Comparing Alooma with Etlworks Integrator and Weld

You’re comparing Alooma vs Etlworks Integrator vs Weld. Explore how they differ on connectors, pricing, and features.

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Weld vs Alooma vs Etlworks Integrator

	Weld	Alooma	Etlworks Integrator
Connectors	200+	100+	300+
Price	$99 / 5M Active Rows	N/A (product retired; GCP service pricing applies)	Credit-based (e.g., $0.10/credit; volume discounts available)
Free tier
Location	EU	Sunnyvale, CA, USA (pre-acquisition)	Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Extract data (ETL)
Sync to HubSpot, Salesforce, Klaviyo, Excel (reverse ETL)
Transformations
AI Assistant
On-Premise
Orchestration
Lineage
Version control
Load to/from Excel			Yes (via file connectors)
Load to/from Google Sheets			Yes (Google Sheets)
Two-Way Sync
dbt Core Integration
dbt Cloud Integration
OpenAPI / Developer API
G2 rating	4.8	—	4.5

Overview

Alooma in Short

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.

Reviews & Quotes

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.”

Read full review

Overview

Etlworks Integrator in Short

Etlworks Integrator is a cloud-based ETL platform that provides over 300 connectors (databases, SaaS, files, big data) and a visual interface to build complex data flows. It can run both batch and streaming pipelines, support transformations via SQL or JavaScript, and integrate with Kafka, Snowflake, Redshift, Google BigQuery, and more. It also offers features for data replication, CDC, and workflow orchestration.

Pros

300+ connectors for databases, cloud storage, SaaS apps, and streaming platforms.
Supports both batch and streaming (CDC) with configurable schedules and triggers.
Transformations via SQL, JavaScript, or built-in functions; data validation and error-handling features.
Cloud-based with on-prem runtime options for connecting to internal resources securely.

Cons

UI complexity: designing flows with many steps can be difficult to navigate.
Subscription is credit-based (e.g., $0.10/credit), making cost estimation tricky for variable workloads.
Less brand recognition and community support compared to leading ETL tools.

Reviews & Quotes

Etlworks Integrator Features:

What I like about Etlworks Integrator

“Etlworks Integrator’s breadth of connectors and flexible transformation engine (SQL/JavaScript) let us integrate data from dozens of sources quickly.”

What I dislike about Etlworks Integrator

“The UI can be overwhelming for beginners, and pricing (credit-based) can be hard to predict for varying workloads.”

Read full review

Overview

Weld in Short

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

Lineage, orchestration, and workflow features
Ability to handle large datasets and near real-time data sync
ETL + reverse ETL in one
User-friendly and easy to set up
Flat monthly pricing model
200+ connectors (Shopify, HubSpot, etc.)
AI assistant

Cons

Requires some technical knowledge around data warehousing and SQL
Limited features for advanced data teams
Focused on cloud data warehouses

Reviews & Quotes

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

Feature-by-Feature Comparison

Alooma

Etlworks Integrator

Weld

Feature

Alooma

Etlworks Integrator

Weld

Ease of Use & Interface

Side-by-side

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.

Etlworks Integrator

Etlworks Integrator’s Flow Designer uses a canvas with source, transformation, and destination steps. While powerful and flexible, the interface has a steep learning curve; nested steps and branching can become difficult to visualize.

Weld

Weld is highly praised for its user-friendly interface and intuitive design, which allows even users with minimal SQL experience to manage data workflows efficiently. This makes it an excellent choice for smaller data teams or businesses without extensive technical resources.

Ease of Use & Interface

Side-by-side

Pricing & Affordability

Side-by-side

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.

Etlworks Integrator

Charges are based on credits consumed by data volume and transformations. Free trial provides limited credits. For predictable workloads, budget forecasting requires careful usage analysis.

Weld

Weld offers a straightforward and competitive pricing model, starting at $79 for 5 million active rows, making it more affordable and predictable, especially for small to medium-sized enterprises.

Pricing & Affordability

Side-by-side

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.

Charges are based on credits consumed by data volume and transformations. Free trial provides limited credits. For predictable workloads, budget forecasting requires careful usage analysis.

Weld offers a straightforward and competitive pricing model, starting at $79 for 5 million active rows, making it more affordable and predictable, especially for small to medium-sized enterprises.

Feature Set

Side-by-side

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.

Etlworks Integrator

Features include: 300+ connectors, CDC replication, batch/streaming pipelines, SQL/JavaScript transformations, error handling, scheduling, and secure on-prem gateways. Also supports webhooks and REST API triggers.

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.

Feature Set

Side-by-side

Flexibility & Customization

Side-by-side

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.

Etlworks Integrator

Supports embedding custom JavaScript or calling external services within pipelines. Can deploy integration nodes on-premise to access internal networks. Pipelines can be exported/imported for version control.

Weld

Weld offers advanced SQL modeling and transformations directly within its platform with the help of AI, providing users with unparalleled control and flexibility over their data. Leveraging its powerful AI capabilities, Weld automates repetitive tasks and optimizes data workflows, allowing teams to focus on getting value and insights. Additionally, Weld's custom connector framework enables users to build connectors to any API, making it easy to integrate new data sources and tailor data pipelines to meet specific business needs. This flexibility is particularly beneficial for teams looking to customize their data integration processes extensively and maximize the utility of their data without needing external tools.

Flexibility & Customization

Side-by-side

Users could write custom JavaScript transforms or Python UDFs for complex logic. The platform managed infrastructure, but custom connectors required Eloqua code or support.