Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

SQL Server vs Vertica 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

SQL Server
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
268
Ranking in other categories
Relational Databases Tools (1st)
Vertica
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
86
Ranking in other categories
Data Warehouse (5th), Cloud Data Warehouse (11th)
 

Mindshare comparison

SQL Server and Vertica aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. SQL Server is designed for Relational Databases Tools and holds a mindshare of 18.6%, down 23.1% compared to last year.
Vertica, on the other hand, focuses on Data Warehouse, holds 8.6% mindshare, down 8.7% since last year.
Relational Databases Tools
Data Warehouse
 

Featured Reviews

Azizul Haque - PeerSpot reviewer
It has eliminated all kinds of inconsistencies, and it is reliable, secure, and fast
I don't know whether SQL Server can support large organizations where the database size is more than 100 GB. It might be because of SQL Server, or it might be because of the programming of the software vendor, but a lot of people think that it is a problem with SQL Server. It can't handle a large amount of data or large data size. In terms of its usage, about 90% of our applications are running on the SQL Server database. We have around 1,600 users for our software, and all the applications are connected to the SQL Server database.
T Venkatesh - PeerSpot reviewer
Processes query faster through multiple systems simultaneously, but it could support different data types
We use the solution for various tasks, including preparing data marts and generating offers. It helps extract data based on rules from the policy team and provides insights to enhance business operations. We also analyze transactions to target customers and improve business performance The…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Enables us to convert to bigger DBs and more easily move or upgrade between branches."
"It will do clustering, so you can have two database servers looking at the same data simultaneously."
"It helps with moving the design of the database into reality."
"The most valuable feature would most likely be querying. We query a lot, we use a lot of stored procedures. As for other features, such as replication and all other more fancy features we don't use them the most. I do not know, but perhaps the DBAs would be the best people who know of the features that they use, but as far as how I use it, it's just for querying and running stored procedures. We use the bare minimum features."
"SQL Server is quite user-friendly. I have experience with Oracle and PostgreSQL, so out of three, I like SQL Server a lot."
"There is no lack of features."
"I have experience with this product for many years. I never have problems with it. It can handle a PC, and it can also handle huge data. It is fast and efficient."
"It works fine in terms of performance and stability."
"Its projections and encoding are excellent tools for tuning large volumes."
"We are able to integrate our Vertica data warehouse with Tableau to create numerous reports quickly and efficiently."
"I don't need any special hardware. I can use commodity hardware, which is nice to have in a commercial solution."
"The feature I like best is performance. We use Red Tool and Red Job for the data warehouse and reporting. It's perfect. Performance is good, and it can return ad hoc queries very quickly. Of course, it's a cluster, so it's easy to scale."
"The product's initial setup phase is extremely simple."
"It's the fastest database I have ever tested. That's the most important feature of Vertica."
"Allows us to take volumes and process them at a very high speed."
"Vertica uses advanced Azure technologies to compress raw data using indexing, allowing a large amount of data to be stored with minimal physical space. Advanced algorithms are employed in data compression."
 

Cons

"The tool's support needs to be improved."
"I would like to have the option to use fewer processors for certain tasks, thus reducing the licensing fee."
"CAL licenses should cost less. Microsoft usually prices high for client access licenses. Server plus user client access license (CAL) licensing requires a separate Server license for each server on which the software is installed, plus a user CAL for each user accessing the server."
"Its support for JSON should be improved. It does support JSON, but the support is not good enough currently. They should also improve the way indexes work. Its performance can also be improved because sometimes it becomes very slow for certain table designs. It cannot have more than a certain amount of data. As compared to other databases, its capability to handle large volumes of data is not very good."
"The web interface and the command line interface could be better so we could manage and build some things around an API. If we could build our own solution, our own interface, and then manage the solution through that open API, that would be better."
"The treatment of database storage could be improved."
"If SQL Server could perhaps run on Linux, that would be good. Most of us prefer Linux and I've used a lot of Linux. I understand that SQL Server is quite powerful, but I'm not sure if the functionality is there, but if it could be used in an open-source type of environment, it would be very good."
"It's difficult to make changes. It's a very complicated product in general — that's the issue."
"When it is about to reach the maximum storage capacity, it becomes slow."
"It should provide a GUI interface for data management and tuning."
"Very bad support, I would rate it two out of 10."
"I think they need an easy client so that you can write queries easily, but it's not necessarily a weak point. I think some users would need them."
"It's hard to make it slow for a small data volume. For large volumes, it's hard to make it work. It's also hard to make it faster, and to make it scale."
"Whatever's out, the core is not always as great as the engine, especially their first version."
"The integration of this solution with ODI could be improved."
"One feature, which has really benefited us, is the scalability offered by Vertica as it has enabled Pythian's clients to manage data with agility."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"​It has the easiest licensing."
"The areas that need improvement are with regards to the commercial aspect of the solution, the licensing cost could be reduced in order to help customers to adopt it."
"The product’s price depends on the specific server requirements."
"We're looking at alternative solutions because we think Microsoft's licensing costs have been expensive."
"There is no licensing cost for SQL Server."
"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."
"Its price is fine. You have to buy the license and support."
"I don't know the exact prices because my focus is essentially technical and not on the bills. A few years ago, they changed the billing policy for the Enterprise Edition, and it became less attractive. But I believe they are still cheaper than Oracle. SQL Server isn't cheap, but it's not expensive either."
"I am aware that we have licensed it, but I have no knowledge of its cost."
"The price of Vertica is less expensive than some competitors, such as Teradata."
"It's difficult today to compete with open-source solutions. In these areas, there is a lot of competition and the price of this solution is a bit pricy."
"Vertica has a perpetual license, but they are currently trying to convert all those licenses to subscription-based licenses on a yearly basis."
"Work with a vendor, if possible, and take advantage of more aggressive discounts at mid-fiscal year (April) and fiscal year-end (October).​"
"The solution is free and we pay for the storage."
"It's an expensive product"
"The solution is relatively cost-effective."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Relational Databases Tools solutions are best for your needs.
845,040 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
53%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
5%
Financial Services Firm
20%
Computer Software Company
18%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Real Estate/Law Firm
4%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Would you say the price of SQL Server is high compared to that of similar products?
SQL Server is fairly priced because it has various editions, depending on the number of users, servers, or core packs you are using. If you compare the product to others in this category, the price...
Has using SQL Server helped your organization in any way?
SQL Server has helped my organization through partitioning to distribute the workload, as it splits them up into smaller pieces so the machines can easily deal with it. However, this comes with a h...
Which authentication mode is best for SQL Server?
My company connects through SQL Server authentication. We have company Windows accounts, but we do not want to connect the two, out of security concerns and to keep things separated for our own pur...
What do you like most about Vertica?
Vertica is easy to use and provides really high performance, stability, and scalability.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Vertica?
The solution is relatively cost-effective. Pricing and licensing are reasonable compared to other solutions.
What needs improvement with Vertica?
The product could improve by adding support for a wider variety of data types and enhancing features to better compete with other databases.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Microsoft SQL Server, MSSQL, MS SQL
Micro Focus Vertica, HPE Vertica, HPE Vertica on Demand
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Microsoft SQL Server is used by businesses in every industry, including Great Western Bank, Aviva, the Volvo Car Corporation, BMW, Samsung, Principality Building Society, Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario.
Cerner, Game Show Network Game, Guess by Marciano, Supercell, Etsy, Nascar, Empirix, adMarketplace, and Cardlytics.
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Oracle, SAP and others in Relational Databases Tools. Updated: March 2025.
845,040 professionals have used our research since 2012.