Extract, transform, and load (ETL) tools allow organizations to extract data from multiple sources, transform the data into a usable state, and load that data into a data warehouse or data lake. From there, the data can be used for all sorts of business purposes, like data analytics, data visualization or machine learning.
Top ETL Tools and Software
- Informatica
- IBM Infosphere Datastage
- Azure Data Factory
- Microsoft SSIS
- Oracle Data Integrator
- Pentaho Data Integration
- AWS Glue
- Hadoop
What Is ETL?
ETL — which stands for extract, transform, load — is a data integration process in which data from multiple sources is extracted, transformed into a more usable and consistent state and then loaded into a centralized location, such as a data warehouse or a data lake.
Applying a set of business rules, ETL cleans and arranges raw data for easier storage and analysis. This way, teams can quickly process data with machine learning to glean valuable insights for improving workflows, creating reports and performing other data-related tasks.
ETL is typically supervised by data engineers and automated through ETL tools and software. Some data engineering teams choose a full-service ETL product, while others prefer to create their own ETL pipeline using Python, SQL, Apache Spark, Hadoop and Java.
Types of ETL Tools
There are four main types of ETL tools for centralizing data under various circumstances.
Enterprise ETL Tools
Enterprise ETL tools cater to larger businesses that have to handle massive amounts of data. While each enterprise ETL tool has its own distinct features, most enterprise ETL tools provide graphical user interfaces for completing tasks, work well with relational databases and can execute complex actions like manipulating data and automating a range of processes.
Open-Source ETL Tools
Open-source ETL tools are available to the public for free, and their source code is also publicly available. Open-source ETL tools may vary greatly in their abilities, but many are helpful for data management and data warehousing.
Cloud-Based ETL Tools
Cloud-based ETL tools provide a range of services on cloud computing platforms. These tools allow businesses to quickly perform various data-related tasks while charging based on usage, making them a cost-efficient option. But many cloud-based ETL tools have strict proprietary standards, so users can’t transfer their services to another cloud vendor’s platform or to their own platform.
Custom ETL Tools
Custom ETL tools are tailored with general-purpose programming languages to meet a company’s unique data and business needs. Teams may use a combination of languages, like Python and SQL, and tools, like Apache Kafka and Hadoop, to create their own data pipelines. While this approach provides a high degree of flexibility, it’s also much more tedious since teams are in charge of their own data maintenance, documentation and ongoing development testing.
16 Top ETL Tools to Know
When deciding on the right ETL tool for your organization, you’ll want to consider your budget, the technical expertise on your team and the product’s compatibility with your existing data infrastructure.
Informatica
Price: Free version available; pricing available upon request
Best known as the developer of enterprise ETL platform PowerCenter, an on-premise data integration tool, Informatica is now focused on shifting customers to its cloud-based Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC), which features a generative AI copilot. The platform’s data integration tool features thousands of metadata-aware connections, including AWS, Microsoft Azure and other popular cloud applications.
IBM Infosphere Datastage
Price: Free trial; pricing available upon request
Part of the Infosphere software suite, the basic version of Datastage facilitates on-premise deployment while an upgraded cloud version provides automated integration capabilities in a multi-cloud or hybrid-cloud environment. Datastage features a graphical user interface to design data integration jobs, and its parallel processing architecture allows companies to process data at scale.
Microsoft SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS)
Price: Ranges from free developer edition to $15,123 enterprise edition
Part of the Microsoft SQL Server database management system, SSIS is an on-premise enterprise software that can process data from a variety of data sources, such as XML data files, flat files and relational data sources. The platform’s graphical user interface tool allows users to create data flows without writing any code.
Azure Data Factory
Price: Free trial; pricing varies by need
Another Microsoft product, Azure Data Factory is a serverless data integration service that is part of the Azure cloud environment. Non-technical users can use Data Factory’s graphical user interface to create ETL and ELT processes without writing any code. The tool has more than 90 connectors that can gather data from big data sources, enterprise data warehouses and SaaS apps.
Pentaho Data Integration
Price: Free open-source edition; enterprise edition pricing available upon request
Owned by Hitachi Vantara, Pentaho Data Integration is based on an open-source development model and is available as a free edition or a paid enterprise solution. PDI is a no-code solution that features a drag-and-drop graphical user interface. It can access data either on-premise or in the cloud from a variety of data sources, including relational databases and big data stores.
AWS Glue
Price: Free features available; pricing available upon request
AWS Glue is a cloud-based service that allows users to visually create ETL pipelines using data from more than 70 data sources. It also automates the discovery of data across the AWS cloud environment, on premises and on other clouds. Users can manage their data in a centralized data catalog that can be searched and queried. AWS Glue also integrates with AWS analytics services and Amazon S3 data lakes.
SAP Data Services
Price: Available upon request
SAP Data Services is an enterprise data integration tool that can access data from a variety of data formats within SAP systems, big data stores and NoSQL systems. Its parallel processing architecture is conducive to scaling, and data is encrypted, decrypted and masked as part of the ETL process. It also has the benefit of integrating with other SAP Business Suite applications.
Talend
Price: Free open-source version; premium version price available upon request
Talend, which is now owned by Qlik, offers its free open-source Talend Open Studio tool as well as a premium platform, Talend Data Fabric. The platform features a drag-and-drop interface with more than 1,000 connectors and components that connect to a range of data sources in the cloud or on-premises. Talend also partners with popular cloud service providers, data warehouses and analytics platforms.
Integrate.io
Price: Free trial available; starter version starts at $15,000 per year
Integrate.io is a low-code cloud-based platform with a drag-and-drop graphical user interface. It features hundreds of data connectors that can access Snowflake, Salesforce and other popular cloud services, databases and analytics tools. Users can also connect their data using the platform’s customizable REST API builder.
Hevo Data
Price: Free version available; starter version starts at $239 per month
Hevo Data is a no-code platform that can automate integration from more than 150 data sources. The platform has a schema auto-mapping feature that automatically detects and replicates the schema of data. Users can also leverage Hevo’s API to integrate Hevo into their workflow, triggering pipeline actions without visiting the dashboard.
Apache Hadoop
Price: Free
Hadoop is an open-source framework designed to handle large volumes of data. Because of the way it is modeled, Hadoop has tremendous computing power and can store large amounts of data of all kinds. Hadoop has more of a learning curve than other automated, no-code ETL platforms, but it is useful for companies that have large amounts of data or require customization.
Stitch
Price: Free trial; standard version starts at $100 per month
Stitch is a no-code ETL tool that can extract data from more than 140 data sources using a replication process based on the Singer open-source framework. The platform then pushes data to a user’s data warehouse via API. Stitch has several subscription tiers, including an enterprise product with enhanced security compliance. Stitch is owned by Talend but operates as an independent business unit.
Google Cloud Dataflow
Price: Free trial; pricing varies by need
Google Cloud Dataflow is a serverless ETL service that processes stream and batch data. The service is designed to be cost-effective by auto-scaling with your data usage and offering lower pricing for jobs that can be processed overnight. The pipeline is powered by open-source Apache Beam libraries within Google Cloud.
Fivetran
Price: Free trial; pricing available upon request
Fivetran is not strictly an ETL platform, as it adheres to the ELT philosophy. By transforming data after it has been moved to a data warehouse, Fivetran claims the ELT process allows data to be automated and makes it easier to change transformation processes. Fivetran’s cloud-based platform boasts more than 300 no-code connectors to data sources. It has automated much of the ELT process, including the schema creation and mapping process.
Qlick Compose
Price: Available upon request
Qlik Compose offers a unique approach to the ELT process. Using change data capture, the platform replicates the data and streams it in near real-time to data warehouses. According to the company’s website, it greatly reduces the time of the data integration process by automating the design of data warehouses and the generation of the ETL code needed to transform the data.
Oracle Data Integrator
Price: Varies by need
Oracle Data Integrator also uses an ELT architecture. The enterprise platform extracts and transforms data using disparate relational database management systems and big data engines. The software features integrations for databases, Hadoop and other software systems and data formats. The software is fully integrated with other Oracle data solutions.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an ETL tool?
An ETL tool allows you to extract data from multiple sources, transform the data into a usable state and load that data into a data warehouse or data lake.
What are the four types of ETL tools?
ETL tools can be broadly categorized into four types: enterprise ETL tools, open-source ETL tools, cloud-based ETL tools and custom ETL tools that engineers develop through general programming languages like Python, SQL, Apache Spark, Hadoop and Java.
