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Alation Data Catalog vs Microsoft Purview Data Governance comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 27, 2025

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
7th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
Metadata Management (2nd)
Microsoft Purview Data Gove...
Ranking in Data Governance
1st
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
58
Ranking in other categories
Microsoft Security Suite (7th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Data Governance category, the mindshare of Alation Data Catalog is 5.3%, down from 8.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Purview Data Governance is 21.4%, down from 22.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Governance Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Purview Data Governance21.4%
Alation Data Catalog5.3%
Other73.3%
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.…
AmrNaeem - PeerSpot reviewer
It helps us by reporting on and auditing leaks and breaches
One important feature is data security, which both end users and the organization seek. Microsoft Purview offers data protection across a multi-cloud and multi-platform environment. It's critical that Purview connects to iOS, Mac, and Android. We could only secure some of our data if it only covered Windows. It provides a comprehensive view of the entire ecosystem's threats and compliance in real time. It's very easy to use. Purview's compliance features are crucial. We have to match some cases in other countries to our own to comply with the policies, procedures, and regulatory frameworks here.

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 features of Alation Data Catalog are the simplicity in onboarding data sources, the security in securing the data sources, and the way the various users of Alation Data Catalog communicate with each other through a messenger."
"Given the relatively low level of maturity, Alation's most relevant feature at the moment is a user interface that's easy to navigate, which helps us find and understand the data. So while Alation has a lot more functionality, our pain point right now is being able to easily find, understand, and trust the information to use it."
"Alation Data Catalog's best feature is the SQL query publication."
"Alation Data Catalog was very useful for sharing SQL queries easily in a platform."
"The most valuable feature is cloud integration."
"The tool's metadata cataloging is the most valuable feature."
"The solution is used to query MySQL clients and store data and documentation."
"The solution's most valuable feature is the ALLIE AI feature."
"I think Purview does as good a job...I'll say that it is as stable as the data governance maturity that exists within an organization. It can't be more stable than that."
"You can set up automated dates to alert on internal data."
"The data classification part of the solution is excellent, especially as it gives us an insight into our sensitive data within Microsoft 365."
"Microsoft Purview is extremely stable."
"Microsoft Purview offers data protection across a multi-cloud and multi-platform environment."
"The sensitivity labeling is the most valuable feature because it is the foundation for automating the encryption process and ensuring proper data handling across the organization."
"Microsoft Purview stands out for its automatic data recovery system, which prioritizes critical data for the fastest restoration."
"Their data labeling or data classification is particularly valuable because we want to categorize all of our data into confidential, public, or internal."
 

Cons

"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."
"It would be good if the tool could show the output from the records while querying."
"Alation Data Catalog is not user-friendly for business users. Its user experience is comparable to a Wikipedia page, lacking good visualization."
"Data observability within Alation would be incredibly helpful for addressing these challenges"
"We have had issues setting up the connectors and getting Alation's support team to resolve issues."
"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."
"Although the solution performs far better in terms of data cataloging, its data governance capabilities need improvement."
"The tool's domain model needs to be changed."
"I would like to have AI functionality on the dashboard to help me analyze and report on the data that we capture using Purview on a daily basis."
"Enhancing the tool's capability to connect to multiple sources would be valuable."
"Non-Microsoft use cases are not very high. It's limited for now."
"I have some concerns about the separation of roles in Purview from the Microsoft tenant, as well as how they interact with the security portal and endpoint manager."
"While Microsoft Purview currently allows weekly scans for data sources, this limitation hinders the usefulness of the tool for frequently changing data."
"As Microsoft Purview got a little more mature, the deployments got a little more complex, as we were kind of seeing that there are a lot of ways, like there were a hundred ways to do one thing or less."
"One area for improvement is better documentation on what is working and what is not, as well as what features are allowed depending on your licensing model. It's essential to know if a feature isn't working due to missing licenses."
"There are some non-Microsoft file formats that are not supported."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The platform is moderately expensive compared to the other competitors in the market."
"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."
"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 price is reasonable considering its value."
"The pricing is reasonable because it's part of the 365 E3 or E5 license you buy."
"Some people find the tier licensing system complicated, but it offers a lot of value for money if we use the features."
"Microsoft Purview is expensive."
"It is cheap. It is based on consumption. If somebody wants to start using it, the price is definitely cheaper than a tool like Collibra."
"The price is a little bit high, but it's worth the money because it has a lot of features."
"Currently, the licensing differs for the governance side compared to the risk and compliance side."
"I consider it cost-efficient because of the metrics it provides."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise7
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business20
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise30
 

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?
The price difference between Alation Data Catalog and Collibra was not significant. Collibra is a little bit expensive than Alation, but I presented the benefits of having that platform, so that li...
What needs improvement with Alation Data Catalog?
Alation Data Catalog is not user-friendly for business users. Its user experience is comparable to a Wikipedia page, lacking good visualization. In a fast-paced world, we need to grasp information ...
What do you like most about Microsoft Azure Purview?
It is designed to seamlessly connect to various data sources, which is particularly beneficial for our customers who primarily use Microsoft technologies.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Azure Purview?
Microsoft Purview Data Governance is quite affordable compared to other market solutions, which have high initial costs. It allows for a cost-effective start with negligible initial cost. However, ...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Azure Purview?
There should be more clarity about the costing, particularly how the cost is calculated, especially when utilizing health reports and quality features. Additionally, adding more tools around data q...
 

Also Known As

Alation
Microsoft Purview, MS Azure Purview
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Salesforce, Snowflake, Citrix, eBay, TripAdvisor, Albertsons, Nasdaq, Pfizer, LinkedIn, Finnair.
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Find out what your peers are saying about Alation Data Catalog vs. Microsoft Purview Data Governance and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
869,832 professionals have used our research since 2012.