Databricks

What it is for

Databricks is a hosted SQL notebook desk: you run a query and read the result table, and Free Edition is $0. Use it when the job is a query table you start at a public $, not when you need a $20 chat seat.

What makes it unique: the cover is Databricks’ official Notebook demo result table (Query baby_names_prepared to get the top 10 first names, rows Emma 557 / Olivia 532 / Logan 513 / Liam 505, 10 rows / 3.68s, viviantran@databricks.com 7/1/2025) from the notebook-demo still — not a pricing card. The rows themselves are ops of Notebooks.

Key features

• Notebooks — SQL / Python cells that return a result table (cover still; notebooks). One desk. Cover Emma 557 / 10 rows sit here. Run all / Share sit here as CTAs, not a sixth desk.
• Visualizations — a chart you pin on query results (visualization still; scatter of trip_distance / fare_amount). A chart, not a result row. Cover Table tab sits on Notebooks; a Scatter tab is this desk.
• SQL editor — ad-hoc queries beside notebooks (Free Edition “SQL editor or notebooks”). An editor, not a notebook cell.
• Dashboards — Lakeview pages you publish (create a dashboard). A board, not a result table.
• Genie — natural-language help inside notebooks / queries (Free Edition; official Genie tutorial). A coworker, not the result grid. Cover “Run suggested” is a CTA on Notebooks.

Run / Accept / Reject on the cover are CTAs (not desks). Free Edition vs pay-as-you-go DBU tiles are the meter. Genie Code suggestions are AI extras, not a sixth desk we fold into Notebooks.

Who it's for

Best fit: students / hobbyists who will stay on Free Edition at $0 (serverless, quota-limited) while they open a first notebook table, then pay-as-you-go DBUs on AWS / Azure / GCP when a production warehouse is required.

Pricing

Verified 2026-10-23 (Asia/Shanghai) from docs.databricks.com Free Edition, databricks.com/product/pricing, and the Azure Databricks price example.

• Free Edition — $0. Replaced Community Edition (retired 2025). Serverless-only, quota-limited. SQL editor, notebooks, dashboards, Genie, Lakeflow. Personal learning / prototyping.
• Pay as you go — no up-front. Per-second DBUs. Storage / networking bill on your cloud. Confirm the live price list.
• Azure All-Purpose example (printed on Azure’s Databricks page): 10× DS13v2 × 100 hours = VM $598 ($0.598/hour) + DBU $1,100 = $1,698. Quote that worked example; do not invent a per-DBU from it.
• Committed use — discounts for usage commitments. Contact sales.
• Trial — free access / credits on the paid platform; after credits you need a payment method. Cloud-account VMs still bill during trial.

Confirm checkout; taxes and region rates follow your cloud. Azure Databricks dollars are billed by Microsoft.

Limitations / costs

• Free Edition is quota-limited and serverless-only. A production warehouse is PAYG DBUs plus your cloud VMs.
• DBU stickers vary by cloud / region / SKU. Quote Free $0 and the printed Azure $1,698 example; confirm the live list.
• A SQL notebook table, not MotherDuck’s warehouse SQL. For that warehouse see MotherDuck.

Alternatives

• MotherDuck — a DuckDB warehouse when you want MotherDuck’s public $, not Databricks’ Emma 557 notebook.
• Snowflake — a warehouse when you want Snowflake’s public $, not Free Edition $0.
• Modal — serverless compute when you want Modal’s public $, not a Databricks notebook.

Official tutorial

Official Databricks channel video: Tutorial: Genie for Data Engineers, Data Scientists, and Everybody Else (oEmbed author: Databricks). First-party Genie tutorial; the notebook result table is the cover. Genie on the video is a second desk, not generate-on-Notebooks. databricks.com links @Databricks.

Written path: databricks.com/product/pricing plus the notebook-demo still.

Website

https://www.databricks.com

Repository

https://github.com/databricks

Source

Catalog row curated for AI Tools Nav. Cover is Databricks’ official notebook-demo still (Emma 557 / Olivia 532 / 10 rows / 3.68s). Dollars checked on docs Free Edition ($0) plus Azure’s printed All-Purpose example (VM $598 + DBU $1,100 = $1,698). Tutorial oEmbed author: Databricks.

Last verified

2026-10-23 (Asia/Shanghai) editorial check.