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ALTERNATIVE APPLICATIONS

Amazon EMR Alternatives

Should you replace Amazon EMR?

Azure Synapse Analytics is the strongest catalog alternative to evaluate for Amazon EMR.

Amazon EMR

Current
Seat-based Payg
4.1/5
Annual cost
--
Seats assigned
--

This catalog view compares public market data and does not include organization spend or usage.

Amazon EMR alternatives

See how Amazon EMR compares to 6 alternative apps you can switch to.

Azure Syn...Best FitSeat-basedAvg. switch cost--Azure Synapse Analytics is a good fit if: you require petabyte-scale warehousing with deep Microsoft/Azure ecosystem integration and have dedicated data engineering resources.
DatabricksWorth ConsideringPublic pricingAvg. switch cost--Databricks is a good fit if: you need a unified lakehouse architecture combining data warehousing, streaming, and AI/ML at scale.
Azure Hdi...Worth ConsideringSeat-basedAvg. switch cost$33,600/yrAzure Hdinsight is a good fit if: your organization requires native open-source big data frameworks with complete cluster configuration control and existing Azure infrastructure.
Google Cl...Worth ConsideringPublic pricingAvg. switch cost--Google Cloud Dataproc is a good fit if: you process petabyte-scale data with Apache Spark and already use Google Cloud Platform.
Cloudera ...Worth ConsideringSeat-basedAvg. switch cost$120,000/yrCloudera Data Platform is a good fit if: you require unified analytics across hybrid cloud with strict governance and complex ETL workloads.
Google Bi...Worth ConsideringSeat-basedAvg. switch cost--Google Bigquery is a good fit if: your team manages terabyte-scale data and requires advanced SQL analytics with minimal infrastructure overhead.

Azure Synapse Analytics and Databricks selected for comparison.

Annual costTotal subscription cost for each app, shown for the selected billing period.
Amazon EMR

--

EMR on EC2

Public catalog pricing. Organization spend is not included.

Azure Syn...

$10,512

Serverless SQL

Public catalog pricing estimate.

Databricks

--

Standard

Public catalog pricing estimate.

3-Year Net SavingEstimated savings over three years after migration and setup costs.
Amazon EMR

$0

No migration in the current app baseline.

Azure Syn...

--

After $35,000 estimated migration cost.

Databricks

--

After $50,000 estimated migration cost.

Team Fit ScoreHow closely the app matches the teams, workflows, and usage patterns currently in place.
Amazon EMR

--

Azure Syn...

70/100

Azure Synapse excels in organizations with dedicated data engineering teams requiring unified batch and interactive analytics at petabyte scale. Data scientists benefit from integrated Apache Spark pools, but business analysts without SQL expertise struggle to generate insights independently. Companies lacking Azure infrastructure expertise face significant onboarding friction compared to fully managed competitors like Snowflake.

Databricks

75/100

Ideal for data engineers and ML teams, excessive for basic BI users

Adoption RiskExpected friction, training effort, and behavior change needed to move teams onto the alternative.
Amazon EMR

--

Public adoption signal for the current app.

Azure Syn...

high

Azure Synapse Analytics is a high-complexity migration. Estimated 12 weeks and $35,000 one-time cost.

Databricks

high

Databricks is a high-complexity migration. Estimated 16 weeks and $50,000 one-time cost.

User satisfactionAvailable rating and review signal for team sentiment around the app.
Amazon EMR

4.1/5.0

650 reviews

Azure Syn...

--

1500 reviews

Databricks

--

2450 reviews

Timeline & DisruptionExpected migration duration and disruption to normal workflows.
Amazon EMR

No migration needed

Azure Syn...

12 weeks

High

Azure Synapse Analytics is a high-complexity migration. Estimated 12 weeks and $35,000 one-time cost.

Databricks

16 weeks

High

Databricks is a high-complexity migration. Estimated 16 weeks and $50,000 one-time cost.

Setup & trainingOne-time implementation, enablement, and training investment required.
Amazon EMR

--

Azure Syn...

$35,000

Estimated one-time migration and setup effort.

Databricks

$50,000

Estimated one-time migration and setup effort.

Integration CoverageHow much of the current integration and workflow surface is covered by the app.
Amazon EMR

100%

Supports 120 native integrations.

Azure Syn...

100%

Supports 280 native integrations.

Databricks

100%

Supports 500 native integrations.

Feature Match (%)How closely the app matches current feature needs, including notable gaps or risks.
Amazon EMR

100%

Azure Syn...

85%

  • Unpredictable costs with serverless pay-per-query model
  • Requires Azure-specific expertise and ecosystem lock-in
  • No native real-time streaming analytics
  • Complex pricing calculations across storage, compute, and pipelines
Databricks

80%

CertificationsSecurity, privacy, and compliance certifications available for each app.
Amazon EMR
SOC 2ISO 27001ISO 27017ISO 27018HIPAAGDPRFedRAMP HighPCI DSS
Azure Syn...
SOC 2 Type IIISO 27001GDPRHIPAAFedRAMP High
Databricks
SOC 2ISO 27001ISO 27017ISO 27018GDPRFedRAMP ModeratePCI DSS
Choose This IfThe conditions where keeping or switching to this app is likely to make sense.
Amazon EMR

You already standardize on this app.

Azure Syn...

You require petabyte-scale warehousing with deep Microsoft/Azure ecosystem integration and have dedicated data engineering resources

Databricks

You need a unified lakehouse architecture combining data warehousing, streaming, and AI/ML at scale

Avoid This IfThe conditions where this app is likely to create cost, workflow, or adoption risk.
Amazon EMR

Public pricing or fit signals no longer match your needs.

Azure Syn...

You need predictable flat-rate pricing or have business users requiring self-service analytics without SQL expertise

Databricks

Your needs are limited to simple dashboards or small-scale data processing without complex transformation requirements

Amazon EMR Alternatives | Doow