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Energy · head to head

Cognite Data Fusion vs Databricks

Cognite Data Fusion logo

Cognite Data Fusion

Energy

Industrial data platform that contextualises OT, IT and engineering data into an asset-centric knowledge graph

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Databricks logo

Databricks

Machine Learning

Unified analytics platform for data engineering and data science

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Databricks has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Cognite Data Fusion the platform is only as good as the contextualisation work, and that mapping effort is a consulting project that regularly costs more than the first-year subscription.; Databricks cloud compute is billed separately by the cloud provider on top of Databricks DBU charges
  • They diverge on capability: Cognite Data Fusion covers Asset-centric data model, Databricks covers Delta Lake.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cognite Data Fusion and Databricks actually diverge.

Attributes where Cognite Data Fusion and Databricks differ
AttributeCognite Data FusionDatabricks
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteusage-based
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, CloudWeb, Aws, Azure, Gcp
CategoryEnergyMachine Learning
FoundedUnknown2013

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 Cognite Data Fusion

  • Asset-centric data model
  • Entity matching
  • P&ID parsing
  • 3D contextualisation
  • Cognite Atlas AI
  • Data workflows
  • Open SDKs
  • Extractors

Only in Databricks

  • Delta Lake
  • Apache Spark
  • MLflow
  • Unity Catalog
  • Photon Engine
  • Collaborative Notebooks
  • Auto-scaling
  • AWS

What people use each for

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

Cognite Data Fusion

  • An operator that wants engineers to find the drawing, the sensor trend and the last work order for a valve from one searchnot Databricks
  • A company standardising asset data across sites so an analytics team can build once and deploy to many plantsnot Databricks
  • An upstream operator building a production-optimisation model that needs sensor data joined to equipment metadatanot Databricks
  • A team replacing a stalled internal data-lake project where nobody could reconstruct what the tag names meantnot Databricks

Databricks

  • Running Spark data engineering pipelines on managed clustersnot Cognite Data Fusion
  • Building a lakehouse over data in cloud object storagenot Cognite Data Fusion
  • Training and serving machine learning models alongside the datanot Cognite Data Fusion

Where each one falls short

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

Cognite Data Fusion

  • The platform is only as good as the contextualisation work, and that mapping effort is a consulting project that regularly costs more than the first-year subscription.
  • Pricing is consumption-based and unpublished, so costs move with data volume and usage patterns you cannot forecast well until a year in.
  • It does not replace your historian, your ERP or your maintenance system, so Cognite is an additional recurring cost layered on systems you still pay for.
  • The reference base and data model lean heavily towards Norwegian and wider oil, gas and process industries; discrete manufacturing fit is weaker and the local partner network thinner outside energy.
  • Getting value out requires in-house Python and data engineering skill; organisations without a data team end up dependent on Cognite professional services for every new use case.

Databricks

  • Cloud compute is billed separately by the cloud provider on top of Databricks DBU charges
  • The free trial lasts 14 days
  • Discounts require a Committed Use Contract, with larger commitments needed for larger discounts
  • Azure Databricks pricing is set by Microsoft rather than by Databricks
  • Security and compliance capabilities are sold as separate platform add ons rather than included in the base rate

Pricing, plan by plan

Cognite Data Fusion

On request
  • Cognite Data Fusion$undefined/year
    • Consumption-based pricing on data volume, compute and users
    • Available through cloud marketplaces with private offers
    • Contextualisation and onboarding quoted as a separate engagement

Databricks

Free
  • Community EditionFree
    • Limited cluster
    • Notebook environment
    • Community support
  • Standard$0.07/DBU
    • Jobs compute
    • SQL compute
    • Standard support

Which should you pick?

Choose Cognite Data Fusion if

  • You need asset-centric data model.
  • You work on Web, Cloud.
  • You also want entity matching.
Cognite Data Fusion review

Choose Databricks if

  • You need delta lake.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Aws, Azure, Gcp.
  • You also want apache spark.
Databricks review

Questions people ask

Is Cognite Data Fusion or Databricks better?
Neither clearly leads. Cognite Data Fusion starts at On request and Databricks at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cognite Data Fusion or Databricks?
Databricks has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Cognite Data Fusion and Free for Databricks.
Does Cognite Data Fusion or Databricks run on more platforms?
Cognite Data Fusion runs on Web, Cloud. Databricks runs on Web, Aws, Azure, Gcp.
Can I use Databricks for free?
Yes. Databricks has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Cognite Data Fusion starts at On request.
What is Cognite Data Fusion best used for?
Cognite Data Fusion is most often used for an operator that wants engineers to find the drawing, the sensor trend and the last work order for a valve from one search, a company standardising asset data across sites so an analytics team can build once and deploy to many plants, an upstream operator building a production-optimisation model that needs sensor data joined to equipment metadata, a team replacing a stalled internal data-lake project where nobody could reconstruct what the tag names meant. Of those, an operator that wants engineers to find the drawing, the sensor trend and the last work order for a valve from one search and a company standardising asset data across sites so an analytics team can build once and deploy to many plants are not what Databricks is typically brought in for.
What can Cognite Data Fusion do that Databricks cannot?
Cognite Data Fusion covers Asset-centric data model, Entity matching, P&ID parsing, 3D contextualisation. Databricks covers Delta Lake, Apache Spark, MLflow, Unity Catalog.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cognite Data Fusion: Is Cognite a historian?

No. It reads from historians such as PI System and adds context. You still need the historian underneath.

Databricks: How is Databricks priced?

Databricks bills pay as you go with no up front cost, charging per second for the products used. Consumption is measured in Databricks Units, a normalised unit of processing power on the platform.

Source
Cognite Data Fusion: How is it priced?

Consumption-based on data, compute and users, quoted per customer. Nothing is published.

Databricks: Does Databricks publish a per DBU price?

Not on its main pricing page. Rates vary by product and instance type, and Databricks directs buyers to individual product pricing pages and a calculator rather than listing a single figure.

Source
Cognite Data Fusion: How long does a deployment take?

First useful graph in a few months is realistic; full plant contextualisation across a site is typically a year or more.

Databricks: Does the Databricks price include cloud costs?

No. Databricks states that if you configure it to work with your own cloud account, your cloud provider still charges you separately for the underlying resources.

Source
Cognite Data Fusion: Can we do the contextualisation ourselves?

Technically yes, the SDKs and matching tools are open, but most customers use Cognite or a partner for the first site.

Databricks: Can I get a discount on Databricks?

Databricks offers Committed Use Contracts, where larger usage commitments earn greater benefits, including options to use commitments flexibly across multiple clouds.

Source
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