Comparing Meltano with Portable.io and Weld

You’re comparing Meltano vs Portable.io vs Weld. Explore how they differ on connectors, pricing, and features.

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Weld vs Meltano vs Portable.io

	Weld	Meltano	Portable.io
Connectors	200+	600+	1000+
Price	$99 / 5M Active Rows	free (self-hosted), custom (managed), paid support packages	Flat per connector (no volume fees)
Free tier
Location	EU	US	US
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 rating	4.8	4.9	4.8

Overview

Meltano in Short

Meltano is an open-source data integration platform, similar to Airbyte, that enables businesses to build and manage their own data pipelines. It offers a wide range of connectors for databases, APIs, application logs, and other data sources. Meltano also supports robust data transformation and orchestration capabilities, making it easier to customize and automate workflows. It integrates seamlessly with popular cloud data warehouses, making it a flexible choice for modern data teams looking to manage their end-to-end data stack.

Pros

Open-source platform
A really large number of connectors through Singer
Offer an SDK to more easily build Singer taps and targets
Flexibility in Deployment

Cons

No fully managed options so you need to deploy yourself (in Beta though)
Requires high maintenance
Limited data transformation capabilities (only through deep integration with DBT)
Only has a limited number of connectors that are natively built outside of Singer

Reviews & Quotes

As a user on G2 puts it::

What I like about Meltano

“All the managerial tasks are handled under the hood, leaving you to focus on getting or consuming the data you need.”

What I dislike about Meltano

“With so many features baked into Meltano, navigating the documentation can be challenging. However, I've gotten around this by using Bing AI search, which brings me the answer immediately.”

Read full review

Overview

Portable.io in Short

Portable.io is a cloud-based extract-and-load (EL) service specializing in “long-tail” connectors - niche APIs often overlooked by other ETL platforms. With over 1,000 pre-built connectors and on-demand custom connector development at no extra cost, it offers broad data source coverage. Portable focuses on extracting data and loading it into warehouses like Snowflake, BigQuery, and Redshift, leaving transformations to be done downstream. Its flat per-connector pricing ensures predictable costs, while managing API changes, rate limits, and errors for reliable, low-maintenance data pipelines—ideal for analytics teams needing easy access to niche data sources.

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)

Reviews & Quotes

G2 Review:

What I like about Portable.io

“They have excellent support and communication in both timelines and quality of response.”

What I dislike about Portable.io

“There is a learning curve that can take some time to leverage more complex transformations and the support is limited with highly complex setups leaving some aspects of development more difficult.”

Read full review

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.

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.”

Read full review

Feature-by-Feature Comparison

Meltano

Portable.io

Weld

Feature

Meltano

Portable.io

Weld

Ease of Use & Interface

Side-by-side

Meltano

Meltano is simple and easy to use for those with technical expertise, particularly due to its portability and command-line usability, but may be challenging for less technical users.

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.

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.

Ease of Use & Interface

Side-by-side

Meltano is simple and easy to use for those with technical expertise, particularly due to its portability and command-line usability, but may be challenging for less technical users.

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.

Pricing & Affordability

Side-by-side

Meltano

Meltano is open-source and free to use, making it highly affordable, but requires significant investment in deployment and maintenance, especially without a fully managed option.

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.

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.

Pricing & Affordability

Side-by-side

Meltano is open-source and free to use, making it highly affordable, but requires significant investment in deployment and maintenance, especially without a fully managed option.

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 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

Meltano

The platform offers extensive integration options, including support for data transformation and orchestration, but relies heavily on the Singer framework, which can limit capabilities.

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.

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.

Feature Set

Side-by-side

The platform offers extensive integration options, including support for data transformation and orchestration, but relies heavily on the Singer framework, which can limit capabilities.

Flexibility & Customization

Side-by-side

Meltano

Meltano is highly flexible for advanced users who can manage their own deployments and build on the platform, but it requires substantial maintenance and lacks a fully managed option.

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.

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.

Flexibility & Customization

Side-by-side

Meltano is highly flexible for advanced users who can manage their own deployments and build on the platform, but it requires substantial maintenance and lacks a fully managed option.