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Databases · head to head

Amazon Redshift vs Wasabi

Amazon Redshift logo

Amazon Redshift

Databases

Fast, scalable cloud data warehouse from AWS

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Wasabi logo

Wasabi

Cloud

Hot cloud storage without egress fees

From
$7.99/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; Wasabi 90-day minimum storage duration with no option to delete before full period without penalty
  • They diverge on capability: Amazon Redshift covers Columnar Storage, Wasabi covers Hot Cloud Storage.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Amazon Redshift and Wasabi differ
AttributeAmazon RedshiftWasabi
Starting priceFree$7.99/month
Pricing modelusage-basedUnknown
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebWeb, API
CategoryDatabasesCloud
Founded20122015

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 Redshift

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

Only in Wasabi

  • Hot Cloud Storage
  • S3 Compatible API
  • Object Lock
  • Versioning
  • Multi-region
  • Data Migration Tools
  • Immutability
  • Ransomware Protection

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Amazon Redshift

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

Wasabi

  • Backup and recoverynot Amazon Redshift
  • Media storagenot Amazon Redshift
  • Archive replacementnot Amazon Redshift
  • Ransomware protectionnot 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

Wasabi

  • 90-day minimum storage duration with no option to delete before full period without penalty
  • Significantly smaller global footprint than AWS with only 16 regions, resulting in higher latency for users in underserved regions
  • Performance can degrade with high-volume transactions requiring throughput management strategies
  • Hot storage only, no cold/archival storage tier for long-term data at lower cost
  • Support responsiveness gaps with teams experiencing multi-day waits for critical issue resolution

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

Wasabi

$7.99/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Wasabi 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 Wasabi if

  • You need hot cloud storage.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want s3 compatible api.
Wasabi review

Questions people ask

Is Amazon Redshift or Wasabi better?
Neither clearly leads. Amazon Redshift starts at Free and Wasabi at $7.99/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Amazon Redshift or Wasabi?
Amazon Redshift has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Amazon Redshift and $7.99/month for Wasabi.
Does Amazon Redshift or Wasabi run on more platforms?
Amazon Redshift runs on Web. Wasabi runs on Web, API.
Can I use Amazon Redshift for free?
Yes. Amazon Redshift has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Wasabi starts at $7.99/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 Wasabi is typically brought in for.
What can Amazon Redshift do that Wasabi cannot?
Amazon Redshift covers Columnar Storage, Massively Parallel, Machine Learning, AQUA Acceleration. Wasabi covers Hot Cloud Storage, S3 Compatible API, Object Lock, Versioning. 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
Wasabi: What is Wasabi's pricing structure?

Wasabi offers pay-as-you-go pricing at $7.99 per TB per month as of July 2026, with no egress or API request fees. Reserved capacity plans are available for multi-year terms with volume discounts.

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
Wasabi: Does Wasabi charge for data downloads or API calls?

No. Wasabi includes zero egress fees and zero API request fees, which is a major cost advantage over AWS S3. Customers can plan their budget to the penny without worrying about surprise data transfer charges.

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
Wasabi: Is there a minimum storage duration requirement?

Yes. Wasabi enforces a 90-day minimum storage term. Users who delete data before 90 days are still charged for the full 90-day period.

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
Wasabi: Is Wasabi S3-compatible?

Yes. Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage is fully S3-compatible, meaning organizations can integrate it into existing workflows without rewriting application code used with AWS S3.

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