Comparing Improvado with Portable.io and Weld
Carolina Russ5 min read
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
What is Portable.io
Portable.io is a cloud-based ETL service specializing in “long-tail” connectors—niche APIs that other platforms rarely support. It offers over 1,000 pre-built connectors, and if a required connector isn’t available, their team will build it on-demand at no extra cost. Portable focuses exclusively on extract-and-load into data warehouses, with a flat per-connector pricing model.
Pros
- Unmatched connector breadth: 1,000+ connectors for niche and popular sources
- On-demand custom connector development at no additional cost
- Flat per-connector pricing; no volume-based fees
- Fully managed – Portable handles API changes, schema updates, and pipeline maintenance
- Set-and-forget simplicity with minimal configuration needed
Cons
- EL-only (no in-platform transformations)
- Cloud-only SaaS (no on-prem option)
- No reverse ETL or activation features—it only loads to warehouses
- Some new connectors may require initial tuning if usage is low until fully hardened
- Limited scheduling granularity (mostly daily or on-demand syncs out of the box)
Portable Connector Catalog:
What I like about Portable.io
Portable focuses on the hard-to-find ETL connectors that you can’t find elsewhere. Our specialty is niche tools… If you can’t find the connector you need, we’ll build it on-demand for you.
What I dislike about Portable.io
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.
Improvado vs Portable.io: Ease of Use and User Interface
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.
Portable.io
Portable’s interface is minimalistic—users pick a source, enter credentials, and choose a destination. It’s extremely easy for non-technical users to onboard new connectors.
Improvado vs Portable.io: Pricing Transparency and Affordability
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.
Portable.io
Portable’s per-connector flat pricing makes costs predictable and often more affordable for companies with many small-volume sources, compared to volume-based models.
Improvado vs Portable.io: Comprehensive Feature Set
Improvado
Improvado offers automation features and flexibility in data management and reporting, catering well to agencies handling multiple accounts.
Portable.io
Focus on broad source coverage and reliability: over 1,000 connectors, incremental syncs, schema change handling, and managed maintenance. It does not provide transformations or reverse ETL, assuming those happen downstream.
Improvado vs Portable.io: Flexibility and Customization
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.
Portable.io
While there is no in-platform coding, Portable’s on-demand connector dev ensures virtually any source can be supported. Users trade transformation flexibility for maximum connector coverage and simplicity.
Summary of Improvado vs Portable.io vs Weld
| Weld | Improvado | Portable.io | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Connectors | 200+ | 500+ | 1000+ |
| Price | €99 / 2 connectors | Custom | Flat per connector (no volume fees) |
| Free tier | No | No | Yes |
| Location | EU | US | US |
| Extract data (ETL) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sync data to HubSpot, Salesforce, Klaviyo, Excel etc. (reverse ETL) | Yes | No | No |
| Transformations | Yes | Yes | No |
| AI Assistant | Yes | No | No |
| On-Premise | No | No | No |
| Orchestration | Yes | No | No |
| Lineage | Yes | No | No |
| Version control | Yes | No | No |
| Load data to and from Excel | Yes | No | No |
| Load data to and from Google Sheets | Yes | No | No |
| Two-Way Sync | Yes | No | No |
| dbt Core Integration | Yes | No | No |
| dbt Cloud Integration | Yes | No | No |
| OpenAPI / Developer API | Yes | No | Yes |
| G2 Rating | 4.8 | 4.5 | 4.8 |
Conclusion
You’re comparing Improvado, Portable.io, Weld. Each of these tools has its own strengths:
- Improvado: improvado 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..
- Portable.io: focus on broad source coverage and reliability: over 1,000 connectors, incremental syncs, schema change handling, and managed maintenance. it does not provide transformations or reverse etl, assuming those happen downstream.. portable’s per-connector flat pricing makes costs predictable and often more affordable for companies with many small-volume sources, compared to volume-based models..
- 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.. 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..
