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Apache Spark vs SAP HANA comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Apache Spark
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
66
Ranking in other categories
Hadoop (1st), Compute Service (4th), Java Frameworks (2nd)
SAP HANA
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
85
Ranking in other categories
Data Virtualization (2nd), Embedded Database (4th), Relational Databases Tools (4th)
 

Featured Reviews

Ilya Afanasyev - PeerSpot reviewer
Reliable, able to expand, and handle large amounts of data well
We use batch processing. It works well with our formats and file versions. There's a lot of functionality. In our pipeline each hour, we make a copy of data from MongoDB, of the changes from MongoDB to some specific file. Each time pipeline copied all of the data, it would do it each time without changes to all of the tables. Tables have a lot of data, and in the last MongoDB version, there is a possibility to read only changed data. This reduced the cost and configuration of the cluster, and we saved about $150,000. The solution is scalable. It's a stable product.
Jayarami Reddy Pujeri - PeerSpot reviewer
Comprehensive system with real-time analytics for versatile industry applications
Our primary use case is working with various clients in industries such as pharmaceuticals and other services. We support clients as implementers of SAP HANA, providing expertise in functionality, finance, logistics, and processes The solution is very user-friendly and supports all kinds of…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"AI libraries are the most valuable. They provide extensibility and usability. Spark has a lot of connectors, which is a very important and useful feature for AI. You need to connect a lot of points for AI, and you have to get data from those systems. Connectors are very wide in Spark. With a Spark cluster, you can get fast results, especially for AI."
"The fault tolerant feature is provided."
"Apache Spark can do large volume interactive data analysis."
"The tool's most valuable feature is its speed and efficiency. It's much faster than other tools and excels in parallel data processing. Unlike tools like Python or JavaScript, which may struggle with parallel processing, it allows us to handle large volumes of data with more power easily."
"Spark helps us reduce startup time for our customers and gives a very high ROI in the medium term."
"Its scalability and speed are very valuable. You can scale it a lot. It is a great technology for big data. It is definitely better than a lot of earlier warehouse or pipeline solutions, such as Informatica. Spark SQL is very compliant with normal SQL that we have been using over the years. This makes it easy to code in Spark. It is just like using normal SQL. You can use the APIs of Spark or you can directly write SQL code and run it. This is something that I feel is useful in Spark."
"Apache Spark provides a very high-quality implementation of distributed data processing."
"The most crucial feature for us is the streaming capability. It serves as a fundamental aspect that allows us to exert control over our operations."
"As I only worked part-time on SAP HANA, I did not have the opportunity to explore the advanced features of the solution. However, I did work with basic features, such as user administration and access controls for the accounting department. The feature that stood out to me the most was the Single Sign-On and user administration, backup, and server management. My experience with SAP HANA was mainly focused on basic server improvements."
"In comparison with other DMS solutions, it offers good performance."
"The solution operates well."
"It's very convenient and very innovative."
"We've had good experiences with technical support."
"The solution is very stable."
"The functionality is of the solution is very good."
"What I like best about SAP HANA is that it's faster than Microsoft SQL Server."
 

Cons

"Include more machine learning algorithms and the ability to handle streaming of data versus micro batch processing."
"The Spark solution could improve in scheduling tasks and managing dependencies."
"The initial setup was not easy."
"Spark could be improved by adding support for other open-source storage layers than Delta Lake."
"Technical expertise from an engineer is required to deploy and run high-tech tools, like Informatica, on Apache Spark, making it an area where improvements are required to make the process easier for users."
"One limitation is that not all machine learning libraries and models support it."
"This solution currently cannot support or distribute neural network related models, or deep learning related algorithms. We would like this functionality to be developed."
"Apache Spark provides very good performance The tuning phase is still tricky."
"The support is lacking and not worth the premium price. If support was just a nominal fee, it would be perceived differently."
"In a future release, SAP HANA should add a module for taxation, such as income tax and withholding tax."
"The solution is very expensive for us."
"It is challenging to integrate it with third-party tools."
"If the developers were to enhance or improve the application logic while processing the transactions, that would be great."
"The solution could improve in the handling of backup data and the administration tools."
"Customer service can be improved. While issues are resolved eventually, the first level of support is not as good as we would like. Getting assistance from skilled support takes time."
"When we are using SAP HANA we have some difficulty with the customization. We would like to be able to add and make customized menus."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is an open-source platform. We do not pay for its subscription."
"The solution is affordable and there are no additional licensing costs."
"Spark is an open-source solution, so there are no licensing costs."
"Apache Spark is an open-source tool."
"Apache Spark is open-source. You have to pay only when you use any bundled product, such as Cloudera."
"Considering the product version used in my company, I feel that the tool is not costly since the product is available for free."
"It is quite expensive. In fact, it accounts for almost 50% of the cost of our entire project."
"Apache Spark is an expensive solution."
"We pay $200 on a monthly basis."
"Setup and licensing require planning and proper budgeting, as it is not cheap."
"SAP HANA is very expensive for small to medium businesses."
"Its licensing is expensive for SMEs and large enterprises alike."
"The tool has a high price. I rate the solution’s pricing, one on a scale of ten, where one is expensive and ten is cheap."
"The price of SAP HANA is very expensive and it is paid annually."
"It comes with a significant cost."
"There is an annual payment needed to use the solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
27%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Manufacturing Company
15%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Apache Spark?
We use Spark to process data from different data sources.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Apache Spark?
Compared to other solutions like Doc DB, Spark is more costly due to the need for extensive infrastructure. It requires significant investment in infrastructure, which can be expensive. While cloud...
What needs improvement with Apache Spark?
The Spark solution could improve in scheduling tasks and managing dependencies. Spark alone cannot handle sequential tasks, requiring environments like Airflow scheduler or scripts. For instance, o...
What are the biggest benefits of using SAP HANA?
Based on my work with SAP HANA, the biggest benefit that it can bring to your business is total data management. This product is by SAP - a company that serves almost all needs a client may have co...
Is SAP HANA’s customer and technical support reliable?
We have been using SAP HANA for a fairly short period of time and have only taken advantage of their customer support. So far, we have not had issues that required specialized help from technical s...
Is SAP HANA difficult to set up and start using?
SAP HANA is fairly easy to set up, however, I do not think a complete beginner can do it. You certainly need some preparation - either you need to have experience with similar solutions, or with ot...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

No data available
SAP High-Performance Analytic Appliance, HANA
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

NASA JPL, UC Berkeley AMPLab, Amazon, eBay, Yahoo!, UC Santa Cruz, TripAdvisor, Taboola, Agile Lab, Art.com, Baidu, Alibaba Taobao, EURECOM, Hitachi Solutions
Unilever, NHS 24, adidas Group, CHIO Aachen, Hamburg Port Authority (HPA), Bangkok Airways Public Company Limited
Find out what your peers are saying about Apache Spark vs. SAP HANA and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,190 professionals have used our research since 2012.