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Databricks vs IBM Watson Studio comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 5, 2024

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

Databricks
Ranking in Data Science Platforms
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
88
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Data Warehouse (7th), Streaming Analytics (1st)
IBM Watson Studio
Ranking in Data Science Platforms
12th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
AI Development Platforms (10th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Data Science Platforms category, the mindshare of Databricks is 18.2%, down from 19.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Watson Studio is 1.9%, down from 2.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Science Platforms
 

Featured Reviews

ShubhamSharma7 - PeerSpot reviewer
Capability to integrate diverse coding languages in a single notebook greatly enhances workflow
Databricks offers various courses that I can use, whether it's PySpark, Scala, or R. I can leverage all these courses in a single notebook, which is beneficial for clients as they can access various tools in one place whenever needed. This is quite significant. I usually work with PySpark based on client requirements. After coding, I feed the Databricks notebooks into the ADF pipeline for updates. Databricks' capability to process data in parallel enhances data processing speed. Furthermore, I can connect our Databricks notebook directly with Power BI and other visualization tools like Qlik. Once we develop code, it allows us to transform raw data into visualizations for clients using analysis diagrams, which is very helpful.
Abilio Duarte - PeerSpot reviewer
A highly robust and well-documented platform that simplifies the complex world of AI
The main challenge lies in visibility and ease of use. Providing training sessions can be immensely helpful in helping users navigate and understand the tool's potential. This approach would empower users to explore and make the most of the tools and technologies at their disposal. Another area where IBM could enhance its offering is by providing more visibility to end users regarding the vast potential that Watson offers.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The time travel feature is the solution's most valuable aspect."
"We are completely satisfied with the ease of connecting to different sources of data or pocket files in the search"
"It is fast, it's scalable, and it does the job it needs to do."
"The most valuable features of the solution are the hardware and the resources it quickly provides without much hassle."
"Databricks has helped us have a good presence in data."
"The processing capacity is tremendous in the database."
"Databricks serves as a single platform for conducting the entire end-to-end lifecycle of machine learning models or AI ops."
"The main features of the solution are efficiency."
"The solution is very easy to use."
"IBM Watson Studio consistently automates across channels."
"The most important thing is that it's a multi-faceted solution. It's a kind of specialist, not a generalist. It can produce very specific information for the customer. It's totally different from Google or any search engine that produces generic information. It's specialty is that it's all on video."
"It is a stable, reliable product."
"It has a lot of data connectors, which is extremely helpful."
"For me, the valuable feature of the solution is the one that I used, which was Jupyter notebooks."
"It stands out for its substantial AI capabilities, offering a broad spectrum of features for crafting solutions that meet specific requirements."
"Watson Studio is the most complete tool for AI projects."
 

Cons

"The API deployment and model deployment are not easy on the Databricks side."
"Databricks has added some alerts and query functionality into their SQL persona, but the whole SQL persona, which is like a role, needs a lot of development. The alerts are not very flexible, and the query interface itself is not as polished as the notebook interface that is used through the data science and machine learning persona. It is clunky at present."
"Databricks could improve in some of its functionality."
"There is room for improvement in the documentation of processes and how it works."
"It would be nice to have more guidance on integrations with ETLs and other data quality tools."
"Some of the error messages that we receive are too vague, saying things like "unknown exception", and these should be improved to make it easier for developers to debug problems."
"The integration and query capabilities can be improved."
"The product could be improved regarding the delay when switching to higher-performing virtual machines compared to other platforms."
"One area that could be improved is the backup and restoration of the database and the overall database configuration."
"The main challenge lies in visibility and ease of use."
"The decision making in their decision making feature is less good than other options."
"One area that could be improved is the backup and restoration of the database and the overall database configuration."
"We would like to see it more web-based with more functionality."
"Initially, it was quite complex. For us, it was not only a matter of getting it installed, that was just a start. It was also trying to come up with a standard way of implementing it across the entire organization, which had been a challenge."
"I want IBM's technical support team to provide more specific answers to queries."
"So a better user interface could be very helpful"
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Whenever we want to find the actual costing, we have to send an email to Databricks, so having the information available on the internet would be helpful."
"The billing of Databricks can be difficult and should improve."
"Databricks are not costly when compared with other solutions' prices."
"Databricks uses a price-per-use model, where you can use as much compute as you need."
"I am based in South Africa, where it is expensive adapting to the cloud, and then there is the price for the tool itself."
"The solution is affordable."
"Databricks is a very expensive solution. Pricing is an area that could definitely be improved. They could provide a lower end compute and probably reduce the price."
"The basic version of this solution is now open-source, so there are no license costs involved. However, there is a charge for any advanced functionality and this can be quite expensive."
"IBM Watson Studio is an expensive solution."
"Watson Studio's pricing is reasonable for what you get."
"The pricing is generally reasonable and straightforward but can vary significantly depending on the specific workloads in use."
"IBM Watson Studio is a reasonably priced product"
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
University
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Which do you prefer - Databricks or Azure Machine Learning Studio?
Databricks gives you the option of working with several different languages, such as SQL, R, Scala, Apache Spark, or Python. It offers many different cluster choices and excellent integration with ...
How would you compare Databricks vs Amazon SageMaker?
We researched AWS SageMaker, but in the end, we chose Databricks. Databricks is a Unified Analytics Platform designed to accelerate innovation projects. It is based on Spark so it is very fast. It...
Which would you choose - Databricks or Azure Stream Analytics?
Databricks is an easy-to-set-up and versatile tool for data management, analysis, and business analytics. For analytics teams that have to interpret data to further the business goals of their orga...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Watson Studio?
The pricing of Watson Studio is justified by the benefits and power it offers.
What needs improvement with IBM Watson Studio?
One area that could be improved is the backup and restoration of the database and the overall database configuration. There were also challenges with programming the network extension in the last p...
 

Also Known As

Databricks Unified Analytics, Databricks Unified Analytics Platform, Redash
Watson Studio, IBM Data Science Experience, Data Science Experience, DSx
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Elsevier, MyFitnessPal, Sharethrough, Automatic Labs, Celtra, Radius Intelligence, Yesware
GroupM, Accenture, Fifth Third Bank
Find out what your peers are saying about Databricks vs. IBM Watson Studio and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
845,040 professionals have used our research since 2012.