Weld logo

Comparing Census with Improvado and Weld

You’re comparing Census vs Improvado vs Weld. Explore how they differ on connectors, pricing, and features. Ed Logo

census logo
VS
improvado logo
VS
weld logo

Loved by data teams from around the world

Weld vs Census vs Improvado

WeldCensusImprovado
Connectors200+130+500+
Price$99 / 5M Active RowsFree tier; Pro ~$350/mo for 2 destinationsCustom
Free tier
LocationEUUSUS
Extract data (ETL)
Sync to HubSpot, Salesforce, Klaviyo, Excel (reverse ETL)
Transformations
AI Assistant
On-Premise
Orchestration
Lineage
Version control
Load to/from Excel
Load to/from Google Sheets
Two-Way Sync
dbt Core Integration
dbt Cloud Integration
OpenAPI / Developer API
G2 rating4.84.54.5

Overview

Census in Short

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.

census logo

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)

Reviews & Quotes

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.

Overview

Improvado in Short

Improvado is a cloud-based data platform that helps businesses automate their data management and reporting. It connects to a wide range of data sources, including marketing platforms, CRM systems, and e-commerce platforms, and allows users to blend and transform their data to create a single source of truth.

improvado logo

Pros

  • Easy to use

  • Great support and onboarding

  • Automation features

  • Flexibility

  • Great for agencies with multiple accounts

Cons

  • Expensive, especially for large data volumes

  • Learning curve

  • Limited features

  • Limited integrations

Reviews & Quotes

A reviewer on G2:

What I like about Improvado

Improvado has been surprisingly easy to use. Within just a few clicks we have been able to integrate all our media platforms into our datalake. The numerous in-depth guides make this process very easy.

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.

weld logo

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.

Feature-by-Feature Comparison

Feature
census logo

Census

improvado logo

Improvado

weld logo

Weld

Ease of Use & Interface

Side-by-side

census logo

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.

improvado logo

Improvado

Improvado is known for its ease of use and strong support, making it a good choice for businesses looking to integrate multiple media platforms with minimal effort.

weld logo

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.

Pricing & Affordability

Side-by-side

census logo

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.

improvado logo

Improvado

Improvado's pricing is custom, which can be expensive depending on data volumes, making it less accessible for small businesses but valuable for larger enterprises with extensive data needs.

weld logo

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.

Feature Set

Side-by-side

census logo

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.

improvado logo

Improvado

Improvado offers automation features and flexibility in data management and reporting, catering well to agencies handling multiple accounts.

weld logo

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.

Flexibility & Customization

Side-by-side

census logo

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.

improvado logo

Improvado

Improvado provides flexibility in data integration and transformation, but has limited features compared to more comprehensive platforms, which might require additional customization for some use cases.

weld logo

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.

Compare more ETL tools

Select up to three tools to compare.

Get started with Weld

Spend less time managing data and more time getting real insights.