Delta Lake vs Apache Iceberg: Which Table Format Wins?

Choosing the correct table format is critical for building a modern, scalable data lakehouse. Two leading open-source options- Delta Lake and Apache Iceberg- transform how organizations manage large-scale data lakes. This in-depth comparison covers their core features, performance, and best use cases to help you decide which data lake table format fits your needs.

What are Delta Lake and Apache Iceberg?

Delta Lake was developed by Databricks and open-sourced in 2019 to address traditional data lakes' reliability and consistency issues. Designed initially for Apache Spark, it quickly became the go-to solution for organizations running Spark-based pipelines, offering seamless integration with the Spark ecosystem. Over time, Delta Lake has expanded its reach, supporting a broader range of engines and benefiting from community contributions under the Linux Foundation.

from pyspark.sql import SparkSession

spark = SparkSession.builder \
    .appName("DeltaExample") \
    .config("spark.sql.extensions", "io.delta.sql.DeltaSparkSessionExtension") \
    .getOrCreate()

spark.sql("""
    CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS my_delta_table (
        id STRING,
        value DOUBLE,
        ts TIMESTAMP
    ) USING delta
""")

Creating a table in Delta Lake

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Netflix created Apache Iceberg in 2017 to overcome Hive's limitations for incremental and streaming workloads. Donated to the Apache Software Foundation in 8, Iceberg was built to be compute-engine agnostic, supporting query engines such as Spark, Trino, and Flink. This flexibility has made Iceberg a cornerstone of modern, multi-engine data lake architectures.

from pyspark.sql import SparkSession

spark = SparkSession.builder \
    .appName("IcebergExample") \
    .config("spark.sql.extensions", "org.apache.iceberg.spark.extensions.IcebergSparkSessionExtensions") \
    .getOrCreate()

spark.sql("""
    CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS my_iceberg_table (
        id STRING,
        value DOUBLE,
        ts TIMESTAMP
    ) USING iceberg
""")

Creating a table in Apache Iceberg

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Core Architectural Differences

Metadata Management and File Organization

Apache Iceberg uses a distributed, hierarchical metadata model. This design enables efficient pruning, atomic updates, and scalable operations-even for petabyte-scale datasets. Iceberg’s manifest files store fine-grained column statistics, allowing advanced optimizations and efficient file pruning during queries.

Delta Lake relies on a transaction log (the _delta_log directory) to track all changes. While this approach is optimized for Spark queries and provides robust data auditing, it can become a bottleneck in non-Spark environments or when handling extensive tables. Delta Lake’s metadata is stored as relative paths, making table management and portability within the same storage environment straightforward.

Schema Evolution and Data Type Support

• Apache Iceberg stands out for its complete, type-safe schema evolution. It makes adding, renaming, or dropping columns without rewriting data easy. This flexibility is ideal for evolving data ecosystems and complex data types.

• Delta Lake also supports schema enforcement and evolution, but is less flexible with complex type changes. It’s best for environments where strict schema governance is a priority.

Query Engine Compatibility

Apache Iceberg offers native support for multiple query engines (Spark, Trino, Flink, Presto), making it highly versatile for diverse data architectures. Mitzu, a warehouse-native for product and marketing analytics, supports these lakehouses. It ensures 100% data accuracy, privacy protections, and real-time, actionable insights directly from your data lakehouses.

Delta Lake is tightly integrated with Apache Spark, delivering best-in-class performance for Spark-based pipelines. While it supports connectors for other engines, its optimizations are most effective within the Spark ecosystem.

Cloud Compatibility and Data Lakehouse Architecture

Both formats are fully compatible with major cloud providers (AWS, GCP, Azure), supporting cloud-native data lakehouse architectures. Iceberg’s vendor-neutral approach and multi-cloud flexibility make it ideal for open, interoperable environments. Delta Lake’s seamless integration with Databricks and Spark is a significant advantage for organizations invested in these platforms.

Which Should You Choose? Delta Lake or Apache Iceberg?

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Apache Iceberg is Ideal for cloud-native data lakes, complex data models, and environments requiring flexible integration with multiple query engines.

Delta Lake is best for Spark-centric workloads, real-time analytics, and scenarios where fast reads and strict schema enforcement are priorities.

Which is Better for Warehouse-Native Product Analytics?

Apache Iceberg and Delta Lake are strong choices for warehouse-native product analytics, each with unique advantages.

Delta Lake excels on Databricks, offering features like Z-Ordering and optimized file structures that boost query performance and data skip efficiency, especially for complex, high-cardinality queries.

On the other hand, Iceberg is highly flexible. It works well with lakehouses like Trino, Presto, and Athena, or on Databricks, and benefits from a large open-source community and advanced partitioning for scalable, cloud-native analytics.

Mitzu’s warehouse-native product analytics platform is built to work smoothly with both Apache Iceberg and Delta Lake. This lets teams access, analyze, and visualize product and marketing data directly within their data lakehouse, removing the need for data duplication and ensuring 100% data accuracy. Real-time, self-service insights are available to technical and non-technical users. Mitzu.io supports efficient, scalable analytics across large datasets while maintaining strong privacy and compliance standards.