Amazon Redshift
Amazon Redshift is a cloud data warehouse for SQL analytics across data warehouses and data lakes.
What Amazon Redshift is
Amazon Redshift is a cloud data warehouse for SQL analytics across data warehouses and data lakes. It offers provisioned and serverless deployment options, with scaling options for petabytes of data and thousands of concurrent users. Redshift can run read-only SQL queries on Apache Iceberg, Apache Hudi, and Delta Lake tables, as well as open file formats in Amazon S3. Zero-ETL integrations connect it with Amazon Aurora, Amazon RDS, Amazon DynamoDB, and enterprise applications; streaming ingestion can connect with Amazon Kinesis Data Streams and Amazon Managed Streaming for Apache Kafka. Compatible tools listed by AWS include QuickSight, Tableau, Microsoft Power BI, Alteryx, Jupyter Notebook, Informatica, dbt, MicroStrategy, and Looker. Security features include encryption in transit and at rest, row- and column-level access controls, and dynamic data masking. The Redshift Data API supports languages and platforms covered by the AWS SDK. Pricing is paid, with no free plan and a free trial. Listed starting rates include $0.54 per month for Provisioned and $1.50 per month for Serverless.
Good
- Provisioned and serverless deployment options.
- Queries supported open table and file formats.
- Zero-ETL and streaming ingestion integrations.
- Encryption, access controls, and dynamic data masking.
- Data API supports multiple AWS SDK languages.
Watch out
- No free plan is listed.
- Storage and other usage may be billed separately.
- Serverless has a 60-second minimum charge.
Who it suits
Redshift suits teams running SQL analytics, dashboards, application development, data sharing, and ETL jobs. It may also suit organizations that need data lake queries, streaming ingestion, or separate storage and compute.
Verdict
Amazon Redshift combines warehouse analytics with data lake querying, ingestion, and BI integrations. Review the billing terms for the selected deployment, since storage and other usage may add charges.
Plans and prices
From Amazon Redshift's own pricing page, checked 20 Sep 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Provisioned | $0.54 a month | Provisioned cluster capacity · On-demand hourly billing · Managed storage billed separately for RG and RA3 nodes · On-demand pricing; partial hours are billed in one-second increments |
| Serverless | $1.50 a month | 4-1024 RPUs · 60-second minimum charge |
| Provisioned on-demand | $0.54 a month | Starts at stated rate · storage and other usage may be billed separately · Hourly; no commitments; actual cost depends on node type and number of nodes. |
| Redshift Serverless on-demand | $1.50 a month | Starts at stated rate · storage and other usage may be billed separately · RPU-hours billed per second, with a 60-second minimum charge; no compute charge during idle periods. |
The facts
Each one read from Amazon Redshift's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- API
- The Redshift Data API supports programming languages and platforms supported by the AWS SDK, including Python, Go, Java, Node.js, PHP, Ruby, and C++.checked 29 Sep 2026
- Availability
- AWS states that a Multi-AZ Redshift data warehouse offers a 99.99% SLA.checked 29 Sep 2026
- BI and ETL integrations
- AWS lists QuickSight, Tableau, Microsoft Power BI, Alteryx, Jupyter Notebook, Informatica, dbt, MicroStrategy, and Looker among compatible tools.checked 29 Sep 2026
- Data ingestion
- Zero-ETL integrations connect Redshift with Amazon Aurora, Amazon RDS, Amazon DynamoDB, and enterprise applications.checked 29 Sep 2026
- Data lake queries
- Redshift supports read-only SQL queries on Apache Iceberg, Apache Hudi, and Delta Lake tables and open file formats in Amazon S3.checked 29 Sep 2026
- Deployment
- It offers provisioned and serverless deployment options.checked 29 Sep 2026
- Identity and auditing
- Redshift integrates with AWS IAM Identity Center for single sign-on and AWS CloudTrail for auditing API calls.checked 29 Sep 2026
- Intended workloads
- AWS describes use cases including dashboarding, application development, data sharing, and ETL jobs.checked 29 Sep 2026
- Scale
- AWS says Redshift options scale to petabytes of data and support thousands of concurrent users.checked 29 Sep 2026
- Security
- Redshift supports encryption in transit and at rest, row- and column-level access controls, and dynamic data masking.checked 29 Sep 2026
- Streaming
- Streaming ingestion can connect with Amazon Kinesis Data Streams and Amazon Managed Streaming for Apache Kafka.checked 29 Sep 2026
- What it does
- Amazon Redshift is a cloud data warehouse for SQL analytics across data warehouses and data lakes.checked 29 Sep 2026
Money
- Free plan
- Nochecked 20 Sep 2026
- Free trial
- The pricing page says first-time Redshift Serverless users are eligible for a $300 credit that expires after 90 days; in regions without Serverless, provisioned clusters have a two-month trial, subject to stated usage limits.checked 29 Sep 2026
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