# Azure Synapse Analytics vs DuckDB

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** DuckDB

| Attribute | Azure Synapse Analytics | DuckDB |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 50.7 (24% (low)) | 59.1 (51% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | - | 100 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | - | 1 |
| adoption.github_stars | - | 42,154 |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | - | 15,285,415 |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"Azure Synapse Analytics integrates enterprise data warehousing and large-scale data analytics into a single platform, enabling faster analysis and insights across organizational datasets It is indexed under Data Warehouse Software.","source":"https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/offers/savings-plans/","question":"What is Azure Synapse Analytics?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed browser-based access to Azure Synapse Analytics. That is the extent of what we could verify from public sources, so it may well offer desktop or mobile clients we have not indexed.","source":"https://azure.microsoft.com/acom/etc.clientlibs/onecloud/components/content/reimagine/atomic/carousel/v1/carousel/clientlibs/pricing-styles.ACSHASHbcdafd3e07059ae596973551430292fc.min.css","question":"What platforms does Azure Synapse Analytics support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for Azure Synapse Analytics, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://azure.microsoft.com/acom/etc.clientlibs/onecloud/components/content/reimagine/atomic/carousel/v1/carousel/clientlibs/pricing-styles.ACSHASHbcdafd3e07059ae596973551430292fc.min.css","question":"Can Azure Synapse Analytics be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed GDPR for Azure Synapse Analytics. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as Azure Synapse Analytics not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/explore/trusted-cloud/","question":"What security certifications does Azure Synapse Analytics have?","confidence":0.7}]` | `[{"answer":"An in-process SQL analytical database that runs natively in applications across operating systems and environments. Supports querying files and cloud data directly with a SQL dialect and includes vector search capabilities. It is indexed under Data Warehouse Software.","source":"https://duckdb.org","question":"What is DuckDB?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"DuckDB is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the MIT licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://duckdb.org","question":"Is DuckDB free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"DuckDB supports the web, Windows, macOS, Linux and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://duckdb.org","question":"What platforms does DuckDB support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. DuckDB can be deployed self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://duckdb.org","question":"Can DuckDB be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 27 integrations for DuckDB, including Postgres, AWS, S3, Azure, Google Cloud, Hugging Face, SQLite and MySQL, plus 19 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://duckdb.org","question":"What does DuckDB integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. DuckDB is published under the MIT licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/duckdb/duckdb","question":"Is DuckDB open source?","confidence":0.99},{"answer":"DuckDB is available worldwide. The vendor is headquartered in the Netherlands.","source":"https://duckdb.org","question":"Where is DuckDB available?","confidence":0.75}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"hybrid":true}` | `{"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | Azure Synapse Analytics integrates enterprise data warehousing and large-scale data analytics into a single platform, enabling faster analysis and insights across organizational datasets | A portable analytical database that runs locally or embedded in applications, with PostgreSQL-like SQL and APIs for major programming languages, supporting popular data formats including CSV, JSON, Parquet, and Apache Iceberg. |
| features.capabilities | `{"deployment":"managed","license_class":"proprietary"}` | `{"in_db_ml":true,"deployment":"embedded","sql_dialect":"vendor","license_class":"permissive","table_formats":"Parquet, CSV, JSON, Iceberg, Delta Lake, Vortex, DuckLake, Lance, Arrow, Avro, E","semi_structured":"functional","federation_query":true}` |
| integrations.count | - | 27 |
| integrations.list | - | `[{"name":"Postgres"},{"name":"AWS"},{"name":"S3"},{"name":"Azure"},{"name":"Google Cloud"},{"name":"Hugging Face"},{"name":"SQLite"},{"name":"MySQL"},{"name":"Iceberg"},{"name":"Delta Lake"},{"name":"Parquet"},{"name":"JSON"},{"name":"Arrow"},{"name":"Avro"},{"name":"Pandas"},{"name":"dplyr"},{"name":"Jupyter"},{"name":"Marimo"},{"name":"Claude"},{"name":"Cloudflare"},{"name":"ODBC"},{"name":"HTTP"},{"name":"Excel"},{"name":"Vortex"},{"name":"DuckLake"},{"name":"Lance"},{"name":"Geospatial formats"},{"name":"PostgreSQL","category":"database"},{"name":"Apache Iceberg","category":"table_format"},{"name":"ADBC","native":true}]` |
| language.primary | - | C++ |
| license.spdx | - | MIT |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"hqCountry":"NL","primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"web":true}` | `{"cli":true,"mac":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"usage","summary":"Pay-as-you-go consumption model with 3-year savings plans available","currency":"USD","sourceUrl":"https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/","retrievedAt":"2026-10-05T11:10:12.725Z"}` | `{"type":"open_source","summary":"Free, open source under MIT license","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://duckdb.org","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T15:30:03.636Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | - | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | unknown | free |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| release.cadence_days | - | 33 |
| release.history | - | `[{"url":"https://github.com/duckdb/duckdb/releases/tag/v1.5.6","date":"2026-09-28T13:35:11Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.5.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/duckdb/duckdb/releases/tag/v1.5.5","date":"2026-07-22T10:51:50Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.5.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/duckdb/duckdb/releases/tag/v1.5.4","date":"2026-06-17T10:45:53Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.5.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/duckdb/duckdb/releases/tag/v1.4.5","date":"2026-06-17T10:42:38Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.4.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/duckdb/duckdb/releases/tag/v1.5.3","date":"2026-05-20T11:50:43Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.5.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/duckdb/duckdb/releases/tag/v1.5.2","date":"2026-04-13T10:46:51Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.5.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/duckdb/duckdb/releases/tag/v1.5.1","date":"2026-03-23T12:10:58Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.5.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/duckdb/duckdb/releases/tag/v1.5.0","date":"2026-03-09T12:40:59Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.5.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/duckdb/duckdb/releases/tag/v1.4.4","date":"2026-01-26T12:08:09Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.4.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/duckdb/duckdb/releases/tag/v1.4.3","date":"2025-12-09T10:20:40Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.4.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/duckdb/duckdb/releases/tag/v1.4.2","date":"2025-11-12T13:04:29Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.4.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/duckdb/duckdb/releases/tag/v1.4.1","date":"2025-10-07T10:29:57Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.4.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/duckdb/duckdb/releases/tag/v1.4.0","date":"2025-09-16T10:17:31Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.4.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/duckdb/duckdb/releases/tag/v1.3.2","date":"2025-07-08T10:39:09Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.3.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/duckdb/duckdb/releases/tag/v1.3.1","date":"2025-06-16T13:54:58Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.3.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/duckdb/duckdb/releases/tag/v1.3.0","date":"2025-05-21T16:04:19Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.3.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/duckdb/duckdb/releases/tag/v1.2.2","date":"2025-04-08T08:44:15Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.2.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/duckdb/duckdb/releases/tag/v1.2.1","date":"2025-03-05T18:03:02Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.2.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/duckdb/duckdb/releases/tag/v1.2.0","date":"2025-02-05T13:57:07Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.2.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/duckdb/duckdb/releases/tag/v1.1.3","date":"2024-11-04T13:59:58Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.1.3"}]` |
| reliability.status_page | yes | yes |
| security.gdpr | yes | - |
| security.trust_center | https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/explore/security/ | - |
| security.vulnerabilities | - | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=conda&package_name=python-duckdb&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Data Warehouse Software)

| Capability | Azure Synapse Analytics | DuckDB |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Deployment | Managed cloud | Embedded |
| **Architecture** |  |  |
| Architecture | - | - |
| Compute model | - | - |
| **Query** |  |  |
| SQL dialect | - | Vendor-specific |
| Federation / lakehouse query-in-place | - | ✓ |
| **Interoperability** |  |  |
| Table-format support | - | Parquet, CSV, JSON, Iceberg, Delta Lake, Vortex, DuckLake, Lance, Arrow, Avro, E |
| **Scale** |  |  |
| Concurrency scaling | - | - |
| **Ingestion** |  |  |
| Streaming ingest | - | - |
| **Data model** |  |  |
| Semi-structured (JSON/VARIANT) | - | Functional |
| **Analytics** |  |  |
| ML / in-DB functions | - | ✓ |
| **Sharing** |  |  |
| Data sharing / marketplace | - | - |
| **Licensing** |  |  |
| Licence class | Proprietary | Permissive OSS |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T19:04:32.666Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*