You’re comparing Weld vs 5X vs Meltano. Explore how they differ on connectors, pricing, and features. 
Loved by data teams from around the world
| Feature | Weld | 5X | Meltano |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core Platform | |||
| Price | $79 / 5M Active Rows | Free Forever tier; Starter ~ $500/month, scales with usage and connectors | Free (self-hosted), Meltano Cloud is custom pricing |
| Free tier | No | Yes | Yes |
| Location | DK, (EU) | Singapore (HQ), US, UK, India | US |
| Connectors & Sync | |||
| Connectors | 200+ | 500+ | 600+ |
| Extract data (ETL) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sync to HubSpot, Salesforce, Klaviyo, Excel (reverse ETL) | Yes | Yes | No |
| Two-Way Sync | Yes | Yes | No |
| Transformations & AI | |||
| Transformations | Yes | Yes | No |
| AI Assistant | Yes | No | No |
| dbt Core Integration | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| dbt Cloud Integration | Yes | No | No |
| Governance & DevOps | |||
| Orchestration | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Lineage | Yes | Yes | No |
| Version control | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| On-Premise | No | No | Yes |
| OpenAPI / Developer API | Yes | No | Yes |
| Integrations | |||
| Load to/from Excel | Yes | Yes | No |
| Load to/from Google Sheets | Yes | Yes | No |
| Ratings | |||
| G2 rating | 4.8 | 4.9 | 4.6 |
Overview
Weld is a unified ELT and data activation platform that combines ingestion, modeling, transformations, orchestration, lineage, and reverse ETL in a single SaaS interface. With premium in-house–built connectors, an intuitive UI, and near real-time syncs, Weld enables both technical and non-technical users to create and manage data workflows efficiently. Weld also includes an AI assistant to support SQL modeling, generate transformations, and streamline repetitive tasks. Teams can ingest data from a wide range of sources—including marketing platforms, CRMs, databases, Google Sheets, Excel, and APIs—into their cloud data warehouse and activate it back into business tools.
Lineage, orchestration, and workflow features included by default
Handles large datasets and near real-time data sync
ELT and reverse ETL in one platform
User-friendly interface with minimal setup required
Flat, predictable monthly pricing model
200+ in-house–built, high-quality connectors
AI assistant for modeling and transformations
Some SQL knowledge is useful for advanced modeling
Optimized for cloud-warehouse workflows (Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, etc.)
Feature set is streamlined for modern ELT/activation use cases
A reviewer on G2 said:
Overview
5X is an end-to-end data platform that combines ELT connectors (500+), a managed data warehouse, dbt-powered transformations, reverse ETL, and a built-in BI/semantic layer. It provides a unified interface for ingesting data, modeling it, activating it in business tools, and building dashboards within a single platform.
500+ connectors across SaaS apps, databases, advertising platforms, and destinations.
Managed Snowflake or BigQuery warehouse included, plus dbt-based transformations and reverse ETL.
Built-in BI and semantic modeling, reducing need for a separate BI tool.
Professional services and implementation support included to speed onboarding.
Pricing scales with volume and connectors and may be high for small teams.
Newer platform with a smaller ecosystem and fewer third-party tutorials.
Highly opinionated stack—using external BI or warehouses may require adjustments.
5X Testimonials:
“5X’s all-in-one stack reduced our tool sprawl: data ingestion, modeling, and dashboards were ready quickly, supported by strong onboarding from their team.”
“Some advanced capabilities are still maturing, and pricing can increase based on usage and connector needs.”
Overview
Meltano is an open-source data integration and orchestration platform built around the Singer ecosystem. It focuses on engineering workflows, version control, and reproducible pipelines. Meltano offers extensive connector coverage through Singer taps and targets, along with strong support for dbt, Airflow, and Dagster. While it provides high flexibility for technical teams, it requires more setup and maintenance than fully managed ELT tools.
Open-source platform
Large connector coverage via the Singer ecosystem
SDK for building and maintaining Singer taps/targets
Strong engineering workflow support (CLI-first, version-controlled)
Flexible deployment options including Meltano Cloud
No fully polished, mature managed option (Meltano Cloud is early-stage)
High maintenance requirements, especially for Singer connectors
Connector quality varies significantly across the community
No built-in reverse ETL or native transformations
Less suitable for non-technical teams
As a user on G2 puts it::
“All the managerial tasks are handled under the hood, leaving you to focus on getting or consuming the data you need.”
“With so many features baked into Meltano, navigating the documentation can be challenging. However, I've gotten around this by using Bing AI search, which brings me the answer immediately.”
Side-by-side
Weld’s interface is built for clarity and speed, enabling users with varying levels of technical experience to manage data pipelines and models efficiently. Its built-in lineage and orchestration tools provide transparency across workflows.
5X provides a guided, low-code interface that walks users through connecting sources, configuring the warehouse, setting up dbt transformations, and creating dashboards. Templates help non-technical users, while developers can write custom SQL or dbt models.
Meltano is simple and easy to use for those with technical expertise, particularly due to its portability and command-line usability, but may be challenging for less technical users.
Side-by-side
Weld’s interface is built for clarity and speed, enabling users with varying levels of technical experience to manage data pipelines and models efficiently. Its built-in lineage and orchestration tools provide transparency across workflows.
5X provides a guided, low-code interface that walks users through connecting sources, configuring the warehouse, setting up dbt transformations, and creating dashboards. Templates help non-technical users, while developers can write custom SQL or dbt models.
Meltano is simple and easy to use for those with technical expertise, particularly due to its portability and command-line usability, but may be challenging for less technical users.
Side-by-side
Weld offers a simple and predictable pricing model starting at $79 for 5 million active rows. This flat, usage-transparent structure makes budgeting straightforward for small and medium-sized teams.
The Free Forever tier supports limited usage. Paid tiers start around $500 per month, with costs increasing based on volume and number of connectors. While not the cheapest option, the unified platform can reduce expenditure on separate tools.
Meltano is open-source and free to use, making it highly affordable, but requires significant investment in deployment and maintenance, especially without a fully managed option.
Side-by-side
Weld offers a simple and predictable pricing model starting at $79 for 5 million active rows. This flat, usage-transparent structure makes budgeting straightforward for small and medium-sized teams.
The Free Forever tier supports limited usage. Paid tiers start around $500 per month, with costs increasing based on volume and number of connectors. While not the cheapest option, the unified platform can reduce expenditure on separate tools.
Meltano is open-source and free to use, making it highly affordable, but requires significant investment in deployment and maintenance, especially without a fully managed option.
Side-by-side
Weld provides ELT ingestion, SQL-based transformations, reverse ETL activation, data lineage, orchestration, and workflow management in a single platform. Its AI assistant accelerates modeling and transformation tasks.
5X offers ingestion (500+ connectors), a managed Snowflake/BigQuery warehouse, dbt transformations, reverse ETL, built-in BI dashboards, a semantic metrics layer, lineage, orchestration, and role-based governance.
The platform offers extensive integration options, including support for data transformation and orchestration, but relies heavily on the Singer framework, which can limit capabilities.
Side-by-side
Weld provides ELT ingestion, SQL-based transformations, reverse ETL activation, data lineage, orchestration, and workflow management in a single platform. Its AI assistant accelerates modeling and transformation tasks.
5X offers ingestion (500+ connectors), a managed Snowflake/BigQuery warehouse, dbt transformations, reverse ETL, built-in BI dashboards, a semantic metrics layer, lineage, orchestration, and role-based governance.
The platform offers extensive integration options, including support for data transformation and orchestration, but relies heavily on the Singer framework, which can limit capabilities.
Side-by-side
Users can model data using SQL enhanced by Weld’s AI assistant, automate workflows, and build custom connectors to any API. This provides strong flexibility for teams that want to tailor integrations and transformations within one platform.
Custom dbt models, SQL, and Python UDFs offer flexibility. While the platform is opinionated, 5X supports custom connector requests and allows optional use of components like the BI layer.
Meltano is highly flexible for advanced users who can manage their own deployments and build on the platform, but it requires substantial maintenance and lacks a fully managed option.
Side-by-side
Users can model data using SQL enhanced by Weld’s AI assistant, automate workflows, and build custom connectors to any API. This provides strong flexibility for teams that want to tailor integrations and transformations within one platform.
Custom dbt models, SQL, and Python UDFs offer flexibility. While the platform is opinionated, 5X supports custom connector requests and allows optional use of components like the BI layer.
Meltano is highly flexible for advanced users who can manage their own deployments and build on the platform, but it requires substantial maintenance and lacks a fully managed option.
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CUSTOMER STORIES
“One of the biggest impacts has been unlocking new ways to buy media. Before, we didn’t have the data to back up strategic decisions – now we do.”
“Before Weld, we had to rely on custom Python scripts and manual processes that were time-consuming and error-prone.”
“We’re still a team of three, but we’re often doing far more than the equivalent of three full-time employees. That’s down to how we're able to leverage systems, data, and processes.”
“We’ve always been a KPI-driven company. But we wanted to scale that mindset across every team member, every team, every decision.”
“Before Weld, our data infrastructure was limited and we relied heavily on Excel files and custom Python scripts.”
“Weld has saved us a ton of time, from not having data ready to having a fully functional data warehouse and connectors.”
“By integrating Weld, Amazon S3, and Databricks, Soundboks built a modern data pipeline that automates data ingestion, improves reporting, and provides up-to-date visibility into sales performance”
“We didn’t have a good data setup, so we lacked the business insights we needed. Weld has allowed us to set up a structured data infrastructure and access insights quickly.”
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