Astera Data Pipeline Builder (Centerprise) vs. dbt

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Astera Data Pipeline Builder (Centerprise)
Score 9.0 out of 10
Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 employees)
Astera Data Pipeline Builder is a no-code solution for designing and automating data pipelines. It allows users to read and write data across various file formats, databases, and applications. Users can execute ETL and ELT pipelines manually, schedule automated reruns, or integrate them into broader data management processes.N/A
dbt
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
dbt is an SQL development environment, developed by Fishtown Analytics, now known as dbt Labs. The vendor states that with dbt, analysts take ownership of the entire analytics engineering workflow, from writing data transformation code to deployment and documentation. dbt Core is distributed under the Apache 2.0 license, and paid Teams and Enterprise editions are available.
$0
per month per seat
Pricing
Astera Data Pipeline Builder (Centerprise)dbt
Editions & Modules
Centerprise Enterprise
Contact rep
Lifetime License per Seat
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Astera Data Pipeline Builder (Centerprise)dbt
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsDiscounts are provided for 10 pack, 20 pack, 50 pack, and enterprise wide Centerprise Professional licenses.—
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Astera Data Pipeline Builder (Centerprise)dbt
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Astera Data Pipeline Builder (Centerprise)dbt
Data Source Connection
Comparison of Data Source Connection features of Product A and Product B
Astera Data Pipeline Builder (Centerprise)
8.1
32 Ratings
3% below category average
dbt
-
Ratings
Connect to traditional data sources9.032 Ratings00 Ratings
Connecto to Big Data and NoSQL7.31 Ratings00 Ratings
Data Transformations
Comparison of Data Transformations features of Product A and Product B
Astera Data Pipeline Builder (Centerprise)
7.9
33 Ratings
3% below category average
dbt
9.5
7 Ratings
16% above category average
Simple transformations9.833 Ratings10.07 Ratings
Complex transformations5.931 Ratings9.07 Ratings
Data Modeling
Comparison of Data Modeling features of Product A and Product B
Astera Data Pipeline Builder (Centerprise)
7.8
31 Ratings
2% below category average
dbt
9.0
7 Ratings
12% above category average
Data model creation9.820 Ratings9.57 Ratings
Business rules and workflow9.928 Ratings9.07 Ratings
Collaboration6.41 Ratings10.05 Ratings
Testing and debugging5.228 Ratings8.17 Ratings
Metadata management00 Ratings8.57 Ratings
Data Governance
Comparison of Data Governance features of Product A and Product B
Astera Data Pipeline Builder (Centerprise)
8.2
1 Ratings
1% above category average
dbt
-
Ratings
Integration with data quality tools8.21 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with MDM tools8.21 Ratings00 Ratings
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Astera Data Pipeline Builder (Centerprise)dbt
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User Ratings
Astera Data Pipeline Builder (Centerprise)dbt
Likelihood to Recommend
9.0
(46 ratings)
10.0
(9 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.2
(7 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
7.8
(10 ratings)
9.5
(2 ratings)
Availability
8.9
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.5
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.4
(21 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.3
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
9.1
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
7.6
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
7.7
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Professional Services
8.6
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
9.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Astera Data Pipeline Builder (Centerprise)dbt
Likelihood to Recommend
Astera Software
I have only been using Astera Centerprise for about 6 months and I am still learning the ins and out of it. A scenario where it seems to do well is in generating reports from SQL queries that we already had and no longer have to run the reports manually. The SQL Query Source object has been the most useful tool for me thus far. I have yet to fully stress test the server side of Astera Centerprise, but currently there have been some version updates that required me to re-set up all the scheduled jobs that we have. We only have 8 jobs thus far but have plans to expand this into the hundreds and those same updates would require exponential amounts of work.
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dbt Labs
The prerequisite is that you have a supported database/data warehouse and have already found a way to ingest your raw data. Then dbt is very well suited to manage your transformation logic if the people using it are familiar with SQL. If you want to benefit from bringing engineering practices to data, dbt is a great fit. It can bring CI/CD practices, version control, automated testing, documentation generation, etc. It is not so well suited if the people managing the transformation logic do not like to code (in SQL) but prefer graphical user interfaces.
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Pros
Astera Software
  • API integrations vis REST Web Service transformation
  • Stored Procedure integration via SQL statement Lookup transformation
  • Bulk imports and exports to and from tables
  • Data dumps from SQL tables to excel, csv, text files etc...
  • EDI Integrations like 810, 856, 940, 945 etc.. via Astera Centerprise Data Integrator plus EDI Connect
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dbt Labs
  • dbt supports version control through GIT, this allows teams to collaborate and track the data transformation logic.
  • dbt allows us to build data models which helps to break complex transformation logic into simple and smaller logic.
  • dbt is completely based on SQL which allows data analyst and data engineers to build the transformation logic.
  • dbt can be easily integrated with snowflake.
Read full review
Cons
Astera Software
  • When purchasing Astera Centerprise you are given options on how you would like to be trained and each option comes with a different price tag. We chose to be trained using online meetings over several days. The training went too fast and it was not always easy to understand until I started using the product.
  • I am a person that wants to learn how and why something works so that I can use the knowledge in the future. When contacting the support team they take the problem, create a solution for you and send it back. The solutions always work, but when I get the solution I have to review every field and function to understand how it works so that I can re-create it for another solution I need. I would much rather have the support team explain what I had done incorrectly and what they changed or I would like to find a solution with them instead of having it handed to me.
  • Astera uses license keys to allow their customers rights to only the functionality that was purchased. Each user and server has its own key and each key is only good for one year. There have been 2 different times that we received keys that had less functionality that we purchased. It wasn't until it created problems that we noticed and had to request new keys. This year our sales representative made sure she was available when we updated our keys so that if there was a problem she could fix it right away; however, there were not issues this year. I believe this is something they pay closer attention to now.
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dbt Labs
  • Field-level lineage (currently at table level)
  • Documentation inheritance - if a field is documented the downstream field of the same name could inherit the doc info
  • Adding python model support (in beta now)
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Likelihood to Renew
Astera Software
We've been using Astera Centerprise application for the last 6 years and we've already added EDI connect to it. Both applications are working really well for our enterprise needs so far with no issues, so we'll continue renewing the licenses.
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dbt Labs
No answers on this topic
Usability
Astera Software
Centerprise is highly usable; however the version we are currently using could be a little more intuitive in some areas though by no means unworkable. I think some of the issues we have have been addressed and solved in the latest version.
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dbt Labs
It requires proficiency with SQL coding and with git practices, but with these prerequisites, it is easy to use. Especially with the dbt cloud, you get a nice interface that makes all the administrative tasks like scheduling jobs quite easy. I also like the built-in SQL editor with syntax highlighting and auto-completion.
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Reliability and Availability
Astera Software
In most cases Astera is stable. However, our client experiences the error from time to time. Mostly they are related to cdc file and ServerAdminConfig.xml file.
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dbt Labs
No answers on this topic
Performance
Astera Software
I think the performance for Astera is great when compare with other similar software.
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dbt Labs
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Astera Software
Support is great! No matter if you need technical assistance or you have general questions about the tool - the support is very responsive and provides solutions quickly. They are available via various channels, which makes it very convenient to get in touch with them (Support portal, direct email contact, LinkedIn).
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dbt Labs
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Astera Software
Astera support provided us implementation/installation tutorial and we were able to perform all the activities. Also one of the support was there to shadow us to make sure the process was smooth with no issues
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dbt Labs
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Astera Software
We looked at continuing to use SSIS as an alternative. Although we own SSIS as part of our SQL licensing, we found that it takes a much higher skill level to create solutions. It also does not have the ability to parse unstructured data the way that Centerprise Data Integrator can. We also looked at Datawatch Monarch as a possibility but found it over-all to be cost-prohibitive. We also looked at a cheaper alternative called SimX but did not have a strong confidence in the product as we evaluated it. We landed on Centerprise Data Integrator as it met all of our business requirements and we know we could leverage it for many uses across our enterprise.
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dbt Labs
I actually don't know what the alternative to dbt is. I'm sure one must exist other than more 'roll your own' options like Apache Airflow, say, bu tin terms of super easy managed/cloud data transforms, dbt really does seem to be THE tool to use. It's $50/month per dev, BUT there's a FREE version for 1 dev seat with no read-only access for anyone else, so you can always start with that and then buy yourself a seat later.
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Contract Terms and Pricing Model
Astera Software
I was helping on purchase this product but I am not sure about the term and pricing for it. But based on what I understand that the term of the licenses are good.
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dbt Labs
No answers on this topic
Scalability
Astera Software
I think Astera can do multiple things. However, we are not sure what it can do. We only know the basic features. If they can give us some kind of training, then we maybe able to benefit for it. We are planning to use their Azure connection in the future. If they can provide the training for it, it will be wonderful.
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dbt Labs
No answers on this topic
Professional Services
Astera Software
Centerprise is very easy to use and can transfer the data quickly
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dbt Labs
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Astera Software
  • It is tough to say on how Centerprise would have helped us with ROI. Unfortunately our project (after 3 years) was scrapped (put on hold) due to the impromptu purchase of another Crop Insurance company. But with that, Centerprise was huge in getting our warehouse loaded for our BI Team to make important decisions about our policies.
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dbt Labs
  • Simplified our BI layer for faster load times
  • Increased the quality of data reaching our end users
  • Makes complex transformations manageable
Read full review
ScreenShots

Astera Data Pipeline Builder (Centerprise) Screenshots

Screenshot of Centerprise's data profiling feature, that ensures that only quality data is delivered to end users.Screenshot of a variety of write strategies available for workflows.Screenshot of the built-in scheduler used to automate most tasks. Triggers can be based on time, event or even a file or mail drop.Screenshot of the AI-powered mapping that allows users to automate the mapping process from source to destination. The tool also supports The Dynamic Layout/Template Mapping feature in Astera Centerprise that allows users to create a template dataflow that can be used to process multiple files and generate copies of the same dataflow, without changing the mapping links individually for each source dataset. Upon execution, Centerprise replaces the values dynamically and generates a new dataflow automatically for all source files.Screenshot of the two types of transformations supported by Astera Centerprise: record level and set level transformation. Record level transformations are used to create derived values by applying a Lookup, Function, or Expression to fields from a single record. Set level transformations, on the other hand, operate on a group of records and may result in the Joining, Reordering, Eliminating, or aggregating of records.