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Databricks vs LlamaIndex

Databricks logo

Databricks

Software

Unified analytics platform for data engineering and data science

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
LlamaIndex logo

LlamaIndex

Software

Data framework for LLM applications

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Databricks cloud compute is billed separately by the cloud provider on top of Databricks DBU charges; LlamaIndex the free LlamaCloud plan includes 10K credits and has no pay as you go option, so work stops when credits run out
  • They diverge on capability: Databricks covers Delta Lake, LlamaIndex covers Data connectors.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Databricks and LlamaIndex actually diverge.

Attributes where Databricks and LlamaIndex differ
AttributeDatabricksLlamaIndex
Pricing modelusage-basedfreemium
PlatformsWeb, Aws, Azure, GcpLinux, Mac, Windows
Founded20132022

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

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 Databricks

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

Only in LlamaIndex

  • Data connectors
  • Indexing
  • Query engine
  • RAG pipelines
  • Agents
  • OpenAI
  • Anthropic
  • Pinecone

What people use each for

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

Databricks

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

LlamaIndex

  • Parsing PDFs and complex documents into structured text for RAGnot Databricks
  • Building retrieval augmented generation pipelines over private datanot Databricks
  • Indexing and querying enterprise documents from an LLM applicationnot Databricks

Where each one falls short

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

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

LlamaIndex

  • The free LlamaCloud plan includes 10K credits and has no pay as you go option, so work stops when credits run out
  • Concurrent parse jobs are capped at 5 on Free and Starter, 20 on Pro and 100 on Enterprise
  • Pay as you go spend is capped at $500 per month on Starter and $5,000 per month on Pro
  • Enterprise SSO is Enterprise plan only
  • Volume discounts on credits and 5x higher rate limits are Enterprise only
  • SaaS or hybrid cloud deployment choice and a dedicated account manager are Enterprise only
  • Enterprise pricing is by quote with no published rate

Pricing, plan by plan

Databricks

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

LlamaIndex

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Full framework
    • All connectors
  • LlamaCloudFree
    • Managed parsing
    • Enterprise features

Which should you pick?

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

Choose LlamaIndex if

  • You need data connectors.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Mac, Windows.
  • You also want indexing.
LlamaIndex review

Questions people ask

Is Databricks or LlamaIndex better?
Neither clearly leads. Databricks starts at Free and LlamaIndex at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Databricks or LlamaIndex?
Databricks starts at Free and LlamaIndex at Free.
Does Databricks or LlamaIndex run on more platforms?
Databricks runs on Web, Aws, Azure, Gcp. LlamaIndex runs on Linux, Mac, Windows.
Can I use Databricks for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Databricks best used for?
Databricks is most often used for running spark data engineering pipelines on managed clusters, building a lakehouse over data in cloud object storage, training and serving machine learning models alongside the data. Of those, running spark data engineering pipelines on managed clusters and building a lakehouse over data in cloud object storage are not what LlamaIndex is typically brought in for.
What can Databricks do that LlamaIndex cannot?
Databricks covers Delta Lake, Apache Spark, MLflow, Unity Catalog. LlamaIndex covers Data connectors, Indexing, Query engine, RAG pipelines.
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