You’re comparing Weld vs 5X vs Pentaho Data Integration. Explore how they differ on connectors, pricing, and features. 
Loved by data teams from around the world
| Feature | Weld | 5X | Pentaho Data Integration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core Platform | |||
| Price | $79 / 5M Active Rows | Free Forever tier; Starter ~ $500/month, scales with usage and connectors | Community Edition: Free; Enterprise Edition: Custom pricing |
| Free tier | No | Yes | Yes |
| Location | DK, (EU) | Singapore (HQ), US, UK, India | US |
| Connectors & Sync | |||
| Connectors | 200+ | 500+ | 150+ |
| 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 | Yes |
| AI Assistant | Yes | No | No |
| dbt Core Integration | Yes | Yes | No |
| dbt Cloud Integration | Yes | No | No |
| Governance & DevOps | |||
| Orchestration | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Lineage | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Version control | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| On-Premise | No | No | Yes |
| OpenAPI / Developer API | Yes | No | No |
| Integrations | |||
| Load to/from Excel | Yes | Yes | Yes (Excel/CSV input/output) |
| Load to/from Google Sheets | Yes | Yes | Yes (via Google Sheets plugin) |
| Ratings | |||
| G2 rating | 4.8 | 4.9 | 4.1 |
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
Pentaho Data Integration (PDI), also known as Kettle, is an open-source ETL tool from Hitachi Vantara. It offers a graphical Spoon interface for building transformations and jobs, with support for more than 150 data sources including relational databases, flat files, cloud storage, and NoSQL systems. PDI includes step-based transformations, data cleansing, lookups, and joins, and can execute workloads in a clustered environment. It also integrates with the Pentaho BI platform for reporting and analytics.
Open-source Community Edition with no licensing costs; Enterprise Edition adds advanced capabilities and support
150+ connectors covering databases, files, cloud storage, big data technologies, and NoSQL systems
Graphical Spoon interface for visual ETL design, with real-time preview and debugging
Supports clustered execution via Carte for parallel processing and scalability
Community Edition lacks advanced features such as lineage, enterprise monitoring, and built-in data quality tools
Performance can degrade with very large datasets unless transformations are tuned
User interface and overall UX feel dated compared to modern cloud-native tools
Pentaho Data Integration Overview:
“PDI’s free community edition and Spoon GUI allow rapid ETL prototyping; its step library is extensive, and clustering support is solid for scale.”
“Limited data quality features and slower development speed compared to modern cloud ETL. Community support can be slow for fixes.”
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.
PDI’s Spoon interface uses a canvas-based approach where users drag steps, connect them, and configure transformations. While powerful, it can feel dated and becomes cluttered for very large workflows.
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.
PDI’s Spoon interface uses a canvas-based approach where users drag steps, connect them, and configure transformations. While powerful, it can feel dated and becomes cluttered for very large workflows.
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.
The free Community Edition is cost-effective for experimentation and small teams. Enterprise Edition is priced via custom contracts and includes lineage, monitoring, and support, making it better suited for mid-sized or large organizations.
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.
The free Community Edition is cost-effective for experimentation and small teams. Enterprise Edition is priced via custom contracts and includes lineage, monitoring, and support, making it better suited for mid-sized or large organizations.
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.
PDI provides visual data transformation, orchestration, cleansing, joins, lookups, scripting (JavaScript and Java), logging, and clustered execution. Enterprise Edition adds lineage, enterprise monitoring, and tighter BI integration.
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.
PDI provides visual data transformation, orchestration, cleansing, joins, lookups, scripting (JavaScript and Java), logging, and clustered execution. Enterprise Edition adds lineage, enterprise monitoring, and tighter BI integration.
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.
Users can extend PDI with custom plugins, embed Java or JavaScript code, and call external scripts. Its open-source nature makes it highly customizable, though it requires Java expertise for plugin development.
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.
Users can extend PDI with custom plugins, embed Java or JavaScript code, and call external scripts. Its open-source nature makes it highly customizable, though it requires Java expertise for plugin development.
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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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