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Business Intelligence · head to head

Amazon QuickSight vs ClickHouse

Amazon QuickSight logo

Amazon QuickSight

Business Intelligence

Scalable, serverless BI by AWS

From
$3/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
ClickHouse logo

ClickHouse

Databases

Fast open-source column-oriented database for real-time analytics

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only ClickHouse has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Amazon QuickSight reader and Reader Pro roles charged separately at $3 and $20/month; ClickHouse limited multi-row atomic transactions and expensive UPDATE/DELETE operations unsuitable for transactional systems
  • They diverge on capability: Amazon QuickSight covers SPICE In-memory Engine, ClickHouse covers Column-oriented Storage.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Amazon QuickSight and ClickHouse actually diverge.

Attributes where Amazon QuickSight and ClickHouse differ
AttributeAmazon QuickSightClickHouse
Starting price$3/monthFree
Pricing modelper-userUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsAWSLinux, macOS, Windows (via Docker)
CategoryBusiness IntelligenceDatabases
Founded20062021

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Amazon QuickSight

  • SPICE In-memory Engine
  • ML Insights
  • Natural Language Queries
  • Embedded Analytics
  • Pay-per-session
  • Redshift
  • Athena
  • Aurora

Only in ClickHouse

  • Column-oriented Storage
  • Real-time Analytics
  • SQL Support
  • Linear Scalability
  • Data Compression
  • Vectorized Query Execution
  • Approximate Calculations
  • Kafka

Both cover

  • S3
  • Web support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Amazon QuickSight

  • Business intelligence
  • Dashboard creationnot ClickHouse
  • Data visualizationnot ClickHouse

ClickHouse

  • Business intelligence
  • Data warehousingnot Amazon QuickSight
  • Real-time analyticsnot Amazon QuickSight
  • Reportingnot Amazon QuickSight
  • Machine learningnot Amazon QuickSight

Both are used for business intelligence, on those jobs the choice comes down to price and fit rather than capability.

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Amazon QuickSight

  • Reader and Reader Pro roles charged separately at $3 and $20/month
  • Author and Author Pro roles charged at $24 and $40/month
  • $250/month infrastructure fee required if Pro users or Q&A enabled
  • SPICE storage charged at $0.38/GB monthly (10 GB included)
  • Pixel-perfect reports start at $500/month for 500 monthly units
  • Alerts charged at $0.05-$0.50 per 1,000 metrics evaluated

ClickHouse

  • Limited multi-row atomic transactions and expensive UPDATE/DELETE operations unsuitable for transactional systems
  • Requires upfront schema design discipline with MergeTree engine choices and sort/partition keys
  • Experimental vector search support, not production-ready for vector operations
  • Different query syntax from standard SQL requiring migration planning
  • Limited JOIN capabilities compared to traditional relational databases
  • Migration complexity with 2-4 weeks estimated for data type mapping and query translation

Pricing, plan by plan

Amazon QuickSight

$3/month
  • Reader$3/month
    • Dashboard viewing only
  • Reader Pro$20/month
    • Enhanced reader capabilities
  • Author$24/month
    • Dashboard creation and editing
  • Author Pro$40/month
    • Advanced authoring features

ClickHouse

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the ClickHouse review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Amazon QuickSight if

  • You need spice in-memory engine.
  • You work on AWS.
  • You also want ml insights.
Amazon QuickSight review

Choose ClickHouse if

  • You need column-oriented storage.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows (via Docker).
  • You also want real-time analytics.
ClickHouse review

Questions people ask

Is Amazon QuickSight or ClickHouse better?
Neither clearly leads. Amazon QuickSight starts at $3/month and ClickHouse at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Amazon QuickSight or ClickHouse?
ClickHouse has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $3/month for Amazon QuickSight and Free for ClickHouse.
Does Amazon QuickSight or ClickHouse run on more platforms?
Amazon QuickSight runs on AWS. ClickHouse runs on Linux, macOS, Windows (via Docker).
Can I use ClickHouse for free?
Yes. ClickHouse has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Amazon QuickSight starts at $3/month.
What is Amazon QuickSight best used for?
Amazon QuickSight is most often used for business intelligence, dashboard creation, data visualization. Of those, dashboard creation and data visualization are not what ClickHouse is typically brought in for.
What can Amazon QuickSight do that ClickHouse cannot?
Amazon QuickSight covers SPICE In-memory Engine, ML Insights, Natural Language Queries, Embedded Analytics. ClickHouse covers Column-oriented Storage, Real-time Analytics, SQL Support, Linear Scalability. Both handle S3, Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Amazon QuickSight: What does Amazon QuickSight cost per user?

QuickSight pricing varies by user role. Readers start at $3/month, Reader Pro at $20/month, Authors at $24/month, and Author Pro at $40/month. All prices are per user per month.

Source
ClickHouse: What is ClickHouse best used for?

ClickHouse is optimized for analytical workloads on large datasets. It excels at fast aggregations and queries, being 10-100x faster than PostgreSQL on large aggregations.

Source
Amazon QuickSight: Does QuickSight charge an infrastructure fee?

Yes, QuickSight charges an infrastructure fee of $250/month per account if the account has at least one Pro user, has Q&A enabled via topics, or has dashboard Q&A enabled.

Source
ClickHouse: Does ClickHouse support transactions?

ClickHouse has limited transaction support and expensive UPDATE/DELETE operations. It is not suitable for transactional workloads requiring strict ACID guarantees.

Source
Amazon QuickSight: What are QuickSight's session capacity pricing options?

Session capacity pricing starts at $250/month for 500 sessions. Annual plans range from $20,000/year for 50,000 sessions to $258,000/year for 1,600,000 sessions, with volume discounts reducing unit costs from $0.50 to $0.16 per additional session.

Source
ClickHouse: How does ClickHouse compare to PostgreSQL?

ClickHouse is 10-100x faster for analytics but PostgreSQL is better for transactional workloads. Many teams use both: PostgreSQL for writes via MaterializedPostgreSQL replication to ClickHouse for analytics.

Source
Amazon QuickSight: How much does additional SPICE storage cost?

Additional SPICE storage beyond the included 10 GB costs $0.38 per GB per month. Authors receive 10 GB included, but Readers do not.

Source
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