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Comparing Census with Etlworks Integrator and Weld

Carolina Russ
Carolina Russ6 min read
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What is Census

Census is a leading Reverse ETL platform that syncs data from your data warehouse back into SaaS tools like Salesforce, HubSpot, and Marketo. It integrates deeply with dbt and modern warehouses, enabling no-code mapping, incremental upserts, and reliable syncs to operational systems in near real time.

Pros

  • Warehouse-centric: works directly on tables or dbt models
  • No-code field mapping with live previews
  • Broad destination support: Salesforce, HubSpot, Slack, Google Sheets, etc.
  • Incremental upserts ensure data consistency with no duplicates
  • Deep dbt integration and “analytics-as-code” workflows (YAML config)
  • Flexible scheduling and API triggers for near real-time use cases

Cons

  • Focuses only on reverse ETL—requires a separate ELT tool for ingestion
  • Pricing based on rows or syncs can be expensive at very large volumes
  • Complex transformations must be done upstream in the warehouse/dbt
  • Dependent on destination API rate limits, which can slow large syncs
  • SaaS-only (no on-prem deployment)

Census Overview (G2):

What I like about Census

Census is the fastest and most reliable reverse ETL platform with 99.5% uptime and premium support for all plans. It delivers transformed data at time-of-use—fueling rapid data activation in operational tools without relying on leaky pipelines.

What I dislike about Census

Read full review

What is Etlworks Integrator

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.

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

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

Census vs Etlworks Integrator: Ease of Use and User Interface

Census

Census provides an intuitive UI for mapping warehouse fields to destination fields, with live previews—non-technical business users quickly adopt it for operational data syncs.

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.

Census vs Etlworks Integrator: Pricing Transparency and Affordability

Census

While there’s a free tier to get started, professional plans based on usage can add up for large enterprises. Still, ROI often justifies the investment by automating data activation in CRM/marketing tools.

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.

Census vs Etlworks Integrator: Comprehensive Feature Set

Census

Census focuses on reverse ETL: no-code mapping, incremental upserts keyed on primary keys, scheduling, and deep dbt integration. It provides monitoring dashboards, alerting, and a CLI/API for GitOps workflows.

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.

Census vs Etlworks Integrator: Flexibility and Customization

Census

Mapping logic is as flexible as your SQL—any complex query can feed Census. Users can customize scheduling (cron or event triggers) and configure failure handling. It adapts well but relies on warehouse transformations for complex logic.

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.

Summary of Census vs Etlworks Integrator vs Weld

WeldCensusEtlworks Integrator
Connectors200++130+300+
Price€99 / Unlimited usageFree tier; Pro ~$350/mo for 2 destinationsCredit-based (e.g., $0.10/credit; volume discounts available)
Free tierNoYesYes
LocationEUUSPittsburgh, PA, USA
Extract data (ETL)YesNoYes
Sync data to HubSpot, Salesforce, Klaviyo, Excel etc. (reverse ETL)YesYesNo
TransformationsYesNoYes
AI AssistantYesNoNo
On-PremiseNoNoYes
OrchestrationYesYesYes
LineageYesNoNo
Version controlYesYesNo
Load data to and from ExcelYesNoYes
Load data to and from Google SheetsYesYesYes
Two-Way SyncYesNoNo
dbt Core IntegrationYesYesNo
dbt Cloud IntegrationYesNoNo
OpenAPI / Developer APIYesYesYes
G2 Rating4.84.54.5

Conclusion

You’re comparing Census, Etlworks Integrator, Weld. Each of these tools has its own strengths:

  • Censuscensus focuses on reverse etl: no-code mapping, incremental upserts keyed on primary keys, scheduling, and deep dbt integration. it provides monitoring dashboards, alerting, and a cli/api for gitops workflows.while there’s a free tier to get started, professional plans based on usage can add up for large enterprises. still, roi often justifies the investment by automating data activation in crm/marketing tools..
  • Etlworks Integratorfeatures 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. 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. .
  • 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.

Want to try a better alternative? Try Weld for free today.