> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://gchandra.gitbook.io/data-warehousing/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://gchandra.gitbook.io/data-warehousing/data-warehousing-concepts/dimensional-modelling/star-vs-snowflake.md).

# Star vs Snowflake

| Star Schema                                                                                                   | Snowflake Schema                                                                                                        |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Dimension tables are not normalized.                                                                          | Dimension tables are normalized.                                                                                        |
| Take up more space and is easy to implement.                                                                  | Snowflake schemas will use less space to store dimension tables but are more complex.                                   |
| Star schemas will only join the fact table with the dimension tables, leading to simpler, faster SQL queries. | Snowflake schemas will join dimension tables with dimension tables and fact tables, leading to complicated SQL queries. |
| Redundant data so hard to maintain.                                                                           | Snowflake schemas have no redundant data, so they’re easier to maintain.                                                |
| Star schemas are better for datamarts with simple relationships.                                              | **Snowflake schemas are suitable for data warehouses.**                                                                 |

<figure><img src="https://2629735788-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F3G2NQEHaUSzehWzaKvXK%2Fuploads%2F4lMMFprdFbTnWAAy2jW5%2Fdw_star_vs_snowflake.png?alt=media&amp;token=3c1d6990-0eeb-423e-a6a0-3bb514634c6e" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>