Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Alation Data Catalog vs Collibra Governance comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Alation Data Catalog
Ranking in Data Governance
4th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
Metadata Management (2nd)
Collibra Governance
Ranking in Data Governance
3rd
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
46
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Data Governance category, the mindshare of Alation Data Catalog is 7.3%, down from 12.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Collibra Governance is 12.4%, down from 12.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Governance
 

Featured Reviews

Brahma Lam - PeerSpot reviewer
Has metadata cataloging features but needs changes in domain model
The tool's metadata cataloging is the most valuable feature.  The tool's domain model needs to be changed.  Alation Data Catalog is stable.  The solution is scalable.  Alation Data Catalog's deployment is easy. I rate it a nine out of ten. Deployment takes only two to three hours to complete.…
Davy Michiels - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhanced data quality and lineage understanding with great support
It is mainly for documentation purposes, to document metadata in a data catalog, and also to improve understanding, access, and exploration of data I've been an external consultant, advising clients on IT solutions and helping them implement these solutions, including Collibra Governance. It's…

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The most valuable feature is cloud integration."
"We had some of our data science engineers, who had built out some cloud-based data and data products for users. They were spending a lot of their time, up to 30 to 35% of their time, answering questions about the data and helping people understand how to use it. Once they were able to document that information within Alation, they were only focusing on around 5% of the high-value questions that really couldn't be solved through the catalog itself. It freed them up to be more productive, it made their end-users more productive, and it made the adoption rate of their data products rise more quickly because people were able to get to using them."
"Alation Data Catalog's best feature is the SQL query publication."
"The solution is used to query MySQL clients and store data and documentation."
"We can customize templates based on our use cases."
"The platform's most valuable features are workflow automation, automated business metadata tagging, technical metadata tagging, and data integration with data quality tools or platforms."
"The tool's metadata cataloging is the most valuable feature."
"Alation Data Catalog provides a nice interface for connecting to the database, querying the data, and working on it."
"The most important feature is the ease of use."
"Workflow is very helpful and assessment are good features. I really like the structure of this solution and how it is compartmentalized."
"The most valuable feature is the Technical Lineage. The fact that you can trace the auditability of a particular field or attribute across various systems is very useful."
"The solution's most valuable features are its scalability and how it can be integrated to any other intakes."
"Collibra Governance's most valuable features are data lineage and stewardships."
"The most valuable features of Collibra Governance are that it is user-friendly and easy to use."
"There is a good community setup around the solution that can provide insights."
"The solution's most valuable feature is data cataloging."
 

Cons

"Although the solution performs far better in terms of data cataloging, its data governance capabilities need improvement."
"The product's data governance features need improvement."
"The tool's domain model needs to be changed."
"Alation Data Catalog doesn't support end-to-end lineage. By that, I mean the ability to trace the movement of data from when it first comes into our organization to where it's consumed."
"The interface is not user-friendly."
"Alation Data Catalog does not provide end-to-end data lineage."
"Alation Data Catalog needs to develop a lot in terms of data governance and would be improved with a built-in interactive data quality solution."
"Data observability within Alation would be incredibly helpful for addressing these challenges"
"Many other tools like Collibra Governance give you the option to actually see the data in the tool, which is not an option in Collibra."
"Data discovery needs to be improved."
"Every time you change or publish a new questionnaire for certification, you have to basically go into the code and update the new version of the questionnaire."
"There are certain processes that involve a lot of manual work, specifically when searching for attributes assignment. It would be better if we could do this via APIs."
"Pricing policy of the product is an area with certain shortcomings that needs improvement."
"There should be more detailed documentation on the selectors and certain information, and a reduction in cost as compared to other tools."
"What I use it for is fairly rudimentary, and I don't have any complaints about it. I haven't tried to stretch the boundaries at all, but it would be nice if there were capabilities built within the system to somehow help enforce the quality and consistency across related elements that are built in the catalog. It could have intelligent capabilities built in to help maintain the quality of the data and information, such as natural language processing, machine learning, and so on."
"There are certain limitations and difficulties regarding the migration of complex data quality rules, as the tool may struggle with lengthy calculations and longer loading times."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The platform is moderately expensive compared to the other competitors in the market."
"A three-year agreement is better than a one-year rolling 12-month agreement from a price point of view. I'd recommend looking at a three-year deal because you can't stand up a catalog and produce value in 12 months."
"The solution is a little expensive."
"I don't have all the details on the pricing side, but the solution was more expensive than originally expected."
"Collibra Governance is expensive - I would rate its pricing as one out of five."
"Collibra Governance is an expensive solution."
"Collibra provides you with a license based on the subscription model that you purchase."
"Collibra is a bit expensive."
"I think it is on a yearly basis, but I'm not involved with the pricing session, so I have no idea. There are several licenses for different models. You get one license per product, but a lot of features are controlled separately through different licenses. So, as and when you want to use a feature, you have to procure the license for that feature."
"Many of our customers I spoke to felt that the solution is a bit highly-priced."
"It is substantial, and we do pay yearly."
"I think they have a trust issue. I did not like the way they recently went through the process. They were like, "Finish this SOW first, only then will we sign the other SOW." Or, "Finish this code." I didn't like that much."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Data Governance solutions are best for your needs.
831,020 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
18%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
21%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Insurance Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Alation Data Catalog?
The platform's most valuable features are workflow automation, automated business metadata tagging, technical metadata tagging, and data integration with data quality tools or platforms.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Alation Data Catalog?
I don't have all the details on the pricing side, but the solution was more expensive than originally expected. On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solut...
What needs improvement with Alation Data Catalog?
When issues arise, two key concerns arise. First, how can we perform root cause analysis faster? Second, how can we optimize resource allocation, considering the associated costs? Every customer is...
What do you like most about Collibra Governance?
We use the solution's Data Stewardship part.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Collibra Governance?
The price is quite high. Collibra has high initial costs for licensing that can be a barrier to small and medium-sized companies starting with it.
What needs improvement with Collibra Governance?
The platform can sometimes be unstable, particularly in terms of speed and reconnection issues. There's also potential for improvements in AI and AI governance, which I don't see clear use cases fo...
 

Also Known As

Alation
Collibra
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Salesforce, Snowflake, Citrix, eBay, TripAdvisor, Albertsons, Nasdaq, Pfizer, LinkedIn, Finnair.
Ministry of Economy Science and Innovation, Aspen Insurance, Barry Callebaut, Colt
Find out what your peers are saying about Alation Data Catalog vs. Collibra Governance and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.
831,020 professionals have used our research since 2012.