BigQuery vs Snowflake vs Databricks: Which subreddit community beats?
Instead of comparing data platforms, I want to know which one has the healthiest community heartbeat on Reddit: BigQuery, Snowflake, or Databricks? I’m not in the business of advocating for any of them anymore, but I’ll always love data and community. So let’s compare the numbers.
Reddit has grown as the largest internet community, and I’ve been part of growing some subreddits close to my heart. Including:
- I started r/bigquery in 2013. I took it from 0 to 10k subscribers by 2020. After I left Google, it kept growing, but at a slower rate
- In 2020, I reactivated r/snowflake, taking it from 600 to 18k subscribers by 2024.
- And in 2023, I watched from outside as r/databricks went from almost nothing to 9k subscribers at the start of 2025.
So who has the healthiest subreddit community today?
Why this matters in an LLM world
Semrush looked at the top domains cited on LLMs (ChatGPT, Perplexity, AI Mode, AI Overviews) — and found out that Reddit is the top source for their citations (followed by Wikipedia and Youtube):
The Numbers Tell a Story
Looking at these subreddit’s activity is a timely question, as Reddit just stopped reporting subscriber counts. Instead, they’re now showing “weekly visitors” and “weekly contributors.” Not all mods are thrilled about this change, but it gives us some interesting insights — as observed on September 16, 2025:
r/bigquery: Still the largest subscriber base (~19.6k), but surprisingly low engagement (7.5k weekly visitors, 33 weekly contributions).
r/snowflake: Has likely matched BigQuery’s subscriber count (~18.9k) with much stronger engagement (16k weekly visitors, 172 weekly contributions)
r/databricks: The clear engagement winner despite fewer total subscribers (20k weekly visitors, 424 weekly contributions)
What This Tells Us
It’s never too late to build a vibrant community. Databricks entered the game years after the others, but now has the most vibrant community. Sometimes being the newcomer means you try harder.
Communities need champions to thrive. r/bigquery’s growth slowed significantly after I left Google. I’m seeing a similar pattern with r/snowflake now that I’ve moved on. Don’t just assign someone to manage your subreddit, but nurture those who really care.
A beating heart is more important than a large body. Raw subscriber numbers don’t tell the whole story. Databricks has developed a community where people actively participate, ask questions, and help each other.
I’m impressed by what the Databricks community team has built. My goal is to keep watching and learning from their growth.
The road ahead
As for me? I just revived r/geotab for the telematics industry — a space I’m still learning about. That’s the beauty of building communities: you get to learn alongside peers, while connecting with people with shared challenges and interests.
The data doesn’t lie: the healthiest communities aren’t necessarily the biggest ones. It’s the ones where people show up, contribute, and help each other grow.
I’m Felipe Hoffa — find me on LinkedIn (comments for this post), around the web, and on the road.
