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Database & Data Management · head to head

Amazon Redshift vs Datadog Logs

Amazon Redshift logo

Amazon Redshift

Database & Data Management

Fast, scalable cloud data warehouse from AWS

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Datadog Logs logo

Datadog Logs

Log Management

Log Management and Analytics

From
$0.1/per GB ingested per month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Amazon Redshift has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Amazon Redshift on-demand pricing runs up to 75% higher than competitors like Snowflake and BigQuery; Datadog Logs complex, multi-tiered pricing model based on ingestion, indexing, and storage; can become expensive at scale
  • They diverge on capability: Amazon Redshift covers Columnar Storage, Datadog Logs covers Log ingestion.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Amazon Redshift and Datadog Logs actually diverge.

Attributes where Amazon Redshift and Datadog Logs differ
AttributeAmazon RedshiftDatadog Logs
Starting priceFree$0.1/per GB ingested per month
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebCloud (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud)
CategoryDatabase & Data ManagementLog Management
Founded20122010

Identical on both: pricing model (usage-based), 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 Datadog Logs

  • Log ingestion
  • Full-text search
  • Custom dashboards
  • Log-based metrics
  • API
  • Webhooks
  • REST
  • Api support

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Amazon Redshift

  • Business intelligencenot Datadog Logs
  • Data warehousingnot Datadog Logs
  • Real-time analyticsnot Datadog Logs
  • Reportingnot Datadog Logs
  • Machine learningnot Datadog Logs

Datadog Logs

  • Centralised log aggregation and analysisnot Amazon Redshift
  • Multi-source log correlation with metrics and tracesnot Amazon Redshift
  • Root cause analysis and troubleshootingnot Amazon Redshift
  • Security monitoring and threat detectionnot 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

Datadog Logs

  • Complex, multi-tiered pricing model based on ingestion, indexing, and storage; can become expensive at scale
  • Ingestion pricing of $0.10/GB can accumulate rapidly for high-volume logging environments

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

Datadog Logs

$0.1/per GB ingested per month

No published plan breakdown. See the Datadog Logs review.

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 Datadog Logs if

  • You need log ingestion.
  • You work on Cloud (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud).
  • You also want full-text search.
Datadog Logs review

Questions people ask

Is Amazon Redshift or Datadog Logs better?
Neither clearly leads. Amazon Redshift starts at Free and Datadog Logs at $0.1/per GB ingested per month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Amazon Redshift or Datadog Logs?
Amazon Redshift has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Amazon Redshift and $0.1/per GB ingested per month for Datadog Logs.
Does Amazon Redshift or Datadog Logs run on more platforms?
Amazon Redshift runs on Web. Datadog Logs runs on Cloud (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud).
Can I use Amazon Redshift for free?
Yes. Amazon Redshift has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Datadog Logs starts at $0.1/per GB ingested per month.
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 Datadog Logs is typically brought in for.
What can Amazon Redshift do that Datadog Logs cannot?
Amazon Redshift covers Columnar Storage, Massively Parallel, Machine Learning, AQUA Acceleration. Datadog Logs covers Log ingestion, Full-text search, Custom dashboards, Log-based metrics. 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
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
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
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