You’re comparing Weld vs Airbyte vs Census. Explore how they differ on connectors, pricing, and features. 
Loved by data teams from around the world
| Feature | Weld | Airbyte | Census |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core Platform | |||
| Price | $79 / 5M Active Rows | Standard from $10/mo; Plus & Pro are custom (capacity-based) | Free tier available; Pro plans start around $350/month |
| Free tier | No | Yes | Yes |
| Location | DK, (EU) | US | US |
| Connectors & Sync | |||
| Connectors | 200+ | 600+ | 130+ |
| Extract data (ETL) | Yes | Yes | No |
| Sync to HubSpot, Salesforce, Klaviyo, Excel (reverse ETL) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Two-Way Sync | Yes | No | No |
| Transformations & AI | |||
| Transformations | Yes | No | No |
| AI Assistant | Yes | Yes | No |
| dbt Core Integration | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| dbt Cloud Integration | Yes | Yes | No |
| Governance & DevOps | |||
| Orchestration | Yes | No | Yes |
| Lineage | Yes | No | No |
| Version control | Yes | No | Yes |
| On-Premise | No | Yes | No |
| OpenAPI / Developer API | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Integrations | |||
| Load to/from Excel | Yes | Yes | No |
| Load to/from Google Sheets | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Ratings | |||
| G2 rating | 4.8 | 4.2 | 4.5 |
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
Airbyte is an open-source data integration platform known for its large connector library and flexibility. It offers both self-hosted and fully managed cloud versions, with support for ELT, Reverse ETL, and custom connector development. Airbyte is especially popular with engineering-heavy teams due to its extensibility, dbt integration, and strong developer tooling. However, it typically requires more setup and ongoing maintenance compared to more polished no-code tools.
Open-source and highly extensible
Large number of connectors (600+)
Managed cloud option
Supports ELT and Reverse ETL
Strong dbt Core & dbt Cloud integration
Engineering-focused with advanced customization options
Growing ecosystem including AI-assisted tools like Connection AI Copilot
More suited for advanced or engineering-heavy teams
Requires more setup and ongoing maintenance
Connector quality varies due to open-source contributions
Not ideal for non-technical users
In a review from Confessions of a Data Guy, he shares::
“If you don't have workloads that currently use DBT or fit well into that model, this probably isn’t the tool for you.”
Overview
Census is a reverse ETL platform that syncs data from cloud data warehouses into operational tools such as Salesforce, HubSpot, Marketo, Google Sheets, and Slack. It works directly on warehouse tables or dbt models and focuses on reliable, incremental syncing to support operational analytics and data activation use cases.
Warehouse-native: syncs directly from tables or dbt models
No-code field mapping with live previews
Broad destination support across CRM, marketing, and productivity tools
Incremental upserts help maintain clean, deduplicated records
Deep dbt integration and support for analytics-as-code workflows
Flexible scheduling with cron, triggers, and API-based execution
Reverse ETL only—requires a separate tool for ingestion and transformation
Usage-based pricing can become costly at high volumes
Complex logic must be handled upstream in the warehouse or dbt
Sync performance depends on destination API limits
Cloud-only platform without on-prem deployment options
Census Overview (G2):
“Census is the fastest and most reliable reverse ETL platform with strong uptime and responsive support. It delivers transformed data directly from the warehouse into operational tools without requiring complex pipelines.”
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.
Airbyte is best suited for teams with engineering experience. While the cloud version simplifies deployment, building or modifying connectors and managing pipelines typically requires technical skills.
Census offers a clean interface with intuitive field mapping, previews, and validation steps. Non-technical users can configure operational syncs with minimal setup.
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.
Airbyte is best suited for teams with engineering experience. While the cloud version simplifies deployment, building or modifying connectors and managing pipelines typically requires technical skills.
Census offers a clean interface with intuitive field mapping, previews, and validation steps. Non-technical users can configure operational syncs with minimal setup.
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.
Airbyte offers both a generous free tier and paid plans. Standard starts at $10/month with volume-based pricing, while Plus and Pro use capacity-based pricing for more predictable costs. Depending on usage, Airbyte can be affordable, but costs may rise as workloads grow.
Census includes a free tier for basic use, while paid plans scale with usage. Costs can increase with high sync volumes, making it more suitable for teams with predictable operational data needs.
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.
Airbyte offers both a generous free tier and paid plans. Standard starts at $10/month with volume-based pricing, while Plus and Pro use capacity-based pricing for more predictable costs. Depending on usage, Airbyte can be affordable, but costs may rise as workloads grow.
Census includes a free tier for basic use, while paid plans scale with usage. Costs can increase with high sync volumes, making it more suitable for teams with predictable operational data needs.
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.
Airbyte has one of the largest connector libraries on the market and supports ELT, Reverse ETL, dbt Core, dbt Cloud, and advanced developer tooling. However, unlike some competitors, it does not offer built-in transformations or native orchestration.
Census focuses on reverse ETL functionality, including incremental syncs, no-code mapping, dbt model syncing, scheduling, monitoring, and alerting. It provides an API and CLI for integration into GitOps workflows.
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.
Airbyte has one of the largest connector libraries on the market and supports ELT, Reverse ETL, dbt Core, dbt Cloud, and advanced developer tooling. However, unlike some competitors, it does not offer built-in transformations or native orchestration.
Census focuses on reverse ETL functionality, including incremental syncs, no-code mapping, dbt model syncing, scheduling, monitoring, and alerting. It provides an API and CLI for integration into GitOps workflows.
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.
Airbyte is highly flexible thanks to its open-source nature, custom connector builder, APIs, and developer tooling. This makes it a strong choice for engineering teams, but less appealing for organizations wanting a low-maintenance, no-code experience.
Users can sync any warehouse table or SQL model, schedule syncs flexibly, and configure failure handling. Customization is primarily driven by upstream SQL and dbt transformations, aligning with analytics-engineering workflows.
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.
Airbyte is highly flexible thanks to its open-source nature, custom connector builder, APIs, and developer tooling. This makes it a strong choice for engineering teams, but less appealing for organizations wanting a low-maintenance, no-code experience.
Users can sync any warehouse table or SQL model, schedule syncs flexibly, and configure failure handling. Customization is primarily driven by upstream SQL and dbt transformations, aligning with analytics-engineering workflows.
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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.”
AWARD WINNING ETL PLATFORM
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