Databricks: Pricing, Features & Alternatives
Databricks combines data engineering, SQL warehousing, streaming and machine learning on data stored in open formats in your own cloud storage. It is pay-as-you-go with per-second billing and no up-front cost; rates are in DBUs and vary by product and cloud, listed in a separate price list. A free trial runs until its credits are used, and Free Edition is free forever for personal, non-commercial learning on smaller compute.
Who it’s for: Data and ML teams that want ETL, SQL, streaming and model work on one platform over open table formats.
Category
Data Lakehouse Platforms
Pricing
Free tier available
Free tier
Yes
Best for
Data Lakehouse Platforms: data and AI, Spark, open formats
Databricks at a Glance
- What it is
- Data and AI lakehouse platform
- How you pay
- Per DBU, per second
- Free access
- Free Edition (non-commercial) and a credit-based trial
- Table formats
- Delta Lake and Apache Iceberg
- Where it runs
- AWS, Azure, Google Cloud
Checked November 2026 against Databricks pricing, Databricks Free Edition.
Databricks Pricing Plans (2026)
| Plan | Price |
|---|---|
| Free Edition | $0 (personal use only) |
| Pay as you goPopular | Per DBU, per second |
Pricing summary: Free · then usage-based. Always confirm current pricing on the official site.
Key Databricks Features
- Pay-as-you-go with no up-front cost, billed per second of usage
- Rates are in DBUs by product and cloud, listed in a separate price list
- Free trial runs until its credits are used
- Free Edition: free forever for personal learning, smaller compute, not for commercial use
- Runs on AWS, Azure and Google Cloud
Pros
- +One platform for ETL, SQL and ML
- +Data stays in open formats in your storage
- +Runs on AWS, Azure and Google Cloud
- +Free Edition for learning
Cons
- −DBU pricing is hard to forecast
- −A lot of platform for a small team
- −Rates live in a separate price list
Best Databricks Alternatives
Compare allDatabricks Compared
Databricks FAQ
What is Databricks used for?⌄
Databricks is a data lakehouse platforms tool. Data and AI platform built on Spark and Delta Lake, billed per second of usage with no up-front cost. Free Edition for learning.
Is Databricks free?⌄
Yes. Databricks has a free tier you can start with, and paid plans for more usage and features.
How much does Databricks cost?⌄
Databricks is free to use, with usage-based pricing on some features.
What are the best Databricks alternatives?⌄
Popular Databricks alternatives include Dremio, Microsoft Fabric, Onehouse. Compare pricing and features on our Databricks alternatives page.
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