Parquet Optimization
Parquet Versions Explained: Parquet v1 vs Parquet v2
Apache Parquet is a popular columnar file format for analytics. It helps reduce storage size and improve query performance in tools such as Amazon Athena, Apache Spark, Trino, DuckDB, and AWS Glue.
When creating Parquet files, you may see an option called Parquet version. Usually, this means choosing between Parquet v1 and Parquet v2.
What Is a Parquet Version?
A Parquet version controls how data pages are written inside the file. It does not usually change the basic idea of Parquet: columns, metadata, schema, row groups, and compressed data.
Both Parquet v1 and Parquet v2 create valid Parquet files. The main difference is how efficiently some values can be encoded before compression.
Parquet v1
Parquet v1 is the older and most widely compatible version. It is usually the safest choice when files need to work across many different systems.
Advantages of Parquet v1
- Best compatibility with older tools.
- Stable and widely tested.
- Good default choice for general data pipelines.
- Supported by almost all Parquet readers.
Parquet v2
Parquet v2 introduced improvements in how data pages are stored. In some cases, it can help reduce file size or improve encoding efficiency.
Advantages of Parquet v2
- Newer data page format.
- Can be more efficient for some datasets.
- May improve compression results in specific cases.
- Useful when your analytics stack fully supports it.
Parquet v1 vs Parquet v2
| Feature | Parquet v1 | Parquet v2 |
|---|---|---|
| Compatibility | Highest compatibility | Supported by most modern tools |
| Use case | Safe default for most workloads | Good for modern analytics stacks |
| Efficiency | Good | Can be better in some cases |
| Best for | Maximum reader support | Newer pipelines and controlled environments |
Which Version Should You Choose?
For most users, Parquet v1 is the safest default because it provides the best compatibility.
Choose Parquet v2 when you know that all tools in your pipeline support it and you want to use the newer page format.
Parqify Tip
Parqify lets you choose the Parquet version manually in the Custom Optimization profile.
You can also use built-in optimization profiles for engines such as Athena, Spark, Trino, Presto, and AWS Glue.
Conclusion
Parquet v1 and Parquet v2 are both useful. The best choice depends on your compatibility requirements and analytics environment.
In practice, compression codec, row group size, dictionary encoding, and file layout often have a bigger impact than the Parquet version alone.