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Comparing Hightouch with Improvado and Weld

Carolina Russ
Carolina Russ5 min read
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improvado logo
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What is Hightouch

Hightouch is a Reverse ETL platform and “Composable CDP” that syncs data from warehouses (Snowflake, Redshift, BigQuery) to 70+ SaaS destinations (CRMs, ad networks, email platforms). It empowers marketing and operations teams with a visual audience builder, no-code syncs, and SQL customization for precise data activation.

Pros

  • Audience builder UI for non-technical users to create segments without SQL
  • 70+ destinations, including CRMs, ad platforms, email & support tools
  • No persistent data storage—fetches on-the-fly from your warehouse for security
  • Support for real-time streaming and sub-minute latency syncs
  • Granular field mapping and transformation via SQL or simple expressions
  • Strong community, educational content, and responsive support

Cons

  • Reverse ETL only—needs a separate ingestion tool
  • Pricing based on rows/fields can become expensive at scale
  • Destination API limits (e.g., Salesforce) can slow large syncs
  • Custom connectors for very niche tools require waiting for team prioritization
  • Non-engineers may still need data team to model data for complex use cases

Hightouch Product Description:

What I like about Hightouch

Hightouch is the easiest way to sync customer data into your tools like CRMs, email tools, and ad networks. Sync data from any source (warehouse, spreadsheets) to 70+ tools using SQL or a point-and-click UI without relying on Engineering.

What I dislike about Hightouch

Read full review

What is Improvado

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.

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

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.

What I dislike about Improvado

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

Hightouch vs Improvado: Ease of Use and User Interface

Hightouch

Hightouch’s interface is modern and intuitive, with an audience builder that lets marketers define segments visually. Technical users can drop into SQL for precise control.

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.

Hightouch vs Improvado: Pricing Transparency and Affordability

Hightouch

Starts free for light use, but professional tiers scale with usage. For mid-market teams, the cost is justified by reduced engineering overhead, though very large sync volumes can be pricey.

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.

Hightouch vs Improvado: Comprehensive Feature Set

Hightouch

Reverse ETL features: audience builder, SQL-based syncs, incremental updates, dry-run mode, mapping templates, role-based access, real-time triggers, and CLI/API for GitOps. It covers most operational use cases—no ingestion layer included.

Improvado

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

Hightouch vs Improvado: Flexibility and Customization

Hightouch

Hightouch balances ease-of-use with flexibility: write custom SQL queries, adjust mappings, and schedule or trigger via API. It can cover custom use cases through webhooks or generic destinations, though some advanced scenarios may need engineering support.

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.

Summary of Hightouch vs Improvado vs Weld

WeldHightouchImprovado
Connectors200++70+500+
Price$99 / Unlimited usageFree tier; Growth ~$800+/mo based on rows/fieldsCustom
Free tierNoYesNo
LocationEUUSUS
Extract data (ETL)YesNoYes
Sync data to HubSpot, Salesforce, Klaviyo, Excel etc. (reverse ETL)YesYesNo
TransformationsYesNoYes
AI AssistantYesNoNo
On-PremiseNoNoNo
OrchestrationYesYesNo
LineageYesNoNo
Version controlYesYesNo
Load data to and from ExcelYesNoNo
Load data to and from Google SheetsYesNoNo
Two-Way SyncYesNoNo
dbt Core IntegrationYesYesNo
dbt Cloud IntegrationYesNoNo
OpenAPI / Developer APIYesYesNo
G2 Rating4.84.64.5

Conclusion

You’re comparing Hightouch, Improvado, Weld. Each of these tools has its own strengths:

  • Hightouchreverse etl features: audience builder, sql-based syncs, incremental updates, dry-run mode, mapping templates, role-based access, real-time triggers, and cli/api for gitops. it covers most operational use cases—no ingestion layer included.starts free for light use, but professional tiers scale with usage. for mid-market teams, the cost is justified by reduced engineering overhead, though very large sync volumes can be pricey..
  • Improvadoimprovado offers automation features and flexibility in data management and reporting, catering well to agencies handling multiple accounts.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..
  • 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.