Comparison

Apache Spark vs dlt

On the evidence we track, dlt leads this comparison with a composite score of 65/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Apache Spark full profile →dlt full profile →

Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.

Apache Spark52

★dlt65

Attribute comparison across 2 tools
Attribute	Apache Spark	dltLeader
vioscaleAI score	52 / 100low · 34%	65 / 100low · 46%
Pricing
Free tierpricing.free_tier	✓	✓
Modelpricing.model	commercial	freemium
Price levelpricing.price_level	free	high
Starting pricepricing.starting_price	-	$12,000
Transparentpricing.transparent	✓	✓
Integrations
Countintegrations.count	5	5,000
Security
Disclosure policysecurity.disclosure_policy	✓	✓
Gdprsecurity.gdpr	-	✓
Scorecardsecurity.scorecard	5.6	-
Vulnerabilitiessecurity.vulnerabilities	Count: 9 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=maven&package_name=org.apache.spark%3Aspark-core_2.10&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 1 · Max severity: CRITICAL	Count: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=pypi&package_name=dlt&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0
Reliability
Status pagereliability.status_page	-	✓
Adoption
Dependent reposadoption.dependent_repos	8,896	23
Github starsadoption.github_stars	44,188	5,969
Activity
Commits last 30dactivity.commits_last_30d	100	36
Release
Cadence daysrelease.cadence_days	-	12
Historyrelease.history	-	20 items
License
Spdxlicense.spdx	Apache-2.0	Apache-2.0
Language
Primarylanguage.primary	Scala	Python
Market
Availabilitymarket.availability	Available worldwide	Available worldwide · Popular in US
Content
Faqcontent.faq	6 items	8 items

Score

vioscaleAI score

Apache Spark52 / 100low · 34%

dlt65 / 100low · 46%

Pricing

Free tier

Apache Spark✓

dlt✓

Model

Apache Sparkcommercial

dltfreemium

Price level

Apache Sparkfree

dlthigh

Starting price

Apache Spark–

dlt$12,000

Transparent

Apache Spark✓

dlt✓

Integrations

Count

Apache Spark5

dlt5,000

Security

Disclosure policy

Apache Spark✓

dlt✓

Gdpr

Apache Spark–

dlt✓

Scorecard

Apache Spark5.6

dlt–

Vulnerabilities

Apache SparkCount: 9 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=maven&package_name=org.apache.spark%3Aspark-core_2.10&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 1 · Max severity: CRITICAL

dltCount: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=pypi&package_name=dlt&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0

Reliability

Status page

Apache Spark–

dlt✓

Adoption

Dependent repos

Apache Spark8,896

dlt23

Github stars

Apache Spark44,188

dlt5,969

Activity

Commits last 30d

Apache Spark100

dlt36

Release

Cadence days

Apache Spark–

dlt12

History

Apache Spark–

dlt20 items

License

Spdx

Apache SparkApache-2.0

dltApache-2.0

Language

Primary

Apache SparkScala

dltPython

Market

Availability

Apache SparkAvailable worldwide

dltAvailable worldwide · Popular in US

Content

Faq

Apache Spark6 items

dlt8 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for data engineering tools. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Capability comparison for Data Engineering Tools
Capability	Apache Spark	dlt
Core
Tool role	Processing engine	ELT / ingestion
Processing paradigm	Batch + streaming	Batch + streaming
Connectivity
Connector count	-	5,000+
CDC / log-based replication	-	✓
Transformation
In-warehouse transformation (push-down)	-	✓
dbt-native orchestration	-	✓
Deployment
Self-hosted / open-source available	✓	✓
Managed cloud available	-	✓
Governance
Data lineage / asset catalog	-	✓
Authoring
Python-first authoring	-	✓
Execution
Incremental / partition-aware runs	-	✓
Quality
Built-in data quality / tests	-	✓
Scale
Horizontal scale (distributed executor)	✓	-

Core

Tool role

Apache SparkProcessing engine

dltELT / ingestion

Processing paradigm

Apache SparkBatch + streaming

dltBatch + streaming

Connectivity

Connector count

Apache Spark-

dlt5,000+

CDC / log-based replication

Apache Spark-

dlt✓

Transformation

In-warehouse transformation (push-down)

Apache Spark-

dlt✓

dbt-native orchestration

Apache Spark-

dlt✓

Deployment

Self-hosted / open-source available

Apache Spark✓

dlt✓

Managed cloud available

Apache Spark-

dlt✓

Governance

Data lineage / asset catalog

Apache Spark-

dlt✓

Authoring

Python-first authoring

Apache Spark-

dlt✓

Execution

Incremental / partition-aware runs

Apache Spark-

dlt✓

Quality

Built-in data quality / tests

Apache Spark-

dlt✓

Scale

Horizontal scale (distributed executor)

Apache Spark✓

dlt-

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Apache Spark

A data processing framework offering high-level APIs across multiple programming languages and integrated tools for SQL processing, machine learning, graph analysis, and real-time stream processing.

Independently observed

dlt

Leader

A managed platform that enables teams to build, deploy, and monitor data pipelines with AI assistance, built on the open-source dlt library. It provides runtime management, observability, data quality monitoring, and team collaboration features for moving data from any source to any destination.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Apache Spark

Open sourceFree tier

as of 2026-08-14verify ↗

dlt

Leader

from $12000/moHybridFree tier14-day trial

Free open-source tier. Hub plan from $12,000/month with 5,000 included credits. Tiered overage pricing. 14-day free trial.

dltFree
- Open source ingestion library
- Reliable ingestion and loading
- Limited verified OSS connectors
- AI help and community support
Hub$12,000/month with 5,000 credits included. Tiered overage pricing: $1.00–$0.80 per credit depending on volume.
- Everything in dlt
- AI Harness (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor)
- Managed runtime for ingestion
- Transformations & Data apps
- Data quality metrics & checks
- +18 more
EnterpriseContact sales
- Custom credits and volume pricing
- Enterprise security and governance controls
- Role-based access control (RBAC) and audit logs
- SLA and tailored support options
- Custom onboarding and architecture guidance

as of 2026-10-15verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platform and deployment support comparison
Supports	Apache Spark	dlt
WebPlatforms	✗	✓
CLIPlatforms	✓	✓
Cloud / SaaSDeployment	✗	✓
Self-hostedDeployment	✓	✓
On-premiseDeployment	✓	✗
HybridDeployment	✗	✓

Platforms

Web

Apache Spark✗

dlt✓

CLI

Apache Spark✓

dlt✓

Deployment

Cloud / SaaS

Apache Spark✗

dlt✓

Self-hosted

Apache Spark✓

dlt✓

On-premise

Apache Spark✓

dlt✗

Hybrid

Apache Spark✗

dlt✓

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

Apache Spark

5 total

Hadoop
HDFS
YARN
Kubernetes
Docker

Independently observed

dlt

Leader

46 total

Salesforce
PostgreSQL
HubSpot
Snowflake
Databricks
BigQuery
MotherDuck
DuckDB
SQLite
MySQL
Amazon S3
Google Cloud Storage
Microsoft Azure
SFTP
Parquet
Apache Delta
Apache Iceberg
DuckLake
Pydantic Logfire
Arize
Langfuse
LangChain
OpenAI
Apache Airflow
+22 more

Independently observed

Still deciding?

Apache Spark or dlt: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.