Alation Data Catalog vs erwin Data Intelligence comparison

Alation and Quest Software are both solutions in the Data Governance category. Alation is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.0, while Quest Software is ranked #16 with an average rating of 8.0. Alation holds a 4.0% mindshare in DG, compared to Quest Software’s 1.9% mindshare. Additionally, 81% of Alation users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Quest Software users who would recommend it.

Alation Data Catalog

Read 19 Alation Data Catalog reviews

4,484 Views
3,856 Comparison Views

81% willing to recommend

erwin Data Intelligence

Read 19 erwin Data Intelligence reviews

2,788 Views
2,732 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Alation Data Catalog

erwin Data Intelligence

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 23, 2025

Alation Data Catalog and erwin Data Intelligence compete in the data management and governance category. Alation holds the upper hand in cloud integration and user collaboration, while erwin offers stronger technical metadata management and integration with data quality tools.

Features: Alation Data Catalog automates data governance and supports adaptive governance approaches, enhancing data discovery and collaboration through powerful search capabilities and natural language queries. It excels in cloud integration, SQL query sharing, and provides an intuitive search engine. erwin Data Intelligence focuses on robust metadata management, data mapping, and offers Smart Data Connectors. It provides comprehensive metadata harvesting, technical and automated business metadata tagging, and seamless integration with legacy systems for a unified view of data lineage and impact analysis.

Room for Improvement: Alation Data Catalog requires enhancements in end-to-end data lineage and integration with BI tools, needing improvements in data governance and search functionalities. Users report inefficiencies in lineage visualization. erwin Data Intelligence could enhance automation, UI intuitiveness, and AI integration, as users experience a steep learning curve in metadata customization and codeset mappings. Both need improvements in core functionality to better meet user expectations.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Alation Data Catalog supports hybrid, private, and public cloud deployments, offering flexibility across infrastructures, with generally well-regarded proactive support, albeit with occasional slow responses and a need for improved international support. erwin Data Intelligence offers on-premises deployment with support for private and public clouds. Its recently improved technical support streamlines ticket resolution, though complex issues may take longer. Both provide reliable support, but geographical and technical complexities can influence user experiences.

Pricing and ROI: Alation Data Catalog's pricing is considered high, with variable models necessitating strategic evaluation. Long-term agreements often lead to better value, contributing significantly to ROI via improved data discovery and time efficiency. erwin Data Intelligence offers competitive pricing and significant value through its automation capabilities, though licensing costs for Smart Data Connectors and support licenses should be considered. Both solutions show returns on investment, requiring strategic evaluation of pricing and contract structures based on organizational needs.

To learn more, read our detailed Alation Data Catalog vs. erwin Data Intelligence Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Alation Data Catalog vs. erwin Data Intelligence

December 2025

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Helped 880,745 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score

5.7

Alation Data Catalog boosts efficiency by reducing search time, cutting costs, and enhancing user independence in data management.

Sentiment score

7.3

Erwin Data Intelligence boosts efficiency, reduces costs, accelerates access, and delivers high ROI through streamlined data management and decision-making.

We have seen a return on investment, having saved close to 10.5% of our costs, with expected ROI growing yearly by about 17%.

ManojBehera

Senior Staff Cyber Security Cloud Data Architect at GE Healthcare

Instead of going into Google or consulting a colleague, I can just go to Alation Data Catalog, search there, and understand everything by myself.

Varnika Vyas

Data Engineer at Yum! Brands

For more quotes and insights, download the Alation Data Catalog report

Compared to competitor products like Collibra, erwin Data Intelligence is more cost-effective, providing a data catalog and data lineage views without the high costs associated with governance software.

Jog Raj

Senior Consultant at a computer software company with 11-50 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the erwin Data Intelligence report

Customer Service

Sentiment score

5.6

Alation's support is generally positive, with fast ticket processing but some issues with time zones and complex problem-solving.

Sentiment score

8.8

Erwin Data Intelligence support is efficient with expert teams, praised for responsiveness, despite occasional delays and excessive emails.

Some of them have dragged on for six months, which is much longer than we would ever want some support issues to go on.

reviewer2785566

Senior Data Engineer & Data Platform Engineer at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

we have defined several SLAs that have resolved critical issues and incidents with excellent support.

ManojBehera

Senior Staff Cyber Security Cloud Data Architect at GE Healthcare

we have been able to contact them, and they have been able to help us whenever we have had issues

Daniel Yeoh

Senior Data Analyst at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Alation Data Catalog report

Quest technical support is very good, as they provide not only a technical help desk but also a data automation team that creates and customizes smart connectors, offering a wealth of skilled support.

Jog Raj

Senior Consultant at a computer software company with 11-50 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the erwin Data Intelligence report

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score

6.8

Alation Data Catalog excels in scalability for expanding user bases and data size, with some API limitations on free versions.

Sentiment score

8.2

Erwin Data Intelligence scales well, supports self-service, integrates diverse sources, and adapts to changing organizational needs efficiently.

As data sizes grow, we can also scale categorizations, calibrations, and the types of data we ingest and catalog through this tool.

ManojBehera

Senior Staff Cyber Security Cloud Data Architect at GE Healthcare

Alation Data Catalog's scalability is really good since everything is cloud and everything gets pulled into the system via Snowflake and DBT automatically.

Daniel Yeoh

Senior Data Analyst at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees

Alation Data Catalog's scalability has met our needs as our data and user base has grown.

reviewer2785566

Senior Data Engineer & Data Platform Engineer at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Alation Data Catalog report

Regarding scalability, I would rate erwin Data Intelligence as an eight or nine for its ability to expand.

Jog Raj

Senior Consultant at a computer software company with 11-50 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the erwin Data Intelligence report

Stability Issues

Sentiment score

7.5

Alation Data Catalog is praised for stability, reliable performance, excellent maintenance, with minor on-premises outages and DBT load concerns.

Sentiment score

8.3

erwin Data Intelligence has proven reliable and stable with smooth updates, overcoming initial Java challenges, according to user feedback.

It has never gone down when we wanted to access it.

reviewer2785566

Senior Data Engineer & Data Platform Engineer at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

Alation Data Catalog has been stable for me, as I haven't seen much downtime.

reviewer2777262

Senior ORM Analyst Assistant Vice President at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

From my experience, Alation Data Catalog is stable.

Daniel Yeoh

Senior Data Analyst at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Alation Data Catalog report

From my perspective, I would rate the stability of erwin Data Intelligence as an eight or nine out of ten.

Jog Raj

Senior Consultant at a computer software company with 11-50 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the erwin Data Intelligence report

Room For Improvement

Alation Data Catalog needs improved lineage, user interface, automation, security, and integration with Power BI and external APIs.

Erwin Data Intelligence needs SDK, API, UI improvements, enhanced data tools, better support, and integration for large, complex datasets.

The platform needs improvement in integrating with BI tools, reducing manual efforts, and facilitating a smooth connection.

Hariprasath-Thiyagaraj

Senior Data Governance at a university with 51-200 employees

Additionally, bringing in AI capabilities to automate tracking and labeling can optimize how we handle data information levels.

ManojBehera

Senior Staff Cyber Security Cloud Data Architect at GE Healthcare

Alation Data Catalog can be improved by enhancing their lineage capabilities to make it easier for us as users to search the lineage without having to use the Alation Data Catalog user interface.

reviewer2776527

Senior Data and Analytics Consultant at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Alation Data Catalog report

The dashboard in erwin Data Intelligence is customizable, and you can easily create different views.

Jog Raj

Senior Consultant at a computer software company with 11-50 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the erwin Data Intelligence report

Setup Cost

Alation Data Catalog pricing is high, but discounts and long-term agreements offer better value compared to competitors.

Erwin Data Intelligence's pricing can reach $150,000 annually, including various licenses and potential additional costs for modules.

Collibra is a little bit expensive than Alation, but I presented the benefits of having that platform, so that little bit of money was not a big deal.

Hariprasath-Thiyagaraj

Senior Data Governance at a university with 51-200 employees

Discussions with the vendor partners provided a detailed breakdown of costs and how they can be reduced over time.

ManojBehera

Senior Staff Cyber Security Cloud Data Architect at GE Healthcare

For more quotes and insights, download the Alation Data Catalog report

No quotes available

For more quotes and insights, download the erwin Data Intelligence report

Valuable Features

Alation Data Catalog boosts productivity with intuitive features, seamless data management, and enhances collaboration through advanced governance and cloud integration.

erwin Data Intelligence offers automation, data lineage, catalogs, governance, and customization for efficient development and enhanced enterprise collaboration.

It was the only data catalog tool where I could save and even create SQL queries.

Hariprasath-Thiyagaraj

Senior Data Governance at a university with 51-200 employees

Importantly, we establish a single source of truth, centralizing metadata and standardizing definitions, which minimizes confusion and helps with consistent data use across the organization.

ManojBehera

Senior Staff Cyber Security Cloud Data Architect at GE Healthcare

My stakeholders can find relevant data assets quickly using a Google search without needing technical jargon, reducing the time spent searching for data.

Varnika Vyas

Data Engineer at Yum! Brands

For more quotes and insights, download the Alation Data Catalog report

This feature is probably the most valuable because it allows for automated reverse engineering of lineage.

Jog Raj

Senior Consultant at a computer software company with 11-50 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the erwin Data Intelligence report

Categories and Ranking

Alation Data Catalog

Ranking in Data Governance

5th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

5.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Metadata Management (3rd)

erwin Data Intelligence

Ranking in Data Governance

16th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

AI Governance (2nd)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Data Governance category, the mindshare of Alation Data Catalog is 4.0%, down from 6.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of erwin Data Intelligence is 1.9%, down from 2.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Data Governance Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Alation Data Catalog	4.0%
erwin Data Intelligence	1.9%
Other	94.1%

Data Governance

Featured Reviews

reviewer2776527

Senior Data and Analytics Consultant at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

Increases data discoverability and boosts self-service analytics through enriched metadata and intuitive search

The best features that Alation Data Catalog offers are its search capabilities and the fact that it works with many different data platforms; it is essentially platform agnostic. The other piece that I really think is important is how easy it is to use as well as to manage. What makes the search capabilities of Alation Data Catalog stand out for me is the fact that every item within the catalog is indexed and searchable, as well as the filtering features that allow you to narrow down to just the types of assets that you need. Wildcard searches are also very helpful. It is a very intuitive tool, as long as you are using the filters. Alation Data Catalog has positively impacted my organization by allowing users to answer questions that they had without trying to track down an expert. This has saved them quite a bit of time and frustration. It has allowed them to solve problems they probably would not have been able to solve had they not had the catalog. We have been measuring the curation of content within the catalog that has gone up over time, and we have also seen the number of users in the catalog increase, as well as the amount of activity within the catalog increase. We were seeing about an average of about 20% increase month over month for the last few months.

Read full review

Jog Raj

Senior Consultant at a computer software company with 11-50 employees

Automated lineage and business glossaries have improved data understanding and collaboration

I am open to answering a few questions about erwin Data Intelligence and sharing my opinion about the product. Regarding the analytic part of the product, I find it very interesting that erwin Data Intelligence has its own inbuilt reporting toolset, with a new version coming out in January that will be AI-powered. This means you will be able to write analytical reports and questions based on the metadata and data lineage, making it more powerful than the current version, as AI will assist in creating those reports and performing analysis on the metadata. I find that the time taken to realize value from erwin Data Intelligence can be quite long. Creating a data catalog and developing data lineage takes significant time, and I expect that AI will help accelerate the process of creating data products by streamlining the steps involved. I can recommend erwin Data Intelligence to other users. I would rate this review as an eight out of ten overall.

Read full review

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

15%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Government

Financial Services Firm

13%

Government

10%

Educational Organization

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	15

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	2
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	14

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.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Alation Data Catalog?

I haven't had any experience with pricing, setup costs, or licensing, as I have been strictly an end user and haven't had any administrative or management responsibilities.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Alation Data Catalog?

Some of the downsides about the lineage is that some of the code is quite difficult to read as the formatting is a bit ugly sometimes. Alation Data Catalog can be improved with the lineage formatti...

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What needs improvement with erwin Data Intelligence by Quest?

The dashboard in erwin Data Intelligence is customizable, and you can easily create different views. However, you are confined to the widgets that are already provided, so the customization is some...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for erwin Data Intelligence by Quest?

erwin Data Intelligence serves two primary use cases: one is where people use it as a data catalog, which is one of the main ones, and the other is for traceability and lineage.

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering erwin Data Intelligence by Quest?

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Comparisons

Microsoft Purview Data Governance vs Alation Data Catalog

Compared 28% of the time

Collibra Platform vs Alation Data Catalog

Compared 14% of the time

Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) vs Alation Data Catalog

Compared 11% of the time

OneTrust DataGovernance vs Alation Data Catalog

Compared 6% of the time

Ataccama ONE Platform vs Alation Data Catalog

Compared 2% of the time

More Alation Data Catalog Competitors

Collibra Platform vs erwin Data Intelligence

Compared 27% of the time

Microsoft Purview Data Governance vs erwin Data Intelligence

Compared 22% of the time

Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) vs erwin Data Intelligence

Compared 11% of the time

Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management vs erwin Data Intelligence

Compared 6% of the time

Ataccama ONE Platform vs erwin Data Intelligence

Compared 5% of the time

More erwin Data Intelligence Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Alation Data Catalog

January 2026

Download Alation Data Catalog product report

Buyer's Guide

erwin Data Intelligence

January 2026

Download erwin Data Intelligence product report

Also Known As

Alation

erwin DG, erwin Data Governance

Overview

Alation pioneered the data catalog market and is now leading its evolution into a platform for a broad range of data intelligence solutions including data search & discovery, data governance, lineage, stewardship, analytics, and digital transformation.

Thanks to its powerful Behavioral Analysis Engine, inbuilt collaboration capabilities, and open interfaces, Alation combines machine learning with human insight to successfully tackle even the most demanding challenges in data and metadata management. With Alation, analysts are empowered to search, query and collaborate on their data to achieve faster, more accurate insights.

Trusted by 400+ enterprises worldwide like Salesforce, Nasdaq, LinkedIn, Finnair, and Cisco.

Alation

Erwin Data Intelligence drives automation, supports data catalog and literacy, and offers Smart Data Connectors for efficient metadata handling. Its customization flexibility and integration facilitate enhanced data governance, visualization, analysis, and compliance.

Erwin Data Intelligence offers automation scripts that accelerate development, integrated data cataloging, data profiling, and lineage analysis to streamline information management. Users appreciate its capability in metadata harvesting, code engineering, and infrastructure integration. The tool provides flexibility to enhance governance and data visualization. While it performs well, users have noted challenges with API robustness and interface complexity, and there are opportunities to improve workflow integration, AI features, and large dataset handling. Companies rely on it for metadata management, automation of metadata mappings, and data governance to support compliance and literacy.

What are the main features of Erwin Data Intelligence?

Automation Scripts: Speeds up development processes through powerful scripts.
Data Catalog: Supports comprehensive data mapping and profiles for better analysis.
Smart Data Connectors: Efficiently handles code engineering and metadata harvesting.
Customization Flexibility: Adapts to existing infrastructure for seamless integration.
Comprehensive Visualization: Empowers data visualization and standardization processes.

What benefits and ROI can users expect?

Increased Development Speed: Automation scripts notably enhance development efficiency.
Improved Data Governance: Streamlines processes, supporting compliance and business definitions.
Effective Integration: Seamlessly fits with ETL tools and existing workflows.
Enhanced Data Literacy: Supports data literacy initiatives with robust cataloging features.
Comprehensive Impact Analysis: Facilitates thorough analysis for informed decision-making.

In industries such as finance, healthcare, and retail, organizations implement Erwin Data Intelligence for efficient metadata management and governance. It assists in automating lineage and mapping, supporting ETL procedures while enhancing compliance and data literacy efforts. Its flexibility and integration support create valuable data insights and governance improvements.

Quest Software

Sample Customers

Salesforce, Snowflake, Citrix, eBay, TripAdvisor, Albertsons, Nasdaq, Pfizer, LinkedIn, Finnair.

Oracle, Infosys, GSK, Toyota Motor Sales, HSBC

Buyer's Guide

Alation Data Catalog vs. erwin Data Intelligence

December 2025

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