Top 5 Meltano Alternatives In 2024 For Powering ELT Solutions

Meltano has enabled data-backed decision-making for many organizations worldwide despite its recent market emergence. But the tool leaves much to be desired.

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Integrating data using Meltano requires technical expertise and maintenance, probing early adopters of this tool to find non-developer-friendly solutions. It is high time to consider Meltano alternatives if you’re looking for convenient ETL solutions that are better suited to your business requirements.

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Join us as we explore the best ETL tools that fit your needs and budget.

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What is Meltano? 

Meltano is an open-source ELT platform that automates the process of extracting data from various sources, transforms this data into a usable format, and loads it into a target system. It offers a modular architecture, community-driven development, and seamless integration with dbt, making it a popular choice for data engineers and analysts.

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Key features of Meltano:

• Open-source platform: High customization, flexibility, and freedom from vendor lock-in
• Singer taps and targets: Meltano uses the Singer specification for extracting (taps) and loading (targets) data, allowing you to connect to various data sources and destinations
• Developer-friendly CLI: Easily manage data pipelines and orchestration tasks
• Data stack integration: Integrate with tools like dbt for data transformation, Airflow for orchestration, and other modern data stack components
• Version control & collaboration: As a code-based tool, Meltano offers strong support for version control via Git, enabling collaboration across data teams
• Self-hosted and managed options: You can self-host on Meltano and enjoy infrastructure control. You can also use Meltano’s managed services for support

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Is Meltano right for your business?

Meltano is a flexible ETL solution that’s well-suited for organizations that value customization, cost-effectiveness, and community-driven development. However, it may not be the best choice for those who require a fully managed and highly intuitive platform.

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Strengths:

• Easy to customize: Meltano is open-source and highly customizable
• Flexibility: Handles a wide range of use cases, from simple ETL to complex data workflows
• No vendor lock-in: Full infrastructure control, reducing reliance on external vendors
• Popular Tool Integrations: Seamlessly integrates with dbt, Airflow, and other data tools
• Cost-effective: Free and open-source with no licensing fees

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Limitations:

• Technical Expertise Required: Meltano is not for non-developers as users need a strong knowledge of coding, data engineering, and managing open-source tools
• Limited UI: Despite its command-line interface (CLI), the lool lacks user-friendly UI
• Smaller Ecosystem: Smaller user community and fewer pre-built connectors
• Limited Real-Time Processing: Meltano is ideal for batch processing

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Top 5 Meltano alternatives

#1 5X

5X is a fully managed data platform offering 500+ pre-built connectors for seamless integration with popular data sources like AWS, Google Cloud, and Snowflake. This ETL tool ensures quick insights, processes data in real-time, and supports time-sensitive applications. Its cloud-native design allows easy scaling and built-in monitoring tools streamline pipeline management. 

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Why 5X is better than Meltano:

5X is one of the best alternatives to Meltano due to its low-code interface, making it better suited to non-technical teams. With real-time processing, built-in connectors, and cloud-native scaling, 5X provides faster setup and less maintenance than Meltano which relies on custom coding and lacks real-time capabilities.

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Feature comparison of 5X and Meltano:

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G2 Rating: 4.5/5

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Cost: Pay-as-you-go, no upfront costs

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#2 Airbyte

Airbyte is an open-source ELT platform known for its flexibility, self-hosting and managed services. It’s one of the few alternatives to Meltano next to 5X that’s worth considering.

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It extracts and loads data into data warehouses and data lakes, provides over 400+ data sources, and supports custom connectors. Its integration with popular transformation tools like dbt makes it versatile for modern data stacks. 

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Key features:

• Data sources: Airbyte supports 400+ data sources
• Open source: Customize connectors and pipelines to fit your requirements easily
• Incremental data syncs: Only new or updated data is transferred, reducing load and improving efficiency
• Flexible hosting: Offers both self-hosted and managed versions
• Real-time monitoring: User-friendly interface for monitoring syncs with real-time logs and alerts

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Pros:

• Free trial available
• Fully customizable to fit specific needs
• Fast-growing open-source community
• Lower cost of ownership with the open-source option

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Cons:

• Coding expertise is needed for customization
• The platform has limited features in the free version, meaning you will have to buy the tool
• Requires technical expertise to set up and customize
• Limited professional support options

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Why Airbyte is better than Meltano:

Airbyte is easier to deploy and use, with better scalability options through its managed service, whereas Meltano requires greater technical effort and manual configuration.

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G2 Rating: 4.5/5

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Cost: The OpenSource version is free.

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#3 Databricks

Databricks is a data intelligence platform designed to streamline the process of building, managing, and scaling big data applications. Built on Apache Spark, Databricks empowers your data engineering and data science teams to collaborate effectively by bringing them into a single platform.

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With Databricks, lineage, quality, control and data privacy are maintained across the entire AI workflow, powering a complete set of tools to deliver any AI use case.

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Key features:

• Easy integration with tools for ETL, data ingestion, business intelligence, AI and governance
• Supports various languages like Python, R, SQL, and Scala
• Real-time data streaming and analytics
• Collaborative notebooks for team workflows

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Pros:

• Strong real-time data processing
• Effortless cross-team collaborations
• Highly scalable for big data workloads
• Seamless integration with cloud platforms like AWS and Azure

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Cons:

• Costly for smaller organizations
• Requires technical expertise for optimal use

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Why Databricks is better than Meltano:

While Meltano is more focused on pipeline orchestration and data integration, Databricks excels in processing large datasets and provides advanced features for data engineering and real-time analytics, making it ideal for large-scale, data-driven enterprises.

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G2 Rating: 4.5/5

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Cost: Use their Pricing Calculator as the prices vary depending on your geography. 14-day free trial. 

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#4 Portable

Portable is an ETL platform specializing in integrating niche and long-tail data sources that are not supported by other platforms. A key differentiator is its ability to quickly build and deploy custom connectors on request.

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Key features:

• Data portability: Transport data easily across different systems and platforms
• No-code integration: No technical skills are needed to operate Portable
• Real-time syncing: Access information at the tip of your fingers at all times of the day

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Pros:

• Premium customer support
• User-friendly, intuitive interface and no-code approach
• Versatile Integration supporting a wide range of systems and platforms

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Cons:

• Pricing may be higher than some open-source alternatives
• The tool may lack some advanced features available in other tools

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Why Portable is better than Meltano:

Portable offers rapid development of custom connectors for long-tail and niche data sources, a feature Meltano lacks. The tool also provides a faster, managed solution, making it better suited for companies with specific data requirements and limited development resources.

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G2 Rating: 4.9/5 

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Cost: Starts at $290/month 

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#5 Hevo Data

Hevo is a no-code, zero maintenance data pipeline platform that simplifies ETL by automating data flow from over 150+ sources to a data warehouse.

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The tool’s real-time streaming, automated schema detection, and zero-maintenance operation is ideal for teams looking to save time on manual coding and pipeline management. It also ensures data reliability with end-to-end encryption and compliance with privacy standards.

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Key Features:

• Connects to 150+ data sources
• No-code intuitive drag-and-drop interface for building data pipelines
• Real-time integration allows data sync as and when changes occur
• Detects schema and updates data pipeline automatically without manual intervention
• Hevo takes care of infrastructure management and monitoring

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Pros:

• Technical expertise is not required
• Reduces manual labor through automation
• Ideal for businesses requiring up-to-date analytics and reporting
• End-to-end encryption and compliance with GDPR, HIPAA, and SOC 2 standards

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Cons:

• Limited data source access
• Costly for smaller businesses as pricing scales with usage
• Users need to wait for data sources to be added when not supported or rely on workarounds

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Why Hevo is better than Meltano:

Hevo’s no-code platform and automated features make it a faster, lower-maintenance alternative to Meltano, which requires technical expertise to manage ETL workflows. Its real-time data streaming and pre-built integrations offer more efficiency and scalability, particularly for non-technical teams.

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G2 Rating: 4.3/5

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Cost: Starts at $239/month

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Next steps: What’s the right ETL tool for you?

When evaluating the best Meltano alternatives, consider factors such as pricing, ease of use, scalability, and your unique business requirements. 

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Each tool has its strengths and weaknesses, so choosing the right ETL tool depends on your particular use case. Whether you prioritize cost, ease of use, or advanced features, explore 5X to experience its unmatched versatility and pay-as-you-use model.

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