Comparing Airbyte with Meltano and Weld

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Rated 5 stars on G2

What is Airbyte

An open-source data integration platform, Airbyte is a popular choice for those building a modern data stack. Airbyte boasts its collection of ELT connectors as well as the ability to build custom ones in the platform, a differentiator from other no-code ELT tools. Because building custom pipelines requires coding knowledge, this special feature will only benefit data specialists with solid coding abilities. Airbyte is built to work well with DBT and SQL, so this is an important thing to note before deciding to use the tool.

Pros

Open-source platform
A really large number of connectors and destinations
Easy deployment
Managed cloud option
Engineering-focused with advanced options to build your own connectors and features
Has both ELT and Reverse ETL options
Large community

Cons

More suited for advanced teams
Require more maintenance
The quality of connectors can vary because of open-source
High dependence on community

In a review from Confessions of a Data Guy, he shares::

What I like about Airbyte

If you don't have workloads that currently use DBT or fit well into that model, this probably isn’t the tool for you.

What I dislike about Airbyte

Read full review

What is Meltano

Meltano is another open-source data integration platform like Airbyte that is designed to help businesses build their own data integration pipelines. The platform provides users with a wide range of integration options, including connectors for databases, APIs, and application logs. Additionally, Meltano provides extensive support for data transformation and orchestration and integrates well with several cloud-based data warehouses.

Pros

Open-source platform
A really large number of connectors through Singer
Offer an SDK to more easily build Singer taps and targets

Cons

No fully managed options so you need to deploy yourself (in Beta though)
Requires high maintenance
Limited data transformation capabilities (only through deep integration with DBT)
Only has a limited number of connectors that are natively built outside of Singer

As a user on G2 puts it::

What I like about Meltano

The best thing about Meltano is that it's simple and easy to use. It's portable, so I can run it on the command line, or in a docker container, or in any number of orchestration tools.

What I dislike about Meltano

Read full review

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.

Read full review

Airbyte vs Meltano: Ease of Use and User Interface

Airbyte

Airbyte is an open-source platform that is easier for teams with strong coding skills but may be challenging for those without technical expertise, especially when building custom connectors.

Meltano

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.

Airbyte vs Meltano: Pricing Transparency and Affordability

Airbyte

Airbyte offers a flexible pricing model based on credits, but costs can add up depending on data volume, making it more suitable for teams that can optimize their usage.

Meltano

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.

Airbyte vs Meltano: Comprehensive Feature Set

Airbyte

The platform supports a large number of connectors and destinations and is designed to work well with DBT and SQL, providing robust options for teams building a modern data stack.

Meltano

The platform offers extensive integration options, including support for data transformation and orchestration, but relies heavily on the Singer framework, which can limit capabilities.

Airbyte vs Meltano: Flexibility and Customization

Airbyte

Airbyte's open-source nature and customization options make it highly flexible for teams with the capability to maintain and build on the platform, but this flexibility comes with a higher maintenance burden.

Meltano

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.

Summary of Airbyte vs Meltano vs Weld

	Weld	Airbyte	Meltano
Connectors	150+	350+	600+
Price	$99 / 2 connectors	$2.50/credit (one million rows = 6 credits; 1 GB = 4 credits)	N/A
Free tier	No	Yes	No
Extract data (ETL)	Yes	Yes	Yes
Sync data to HubSpot, Salesforce, Klaviyo, Excel etc. (reverse ETL)	Yes	Yes	No
Version control	Yes	No	No
Orchestration	Yes	No	No
Lineage	Yes	No	No
AI Assistant	Yes	No	No
Load data to and from Excel	Yes	No	No
Load data to and from Google Sheets	Yes	No	No
Two-Way Sync	Yes	No	No
G2 Rating	4.8	4.2	4.9

Why choose Weld?

Gather all your data in one place

Tired of scattered data? Weld consolidates all your data in one location with our no-code data pipelines.

Spend less time on manual reporting

Suffering from data headaches? Spend less time manually juggling data in Excel and Google Sheets and more time getting real insights.

Reliability and quality

All our connectors are built in-house to ensure the highest quality and reliability with 99.9% uptime across more than 150,000 daily syncs.

Combine and transform your data with AI

Easily transform your data into meaningful metrics with our SQL AI Assistant, Ed.

Award winning ETL Platform

Across industries, data-driven companies choose Weld to sync their data seamlessly

"Before Weld, our data was very simple. We didn’t have a clear data strategy and relied heavily on Excel files and Power BI for dashboarding our reports."

Temur Makhsudov, Head of BI and Operations