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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
6.7
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

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 Collibra Lineage is 2.7%, up from 2.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Governance Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Alation Data Catalog5.3%
Collibra Lineage2.7%
Other92.0%
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.…
Saikat Ghosh - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides an end-to-end perspective of data usage and assists in identifying sensitive data across the enterprise
I use the Collibra Lineage visualization features. The solution helps me understand data flows effectively. Collibra Lineage impacts my data analysis by helping to identify where data is used, making it significantly useful. The solution facilitates compliance by defining where sensitive data is…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Alation Data Catalog was very useful for sharing SQL queries easily in a platform."
"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."
"The most valuable feature is cloud integration."
"The tool's metadata cataloging is the most valuable feature."
"Alation Data Catalog's best feature is the SQL query publication."
"We can customize templates based on our use cases."
"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."
"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 main benefits that Collibra Lineage provides include measurable advantages."
"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."
"The solution makes data more discoverable and transparent."
"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."
"One of the best features of Collibra Lineage is that it provides an end-to-end perspective of where data is used in the enterprise."
"The integration with other Collibra Lineage products is valuable in our data governance initiatives."
"The diagrams are good for data visualization."
"The best features of Collibra Lineage include its ability to map data flows and provide clear visualizations."
 

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."
"Although the solution performs far better in terms of data cataloging, its data governance capabilities need improvement."
"We have had issues setting up the connectors and getting Alation's support team to resolve issues."
"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."
"It would be good if the tool could show the output from the records while querying."
"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."
"Alation Data Catalog does not provide end-to-end data lineage."
"I experience occasional downtime, bugs, and some glitches."
"There is room for improvement in Collibra Lineage as it could incorporate automation features which would allow it to find data lineage across a data stack independently."
"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."
"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."
"If a developer implements ETL in Glue or PySpark, Collibra cannot capture lineage out of that."
"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."
 

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."
"I don't have all the details on the pricing side, but the solution was more expensive than originally expected."
"The solution is a little expensive."
"The platform is moderately expensive compared to the other competitors in the market."
"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
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
19%
Insurance Company
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

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 Business3
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise8
 

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 is room for improvement in Collibra Lineage as it could incorporate automation features which would allow it to find data lineage across a data stack independently.
 

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: September 2025.
868,787 professionals have used our research since 2012.