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Databases · head to head

Amazon Redshift vs Dremio

Amazon Redshift logo

Amazon Redshift

Databases

Fast, scalable cloud data warehouse from AWS

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Dremio logo

Dremio

Databases

SQL query engine and lakehouse layer over Iceberg tables in object storage

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; Dremio reflections consume compute and storage to build and refresh continuously, so a team that enables them widely discovers that background maintenance rather than user queries drives the DCU bill.
  • They diverge on capability: Amazon Redshift covers Columnar Storage, Dremio covers Arrow-based execution.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Amazon Redshift and Dremio actually diverge.

Attributes where Amazon Redshift and Dremio differ
AttributeAmazon RedshiftDremio
Pricing modelusage-basedPer Dremio Compute Unit consumed
PlatformsWebLinux, Kubernetes, Cloud, Docker
Founded2012Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Databases).

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 Dremio

  • Arrow-based execution
  • Reflections
  • Semantic layer
  • Iceberg catalogue
  • Federated queries
  • Autonomous management
  • Fine-grained access control
  • BI connectors

What people use each for

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

Amazon Redshift

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

Dremio

  • A company with petabytes of Parquet in S3 that wants BI dashboards without duplicating it into a warehousenot Amazon Redshift
  • A data platform team standardising on Apache Iceberg and needing a SQL engine plus catalogue that does not lock the tables innot Amazon Redshift
  • An analytics group accelerating slow lake queries with Reflections instead of hand-built aggregate tablesnot Amazon Redshift
  • A regulated enterprise that must keep data on premises but wants a modern lakehouse SQL layernot 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

Dremio

  • Reflections consume compute and storage to build and refresh continuously, so a team that enables them widely discovers that background maintenance rather than user queries drives the DCU bill.
  • Self-managing Dremio on Kubernetes requires real platform engineering capacity for tuning executors, memory and coordinator sizing, and it is not comparable in effort to running a managed warehouse.
  • The Community Edition lacks the security and governance features most enterprises require, so the free tier is a trial path rather than a viable production option for regulated buyers.
  • Dremio Cloud is AWS-first, which leaves Azure and Google Cloud customers on the self-managed path with the operational burden that entails.
  • Query performance without Reflections on raw, poorly laid out files is often unremarkable, so the promise of querying the lake as is depends on file layout work you still have to do.

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

Dremio

Free
  • Community EditionFree
    • Self-managed on your own hardware
    • SQL engine and semantic layer
    • No vendor support
  • Dremio Cloud$0.2/hour
    • Billed at $0.20 per Dremio Compute Unit
    • Includes query execution, Reflections and background processing
    • 400 dollar trial credit for 30 days
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Self-managed on Kubernetes, on premises or any cloud
    • Enterprise security, SSO and governance
    • Vendor support with SLA

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 Dremio if

  • You need arrow-based execution.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Kubernetes, Cloud, Docker.
  • You also want reflections.
Dremio review

Questions people ask

Is Amazon Redshift or Dremio better?
Neither clearly leads. Amazon Redshift starts at Free and Dremio at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Amazon Redshift or Dremio?
Amazon Redshift starts at Free and Dremio at Free.
Does Amazon Redshift or Dremio run on more platforms?
Amazon Redshift runs on Web. Dremio runs on Linux, Kubernetes, Cloud, Docker.
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 Dremio is typically brought in for.
What can Amazon Redshift do that Dremio cannot?
Amazon Redshift covers Columnar Storage, Massively Parallel, Machine Learning, AQUA Acceleration. Dremio covers Arrow-based execution, Reflections, Semantic layer, Iceberg catalogue.

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
Dremio: How is Dremio Cloud billed?

At 0.20 US dollars per Dremio Compute Unit, which counts query execution, Reflection building and platform overhead, not just user queries.

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
Dremio: Is there a free version?

Yes, a Community Edition you self-manage, but it omits the enterprise security and governance features and comes with no support.

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
Dremio: Does it lock in my data?

No, tables stay in Apache Iceberg or Parquet in your own object storage and can be read by Spark, Trino or other engines.

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
Dremio: Do I still need a warehouse?

Often not for analytics, but Dremio is not a transactional store and high-concurrency operational serving is not its strength.

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