Reverse ETL vs Zero ETL: Why SingleStore Outpaces Databricks Lakebase

In response to Databricks' blog “Reverse ETL with Lakebase: Activate your lakehouse data for operational analytics” , it’s worth exploring why many enterprises are moving past reverse ETL entirely — choosing a zero ETL strategy with SingleStore instead.

Why SingleStore Customers Choose Zero ETL Over Reverse ETL

What Databricks frames: Reverse ETL simplified

Databricks introduces Lakebase, a managed Postgres database wired to the lakehouse. Data from curated gold layers flows into Lakebase, powering low-latency queries and transactional workloads. The promise: fewer pipelines and consistent governance between analytical and operational systems.

Reverse ETL systems are an old idea though. Here’s what the community says:

“We tried reverse ETL tools as well but it’s still so overwhelming.” Reddit
“Reverse ETL is simple on the transform side, but the real work is on the hand-off—ensuring data encoding, testing contracts, maintaining dialect consistency, etc.” Reddit

SingleStore’s zero ETL advantage

Instead of shuttling data outward (reverse ETL), SingleStore enables you to ingest, query and activate data directly within one platform. No pipelines. No hops.

Open lakehouse integration, zero overhead

Query and materialize data directly from your lakehouse tables — no ETL infrastructure required.
This unlocks real-time analytics on “frozen” lakehouse data, something Databricks requires ETL for.

Millisecond latency, no hops

SingleStore’s hybrid row/column architecture lets you query data the instant it lands.
Pipelines support continuous, parallel ingestion from Kafka, S3, Iceberg, HDFS and more — all natively, with exactly once semantics.

Reverse ETL vs. zero ETL

Feature/benefit	Reverse ETL (e.g., Lakebase)	Zero ETL with SingleStore
Data activation	Shuffles data outward	Activate data in place
Pipeline complexity	Syncing, monitoring, schema drift	Native ingestion, no hops
System fragmentation	Separate operational + analytical	Unified platform
Latency + freshness	Limited by sync frequency	Millisecond real time
Cost + maintenance	Added tooling and ops	Lower TCO, fewer moving parts
Governance	Cross-system sync required	Single governed system

Conclusion: Why SingleStore leads with zero ETL

Where Databricks simplifies reverse ETL, SingleStore eliminates it entirely. That means:

Immediate access to fresh data without ETL overhead
Lower operational costs and faster data time to value
Scalability for modern intelligent applications — from BI to AI-driven workloads

With SingleStore, customers don’t just reverse ETL — they skip ETL altogether.

Experience the difference yourself. Start free with SingleStore.