Oracle recommends to use DBMS_STATS instead of ANALYZE since 8i. Sometimes, we might get confused by the two similar tools. So I took some times to read several documents and summarize the key differences as below:
| Features | DBMS_STATS | ANALYZE |
|---|---|---|
| Can gather statistics for CBO |  |
|
| Can validate the structure of a segment |  |
|
| Can list the chained rows | |
|
| Can collect freelist blocks | |
|
| Can gather statistics in parallel | |
|
| Can gather global statistics for partitions | |
|
| Can be export/import | |
|
| Can analyze external tables | |
|
| Can analyze system objects | |
|
| Command type | Stored procedure | SQL Command |
| Accuracy | More accurate | Less accurate |
| Granularity level | Multiple levels | The lowest level |
| Collect Range | Broader | Narrower |
| System privileges required | ANALYZE ANY and ANALYZE ANY DICTIONARY | ANALYZE ANY |