and best practices are noteworthy. I consider Teradata to be a tool with great potential for any organization looking to enhance its analytical capabilities, optimize data processing, and move toward more data-driven decision-making. Teradata stands out as a solid platform for managing a large volume of data in different projects. Its architecture allows information to be processed efficiently while maintaining stable performance, even in high-demanding environments. A well-integrated AI ecosystem that supports working with different types of data and enables scalability as organizational needs grow across different kinds of enterprises or organizations. The focus on advanced analytics integration with modern business intelligence tools is particularly valuable. Teradata combines a powerful parallel process and optimizing SQL engine with a highly scalable architecture allowing businesses to execute complex queries and analytics in real-time. It supports multi-cloud, hybrid, and on-premise environments, giving organizations flexibility to choose the setup that best aligns with their strategy. One of the biggest strengths is the ability to unify disparate data sources and support high concurrency, enabling different teams, such as analytics, operations, BI, and data science, to access consistent, trusted data across the enterprise.

Read full review

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Comparison Review

it_user232068

Senior Data Architect at a pharma/biotech company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Aug 5, 2015

Netezza vs. Teradata

Original published at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/should-i-choose-net Two leading Massively Parallel Processing (MPP) architectures for Data Warehousing (DW) are IBM PureData System for Analytics (formerly Netezza) and Teradata. I thought talking about the similarities and differences…

Read full review

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

20%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Financial Services Firm

24%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	29
Midsize Enterprise	20
Large Enterprise	58

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	28
Midsize Enterprise	13
Large Enterprise	52

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Snowflake?

The best thing about Snowflake is its flexibility in changing warehouse sizes or computational power.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Snowflake?

It is complicated to understand how requests impact warehouse size. Unlike competitors such as Microsoft and Databricks ( /products/databricks-reviews ), Snowflake lacks transparency in estimating ...

What needs improvement with Snowflake?

Snowflake is currently stable, but it can be improved further. They have a couple of information schemas that can track account usage. If more connectors were brought in and more visibility feature...

Comparing Teradata and Oracle Database, which product do you think is better and why?

I have spoken to my colleagues about this comparison and in our collective opinion, the reason why some people may declare Teradata better than Oracle is the pricing. Both solutions are quite simi...

Which companies use Teradata and who is it most suitable for?

Before my organization implemented this solution, we researched which big brands were using Teradata, so we knew if it would be compatible with our field. According to the product's site, the comp...

Is Teradata a difficult solution to work with?

Teradata is not a difficult product to work with, especially since they offer you technical support at all levels if you just ask. There are some features that may cause difficulties - for example,...

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Product Reports

Snowflake

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Also Known As

Snowflake Computing, Snowflake Data Cloud

IntelliFlex, Aster Data Map Reduce, , QueryGrid, Customer Interaction Manager, Digital Marketing Center, Data Mover, Data Stream Architecture, Teradata Vantage Enterprise (DIY)

Overview

Snowflake provides a modern data warehousing solution with features designed for seamless integration, scalability, and consumption-based pricing. It handles large datasets efficiently, making it a market leader for businesses migrating to the cloud.

Snowflake offers a flexible architecture that separates storage and compute resources, supporting efficient ETL jobs. Known for scalability and ease of use, it features built-in time zone conversion and robust data sharing capabilities. Its enhanced security, performance, and ability to handle semi-structured data are notable. Users suggest improvements in UI, pricing, on-premises integration, and data science functions, while calling for better transaction performance and machine learning capabilities. Users benefit from effective SQL querying, real-time analytics, and sharing options, supporting comprehensive data analysis with tools like Tableau and Power BI.

What are Snowflake's Key Features?

Scalability: Easily adjusts to handle growing data volumes.
Seamless Integration: Works with a wide range of platforms.
Consumption-Based Costs: Pay only for what you use.
Time Travel: Access historical data effortlessly.
Data Sharing: Secure and efficient sharing of datasets.
Time Zone Conversion: Built-in feature for global operations.
Security: Robust measures to protect sensitive information.
Compute and Storage Separation: Independent scaling for optimal performance.

What Benefits Should You Look for?

Cost Efficiency: Optimized pricing models for minimal waste.
Enhanced Performance: Fast queries and processing times.
Flexibility: Handles both structured and semi-structured data.
Analytics Capabilities: Supports advanced data analysis and reporting.

In industries like finance, healthcare, and retail, Snowflake's flexible data warehousing and analytics capabilities facilitate cloud migration, streamline data storage, and allow organizations to consolidate data from multiple sources for advanced insights and AI-driven strategies. Its integration with analytics tools supports comprehensive data analysis and reporting tasks.

Snowflake Computing

Teradata is a powerful tool for handling substantial data volumes with its parallel processing architecture, supporting both cloud and on-premise environments efficiently. It offers impressive capabilities for fast query processing, data integration, and real-time reporting, making it suitable for diverse industrial applications.

Known for its robust parallel processing capabilities, Teradata effectively manages large datasets and provides adaptable deployment across cloud and on-premise setups. It enhances performance and scalability with features like advanced query tuning, workload management, and strong security. Users appreciate its ease of use and automation features which support real-time data reporting. The optimizer and intelligent partitioning help improve query speed and efficiency, while multi-temperature data management optimizes data handling.

What are the key features of Teradata?

Parallel Processing Architecture: Enables efficient handling of substantial data volumes.
Cloud and On-Premise Deployment: Offers seamless adaptability across environments.
Query Tuning: Improves speed and performance of data retrieval processes.
Workload Management: Ensures optimal resource allocation for enhanced performance.
Robust Security: Provides high levels of data protection and system integrity.
Data Integration: Facilitates cohesive data management from multiple sources.
Automation for Real-time Reporting: Enhances timely data insights and decision-making.
Optimizer and Intelligent Partitioning: Further increase query speed and system efficiency.
Multi-Temperature Data Management: Optimizes the handling and retrieval of data.

What benefits and ROI do users look for?

Efficient Data Management: Facilitates smooth integration and processing of diverse data sets.
Scalability: Easy adjustment to increasing or decreasing data requirements.
Improved Performance: Fast query speeds and optimized resource use.
Comprehensive Security: Safeguards data integrity and accessibility.
Ease of Use: Simplifies data handling and operational processes.

In the finance, retail, and government sectors, Teradata is employed for data warehousing, business intelligence, and analytical processing. It handles vast datasets for activities like customer behavior modeling and enterprise data integration. Supporting efficient reporting and analytics, Teradata enhances data storage and processing, whether deployed on-premise or on cloud platforms.

Sample Customers

Accordant Media, Adobe, Kixeye Inc., Revana, SOASTA, White Ops

Netflix

Snowflake vs. Teradata