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Comparing Azure Data Factory with Keboola and Weld

Carolina Russ
Carolina Russ6 min read
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What is Azure Data Factory

Azure Data Factory (ADF) is Microsoft’s cloud-based data integration service for creating ETL/ELT pipelines. ADF supports a drag-and-drop pipeline designer, over 90 built-in connectors for Azure, on-premises, and SaaS data sources, and can execute transformations via Azure Databricks, U-SQL, or stored procedures. It also includes features for data orchestration, monitoring, and hybrid data integration scenarios.

Pros

  • 90+ built-in connectors (Azure SQL, Cosmos DB, SAP, Oracle, Salesforce, etc.) and support for custom REST endpoints.
  • Visual pipeline orchestration with debug, parameterization, and Git integration for CI/CD.
  • Hybrid data integration via Self-hosted Integration Runtime for on-premises sources.
  • Integration with Azure Synapse, Databricks, and Azure Functions for flexible transformation and compute.

Cons

  • Complex pricing: charges per pipeline activity, per DIU for data flows, and for data movement across regions.
  • UI can be slow when working with large pipelines; error messages are often generic, requiring deeper investigation.
  • Steeper learning curve for advanced features (e.g., mapping data flows with Spark under the hood).

Azure Data Factory Documentation:

What I like about Azure Data Factory

ADF’s visual pipeline authoring and integration with other Azure services (Databricks, Synapse) make it easy to build end-to-end data workflows without managing infrastructure.

What I dislike about Azure Data Factory

Pricing is multifaceted (per activity run, data movement, SSIS integration), which can be hard to forecast. Debugging pipeline errors often requires sifting through activity logs.
Read full review

What is Keboola

Keboola is a cloud-based ETL platform for the advanced user with a great degree of flexibility and customization options. It offers import and export of data and supports a wide range of languages and features so you do most of your data operations in one place.

Pros

  • A very wide range of features
  • Option to build custom components withe API first approach
  • Transformations that support both ELT and ETL
  • Fully managed data platform
  • Good academy to learn

Cons

  • Complex UI
  • Orchestration features are lacking
  • Can quickly become expensive with the credit consumption pricing model

A user on G2 said::

What I like about Keboola

Keboola is powerful in extracting data from endless sources. In keboola you can organize your analytics and build your models with ease.

What I dislike about Keboola

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

Azure Data Factory vs Keboola: Ease of Use and User Interface

Azure Data Factory

ADF’s UI provides a canvas for building pipelines and data flows. Basic data movement is intuitive, but advanced mapping data flows (visual Spark transformations) require understanding Spark concepts. Integration with Git makes collaboration easier.

Keboola

Keboola is powerful for users who need extensive customization and flexibility in their data operations, but its complex UI can be a challenge for beginners.

Azure Data Factory vs Keboola: Pricing Transparency and Affordability

Azure Data Factory

ADF charges per pipeline activity (at least $0.25/activity), per DIU-hour for data flows, plus data movement costs (e.g., $0.25/GB). Estimating costs can be tricky due to these components, but pay-as-you-go avoids upfront fees.

Keboola

Keboola's pricing can become expensive quickly due to its credit consumption model, making it a better fit for users who can optimize their usage effectively.

Azure Data Factory vs Keboola: Comprehensive Feature Set

Azure Data Factory

Features include: pipeline orchestration, mapping data flows (visual Spark jobs), hybrid integration via self-hosted runtime, triggers (schedule, event, tumbling window), monitoring & alerting, and integration with Azure Monitor. Also supports SSIS lift-and-shift for on-prem ETL workloads.

Keboola

The platform offers a wide range of features, including support for both ELT and ETL transformations, and is well-suited for advanced users needing comprehensive data management capabilities.

Azure Data Factory vs Keboola: Flexibility and Customization

Azure Data Factory

ADF allows custom .NET activities, Azure Functions, and Databricks notebooks within pipelines. It supports parameterized templates, branching, and custom Azure ML scoring steps. However, customization often requires familiarity with other Azure services.

Keboola

Keboola provides extensive flexibility with options to build custom components using an API-first approach, but this flexibility requires a deep understanding of the platform's capabilities and architecture.

Summary of Azure Data Factory vs Keboola vs Weld

WeldAzure Data FactoryKeboola
Connectors200++90+200+
Price€99 / Unlimited usagePay per activity run + data movement; starts ~$0.25 per DIU-hour for data flowsCustom price
Free tierNoYesYes
LocationEUAzure Global (multi-region)CR
Extract data (ETL)YesYesYes
Sync data to HubSpot, Salesforce, Klaviyo, Excel etc. (reverse ETL)YesNoYes
TransformationsYesYesYes
AI AssistantYesNoNo
On-PremiseNoNoYes
OrchestrationYesYesNo
LineageYesYesNo
Version controlYesYesNo
Load data to and from ExcelYesYesNo
Load data to and from Google SheetsYesNoNo
Two-Way SyncYesNoNo
dbt Core IntegrationYesNoYes
dbt Cloud IntegrationYesNoNo
OpenAPI / Developer APIYesNoNo
G2 Rating4.84.44.7

Conclusion

You’re comparing Azure Data Factory, Keboola, Weld. Each of these tools has its own strengths:

  • Azure Data Factoryfeatures include: pipeline orchestration, mapping data flows (visual spark jobs), hybrid integration via self-hosted runtime, triggers (schedule, event, tumbling window), monitoring & alerting, and integration with azure monitor. also supports ssis lift-and-shift for on-prem etl workloads. adf charges per pipeline activity (at least $0.25/activity), per diu-hour for data flows, plus data movement costs (e.g., $0.25/gb). estimating costs can be tricky due to these components, but pay-as-you-go avoids upfront fees. .
  • Keboolathe platform offers a wide range of features, including support for both elt and etl transformations, and is well-suited for advanced users needing comprehensive data management capabilities.keboola's pricing can become expensive quickly due to its credit consumption model, making it a better fit for users who can optimize their usage effectively..
  • Weldweld 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.weld offers a straightforward and competitive pricing model, starting at €99 for 2 million active rows, making it more affordable and predictable, especially for small to medium-sized enterprises..
Review the detailed sections above—connectors, pricing, feature set, and integrations—and choose the one that best matches your technical expertise, budget, and use cases.

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