ClickHouse vs Snowflake
ClickHouse
An open-source columnar OLAP database built for sub-second analytical queries over billions of event rows.
Full directory entry →Snowflake
A cross-cloud data warehouse with separated storage and compute, per-second billed virtual warehouses, and native data sharing.
Full directory entry →Facts, side by side
| ClickHouse | Snowflake | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | freemium | paid |
| Pricing notes | The open-source server is free to self-host. ClickHouse Cloud is usage-based with compute and storage billed separately: compute is metered per-minute in 8 GB RAM increments, storage on the compressed size of stored data. Basic tier starts around $66/mo and Scale around $499/mo (AWS us-east-1), with a 30-day trial on credits. | Usage-based: compute is billed in credits per second with a 60-second minimum each time a warehouse starts; credit price depends on edition (Standard, Enterprise, Business Critical, VPS) and cloud region. Storage is billed monthly on average compressed usage, on-demand or pre-paid capacity. 30-day free trial with $400 in credits; no permanent free tier. |
| Open source | Yes | No |
| Self-hostable | Yes — Apache 2.0 licensed; single binary to a large cluster, plus the managed ClickHouse Cloud. | No |
| Categories | Warehouse | Warehouse |
| Who it's for | data engineers, implementation engineers | data engineers, measurement managers |
| Integrations listed | 5 | 6 |
Directory entries last updated: ClickHouse 2026-07-18 · Snowflake 2026-07-18.
In brief
ClickHouse — An open-source columnar OLAP database built for sub-second analytical queries over billions of event rows. Pricing: freemium. The open-source server is free to self-host. ClickHouse Cloud is usage-based with compute and storage billed separately: compute is metered per-minute in 8 GB RAM increments, storage on the compressed size of stored data. Basic tier starts around $66/mo and Scale around $499/mo (AWS us-east-1), with a 30-day trial on credits. Self-hosting: Yes — Apache 2.0 licensed; single binary to a large cluster, plus the managed ClickHouse Cloud.. Listed integrations: dbt, airflow, dagster, rudderstack, segment.
Snowflake — A cross-cloud data warehouse with separated storage and compute, per-second billed virtual warehouses, and native data sharing. Pricing: paid. Usage-based: compute is billed in credits per second with a 60-second minimum each time a warehouse starts; credit price depends on edition (Standard, Enterprise, Business Critical, VPS) and cloud region. Storage is billed monthly on average compressed usage, on-demand or pre-paid capacity. 30-day free trial with $400 in credits; no permanent free tier. Self-hosting: No. Listed integrations: dbt, airflow, dagster, snowplow, hightouch, census.
Which one, when
Derived mechanically from the structured facts above — deltas only, not an editorial verdict. Where the facts tie, read both entries.
- its pricing model is freemium, where Snowflake is paid
- you want an open-source codebase — Snowflake is not open source
- you need to self-host — ClickHouse supports it and Snowflake does not
- its entry lists implementation engineers in "who it's for"; Snowflake's does not
- its entry lists measurement managers in "who it's for"; ClickHouse's does not
Also compare
CLICKHOUSE VS: BigQuery
SNOWFLAKE VS: BigQuery