Why Trino on Qubole Outruns Presto — And Why That Matters for Your Analytics

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August 9, 2025 by

Why Trino on Qubole Outruns Presto — And Why That Matters for Your Analytics

If you’re still running Presto 317 for your analytics workloads, you might be leaving serious performance — and money — on the table. We put Trino 447 head-to-head against Presto 317 on Qubole, using identical hardware and real-world TPC-DS benchmarks. The results were crystal clear: Trino on Qubole is faster, more efficient, and more capable across the board.

Test Environment

Both Trino and Presto clusters were identically configured:

  • Master Node: m5.xlarge (4 CPU, 16 GiB memory)
  • Worker Nodes: m5.xlarge (4 CPU, 16 GiB memory)

The Benchmarks & Results

TestScenarioTrino TimePresto TimeGain
Q1Simple Aggregation2.73 min3.79 min~28% faster
Q2Complex Join + Aggregation3.20 min5.04 min~36% faster
Q3Window Functions3.18 min4.40 min~28% faster
Q4Complex Analytics (TPC-DS Q67 variant)3.34 minFailedComplete success
Q5Large Hash Join (Memory-intensive)3.35 min4.94 min~32% faster

 

Key Takeaways

  1. Consistently Faster Execution – Trino beat Presto in every single completed test, often delivering 25–36% speed improvements.
  2. Handles Complexity Without Crashing – In our most demanding complex analytics query (Q4), Trino succeeded where Presto failed with “Insufficient resources.”
  3. Better Memory Management – Trino showed clear advantages on large joins and memory-heavy operations, keeping queries stable and performant.
  4. Immediate Impact on Productivity – Faster query execution means your analysts spend less time waiting and more time delivering insights.

 

Why Run Trino on Qubole?

  • Seamless Migration – Upgrade from Presto to Trino without rethinking your entire data infrastructure.
  • Optimized for Cloud Costs – Shorter runtimes reduce compute hours, directly cutting costs.
  • Enterprise Reliability – Qubole’s managed platform ensures scaling, resource allocation, and stability, so you can focus on results, not firefighting.

The Bottom Line

Trino on Qubole isn’t just an upgrade — it’s a performance leap. Whether you’re running straightforward aggregations or complex, resource-hungry analytics, Trino delivers faster, more reliable, and more cost-effective queries.

If you want analytics that keep pace with your business, it’s time to move from Presto to Trino on Qubole.

 

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