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Alation Data Catalog vs Collibra Lineage 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
7th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
Metadata Management (2nd)
Collibra Lineage
Ranking in Data Governance
10th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Data Governance category, the mindshare of Alation Data Catalog is 5.8%, down from 9.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Collibra Lineage is 3.0%, up from 2.9% 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.…
Prabhjyot Singh - PeerSpot reviewer
Faster and more efficient than manual methods or other tools like Informatica
The main differences between Collibra Lineage and Informatica are significant, particularly for small to mid-sized organizations. First, Informatica requires a dedicated team, which incurs a huge cost, making it less suitable for smaller organizations. Second, Informatica's tools are very scattered. For instance, to create a domain, you need to use Axon, and then for lineage, you must use EDC. For profiling, Informatica Developer or Analyst is required. These different tools are not well-connected to display everything on one screen. While Informatica is trying to improve with its cloud version, not many users have adopted it yet. These are the two main areas where Informatica lags.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We can customize templates based on our use cases."
"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 platform's most valuable features are workflow automation, automated business metadata tagging, technical metadata tagging, and data integration with data quality tools or platforms."
"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."
"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."
"The tool's metadata cataloging is the most valuable feature."
"The integration with other Collibra Lineage products is valuable in our data governance initiatives."
"The most valuable features of Collibra Lineage are the multiple options for automation. Additionally, if you have a scenario where automation does not work, you have the option to manually create the lineage. The solution does not force you to always go through an automated way where you have broken lineage and you are stuck without a lineage."
"It shows how the data was transformed on the way and how the solutions were derived. This is the essence of the tool and why it is so powerful."
"The best features of Collibra Lineage include its ability to map data flows and provide clear visualizations."
"The solution makes data more discoverable and transparent."
"The main benefits that Collibra Lineage provides include measurable advantages."
"The solution has very good online assistance."
"The solution allowed us to quickly and efficiently implement our data governance operating model, including accountabilities, regulatory lineage, and data dictionaries. This was much faster and more efficient than manual methods or other tools like Informatica. I prefer Collibra Lineage for its self-service capabilities."
 

Cons

"I know that this has been on their roadmap and they're working on it, but as a whole, there's an untapped reservoir of capabilities within their article features that could be used and built upon."
"It would be good if the tool could show the output from the records while querying."
"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."
"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 tool's domain model needs to be changed."
"The interface is not user-friendly."
"Alation Data Catalog is not user-friendly for business users. Its user experience is comparable to a Wikipedia page, lacking good visualization."
"Although the solution performs far better in terms of data cataloging, its data governance capabilities need improvement."
"The product must be cheaper."
"Before you can use this solution, you have to make a lot of changes to how you measure your information in your organization, the data governance and policies, and the organizational structures that use them. Many companies believe that if they purchase the licenses for the tool that they have done the job, but this is far from the case with this tool."
"The workflow documentation must be improved."
"Collibra Lineage could improve connectively. If they can offer more out-of-the-box connectors, which come as in a package compared to you having to go and buy a lot in the marketplace for certain specific connectors."
"I have seen many customers moving away from Collibra Lineage after using it for a couple of years because the cost-benefit analysis does not give them a favorable report."
"If a developer implements ETL in Glue or PySpark, Collibra cannot capture lineage out of that."
"We would like this solution to be able to connect directly to the databases, so we can pull directly from Databank without manual intervention."
"I experience occasional downtime, bugs, and some glitches."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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 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."
"It's expensive, especially for small companies."
"There are different licenses available for Collibra Lineage based on what kind of access you want. If you want, for example, a read-only license they have different ones to pick from."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
20%
Insurance Company
13%
Computer Software Company
10%
Energy/Utilities Company
6%
 

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?
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 Collibra Lineage?
The solution makes data more discoverable and transparent.
What needs improvement with Collibra Lineage?
There are areas of improvement in Collibra Lineage, including pricing, support, and reporting. Regarding pricing, it is somewhat expensive, and I think it could be more cost-efficient.
 

Also Known As

Alation
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Salesforce, Snowflake, Citrix, eBay, TripAdvisor, Albertsons, Nasdaq, Pfizer, LinkedIn, Finnair.
AXA XL, DNB, Adobe, PMI, Holland America Line, UC Davis Health, Cox Automotive
Find out what your peers are saying about Alation Data Catalog vs. Collibra Lineage and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
861,170 professionals have used our research since 2012.