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Databases · head to head

Presto vs Visual Studio

Presto logo

Presto

Databases

The Meta-lineage distributed SQL query engine, distinct from the Trino fork

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit PrestoFull review
Visual Studio logo

Visual Studio

Developer Tools

IDE for .NET and C++ development on Windows

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit Visual StudioFull review

The short version

  • Both are free.
  • Where Visual Studio falls short: A standalone perpetually licensed Visual Studio Professional 2022 costs $499 as a one-time purchase, separate from the subscription tiers.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Presto and Visual Studio actually diverge.

Attributes where Presto and Visual Studio differ
AttributePrestoVisual Studio
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeFreemium
PlatformsLinux, Self-hostedWeb
CategoryDatabasesDeveloper Tools

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes).

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 Presto

  • Federated querying
  • In-memory execution
  • Open table format support
  • Presto C++ workers
  • ANSI SQL
  • Pluggable connectors

Only in Visual Studio

Nothing recorded that Presto does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Presto

  • An existing PrestoDB estate that needs continued upgrades rather than a migration to Trinonot Visual Studio
  • A team buying IBM watsonx.data, where Presto is the underlying query enginenot Visual Studio
  • Joining a Hive or Iceberg lake to an operational PostgreSQL database in one query without an ETL stepnot Visual Studio
  • Very large scale interactive SQL where the Meta-tested branch is a specific requirementnot Visual Studio

Visual Studio

  • Managing complex, large-scale projects across multiple platformsnot Presto
  • Commercial development in small businessesnot Presto
  • DevOps and automated deployment workflowsnot Presto
  • Windows/SQL Server developer and tester rolesnot Presto
  • Short-term or month-to-month IDE access needsnot Presto

Where each one falls short

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

Presto

  • The original creators and most of the active contributor base left for Trino in 2020, so Presto has the smaller community, fewer connectors and slower feature delivery of the two branches
  • Documentation, tutorials and Stack Overflow answers for the two projects are frequently mixed up, and a solution written for Trino often does not apply, which costs real debugging time
  • It is a query engine with no storage of its own, so query performance is dictated by your file layout, partitioning and statistics, and a badly organised lake makes Presto look slow
  • Memory-bound execution means a single large join can fail the whole query rather than spilling gracefully, and tuning cluster memory settings is a persistent operational chore
  • Commercial support has consolidated into IBM since the Ahana acquisition, so the independent vendor market that once existed around Presto is largely gone

Visual Studio

  • Community edition is free only for individual developers, classroom use, academic research and open-source contribution, not general commercial use
  • Monthly subscriptions are $45 per user per month for Professional and $250 per user per month for Enterprise, and do not include perpetual use rights the way annual Standard subscriptions do
  • A standalone perpetually licensed Visual Studio Professional 2022 costs $499 as a one-time purchase, separate from the subscription tiers

Pricing, plan by plan

Presto

Free
  • PrestoFree
    • Apache 2.0 licence
    • Presto Foundation governance under the Linux Foundation
    • No node or query limits

Visual Studio

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Visual Studio review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Presto if

  • You need federated querying.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Self-hosted.
  • You also want in-memory execution.
Presto review

Choose Visual Studio if

  • You want to start without paying.
Visual Studio review

Questions people ask

Is Presto or Visual Studio better?
Neither clearly leads. Presto starts at Free and Visual Studio at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Presto or Visual Studio?
Presto starts at Free and Visual Studio at Free.
Does Presto or Visual Studio run on more platforms?
Presto runs on Linux, Self-hosted. Visual Studio runs on Web.
Can I use Presto for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Presto best used for?
Presto is most often used for an existing prestodb estate that needs continued upgrades rather than a migration to trino, a team buying ibm watsonx.data, where presto is the underlying query engine, joining a hive or iceberg lake to an operational postgresql database in one query without an etl step, very large scale interactive sql where the meta-tested branch is a specific requirement. Of those, an existing prestodb estate that needs continued upgrades rather than a migration to trino and a team buying ibm watsonx.data, where presto is the underlying query engine are not what Visual Studio is typically brought in for.
What can Presto do that Visual Studio cannot?
Presto covers Federated querying, In-memory execution, Open table format support, Presto C++ workers.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Presto: Is this Presto or Trino?

This is PrestoDB, the branch that stayed at Facebook and moved to the Linux Foundation. Trino is the 2020 fork by the original creators.

Visual Studio: What are the pricing differences between subscription types?

Standard subscriptions include access to more benefits, such as Azure dev/test pricing, monthly Azure individual credit, software and download access, services, training, and support. Monthly subscriptions offer flexibility but fewer benefits.

Source
Presto: Which should I choose for a new project?

Trino, in most cases. It has the larger community, more connectors and more commercial options.

Visual Studio: Are discounts available for startups?

There aren't any discounts available to start-ups, however an unlimited number of users within an organization can use Visual Studio Community for specific scenarios like open source work.

Source
Presto: Who maintains Presto now?

Principally Meta, Uber and IBM, which acquired the Presto vendor Ahana in 2023.

Visual Studio: Who can use Visual Studio Community for free?

In non-enterprise organizations, up to five users can use it. Enterprise organizations (greater than 250 PCs or greater than $1M annual revenue) cannot use it beyond academic/open-source scenarios.

Source
Presto: Is it still actively released?

Yes, releases continue on a regular cadence under the Presto Foundation.

Visual Studio: What's the renewal pricing structure?

Enterprise standard renews at $214.09/month (after initial $499.92); Professional at $66.59/month (after $99.99).

Source
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