Softwr

Databases · head to head

Amazon Redshift vs BigQuery ML

Amazon Redshift logo

Amazon Redshift

Databases

Fast, scalable cloud data warehouse from AWS

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
BigQuery ML logo

BigQuery ML

Machine Learning

Machine learning in BigQuery using SQL

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Amazon Redshift on-demand pricing runs up to 75% higher than competitors like Snowflake and BigQuery; BigQuery ML not available in BigQuery's Standard edition, so the cheapest tier cannot use it
  • They diverge on capability: Amazon Redshift covers Columnar Storage, BigQuery ML covers SQL-based ML.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Amazon Redshift and BigQuery ML actually diverge.

Attributes where Amazon Redshift and BigQuery ML differ
AttributeAmazon RedshiftBigQuery ML
CategoryDatabasesMachine Learning
Founded20122008

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (usage-based), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web), 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 Redshift

  • Columnar Storage
  • Massively Parallel
  • Machine Learning
  • AQUA Acceleration
  • Data Sharing
  • Federated Query
  • Concurrency Scaling
  • S3

Only in BigQuery ML

  • SQL-based ML
  • AutoML Tables
  • Model export
  • Prediction functions
  • Feature preprocessing
  • BigQuery
  • Vertex AI
  • TensorFlow

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Amazon Redshift

  • Business intelligencenot BigQuery ML
  • Data warehousingnot BigQuery ML
  • Real-time analyticsnot BigQuery ML
  • Reportingnot BigQuery ML
  • Machine learningnot BigQuery ML

BigQuery ML

  • Training models in SQL without exporting datanot Amazon Redshift
  • Linear and logistic regression on warehouse datanot Amazon Redshift
  • K-means clustering and matrix factorisation for recommendationsnot Amazon Redshift
  • Time series forecasting with ARIMA_PLUSnot Amazon Redshift
  • Running imported ONNX, TensorFlow or XGBoost models against BigQuery datanot Amazon Redshift

Where each one falls short

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

Amazon Redshift

  • On-demand pricing runs up to 75% higher than competitors like Snowflake and BigQuery
  • Requires significant manual tuning including managing concurrency scaling costs and configuring Workload Management queues
  • Performance degrades without proper design of distribution keys and sort keys
  • Limited elastic resize options - can only halve or double current cluster size
  • AWS lock-in makes it unsuitable for multi-cloud architectures

BigQuery ML

  • Not available in BigQuery's Standard edition, so the cheapest tier cannot use it
  • Billed through BigQuery compute and storage rather than as its own product, so training cost tracks data scanned
  • Remote models incur extra Agent Platform charges on top
  • Externally trained model types such as boosted trees and AutoML run through Agent Platform rather than inside BigQuery

Pricing, plan by plan

Amazon Redshift

Free
  • Free TrialFree
    • 750 DC2.Large hours
    • 2 months free
    • Full features
  • On-Demand$0.25/hour
    • Pay per node hour
    • All features
    • Standard support

BigQuery ML

Free
  • Free TierFree
    • 10GB storage
    • 1TB queries
  • On-Demand$5/TB
    • Pay per TB scanned
    • ML training costs

Which should you pick?

Choose Amazon Redshift if

  • You need columnar storage.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want massively parallel.
Amazon Redshift review

Choose BigQuery ML if

  • You need sql-based ml.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want automl tables.
BigQuery ML review

Questions people ask

Is Amazon Redshift or BigQuery ML better?
Neither clearly leads. Amazon Redshift starts at Free and BigQuery ML at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Amazon Redshift or BigQuery ML?
Amazon Redshift starts at Free and BigQuery ML at Free.
Does Amazon Redshift or BigQuery ML run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Amazon Redshift for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Amazon Redshift best used for?
Amazon Redshift is most often used for business intelligence, data warehousing, real-time analytics, reporting. Of those, business intelligence and data warehousing are not what BigQuery ML is typically brought in for.
What can Amazon Redshift do that BigQuery ML cannot?
Amazon Redshift covers Columnar Storage, Massively Parallel, Machine Learning, AQUA Acceleration. BigQuery ML covers SQL-based ML, AutoML Tables, Model export, Prediction functions. Both handle Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Amazon Redshift: What deployment options does Amazon Redshift offer?

Redshift offers Provisioned Cluster (with RA3 or DC2 nodes) and Serverless options to match varying workloads. The new Redshift RG instance family, powered by Graviton, delivers 2.4x faster performance than RA3 at 30% lower cost per vCPU.

Source
BigQuery ML: How much does Google Cloud BigQuery ML cost?

BigQuery ML pricing is not specified separately on Google Cloud's pricing page. It follows the same pay-as-you-go model as BigQuery, charging per terabyte of data scanned during analysis. Customers receive $300 in free credits and can use 20+ products free up to monthly limits.

Source
Amazon Redshift: What does Amazon Redshift cost?

Provisioned cluster pricing: RA3 on-demand starts at $1.086/hour for ra3.xlplus. Serverless costs approximately $0.375 per RPU-hour with 4-RPU minimum (roughly $1.50/hour active workload). Managed storage costs $0.024/GB-month.

Source
BigQuery ML: Does Google Cloud offer a free trial?

Yes, new customers get $300 in free credits and all customers can use 20+ Google Cloud products free up to their monthly usage limits.

Source
Amazon Redshift: Does Redshift work with data lakes?

Yes, Redshift's integrated data lake query engine processes workloads on Apache Iceberg tables and other supported formats in Amazon S3, allowing you to run SQL analytics across your data warehouse and data lake from the same engine.

Source
Amazon Redshift: Is there a free tier for Amazon Redshift?

AWS offers a free trial with $300 USD in Serverless credits valid for 90 days, but Redshift is not part of the permanent AWS Free Tier.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on Amazon Redshift

More on BigQuery ML

Keep looking

Other head to heads