Comparing 5X with Alooma and Weld
Carolina Russ6 min read
What is 5X
5X is an end-to-end data platform that combines ETL (500+ connectors), a managed data warehouse, dbt-powered transformations, reverse ETL, and a built-in BI/semantic layer under one roof. It aims to deliver a unified, low-code interface where teams can onboard data, model it, activate it in operational tools, and visualize it—all in a single platform.
Pros
- 500+ connectors for both source and destination (data warehouses, SaaS apps, ad platforms, etc.).
- Includes managed Snowflake/BigQuery warehouse, dbt core integration for transformations, and reverse ETL to push data back to apps—all in one platform.
- Built-in BI layer and semantic metric definitions so you can build dashboards without a separate BI tool.
- Dedicated in-house data experts provide consulting and implementation support, accelerating time-to-value.
Cons
- Premium pricing (Starter ~$500/mo, scaling with connectors/warehouse usage) can be high for small teams.
- Being a newer startup, the community and third-party tutorials are limited; some advanced features are still maturing.
- Heavily opinionated stack—if you use an alternate data warehouse or BI tool, integration can require workarounds.
5X Testimonials:
What I like about 5X
5X’s all-in-one stack reduced our tool sprawl: data ingested, transformed, and even dashboards were live in days. Their in-house experts helped us onboard quickly.
What I dislike about 5X
As a relatively new entrant, some advanced features (e.g., AI-driven pipeline suggestions) are still in beta, and pricing can scale up quickly with heavy usage.
What is Alooma
Alooma (acquired by Google Cloud in 2019) was a streaming ETL platform that enabled real-time ingestion of data from various sources into BigQuery. It provided a visual pipeline editor to map, transform, and route data with minimal code, automatically handling schema changes and ensuring exactly-once delivery. While Alooma as a standalone product is retired, many of its features have been integrated into Google Cloud’s Dataflow and Pub/Sub pipelines.
Pros
- Real-time streaming ETL with automatic schema drift handling.
- Minimal coding: visual pipeline UI with built-in connectors to databases, Kafka, APIs, and SaaS apps.
- Exactly-once delivery guarantees to BigQuery, eliminating duplicate data.
Cons
- Standalone Alooma product is discontinued—functionality now lives in GCP services (e.g., Dataflow, Data Fusion).
- Migrating legacy Alooma pipelines to GCP-native services requires rework, as UI and features differ from original Alooma.
Google Cloud’s Dataflow (Alooma integration):
What I like about Alooma
Alooma’s ease of connecting live streaming data sources directly into BigQuery with automated schema management was revolutionary for our real-time analytics.
What I dislike about Alooma
Since Google integrated Alooma into its native services, the standalone product no longer exists, so new users must migrate to Dataflow or Data Fusion.
What is Weld
Weld is a powerful ETL platform that seamlessly integrates ELT, data transformations, reverse ETL, and AI-assisted features into one user-friendly solution. With its intuitive interface, Weld makes it easy for anyone, regardless of technical expertise, to build and manage data workflows. Known for its premium quality connectors, all built in-house, Weld ensures the highest quality and reliability for its users. It is designed to handle large datasets with near real-time data synchronization, making it ideal for modern data teams that require robust and efficient data integration solutions. Weld also leverages AI to automate repetitive tasks, optimize workflows, and enhance data transformation capabilities, ensuring maximum efficiency and productivity. Users can combine data from a wide variety of sources, including marketing platforms, CRMs, e-commerce platforms like Shopify, APIs, databases, Excel, Google Sheets, and more, providing a single source of truth for all their data.
Pros
- Premium quality connectors and reliability
- User-friendly and easy to set up
- AI assistant
- Very competitive and easy-to-understand pricing model
- Reverse ETL option
- Lineage, orchestration, and workflow features
- Advanced transformation and SQL modeling capabilities
- Ability to handle large datasets and near real-time data sync
- Combines data from a wide range of sources for a single source of truth
Cons
- Requires some technical knowledge around data warehousing and SQL
- Limited features for advanced data teams
A reviewer on G2 said:
What I like about Weld
First and foremost, Weld is incredibly user-friendly. The graphical interface is intuitive, which makes it easy to build data workflows quickly and efficiently. Even with little experience in SQL and pipeline management, we found that Weld was straightforward and easy to use. What really impressed me, however, was Weld's flexibility. It was able to handle data from a wide variety of sources, including SQL databases, Google Sheets, and even APIs. The solution also allowed us to customize my data transformations in a way that best suited my needs. Whether I needed to clean data, join tables, or aggregate data, Weld had the necessary tools to accomplish the task. Weld's performance was also exceptional. I was able to run large-scale ETL jobs quickly and efficiently, with minimal downtime via a Snowflake instance and visualization via own-hosted Metabase. The solution's scalability meant that I could process more data without any issues. Another standout feature of Weld was its support. I never felt lost or unsure about how to use a particular feature, as the support team was always quick to respond to any questions or concerns that I had. Overall, I highly recommend Weld as an ETL solution. Its user-friendliness, flexibility, performance, and support make it an excellent choice for anyone looking to streamline their data integration processes. I will definitely be using Weld for all my ETL needs going forward.
What I dislike about Weld
Weld is still limited to a certain number of integrations - although the team is super interested to hear if you need custom integrations.
5X vs Alooma: Ease of Use and User Interface
5X
5X’s UI guides users through onboard: connect sources, choose warehouse, define dbt models, and build dashboards—all via a low-code interface. Non-technical users can leverage pre-packaged templates, while power users can write custom SQL/dbt.
Alooma
Alooma’s web-based pipeline builder allowed users to drag-and-drop connectors for streaming or batch data, apply transformations, and route data to BigQuery with just a few clicks. The interface auto-generated SQL when possible.
5X vs Alooma: Pricing Transparency and Affordability
5X
5X offers a Free Forever tier for small usage (limited connectors/rows). The Starter plan (~$500/mo) covers basic use, but costs increase with data volume and connector count. ROI calculations often justify the cost by consolidating multiple tools.
Alooma
No longer available as a separate product. Users adopt equivalent GCP services (Dataflow, Data Fusion) which have pay-as-you-go pricing under the GCP pricing model.
5X vs Alooma: Comprehensive Feature Set
5X
End-to-end features: ETL ingestion (500+ connectors), managed warehouse provisioning, dbt transformations, reverse ETL, built-in BI/visualization, and a semantic layer. It also includes lineage tracking and API endpoints for data apps.
Alooma
Alooma supported real-time ingestion from Kafka, databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL), logs, REST APIs, and SaaS apps, with built-in transformations (masking, enrichment). It automatically handled schema changes, and could write to BigQuery partitions.
5X vs Alooma: Flexibility and Customization
5X
While 5X is tightly integrated, it allows custom dbt models, Python UDFs, and can ingest data from arbitrary APIs. If you don’t need the BI layer, you can skip that component. Custom connectors can be built upon request by their team.
Alooma
Users could write custom JavaScript transforms or Python UDFs for complex logic. The platform managed infrastructure, but custom connectors required Eloqua code or support.
Summary of 5X vs Alooma vs Weld
| Weld | 5X | Alooma | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Connectors | 200++ | 500+ | 100+ |
| Price | $99 / Unlimited usage | Free Forever tier; Starter ~$500/month for limited usage, then scales with volume | N/A (product retired; GCP service pricing applies) |
| Free tier | No | Yes | No |
| Location | EU | Singapore (HQ) + USA, UK, India | Sunnyvale, CA, USA (pre-acquisition) |
| Extract data (ETL) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sync data to HubSpot, Salesforce, Klaviyo, Excel etc. (reverse ETL) | Yes | Yes | No |
| Transformations | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AI Assistant | Yes | No | No |
| On-Premise | No | No | No |
| Orchestration | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Lineage | Yes | Yes | No |
| Version control | Yes | Yes | No |
| Load data to and from Excel | Yes | Yes | No |
| Load data to and from Google Sheets | Yes | Yes | No |
| Two-Way Sync | Yes | Yes | No |
| dbt Core Integration | Yes | Yes | No |
| dbt Cloud Integration | Yes | No | No |
| OpenAPI / Developer API | Yes | No | No |
| G2 Rating | 4.8 | 4.9 |
Conclusion
You’re comparing 5X, Alooma, Weld. Each of these tools has its own strengths:
- 5X: end-to-end features: etl ingestion (500+ connectors), managed warehouse provisioning, dbt transformations, reverse etl, built-in bi/visualization, and a semantic layer. it also includes lineage tracking and api endpoints for data apps. . 5x offers a free forever tier for small usage (limited connectors/rows). the starter plan (~$500/mo) covers basic use, but costs increase with data volume and connector count. roi calculations often justify the cost by consolidating multiple tools. .
- Alooma: alooma supported real-time ingestion from kafka, databases (mysql, postgresql), logs, rest apis, and saas apps, with built-in transformations (masking, enrichment). it automatically handled schema changes, and could write to bigquery partitions. . no longer available as a separate product. users adopt equivalent gcp services (dataflow, data fusion) which have pay-as-you-go pricing under the gcp pricing model. .
- Weld: weld integrates elt, data transformations, and reverse etl all within one platform. it also provides advanced features such as data lineage, orchestration, workflow management, and an ai assistant, which helps in automating repetitive tasks and optimizing workflows.. weld offers a straightforward and competitive pricing model, starting at $99 for 2 million active rows, making it more affordable and predictable, especially for small to medium-sized enterprises..
