Amazon Athena
Amazon Athena is a serverless service for interactive SQL queries and data exploration on data in Amazon S3.
What Amazon Athena is
Amazon Athena is a serverless service for interactive SQL queries and data exploration on data in Amazon S3. It can also work across other cloud and on-premises sources, and automatically scales query execution with parallel processing. Its SQL engine is based on Trino and Presto and supports ANSI SQL features such as large joins, window functions, and arrays. Athena reads CSV, JSON, ORC, Avro, and Parquet formats. Queries can be run through the console, API, CLI, AWS SDK, or supported BI and SQL development applications using JDBC or ODBC drivers. It integrates with AWS Glue and offers built-in connectors to 30 data stores, including Amazon Redshift, Amazon DynamoDB, Google BigQuery, Azure Synapse, Snowflake, and SAP Hana. SQL can invoke models deployed on Amazon SageMaker for inference. Workgroups can separate users or workloads, set data-processing limits, and track costs. Access controls include IAM policies, access control lists, and S3 bucket policies. SQL-query pricing is $5 per TB of data scanned; S3, Glue Data Catalog, and Lambda charges may apply separately.
Good
- Runs interactive SQL queries on S3 data.
- Reads CSV, JSON, ORC, Avro, and Parquet.
- Queries can use console, API, CLI, SDK, JDBC, or ODBC.
- Workgroups can set processing limits and track costs.
- Access controls include IAM and S3 bucket policies.
Watch out
- Pricing is usage-based at $5 per TB scanned for SQL queries.
- S3 and other service charges may apply separately.
- No free plan is listed.
Who it suits
Athena suits users exploring or querying data in S3 and other cloud or on-premises sources with SQL. It may also fit teams that need workload separation and cost tracking through workgroups.
Verdict
Athena provides serverless SQL querying with connectors, workload controls, and multiple query access paths. Account for scanned-data pricing and separate storage or service charges when evaluating use.
Plans and prices
From Amazon Athena's own pricing page, checked 3 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| SQL queries with Capacity Reservations | $0.30 a month | Capacity-based pricing; S3 and other service charges may apply separately · $0.30 per DPU-hour; usage-based |
| Apache Spark | $0.35 a month | S3 charges for storing and reading data and results apply separately · $0.35 per DPU-hour; usage-based |
| SQL queries | $5 a month | S3, Glue Data Catalog, and Lambda charges may apply separately · $5 per TB of data scanned; usage-based |
The facts
Each one read from Amazon Athena's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Additional charges
- S3 storage, requests, and data transfer are billed at standard S3 rates, and use of the AWS Glue Data Catalog incurs its standard rates.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Compliance
- AWS documentation says third-party auditors assess security and compliance under AWS programs including SOC, PCI, and FedRAMP; customer compliance responsibility depends on their data and obligations.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Data formats
- Supported formats include CSV, JSON, ORC, Avro, and Parquet.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- Athena integrates with AWS Glue and offers built-in connectors to 30 data stores, including Amazon Redshift, Amazon DynamoDB, Google BigQuery, Azure Synapse, Snowflake, and SAP Hana.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Intended use
- AWS describes Athena as suited to interactive SQL queries and data exploration across S3, other clouds, and on-premises sources.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Amazon Athena is a serverless interactive query service for analyzing data in Amazon S3 with standard SQL.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Query access
- Athena queries can be run from its console, API, CLI, AWS SDK, and supported BI and SQL development applications using JDBC or ODBC drivers.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Scale
- Athena automatically scales and runs queries in parallel, including on large datasets and complex queries.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Security
- Access to data can be controlled with IAM policies, access control lists, and S3 bucket policies, and Athena supports querying encrypted S3 data and writing encrypted results.checked 3 Oct 2026
- SQL engine
- Athena for SQL is based on Trino and Presto and supports ANSI SQL features including large joins, window functions, and arrays.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Workgroups
- Workgroups can separate users, teams, applications, or workloads, set per-query or group data processing limits, and track costs.checked 3 Oct 2026
Where it runs
- Machine learning
- Athena SQL queries can invoke machine-learning models deployed on Amazon SageMaker for inference.checked 3 Oct 2026
The company
- Maker
- Amazon.com, Inc. was incorporated in 1994 and lists its principal corporate offices in Seattle, Washington.checked 3 Oct 2026
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