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 |