Matillion vs Talend: Comparing the Top Two Data Ingestion Tools 

What would you pick—speed or flexibility?

Selecting Matillion over Talend, or vice versa, is really about what matters most to your team and your data environment. If you want something that “just works” in the cloud, Matillion is a clear winner. It’s built for teams who want to set up data pipelines quickly, use a drag-and-drop interface, and not worry about managing servers or writing a lot of code. Matillion is all about getting your data into cloud warehouses fast, with as little hassle as possible.

Talend, on the other hand, is the tool you reach for when your data world is a bit messier. Maybe you have some data in the cloud, some on-premises, and you need lots of connectors and strong data quality checks. Talend’s open-source roots give you tons of flexibility and control, and it’s trusted by big companies with complex needs.

Matillion vs Talend vs Hevo: Overview Comparison

Use Case / Feature

	Matillion	Talend	Hevo Data
Data Warehouse Integration	Cloud DWH (Snowflake, Redshift, BigQuery, Synapse) ✅	Broad DWH, on-prem & cloud (Snowflake, Redshift) ✅	Cloud DWH (Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift) ✅
Database Replication	Batch only ✅	Batch & near real-time (with CDC add-on) ✅	Real-time CDC & batch ✅
Operational Integration	Batch, micro-batch	Batch, micro-batch, real-time (enterprise) ✅	Real-time, batch, micro-batch ✅
ETL/ELT	Visual ETL/ELT, SQL/Python transforms	Advanced ETL, code-heavy, ELT support	No-code ETL/ELT, visual transforms ✅
Data Migration	Schema evolution, basic cleaning	Intelligent schema inference & evolution ✅	Auto schema mapping & evolution ✅
Streaming/Real-time	❌	Partial (enterprise, CDC)	Native streaming, CDC, real-time pipelines ✅
Reverse ETL	❌	❌	Partial (via destinations) ✅
AI/ML Integration	Limited	Advanced (ML components, data prep) ✅	Limited

Connectors

Connector Feature	Matillion	Talend	Hevo Data
Number of Connectors	150+	1000+	150+ (60+ free sources)
Streaming Connectors	❌	Partial (CDC, Kafka)	Kafka, Kinesis, Pub/Sub, CDC ✅
Custom Connectors	Python/SQL, REST API	Java/custom code, SDK	API/Webhook, REST API
Connector Requests	Slow, via support	Encouraged, responsive	Fast, responsive ✅

Core Features

Core Feature	Matillion	Talend	Hevo Data
Batch & Streaming	Batch only	Batch, some streaming (CDC)	Batch & streaming
Transformation	Visual + code (SQL/Python)	Code-heavy (Java, scripting)	Visual + code (Python, visual)
Workflow Automation	Orchestration, scheduling	Advanced orchestration/triggers	Automated, managed pipelines ✅
Monitoring & Alerts	Basic, manual setup	Advanced, integrated	Real-time, automated alerts ✅
Data Lineage	Visual, basic	Advanced, full lineage ✅	Visual, basic
Error Handling	Manual, alerts	Automated, alerts	Auto-retry, error notifications ✅
Data Quality	Basic checks	Advanced profiling, cleansing ✅	Advanced, built-in validation ✅
Schema Drift Handling	Basic	Advanced, automated ✅	Automated, real-time ✅

Abilities

Ability	Matillion	Talend	Hevo Data
Performance (Latency)	Minutes (batch)	Sub-minute (with CDC)	Sub-second (real-time) ✅
Reliability	High	Enterprise-grade	High, auto-retry ✅
Scalability	Good, cloud-native	Enterprise-grade, highly scalable	Auto-scaling, elastic ✅
Ease of Use	Visual, easy, low-code/no-code	Technical, steep learning curve	No-code, intuitive UI ✅
Best Fit For	Technical teams, cloud DWH	Enterprises, complex hybrid needs	Non-technical, real-time sync ✅

Security

Security Feature	Matillion	Talend	Hevo Data
SOC 2	✅	✅	✅
GDPR Compliance	✅	✅	✅
HIPAA Compliance	❌	✅	✅
Encryption	At rest & in-motion	At rest & in-motion	At rest & in-motion
RBAC/SSO	RBAC, SSO (enterprise)	RBAC, SSO, MFA	RBAC, SSO, MFA

Cost

Cost Factor	Matillion	Talend	Hevo Data
Pricing Transparency	Clear, usage-based 💲💲	Opaque, tiered, custom quotes 💲💲💲	Transparent, volume-based 💲
Free Trial	✅	✅ (limited)	✅
Admin Costs	Some admin/troubleshooting	Higher (complex product)	Low (fully managed) ✅
Data Engineering Costs	Simplified dbt, visual	High (code-heavy, complex)	Low (no-code, automated) ✅

Admin & Support

Support Feature	Matillion	Talend	Hevo Data
Support & SLA	24/7 (paid)	Enterprise only	24/7 all plans ✅
Documentation	Good, up-to-date	Extensive, technical	User-friendly, up-to-date ✅
Community	Growing, active	Large, active	Active, responsive

For more tabular comparisons like this, you can check out blogs on Fivetran vs Segment vs Hevo and Fivetran vs Alooma vs Hevo.

What is Matillion?

G2 Rating: 4.4/5(81)
Gartner Rating: 4.5/5(172)

Matillion is a cloud-based ETL solution focused on simplifying the modern data team when integrating and transforming their data. Matillion is a powerful scalable platform which works quite seamlessly to integrate with any cloud data warehouse and can efficiently transfer data from both on-premises systems and cloud applications. It is best suited for data teams that can simplify their processes, improve the accuracy of data, and accelerate insights into production, all while reducing operational costs.

Key Features of Matillion:

• Cloud Optimized: It runs wonderfully with cloud data warehouses, including the likes of Snowflake and Redshift.
• Intuitive UI: Ease of drag-and-drop interface to set up the ETL process.
• Efficient Transformation: Powerful, built-in tools for complex data transformations.

Matillion Pros:

• Super easy to use. Even if you’re not a coding expert, you can build data pipelines.
• Comes with lots of ready-made connectors for popular cloud platforms and databases.
• Built for the cloud, so it works really well with AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud.
• You can get started quickly and set up your data flows fast.
• Their customer support is helpful, and there’s a friendly user community.

Matillion Cons:

• Mainly works in the cloud. It doesn’t offer much for on-premises or mixed setups.
• Costs can go up quickly as you use more data or add more users.
• Not the best choice if you need really advanced or custom data transformations.
• Some features from the older server version aren’t available in the cloud version.
• Might struggle with very large or super complex data jobs.

What is Talend?

G2 Rating: 4(63)
Gartner Rating: 4.2/5(108)

Talend is an integrated data management platform that provides a range of tools for data integration, quality, and governance. Owned by Qlik, Talend offers flexibility in cloud, multi-cloud, on-premises, and hybrid environments to ensure accessible and trusted data for analytics. By automating complex data workflows Talend allows businesses to reduce manual tasks as much as possible and minimize potential errors while speeding up time-to-insight.

Key Features:

• Data management: It offers data integration, quality, and governance on one platform.
• Connectors: It offers various pre-configured connectors that provide wide connector support, which gives easy and unproblematic access to the data.
• Flexible Deployment: The platform can either be installed in on-premises, cloud, or hybrid environments​.

Talend Pros:

• Open-source, so you can customize it a lot and even use community add-ons.
• Great tools for making sure your data is clean and high quality.
• Works with almost any data source, whether it’s in the cloud or on your own servers.
• Can handle big, enterprise-level projects and lots of data.
• Offers a full set of tools, including ETL, data migration, and master data management.

Talend Cons:

• Pricing for the enterprise version can get complicated and expensive.
• Takes more time to learn, especially if you’re new to these kinds of tools.
• It can slow down with extremely large or complex data jobs unless you fine-tune it.
• The free version doesn’t include all the advanced features you might want.

Matillion vs Talend: In-depth Feature & Use Case Comparison

1. Connector Coverage & Integrations

Matillion offers around 150+ connectors, with a strong focus on cloud data warehouses and popular enterprise applications. While their library covers most business-critical systems, adding new or niche integrations often requires manual setup or custom development. This means you get flexibility, but your team will need to handle more of the configuration and ongoing maintenance.

Talend, on the other hand, boasts one of the 1000+ connector libraries in the industry, supporting a huge range of cloud and on-premises sources, including legacy databases, ERP systems, and big data platforms. Talend’s connectors are highly customizable and can be extended with code, making them a great fit for organizations with complex, hybrid environments.

My vote goes to Talend. A user on G2 said, “easy to set up and simple UI component to create automated data integration flow. It perfectly meets all our integration needs concerning all our different data sources, as well as for the production of our Datamarts. ” shows how Talend’s connector accessibility significantly outperforms Matillion, as you need to set up or customize connectors yourself.

2. Transformation Capabilities

Matillion shines when it comes to data transformation. It provides a visual, drag-and-drop interface for building complex workflows, plus support for SQL, Python, and even Java. This makes it easy to design, manage, and automate transformations directly within your cloud data warehouse.

Talend is known for its highly customizable transformation engine. You can build sophisticated logic using Java, SQL, or Talend’s own graphical tools. Talend is especially strong for enterprises that need to enforce strict data quality, validation, and governance rules as part of their pipelines.

My vote goes to Matillion. G2 Reviews such as “Matillion makes it easy to drag and drop components and generate SQL statements to transform your data. There are lots of built-in connectors, so it is not too difficult to add new sources to your data warehouse.” shows how Matillion significantly outperforms Talend more suitable for powerful and customizable but needs more coding and technical skills.

3. Ease of Use & Interface

Matillion offers a modern, intuitive interface with drag-and-drop components, making it accessible for analysts and engineers alike. The learning curve is moderately easy for basic workflows, but more advanced technical skills are required for customizations.

Talend is more technical from the get-go. While it provides graphical tools, working with Talend often requires familiarity with Java or scripting, especially for complex tasks. This can make onboarding slower for non-technical users.

Verdict: If ease of use is your top priority, Matillion is the winner. Talend is better suited for teams with strong technical skills who need maximum flexibility.

My vote goes to Matillion. G2 reviews like “easy to drag and drop component and generate SQL statements to transform your data” highlight how Matillion’s drag-and-drop features help beginners get started quickly as compared to Talend’s complex and coding-based technical setups.

4. Automation & Maintenance

Matillion automates many routine tasks, but some maintenance-like updating connectors or managing job failures still requires manual intervention. Monitoring and alerting are built in, but you’ll need to keep an eye on things as your pipelines grow.

Talend provides robust automation features, including job scheduling, monitoring, and automated error handling. However, because Talend pipelines can get very complex, ongoing maintenance can be resource-intensive, especially in large enterprise environments.

My vote goes to Matillion. G2 reviews such as “drag-and-drop functionally efficiently processes and transforms data from various sources and loaded into cloud storage“ showcase how Matillion is simpler to maintain for most cloud-native workloads, while Talend is more powerful but can demand more hands-on management as complexity increases.

5. Customization & Flexibility

Matillion allows for custom scripting (Python, SQL, Java) and flexible workflow design, but is primarily optimized for cloud data workflows. Custom connectors and advanced logic are possible, but often require some engineering effort.

Talend is built for customization. You can extend almost every part of the platform with code, custom components, and plugins. This makes Talend a favorite for organizations with unique, non-standard requirements or hybrid data landscapes.

My vote goes to Talend. G2 reviews “create custom components in Talend that can be exported to other developers or saved in a repository”. Note that Talend lets you create custom components that can be exported or saved in a repository, making it ideal for unique or complex data needs. In comparison, Matillion often requires technical help for advanced changes, making Talend the more flexible option.

6. Pricing & Cost Structure

Matillion’s pricing model is a subscription/credit-based pricing model, starting around $1,000/month. Pricing is tied to usage and cloud platform, and there’s a 14-day free trial to get started. For most organizations, costs are predictable, but can rise as data volumes increase.

Talend’s pricing model is a free open-source version, with paid cloud plans starting at about $1,000 per user per month. Enterprise features, support, and advanced connectors are only available on higher tiers, so costs can add up for large teams or complex needs.

Here, I feel it completely depends on your needs. Talend is the preferred choice because of its free tier, but its enterprise-grade features come at a premium. And this is where Matillion’s pricing is straightforward and scales with usage, making it easier to predict costs. 

You can also read more about:

• Alteryx vs Matillion
• AWS Glue vs Matillion
• Matillion vs Airflow
• Talend vs Informatica

Why Choose Hevo Data over Matillion vs Talend?

When evaluating Hevo Data alongside Matillion and Talend, Hevo emerges as the top choice for modern data teams. How? Hevo Data’s intuitive no-code platform, real-time processing, and seamless scalability go beyond basic data integration. It offers a serverless platform with many connectors across different industries, making it easy to bring in data without technical hassle. This helps teams focus on using data instead of managing complex setups.

While Matillion and Talend are customizable and good at processing data, Hevo stands out with its real-time syncing and automatic data quality checks. This means your data stays up-to-date and clean without extra work. If your business needs fast, reliable data integration with minimal effort, Hevo is the best choice. It combines speed, flexibility, and simplicity to help you get the most from your data quickly and easily.

You can check out our blog on Hevo vs Matillion for a more detailed comparison.

Sign up for a 14-day free trial and experience the feature-rich Hevo suite firsthand. Also, check out our unbeatable pricing to choose the best plan for your organization.

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