The data which is to the point, factual, and highly organized is referred to as structured data. It is quantitative in nature, i.e., it is related to quantities that means it contains measurable numerical values like numbers, dates, and times. Unstructured data is the data that lacks any predefined model or format. It requires a lot of storage space, and it is hard to maintain security in it. It cannot be presented in a data model or schema. That's why managing, analyzing, or searching for unstructured data is hard.
Difference between structured data and unstructured data based on some characteristics are stated below.
| On the basis of | Structured data | Unstructured data |
|---|---|---|
| Technology | It is based on a relational database. | It is based on character and binary data. |
| Flexibility | Structured data is less flexible and schema-dependent. | There is an absence of schema, so it is more flexible. |
| Scalability | It is hard to scale database schema. | It is more scalable. |
| Robustness | It is very robust. | It is less robust. |
| Performance | Here, we can perform a structured query that allows complex joining, so the performance is higher. | While in unstructured data, textual queries are possible, the performance is lower than semi-structured and structured data. |
| Nature | Structured data is quantitative, i.e., it consists of hard numbers or things that can be counted. | It is qualitative, as it cannot be processed and analyzed using conventional tools. |
| Format | It has a predefined format. | It has a variety of formats, i.e., it comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. |
| Analysis | It is easy to search. | Searching for unstructured data is more difficult. |