You’re comparing Weld vs Azure Data Factory vs Census. Explore how they differ on connectors, pricing, and features. 
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| Feature | Weld | Azure Data Factory | Census |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core Platform | |||
| Price | $79 / 5M Active Rows | Pay per activity run + data movement; ~ $0.25 per DIU-hour for data flows | Free tier available; Pro plans start around $350/month |
| Free tier | No | Yes | Yes |
| Location | DK, (EU) | Azure Global (multi-region) | US |
| Connectors & Sync | |||
| Connectors | 200+ | 90+ | 130+ |
| Extract data (ETL) | Yes | Yes | No |
| Sync to HubSpot, Salesforce, Klaviyo, Excel (reverse ETL) | Yes | No | Yes |
| Two-Way Sync | Yes | No | No |
| Transformations & AI | |||
| Transformations | Yes | Yes | No |
| AI Assistant | Yes | No | No |
| dbt Core Integration | Yes | No | Yes |
| dbt Cloud Integration | Yes | No | No |
| Governance & DevOps | |||
| Orchestration | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Lineage | Yes | Yes | No |
| Version control | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| On-Premise | No | No | No |
| OpenAPI / Developer API | Yes | No | Yes |
| Integrations | |||
| Load to/from Excel | Yes | Yes | No |
| Load to/from Google Sheets | Yes | No | Yes |
| Ratings | |||
| G2 rating | 4.8 | 4.4 | 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
Azure Data Factory (ADF) is Microsoft’s cloud-based data integration service for building ETL and ELT pipelines. It provides a visual pipeline designer, 90+ built-in connectors for Azure, SaaS, and on-premises sources, and supports transformations through Mapping Data Flows, Azure Databricks, stored procedures, and Azure Functions. ADF includes orchestration, monitoring, Git integration, and hybrid connectivity via a self-hosted integration runtime.
90+ built-in connectors including Azure SQL, Cosmos DB, Oracle, SAP, Salesforce, and custom REST endpoints.
Visual pipeline orchestration with debugging, parameterization, and Git integration for CI/CD workflows.
Hybrid integration support through Self-Hosted Integration Runtime for on-premises and private network systems.
Tight integration with Azure Databricks, Azure Synapse, Azure Functions, and ML services for flexible compute and transformations.
Complex pricing model—billed per activity run, DIU-hours for data flows, and cross-region data movement.
UI performance can slow when working with large pipelines; error messages are often generic.
Mapping Data Flows run on Spark, which increases the learning curve for advanced transformations.
Gartner Peer Review:
“Its flexibility in connecting diverse data sources and integration with the Azure ecosystem are standout advantages.”
“Some features are too rigid. Lack of detailed error messages can plague a workstream during setup.”
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.
ADF provides a drag-and-drop pipeline builder that is approachable for basic data movement. Advanced Mapping Data Flows rely on Spark behind the scenes, requiring additional learning. Git integration (Azure DevOps or GitHub) supports collaboration and versioning.
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.
ADF provides a drag-and-drop pipeline builder that is approachable for basic data movement. Advanced Mapping Data Flows rely on Spark behind the scenes, requiring additional learning. Git integration (Azure DevOps or GitHub) supports collaboration and versioning.
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.
ADF uses pay-as-you-go pricing based on activity runs, data flow compute (DIUs), and data movement. Costs can vary significantly depending on volume and schedule frequency, making upfront cost estimation more complex.
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.
ADF uses pay-as-you-go pricing based on activity runs, data flow compute (DIUs), and data movement. Costs can vary significantly depending on volume and schedule frequency, making upfront cost estimation more complex.
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.
ADF includes pipeline orchestration, visual mapping data flows, hybrid connectivity, triggers (schedule, event, tumbling window), monitoring via Azure Monitor, SSIS lift-and-shift, and integration with Synapse, Databricks, and Functions.
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.
ADF includes pipeline orchestration, visual mapping data flows, hybrid connectivity, triggers (schedule, event, tumbling window), monitoring via Azure Monitor, SSIS lift-and-shift, and integration with Synapse, Databricks, and Functions.
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.
ADF pipelines can call custom .NET activities, Databricks notebooks, stored procedures, Azure ML endpoints, and Azure Functions. It supports parameterized templates, branching, and custom logic, though many advanced scenarios rely on complementary Azure services.
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.
ADF pipelines can call custom .NET activities, Databricks notebooks, stored procedures, Azure ML endpoints, and Azure Functions. It supports parameterized templates, branching, and custom logic, though many advanced scenarios rely on complementary Azure services.
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.”
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