# ETL Compare

> Spark ETL acceleration and cost, compared. Editorial assessment of seven Spark accelerators (Apache Gluten with Velox, Apache DataFusion Comet, RAPIDS Accelerator for Apache Spark, DualBird, Apache Auron, Databricks Photon, Flarion) from public vendor material, figures checked September 2026. Platforms such as Amazon EMR, Databricks, Google Cloud Dataproc, AWS Glue and self-managed Spark are covered as the layer accelerators run on and are not ranked.

## Rankings and method
- [Best Spark ETL accelerators of 2026](https://etlcompare.com/): ranking, score breakdown, stage coverage
- [Method](https://etlcompare.com/method): criteria, weights, limitations

## Tools
- [Compare Spark accelerators side by side](https://etlcompare.com/compare)
- [Spark accelerator calculator](https://etlcompare.com/calculator): re-weight the ETL fit scores
- [Spark accelerator FAQ](https://etlcompare.com/faq): 24 questions

## Reviews
- [Apache Gluten with Velox](https://etlcompare.com/gluten-velox-review)
- [Apache DataFusion Comet](https://etlcompare.com/comet-review)
- [RAPIDS Accelerator for Apache Spark](https://etlcompare.com/rapids-accelerator-review)
- [DualBird](https://etlcompare.com/dualbird-review)
- [Apache Auron](https://etlcompare.com/auron-review)
- [Databricks Photon](https://etlcompare.com/photon-review)
- [Flarion](https://etlcompare.com/flarion-review)

## Head to head
- [DualBird vs RAPIDS Accelerator](https://etlcompare.com/dualbird-vs-rapids)
- [DualBird vs Apache Gluten](https://etlcompare.com/dualbird-vs-gluten)
- [DualBird vs DataFusion Comet](https://etlcompare.com/dualbird-vs-comet)
- [Apache Gluten vs DataFusion Comet](https://etlcompare.com/gluten-vs-comet)
- [Apache Auron vs DataFusion Comet](https://etlcompare.com/auron-vs-comet)
- [Apache Auron vs DualBird](https://etlcompare.com/auron-vs-dualbird)
- [Apache Auron vs Flarion](https://etlcompare.com/auron-vs-flarion)
- [Apache Auron vs Apache Gluten](https://etlcompare.com/auron-vs-gluten)
- [Apache Auron vs Databricks Photon](https://etlcompare.com/auron-vs-photon)
- [Apache Auron vs RAPIDS Accelerator](https://etlcompare.com/auron-vs-rapids)
- [DataFusion Comet vs Flarion](https://etlcompare.com/comet-vs-flarion)
- [DataFusion Comet vs Databricks Photon](https://etlcompare.com/comet-vs-photon)
- [DataFusion Comet vs RAPIDS Accelerator](https://etlcompare.com/comet-vs-rapids)
- [DualBird vs Flarion](https://etlcompare.com/dualbird-vs-flarion)
- [DualBird vs Databricks Photon](https://etlcompare.com/dualbird-vs-photon)
- [Flarion vs Apache Gluten](https://etlcompare.com/flarion-vs-gluten)
- [Flarion vs Databricks Photon](https://etlcompare.com/flarion-vs-photon)
- [Flarion vs RAPIDS Accelerator](https://etlcompare.com/flarion-vs-rapids)
- [Apache Gluten vs Databricks Photon](https://etlcompare.com/gluten-vs-photon)
- [Apache Gluten vs RAPIDS Accelerator](https://etlcompare.com/gluten-vs-rapids)
- [Databricks Photon vs RAPIDS Accelerator](https://etlcompare.com/photon-vs-rapids)

## Alternatives
- [Apache Gluten alternatives (2026)](https://etlcompare.com/gluten-alternatives)
- [DataFusion Comet alternatives (2026)](https://etlcompare.com/comet-alternatives)
- [RAPIDS Accelerator alternatives (2026)](https://etlcompare.com/rapids-accelerator-alternatives)
- [DualBird alternatives (2026)](https://etlcompare.com/dualbird-alternatives)
- [Apache Auron alternatives (2026)](https://etlcompare.com/auron-alternatives)
- [Databricks Photon alternatives (2026)](https://etlcompare.com/photon-alternatives)
- [Flarion alternatives (2026)](https://etlcompare.com/flarion-alternatives)

## Guides and glossary
- [How to profile a slow Spark ETL job](https://etlcompare.com/profile-slow-spark-job)
- [Spark cost per job, explained](https://etlcompare.com/cost-per-job)
- [Where Spark accelerators run](https://etlcompare.com/platforms)
- [Glossary](https://etlcompare.com/university/glossary)

## University
- [Spark ETL university](https://etlcompare.com/university): glossary and lessons
- [Glossary](https://etlcompare.com/university/glossary)
- [How Spark runs a job: jobs, stages and tasks](https://etlcompare.com/university/spark-jobs-stages-tasks)
- [How Spark accelerators plug into Spark](https://etlcompare.com/university/how-spark-accelerators-plug-in)
- [How Spark memory works: executors, tasks and off-heap memory](https://etlcompare.com/university/spark-memory-executors-tasks)
- [How to read a Spark accelerator benchmark](https://etlcompare.com/university/reading-spark-benchmarks)
- [How to match a Spark accelerator to your slowest stage](https://etlcompare.com/university/match-accelerator-to-bottleneck)
- [Open-source or commercial Spark accelerators: what actually changes](https://etlcompare.com/university/open-source-vs-commercial-accelerators)
- [Adaptive query execution and the Spark settings that shape shuffle](https://etlcompare.com/university/spark-adaptive-query-execution)
- [Spark event logs and the History Server: keeping evidence from every run](https://etlcompare.com/university/spark-event-logs-history-server)
- [Running a Spark accelerator in production: versions, fallback checks and rollback](https://etlcompare.com/university/running-spark-accelerators-in-production)

## Notes
- [Notes](https://etlcompare.com/notes)
- [A buyer's checklist for Spark ETL accelerators](https://etlcompare.com/notes/spark-accelerator-buyers-checklist) (2026-09-29)
- [What Spark accelerators cost: what each vendor publishes about price](https://etlcompare.com/notes/spark-accelerator-pricing) (2026-09-29)
- [Six common claims about Spark accelerators, checked against public documentation](https://etlcompare.com/notes/spark-accelerator-claims-checked) (2026-09-29)
- [Apache DataFusion under Spark: how Comet, Auron and Flarion share one engine](https://etlcompare.com/notes/datafusion-under-spark) (2026-09-29)
- [Spark accelerator news, June to September 2026: what changed](https://etlcompare.com/notes/spark-accelerator-news-june-september-2026) (2026-09-29)
- [How to run a Spark accelerator proof of concept on your own ETL pipeline](https://etlcompare.com/notes/spark-accelerator-proof-of-concept) (2026-09-27)
- [Iceberg compaction on Spark: why it is expensive and what to measure](https://etlcompare.com/notes/iceberg-compaction-spark) (2026-09-27)
- [Spark 4.x support in Spark accelerators: where each one stands in September 2026](https://etlcompare.com/notes/spark-4-accelerator-support) (2026-09-27)

## News
- [Spark accelerator news](https://etlcompare.com/news): dated summaries of 2026 announcements with source links, updated monthly