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KNIME vs Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics 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

KNIME
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
59
Ranking in other categories
Data Mining (1st), Data Science Platforms (2nd)
Microsoft Azure Synapse Ana...
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
91
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Data Warehouse (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

KNIME and Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. KNIME is designed for Data Mining and holds a mindshare of 24.9%, down 27.1% compared to last year.
Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics, on the other hand, focuses on Cloud Data Warehouse, holds 6.9% mindshare, down 11.0% since last year.
Data Mining
Cloud Data Warehouse
 

Q&A Highlights

PS
Aug 03, 2023
 

Featured Reviews

Shyam_Sridhar - PeerSpot reviewer
Good for data analysis to model prediction and application but data load limitations
KNIME is very easy to handle and use. Anyone can use it, and it's easy to learn. You don't need a specific class. They're very good at model prediction. It has got everything. From data analysis to model prediction and application, it's very good. I only use the free community edition, not the enterprise one. I feel KNIME is really good. I haven't tried any other tool or platform yet, but KNIME is pretty good. The workflow is great. You drag and drop, and then you have the data explorer and charts that give results. The execution is also good – it's easy to identify where your model has gone wrong. It shows you the exact point of error within the workflow, so you don't have to execute the entire workflow to find it. For example, if your workflow has ten steps and the error is in the sixth step, it will show you the error at that step. You don't have to worry about the first five steps. The Data Explorer is very good, and the charts are great too. The accuracy charts for different models, like decision tree, K3, Naive Bayes, are all very good. KNIME is great at reporting, whether it's structured or unstructured data. These are all very good features.
Matthew Spieth - PeerSpot reviewer
Beneficial real-time analytics, simple setup, and useful tutorials
Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics could improve its compatibility with Visual Studio. One of the challenges for people moving from an on-premise to a cloud solution, such as Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics, is that you're constantly working in a browser. There are people that have been working for decades on desktop applications. For them to start working in a browser, it's quite a change. Allowing people to work and do their work inside Visual Studio than in the browser, would be a large advantage.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Since KNIME is a no-code platform, it is easy to work with."
"The most valuable feature is the data wrangling, which is what I mainly use it for."
"We are able to automate several functions which were done manually. I can integrate several data sets quickly and easily, to support analytics."
"Usability, and organising workflows in very neat manner. Controlling workflow through variables is something amazing."
"The ETL which helps me to collect, reformat, and load the data from multiple sources into one destination, a storage database."
"Easy to connect with every database: We use queries from SQL, Redshift, Oracle."
"It's a coding-less opportunity to use AI. This is the major value for me."
"KNIME is very easy to handle and use. Anyone can use it, and it's easy to learn."
"The biggest benefits are scalability and ease of use when looking at performance tuning and optimization."
"Data can be stored any way you want in the data warehouse."
"It is a highly stable solution and it's easy to use."
"The ability to scale out services on-demand and scale them down when they are not required is most valuable. You are in control of your expenditures, and you are also in control of the horsepower that you need. That's a major advantage."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics is its integration with the new legacy systems. Whatever application we want to integrate, we receive the reports based on the objects. The solution is easy to purchase from the cloud."
"I like how Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics integrates with other Microsoft solutions."
"I like SQL post, which is for storage and distributed computing. Another good feature is the copy activity."
"Overall deployment and integration is pretty fast."
 

Cons

"The ability to handle large amounts of data and performance in processing need to be improved."
"It needs more examples, use cases, and MOOC to learn, especially with respect to the algorithms and how to practically create a flow from end-to-end."
"One thing to consider is that the prebuilt nodes may not always be a perfect fit for your specific needs, although most of the time, they work quite well."
"It could input more data acquisitions from other sources and it is difficult to combine with Python."
"KNIME could improve when it comes to large data markets."
"In my environment, I need to access a lot of servers with different characteristics and access methods. Some of my servers have to be accessed using proxy which is not supported by KNIME, so I still need to create the middleware to supply the source of my KNIME configurations."
"The dynamic column name feature could be improved. When attempting to automate processes involving columns, such as with companies, it becomes difficult to achieve the same result when we make changes."
"The predefined workflows could use a bit of improvement."
"The product needs a tool that allows for work from a laptop instead of a browser."
"It would be of interest to improve things like the web service integration and availability in terms of being easy to create internal web services in the database."
"If Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics could run on a laptop as a Docker image, it would allow for work without needing an online connection."
"The platform is not flexible, and the graphical user interface needs to be improved because the interface makes it hard for the end user to use it."
"The major challenge that we're seeing with Azure Synapse is around security concerns. The way it is working right now, it has Managed VNet by Microsoft option, similar to the implementation of Azure Databricks, which may pose a concern for financial institutions. For managed environments, the banks have very strict policies around data being onboarded to those environments. For some confidential applications, the banks have the policy to encrypt it with their own key, so it is sort of like Bring Your Own Key, but it is not possible to manage the resources with Microsoft or Databricks, which is probably the major challenge with Azure Synapse. There should be more compatibility with SQL Server. It should be easier to migrate solutions between different environments because right now, it is not really competitive. It is not like you can go and install SQL Database in some other environment. You will have to go through some migration projects, which probably is one of the major showstoppers for any bank. When they consider Synapse, they not only consider the investment in the actual service; they also consider the cost of the migration process. When you scale out or scale down your system, it becomes unavailable for a few minutes. Because it is a data warehouse environment, it is not such a huge deal, but it would be great if they can improve it so that the platform is available during the change of configuration."
"They should automate some of the features. There are some things, such as the creation of external tables, that you have to do manually. They should be automated."
"It's stable, but its stability could be better. However, we understand that it's in production, and new features are getting added and upgraded, so you do get hiccups sometimes."
"There may be some challenges in terms of connecting with Virtual Networks (VNETs) to Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"KNIME is an open-source tool, so it's free to use."
"While there are certain limitations in functionality, you can still utilize it efficiently free of charge."
"There is a Community Edition and paid versions available."
"KNIME Business Hub is expensive for small companies."
"They have different versions, but I am using the open-source one."
"KNIME is a cheap product. I currently use KNIME's open-source version."
"The price for Knime is okay."
"I use the open-source version."
"We normally pay between $300 and $500 per month, which is quite expensive for how much we actually use it, performance- and usage-wise. They have a cheap version and an expensive version, and our usage usually falls in the middle ground, which makes it not as cost-effective as it could be."
"Microsoft's pricing is relatively high, and it varies according to the extent of our usage. The pricing is directly tied to our consumption. This decision is ultimately a business choice."
"Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics is a moderately priced solution."
"I understand that Synapse Analytics' pricing is lower than Informatica's."
"Very costly solution and other products are available for less."
"Our license is very expensive"
"The price of the package not expensive and depends on how much it is used."
"It's very difficult to price unless you know exactly how the customer is using it."
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Answers from the Community

PS
Aug 3, 2023
Aug 3, 2023
I know you're looking for someone who's done research for you but realize that's actually something people get paid to do. That said, what you're asking about is a mix of quite different tools when you throw KNIME in the mix. I don't know that tool but sounds like its for specific purpose and it's not an Azure tool. Realize there's endless ETL tools out there. I've used about 1/2 dozen in ...
2 out of 4 answers
reviewer2009835 - PeerSpot reviewer
Apr 27, 2023
A couple of questions before starting the feature comparison:  i. Are you fine with an open-source solution? ii. Any specific reason you have listed ADF? iii. Who will be using these tools and how much learning curve is involved within the team? iv. What kind of data you are dealing with? v. Is data privacy an important factor? vi. Are you looking for only a cloud-based solution or open to a hybrid solution also? vii. What is the maturity level of the team when it comes to working on the cloud ........ These are just a few of the many questions basis which we do self-assessment or measure our preparedness. Let me know if you need more insights. Happy to help!!
BA
Apr 27, 2023
I believe Synapse is not an ETL tool.  ADF is one optional ETL tool for a Synapse Data warehouse.. What Are the Top ETL Tools for Azure Data Warehouse? | Integrate.ioI'd like to step back and pose a bigger option. You see, ETL means making a copy of data you have already. Have you considered a data fabric or mesh, where the data is used where it lies now?  Consider this if your data is already used by some systems, but you need to do a more comprehensive analysis of it.I always want to reduce the replication of databases. The concept of build yet another database to "replace" all the others rarely works out that way.  I'd rather beef up the origination system, or use a replica than build a huge portfolio of ETL programs and an army of ops, data governance, and system support to keep them in sync. Finally, if you really need an ETL tool, i.e. copies of all that data... look for existing talent in your staff. Otherwise, expect to hire some people experienced with the new tool that can advise on design and development and mentor existing staff.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Computer Software Company
9%
Educational Organization
8%
Educational Organization
50%
Computer Software Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Manufacturing Company
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about KNIME?
Since KNIME is a no-code platform, it is easy to work with.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for KNIME?
I rate the product’s pricing a seven out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive.
What needs improvement with KNIME?
For graphics, the interface is a little confusing. So, this is a point that could be improved.
How does Amazon Redshift compare with Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics?
Amazon Redshift is very fast, has a very good response time, and is very user-friendly. The initial setup is very straightforward. This solution can merge and integrate well with many different dat...
What do you like most about Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics?
The product is easy to use, and anybody can easily migrate to advanced DB.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics?
The financial aspect, including pricing and cost reduction, is not something I focus on.
 

Also Known As

KNIME Analytics Platform
Azure Synapse Analytics, Microsoft Azure SQL Data Warehouse, Microsoft Azure SQL DW, Azure SQL Data Warehouse, MS Azure Synapse Analytics
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Infocom Corporation, Dymatrix Consulting Group, Soluzione Informatiche, MMI Agency, Estanislao Training and Solutions, Vialis AG
Toshiba, Carnival, LG Electronics, Jet.com, Adobe, 
Find out what your peers are saying about Knime, Weka, IBM and others in Data Mining. Updated: February 2025.
832,138 professionals have used our research since 2012.