Softwr

Software · head to head

Snowflake vs Apache Spark MLlib

Snowflake logo

Snowflake

Software

The AI Data Cloud for enterprise data warehousing

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Apache Spark MLlib logo

Apache Spark MLlib

Software

Scalable machine learning on Apache Spark

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Snowflake no flat subscription price is published - cost varies by edition, cloud provider, and region and requires a separate calculator or credit-consumption table; Apache Spark MLlib apache Spark MLlib is Apache 2.0 licensed and free with no paid tier from the Apache project itself; SLA-backed support has to be sourced from a third party such as a managed Spark vendor rather than from Apache.
  • They diverge on capability: Snowflake covers Separated Compute/Storage, Apache Spark MLlib covers Classification.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Snowflake and Apache Spark MLlib actually diverge.

Attributes where Snowflake and Apache Spark MLlib differ
AttributeSnowflakeApache Spark MLlib
Pricing modelUnknownopen-source
PlatformsWeb, APILinux, macOS, Windows
Founded20121999

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 Snowflake

  • Separated Compute/Storage
  • Near-zero Maintenance
  • Data Sharing
  • Time Travel
  • Cloning
  • Multi-cluster Warehouse
  • Semi-structured Data
  • dbt

Only in Apache Spark MLlib

  • Classification
  • Regression
  • Clustering
  • Collaborative filtering
  • Feature engineering
  • Apache Spark
  • Hadoop
  • Kafka

What people use each for

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

Snowflake

  • Cloud data warehousing and SQL analyticsnot Apache Spark MLlib
  • Data engineering and ELT pipelinesnot Apache Spark MLlib
  • Data sharing and marketplacenot Apache Spark MLlib
  • AI/ML workloads via Snowpark and Cortexnot Apache Spark MLlib
  • BI backend for tools such as Tableau and Power BInot Apache Spark MLlib

Apache Spark MLlib

  • Large-scale distributed machine learning on Spark clustersnot Snowflake
  • Classification and regression with decision trees, random forests, gradient-boosted treesnot Snowflake
  • Clustering with K-means and Gaussian Mixture Modelsnot Snowflake

Where each one falls short

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

Snowflake

  • No flat subscription price is published - cost varies by edition, cloud provider, and region and requires a separate calculator or credit-consumption table
  • Free trial is capped at $400 in credits or 30 days, whichever comes first, not a perpetual free tier
  • During the trial, certain features (external network access, hybrid tables, Openflow) are capped at 10 credits/day until a payment method is added
  • Total cost combines compute credits, storage, and data transfer billed separately

Apache Spark MLlib

  • Apache Spark MLlib is Apache 2.0 licensed and free with no paid tier from the Apache project itself; SLA-backed support has to be sourced from a third party such as a managed Spark vendor rather than from Apache.

Pricing, plan by plan

Snowflake

Free
  • Standard$undefined/mo
    • Consumption-based, per-credit pricing
  • Enterprise$undefined/mo
    • Consumption-based, per-credit pricing
  • Business Critical$undefined/mo
    • Consumption-based, per-credit pricing
  • Virtual Private Snowflake$undefined/mo
    • Consumption-based, per-credit pricing

Apache Spark MLlib

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Apache Spark MLlib review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Snowflake if

  • You need separated compute/storage.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want near-zero maintenance.
Snowflake review

Choose Apache Spark MLlib if

  • You need classification.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want regression.
Apache Spark MLlib review

Questions people ask

Is Snowflake or Apache Spark MLlib better?
Neither clearly leads. Snowflake starts at Free and Apache Spark MLlib at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Snowflake or Apache Spark MLlib?
Snowflake starts at Free and Apache Spark MLlib at Free.
Does Snowflake or Apache Spark MLlib run on more platforms?
Snowflake runs on Web, API. Apache Spark MLlib runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
Can I use Snowflake for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Snowflake best used for?
Snowflake is most often used for cloud data warehousing and sql analytics, data engineering and elt pipelines, data sharing and marketplace, ai/ml workloads via snowpark and cortex. Of those, cloud data warehousing and sql analytics and data engineering and elt pipelines are not what Apache Spark MLlib is typically brought in for.
What can Snowflake do that Apache Spark MLlib cannot?
Snowflake covers Separated Compute/Storage, Near-zero Maintenance, Data Sharing, Time Travel. Apache Spark MLlib covers Classification, Regression, Clustering, Collaborative filtering.
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on Snowflake

More on Apache Spark MLlib

Keep looking

Other head to heads