Comparing Portable.io with Talend and Weld
Carolina Russ6 min read
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 Talend
Talend's data integration tool, one piece of the broader Talend Data Fabric platform. Talend’s complete software is a robust data solution that goes beyond data integration to also encompass data quality management, data integrity and governance, application and API integration, and more.
With both ELT and ETL capabilities, Talend is a good option for those with on-premise data warehousing and/or a cloud-based data warehouse. Geared towards larger enterprises, the complete Talend product is generally best suited for seasoned experts and large, mature data teams.
Pros
- Large number of connectors
- Robust feature set
- Lots of advanced features for larger enterprises and data teams
- Has both ELT and ETL capabilities
- On premise options
Cons
- Expensive for small businesses
- Steep learning curve for non-technical users
- Requires a large upfront investment and implementation
As a reviewer on Gartner states: :
What I like about Talend
The tool is great but requires a lot of learning curve
What I dislike about Talend
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.
Portable.io vs Talend: Ease of Use and User Interface
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.
Talend
Talend has a steep learning curve, especially for non-technical users, due to its extensive feature set and advanced capabilities, which require significant training and experience to utilize fully.
Portable.io vs Talend: Pricing Transparency and Affordability
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.
Talend
Talend's pricing is custom and can be expensive, especially for small businesses. It requires a substantial upfront investment, making it more suitable for large enterprises with significant data needs.
Portable.io vs Talend: Comprehensive Feature Set
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.
Talend
Talend offers a robust feature set with a large number of connectors, supporting both ELT and ETL capabilities, along with options for on-premise deployments. It is well-suited for mature data teams needing comprehensive data integration and management.
Portable.io vs Talend: Flexibility and Customization
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.
Talend
Talend provides flexibility and customization options, making it ideal for large enterprises with complex data needs. However, this comes at the cost of ease of use, particularly for less experienced users.
Summary of Portable.io vs Talend vs Weld
| Weld | Portable.io | Talend | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Connectors | 200+ | 1000+ | 100+ |
| Price | €99 / unlimited usage | Flat per connector (no volume fees) | Custom price |
| Free tier | No | Yes | No |
| Location | EU | US | US |
| Extract data (ETL) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sync data to HubSpot, Salesforce, Klaviyo, Excel etc. (reverse ETL) | Yes | No | Yes |
| Transformations | Yes | No | Yes |
| AI Assistant | Yes | No | No |
| On-Premise | No | No | Yes |
| Orchestration | Yes | No | Yes |
| Lineage | Yes | No | Yes |
| Version control | Yes | No | Yes |
| 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 | Yes | No |
| G2 Rating | 4.8 | 4.8 | 4 |
Conclusion
You’re comparing Portable.io, Talend, Weld. Each of these tools has its own strengths:
- 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..
- Talend: talend offers a robust feature set with a large number of connectors, supporting both elt and etl capabilities, along with options for on-premise deployments. it is well-suited for mature data teams needing comprehensive data integration and management.. talend's pricing is custom and can be expensive, especially for small businesses. it requires a substantial upfront investment, making it more suitable for large enterprises with significant data needs..
- 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..
