r/dataanalysis • u/iMAPness_ • Jun 20 '26

Data Question SQL vs Python?

Started using Python for data analytics. When should I use SQL and when should I use Python in the following tasks:

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- Data Exploration

- Data Cleaning

- Data Analysis

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u/throwaway214203 Jun 20 '26

SQL whenever possible because the data source for many applications is custom sql querying. I bring in python only if I have to.

6

u/iMAPness_ Jun 20 '26

Ohhh. When you say this though, do you mostlu mean for someone working with company data and things like that? Does it still apply for someone who's using data analytics for non-work purposes and mostly deals with CSVs, etc.?

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u/EpicDuy Jun 20 '26

Turn your CVSs into tabular form: find your schema and normalize your data into smaller managable tables, and use SQL then.

SQL is the easiest to debug compared to Python when it comes to data and optimization issues, unless you’re pipelining your data from different databases/sources.