AWS Glue Reviews

Name: AWS Glue
Brand: Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Rating: 3.9 (47 reviews)

Vendor: Amazon Web Services (AWS)

3.9 out of 5

47 reviews
91% willing to recommend

316 followers

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What is AWS Glue?

AWS Glue is a serverless cloud data integration tool that facilitates the discovery, preparation, movement, and integration of data from multiple sources for machine learning (ML), analytics, and application development. The solution includes additional productivity and data ops tooling for running jobs, implementing business workflows, and authoring.

Get the AWS Glue Buyer's Guide and find out what your peers are saying about AWS Glue, Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC), MuleSoft Anypoint Platform and more!

AWS Glue is the #1 ranked solution in top Cloud Data Integration solutions. PeerSpot users give AWS Glue an average rating of 7.8 out of 10. AWS Glue is most commonly compared to Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC): AWS Glue vs Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC). AWS Glue is popular among the large enterprise segment, accounting for 72% of users researching this solution on PeerSpot. The top industry researching this solution are professionals from a financial services firm, accounting for 22% of all views.

Helped 831,020 peers since 2012

Featured reviews

Muthuvel Sivaraman

AVP at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

We use Amazon's services to provide technical support for the product. If you want to have support, Oracle and others offer a single support, and other tools have a direct support window. For Amazon, we need to pay 10 percent of my billing amount for the tool to get support services. Whether to raise a support ticket or not is an issue since ten percent is a huge amount. My company ends up using all the options without help from support. It is very difficult for any common man to understand why there is a need to pay ten percent for support. If I find an issue in the product, and I need to get support from AWS to fix it, then I need to pay ten percent of the tool's bill amount to Amazon. AWS is a very tricky tool because everything is evolving nowadays. AWS engineers are getting hired from other places, and even after that, if I am not getting any technical support, then things will be very nasty. There are some good engineers who help users outside the normal support cycle, but it doesn't meet their needs. I rate the technical support a four out of ten.

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Ajaykumar Myana

Senior Software Developer at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees

We no longer had to worry much about infrastructure management because AWS Glue is serverless, and Amazon takes care of the underlying infrastructure. This allowed us to focus on the code and application logic without concerns about scaling, CPU management, or handling fluctuations in flow. The serverless nature of Glue jobs relieved us from these infrastructure-related worries.

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ParamShah

Engineering Manager at Milestone Technologies

There are output limitations and configuration of its three parts. There was a lot of trial and error that we had to go through. It is not clear how the partition discovery would have been affected by more data coming in. We've made some expensive mistakes, which, if there were any tutorials available or if there was easy documentation available with FAQs, could have been avoided. There is documentation, but it doesn't cover all. There are three specific partition changes, and AWS Glue is tightly tied to Athena. We don't have much flexibility in managing the Athena. AWS Glue could integrate with an AI model or a more advanced version that processes chat-based inputs rather than configuration. This would align it more closely with the functionalities of chat-based interfaces, making it easier to adopt.

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AWS Glue mindshare

As of January 2025, the mindshare of AWS Glue in the Cloud Data Integration category stands at 24.8%, down from 24.9% compared to the previous year, according to calculations based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Cloud Data Integration

PeerAnalyst reports

Type	Title	Date
Category	Cloud Data Integration	Jan 17, 2025	Download
Product	Reviews, tips, and advice from real users	Jan 17, 2025	Download
Comparison	AWS Glue vs AWS Database Migration Service	Jan 17, 2025	Download
Comparison	AWS Glue vs Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC)	Jan 17, 2025	Download
Comparison	AWS Glue vs MuleSoft Anypoint Platform	Jan 17, 2025	Download

Title	Rating	Mindshare	Recommending
Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC)	4.0	N/A	93%	181 interviews Add to research
MuleSoft Anypoint Platform	4.0	8.3%	91%	57 interviews Add to research

Valuable Features

AWS Glue's most valuable features include a user-friendly interface, strong integration within AWS services, and a powerful data catalog. It supports various data processing tasks with scalability, serverless architecture, and cost-effectiveness. Its automation and GUI functionality allow for efficient data transformation and management, utilizing PySpark and other programming languages. Integration with Jupyter Notebook, Glue Studio, and Glue Crawlers enhances data processing capabilities, while its real-time backup and metadata management keep data secure and organized.

"For ETL, I feel the performance is excellent."
"One aspect that I would like to highlight is the Glue Crawler, which we utilize when working with large datasets to ensure the schema updates seamlessly without requiring end-team knowledge."
"The best thing about AWS Glue is its scalability and how easy it is to process a large amount of data."

Room for Improvement

AWS Glue requires various improvements such as a reduction in start-up time and enhanced integration with external databases. Users want more language support and increased performance for large data processing. The interface isn't as user-friendly, contributing to a steep learning curve. Technical support and error handling need enhancements. Cost is a concern for many, along with the integration of more connectors and transformations. Additionally, AWS Glue should offer better documentation and simplified setup processes.

"Improvements in the UI are needed, as it is challenging to understand some functionalities."
"The point for improvement in AWS Glue would be the dynamic allocation of resources while utilizing Lambda functions."
"Setting up pipelines is challenging, especially with version control and testing requirements."

ROI

Companies note a significant return on investment from AWS Glue as it is cost-effective compared to alternatives. They observe efficient processes that align with client ROI expectations. However, some organizations hesitate due to budget constraints, exploring less costly options like ClickHouse. Although specific savings data is missing, AWS Glue offers improved efficiency and time-saving benefits.

Pricing

AWS Glue pricing for enterprises is mixed, with some finding it high compared to competitors like EMR and others seeing value in its pay-as-you-go model. Costs depend on Data Processing Units (DPUs) and job duration, which can make it expensive for extensive usage. While licensing fees aren't separate, technical support ranges from $15,000 to $25,000 annually. Some users rate its cost affordable, considering performance and scalability, especially beneficial for predictable financial planning.

"I rate the tool an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is expensive, and ten is expensive."
"AWS Glue is a paid service that doesn't come under the free trial of AWS."
"If you are using the solution for an enterprise business, it will be expensive."

Popular Use Cases

Organizations primarily use AWS Glue for ETL processes, data transformation, ingestion, and batch processing. They collect data from various sources, including S3, MySQL, and Oracle, then transform, clean, and load data into data lakes, warehouses, or analytics platforms like Redshift and QuickSight. Glue enables efficient data processing, leveraging its serverless architecture, integration with Spark and PySpark, and capabilities to handle both structured and unstructured data across diverse industries.

Service and Support

AWS Glue customer service and support are generally positive, with quick response times and effective solutions. Users appreciate the assistance provided for technical challenges, especially in complex use cases, though some mention slow response times and the cost of support. Community forums are a valuable resource. The technical support often involves senior teams to resolve issues efficiently. Users note the consistency and reliability of AWS documentation in troubleshooting and resolving upgrade-related issues.

Deployment

AWS Glue's initial setup is generally straightforward and manageable. Many users find the process easy due to abundant documentation and the platform's serverless nature. While basic configurations are swiftly accomplished, more intricate tasks may demand additional knowledge and understanding. Users with prior development experience or AWS familiarity face fewer challenges. Deployment time varies; smaller setups may take minutes, while larger ones could extend to weeks, often requiring collaboration across teams for efficient execution.

Scalability

AWS Glue is praised for its scalability, receiving high ratings from various users who appreciate its ability to handle large data volumes efficiently. Its serverless nature simplifies operation across organizations, enabling easy scaling based on workloads. Many companies plan to expand its usage due to its flexible architecture and effective handling of diverse data loads. While AWS Glue is primarily used by technical teams and enterprises, a few mention areas for improvement in scaling specific functions.

These insights are based on the in-depth reviews provided by peers to help you make a better buying decision.

Download our AWS Glue Buyer's Guide for additional reliable information.

Review data by company size

By reviewers

By visitors reading reviews

Top industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

22%

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

Insurance Company

Government

Retailer

Healthcare Company

Educational Organization

University

Energy/Utilities Company

Media Company

Real Estate/Law Firm

Construction Company

Non Profit

Comms Service Provider

Pharma/Biotech Company

Transportation Company

Hospitality Company

Outsourcing Company

Logistics Company

Recreational Facilities/Services Company

Legal Firm

Wholesaler/Distributor

Performing Arts

Consumer Goods Company

Compare AWS Glue with alternative products

Learn more about AWS Glue

AWS Glue allows users to connect to more than 70 diverse data sources and manage data in a centralized data catalog. The solution facilitates visual creation, running, and monitoring of extract, transform, and load (ETL) pipelines to load data into users' data lakes. This Amazon product seamlessly integrates with other native applications of the brand and allows users to search and query cataloged data using Amazon EMR, Amazon Athena, and Amazon Redshift Spectrum.

The solution also utilizes application programming interface (API) operations to transform users' data, create runtime logs, store job logic, and create notifications for monitoring job runs. The console of AWS Glue connects all of these services into a managed application, facilitating the monitoring and operational processes. The solution also performs provisioning and management of the resources required to run users' workloads in order to minimize manual work time for organizations.

AWS Glue Features

AWS Glue groups its features into four categories - discover, prepare, integrate, and transform. Within those groups are the following features:

Automatic schema discovery: AWS Glue crawlers connect to the organization's source or target data source through a prioritized list of classifiers to determine the schema for users' data. This feature creates metadata in companies' AWS Glue Data Catalog.
Schemas for data stream management: The AWS Glue Schema Registry enables users to validate and control the evolution of streaming data through registered Apache Avro schemas for no additional charge.
Automatic scaling based on workload: This feature dynamically scales resources up and down based on workload. The feature controls job resources, removing them depending on how much the workload can be split up.
FindMatches: This feature is for machine learning-based data deduplication and cleansing, and works by finding records that are imperfect matches of each other to remove useless data copies.
Edit, debug, and test ETL code: This feature helps users who have chosen to interactively develop their ETL code by providing development endpoints for editing, debugging, and testing the code it generates for them.
AWS Glue DataBrew: An interactive, point-and-click visual interface for specialists to clean and normalize data without the need to write any code.
AWS Glue Interactive Sessions: This feature simplifies the development of data integration jobs by enabling data engineers to interactively prepare and explore data.
AWS Glue Studio Job Notebooks: This AWS Glue feature provides serverless notebooks with minimal setup, allowing developers to start working in a timely manner.
Complex ETL pipeline building: This feature allows the product to be invoked on a schedule, on demand, or based on an event, allowing users to start multiple jobs in parallel or specify dependencies to build complex ETL pipelines.
AWS Glue Studio: This AWS Glue feature allows users to visually transform data through a drag-and-drop interface. The product automatically generates the code for ETL processes for users' data.

AWS Glue Benefits

AWS Glue offers a wide range of benefits for its users. These benefits include:

Users of other AWS products can easily onboard with AWS Glue, as it is integrated across a wide range of the company's services.
The solution is serverless, which allows for a lower total cost of ownership.
AWS Glue offers more power for users, as it automates much of the effort in building, maintaining, and running ETL jobs.
The product allows customers to easily discover and search across all their AWS datasets through AWS Glue Data Catalog.
AWS Glue does not require additional payment for managing and enforcing schemas for data streams.
The solution facilitates the authority of scalable ETL jobs for beginners and non-coding experts through a drag-and-drop interface.

Reviews from Real Users

Mustapha A., a cloud data engineer at Jems Groupe, likes AWS Glue because it is a product that is great for serverless data transformations.

Liana I., CEO at Quark Technologies SRL, describes AWS Glue as a highly scalable, reliable, and beneficial pay-as-you-go pricing model.