You’re comparing Weld vs Alooma vs Talend. Explore how they differ on connectors, pricing, and features. 
Loved by data teams from around the world
| Feature | Weld | Alooma | Talend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core Platform | |||
| Price | $79 / 5M Active Rows | N/A (product retired; GCP service pricing applies) | Custom price, volume based |
| Free tier | No | No | No |
| Location | DK, (EU) | Sunnyvale, CA, USA (pre-acquisition) | US |
| Connectors & Sync | |||
| Connectors | 200+ | 100+ | 100+ |
| Extract data (ETL) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sync to HubSpot, Salesforce, Klaviyo, Excel (reverse ETL) | Yes | No | No |
| Two-Way Sync | Yes | No | No |
| Transformations & AI | |||
| Transformations | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AI Assistant | Yes | No | No |
| dbt Core Integration | Yes | No | No |
| dbt Cloud Integration | Yes | No | No |
| Governance & DevOps | |||
| Orchestration | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Lineage | Yes | No | Yes |
| Version control | Yes | No | Yes |
| On-Premise | No | No | Yes |
| OpenAPI / Developer API | Yes | No | Yes |
| Integrations | |||
| Load to/from Excel | Yes | No | No |
| Load to/from Google Sheets | Yes | No | No |
| Ratings | |||
| G2 rating | 4.8 | — | 4 |
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
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.
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.
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.
Google Cloud’s Dataflow (Alooma integration):
“Alooma’s ease of connecting live streaming data sources directly into BigQuery with automated schema management was revolutionary for our real-time analytics.”
“Since Google integrated Alooma into its native services, the standalone product no longer exists, so new users must migrate to Dataflow or Data Fusion.”
Overview
Talend is now part of Qlik and forms the foundation of the Qlik Talend Data Integration and Data Quality suite. The platform includes Talend Data Fabric and Qlik Talend Cloud, offering data integration, data quality, governance, application integration, and API management. It supports both ETL and ELT patterns and provides deployment flexibility across cloud, on-premise, and hybrid environments. Talend is generally positioned for larger or more mature data teams that need broad capabilities rather than a simple plug-and-play pipeline tool.
Large set of enterprise-grade connectors and integration patterns
Supports ETL, ELT, APIs, and real-time pipelines
Strong data quality and governance capabilities
Flexible deployment: cloud, hybrid, and on-premise
Advanced features suitable for complex enterprise environments
Complex and harder to use for non-technical users
Pricing is custom and often expensive for smaller teams
Implementation can require significant setup and ongoing maintenance
More capabilities than needed for simple or mid-market workflows
As a reviewer on Gartner states: :
“We are satisfied with Qlik Talend cloud, it enabled for us a seamless data integration and transformation, thanks to the tight integration with Qlik Cloud analytics.”
“It's a very good tool however this tool is better for data migration and a little lacking/ or difficult to use when it comes to some cleansing or further analysis.”
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.
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.
Talend has a steep learning curve, especially for non-technical users, due to its extensive feature set and advanced capabilities, which require significant training and experience to utilize fully.
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.
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.
Talend has a steep learning curve, especially for non-technical users, due to its extensive feature set and advanced capabilities, which require significant training and experience to utilize fully.
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.
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.
Talend's pricing is custom and can be expensive, especially for small businesses. It requires a substantial upfront investment, making it more suitable for large enterprises with significant 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.
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.
Talend's pricing is custom and can be expensive, especially for small businesses. It requires a substantial upfront investment, making it more suitable for large enterprises with significant 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.
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.
Talend offers a robust feature set with a large number of connectors, supporting both ELT and ETL capabilities, along with options for on-premise deployments. It is well-suited for mature data teams needing comprehensive data integration and management.
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.
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.
Talend offers a robust feature set with a large number of connectors, supporting both ELT and ETL capabilities, along with options for on-premise deployments. It is well-suited for mature data teams needing comprehensive data integration and management.
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.
Users could write custom JavaScript transforms or Python UDFs for complex logic. The platform managed infrastructure, but custom connectors required Eloqua code or support.
Talend provides flexibility and customization options, making it ideal for large enterprises with complex data needs. However, this comes at the cost of ease of use, particularly for less experienced users.
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.
Users could write custom JavaScript transforms or Python UDFs for complex logic. The platform managed infrastructure, but custom connectors required Eloqua code or support.
Talend provides flexibility and customization options, making it ideal for large enterprises with complex data needs. However, this comes at the cost of ease of use, particularly for less experienced users.
Select up to three tools to compare.
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
Spend less time managing data and more time getting real insights.
