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Apache Drill VS Google BigQuery

Compare Apache Drill VS Google BigQuery and see what are their differences

Apache Drill logo Apache Drill

Schema-Free SQL Query Engine for Hadoop and NoSQL

Google BigQuery logo Google BigQuery

A fully managed data warehouse for large-scale data analytics.
  • Apache Drill Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-17
  • Google BigQuery Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-03

Apache Drill features and specs

  • Schema-Free JSON Querying
    Apache Drill is designed to handle schema-less data, allowing users to query JSON and other flexible schemas without needing pre-defined structures. This flexibility makes it ideal for exploring semi-structured data on the fly.
  • SQL Interface
    Drill offers a user-friendly SQL interface, making it accessible for users familiar with traditional SQL databases. This allows professionals to leverage their existing SQL skills to interact with big data ecosystems.
  • High Performance
    With its ability to efficiently process queries on large datasets, Apache Drill is optimized for high-performance analytics and interactive queries, making it suitable for rapid insights and data exploration.
  • Integration with Multiple Data Sources
    Apache Drill can natively connect to a wide variety of data sources, including Hadoop, NoSQL databases, and cloud storage systems. This integration provides a unified view of diverse datasets without extensive ETL processes.
  • Dynamic Query Optimization
    Drill performs on-the-fly query optimization based on the available data and resource conditions, helping ensure efficient query execution and reduced latency.

Possible disadvantages of Apache Drill

  • Memory Intensive
    Apache Drill can be memory-intensive, especially when handling complex queries or very large datasets. This requires substantial hardware resources for optimal performance, which can be cost-prohibitive.
  • Lack of Mature Support and Community
    Compared to some other open-source projects, Apache Drill does not have as extensive a support network or community. This can make troubleshooting and finding community-driven solutions more challenging.
  • Limited Built-in Security Features
    While Apache Drill supports authentication and encryption, it lacks more granular access controls and advanced security features found in some competing platforms, posing potential risks in highly regulated environments.
  • Steep Learning Curve for Modifications
    For users wanting to extend or modify Apache Drill's capabilities beyond its core functions, the learning curve can be steep due to its architecture and the need for in-depth technical knowledge.
  • Updates and Active Development
    Although Apache Drill is actively developed, the pace of updates may not be as rapid or extensive as newer systems, which might delay the adoption of the latest data processing features and technologies.

Google BigQuery features and specs

  • Scalability
    BigQuery can effortlessly scale to handle large volumes of data due to its serverless architecture, thereby reducing the operational overhead of managing infrastructure.
  • Speed
    It leverages Google's infrastructure to provide high-speed data processing, making it possible to run complex queries on massive datasets in a matter of seconds.
  • Integrations
    BigQuery easily integrates with various Google Cloud Platform services, as well as other popular data tools like Looker, Tableau, and Power BI.
  • Automatic Optimization
    Features like automatic data partitioning and clustering help to optimize query performance without requiring manual tuning.
  • Security
    BigQuery provides robust security features including IAM roles, customer-managed encryption keys, and detailed audit logging.
  • Cost Efficiency
    The pricing model is based on the amount of data processed, which can be cost-effective for many use cases when compared to traditional data warehouses.
  • Managed Service
    Being fully managed, BigQuery takes care of database administration tasks such as scaling, backups, and patch management, allowing users to focus on their data and queries.

Possible disadvantages of Google BigQuery

  • Cost Predictability
    While the pay-per-use model can be cost-efficient, it can also make cost forecasting difficult. Unexpected large queries could lead to higher-than-anticipated costs.
  • Complexity
    The learning curve can be steep for those who are not already familiar with SQL or Google Cloud Platform, potentially requiring training and education.
  • Limited Updates
    BigQuery is optimized for read-heavy operations, and it can be less efficient for scenarios that require frequent updates or deletions of data.
  • Query Pricing
    Costs are based on the amount of data processed by each query, which may not be suitable for use cases that require frequent analysis of large datasets.
  • Data Transfer Costs
    While internal data movement within Google Cloud can be cost-effective, transferring data to or from other services or on-premises systems can incur additional costs.
  • Dependency on Google Cloud
    Organizations heavily invested in multi-cloud or hybrid-cloud strategies may find the dependency on Google Cloud limiting.
  • Cold Data Performance
    Query performance might be slower for so-called 'cold data,' or data that has not been queried recently, affecting the responsiveness for some workloads.

Analysis of Google BigQuery

Overall verdict

  • Google BigQuery is a powerful and flexible data warehouse solution that suits a wide range of data analytics needs. Its ability to handle large volumes of data quickly makes it a preferred choice for organizations looking to leverage their data effectively.

Why this product is good

  • Google BigQuery is a fully-managed data warehouse that simplifies the analysis of large datasets. It is known for its scalability, speed, and integration with other Google Cloud services. It supports standard SQL, has built-in machine learning capabilities, and allows for seamless data integration from various sources. The serverless architecture means that users don't need to worry about infrastructure management, and its pay-as-you-go model provides cost efficiency.

Recommended for

  • Businesses requiring fast processing of large datasets
  • Organizations that already utilize Google Cloud services
  • Companies looking for a cost-effective, scalable analytics solution
  • Teams interested in using SQL for data analysis
  • Data scientists integrating machine learning with their data workflows

Apache Drill videos

Using Apache Drill

More videos:

  • Review - Drilling into Data with Apache Drill
  • Review - Apache Drill and the Coolness of Big JSON - Jonathan Janos (MapR)

Google BigQuery videos

Cloud Dataprep Tutorial - Getting Started 101

More videos:

  • Review - Advanced Data Cleanup Techniques using Cloud Dataprep (Cloud Next '19)
  • Demo - Google Cloud Dataprep Premium product demo

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Apache Drill and Google BigQuery)
Databases
100 100%
0% 0
Data Dashboard
0 0%
100% 100
Relational Databases
100 100%
0% 0
Big Data
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Apache Drill and Google BigQuery

Apache Drill Reviews

We have no reviews of Apache Drill yet.
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Google BigQuery Reviews

Database for Data Analytics
Processing typeDescriptionUse casesCommon databasesProcessing typesProcesses data in scheduled intervals (hours, days). High-latency but cost-efficient for large datasets.Financial reporting, trend analysis, historical analyticsSnowflake, Amazon Redshift, Google BigQueryContinuously ingests and processes data with minimal latency for real-time decision-making.Fraud...
Source: blog.devart.com
Data Warehouse Tools
Google BigQuery: Similar to Snowflake, BigQuery offers a pay-per-use model with separate charges for storage and queries. Storage costs start around $0.01 per GB per month, while on-demand queries are billed at $5 per TB processed.
Source: peliqan.io
Top 6 Cloud Data Warehouses in 2023
You can also use BigQuery’s columnar and ANSI SQL databases to analyze petabytes of data at a fast speed. Its capabilities extend enough to accommodate spatial analysis using SQL and BigQuery GIS. Also, you can quickly create and run machine learning (ML) models on semi or large-scale structured data using simple SQL and BigQuery ML. Also, enjoy a real-time interactive...
Source: geekflare.com
Top 5 Cloud Data Warehouses in 2023
Google BigQuery is an incredible platform for enterprises that want to run complex analytical queries or “heavy” queries that operate using a large set of data. This means it’s not ideal for running queries that are doing simple filtering or aggregation. So if your cloud data warehousing needs lightning-fast performance on a big set of data, Google BigQuery might be a great...
Top 5 BigQuery Alternatives: A Challenge of Complexity
BigQuery's emergence as an attractive analytics and data warehouse platform was a significant win, helping to drive a 45% increase in Google Cloud revenue in the last quarter. The company plans to maintain this momentum by focusing on a multi-cloud future where BigQuery advances the cause of democratized analytics.
Source: blog.panoply.io

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Google BigQuery seems to be a lot more popular than Apache Drill. While we know about 47 links to Google BigQuery, we've tracked only 3 mentions of Apache Drill. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Apache Drill mentions (3)

  • Git Query Language (GQL) Aggregation Functions, Groups, Alias
    Also are you familiar with apache drill . The idea is to put an SQL interpreter in front of any kind of database just like you are doing for git here. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Roapi: An API Server for Static Datasets
    Looks super interesting and potentially useful. Curious how it compares with Apache Drill (https://drill.apache.org/). - Source: Hacker News / almost 5 years ago
  • Does Java have an open source package that can execute SQL on txt/csv?
    Check out Apache Drill: https://drill.apache.org/. Source: almost 5 years ago

Google BigQuery mentions (47)

  • Ruby on Rails Performance: 7 Lessons from Scaling FirstPromoter
    We migrated the analytics layer to Google BigQuery. Same queries that timed out in PostgreSQL now run in under 2 seconds. But not everything belongs in BigQuery — we initially moved too aggressively and actually reverted some queries back when the added complexity wasn't justified. Our rule of thumb: if a query scans hundreds of thousands of rows or involves complex time-series aggregations, BigQuery. Everything... - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • How to Analyze 47 Million Hacker News Posts: A Data Scientist's Dream Dataset Just Got Better
    Google BigQuery - For large-scale data processing and SQL-based analysis. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • What if ML pipelines had a lock file?
    Data Pipelines usually read from tables that change over time. Most of these tables are stored in a data warehouse like Amazon Redshift or Google BigQuery. Rows are added or removed. Backfills happen. A column gets renamed or its meaning changes. Even when teams snapshot data, those snapshots are often implicit, not recorded as part of the pipeline run itself. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • Best SQL Courses with Certificates for 2026
    SQL endures because it's the non-negotiable interface for relational data. Enterprise data storage still relies heavily on relational databases despite new alternatives. What makes SQL valuable for learners is transferability—while dialects differ across PostgreSQL, SQL Server, and BigQuery, the fundamentals stay consistent. - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
  • Why Your Snowflake Bill is High and How to Fix It with a Hybrid Approach
    Within classic cloud data warehouses, Google BigQuery presents a different pricing model. Its on-demand, per-terabyte-scanned pricing can be cost-effective for sporadic forensic queries. But it carries the risk of a runaway query where a single mistake leads to a massive bill. - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Apache Drill and Google BigQuery, you can also consider the following products

Apache Calcite - Relational Databases

Databricks - Databricks provides a Unified Analytics Platform that accelerates innovation by unifying data science, engineering and business.‎What is Apache Spark?

Microsoft SQL - Microsoft SQL is a best in class relational database management software that facilitates the database server to provide you a primary function to store and retrieve data.

Looker - Looker makes it easy for analysts to create and curate custom data experiences—so everyone in the business can explore the data that matters to them, in the context that makes it truly meaningful.

MySQL - The world's most popular open source database

Jupyter - Project Jupyter exists to develop open-source software, open-standards, and services for interactive computing across dozens of programming languages. Ready to get started? Try it in your browser Install the Notebook.