Comparison

dbt Core vs Hightouch

On the evidence we track, Hightouch leads this comparison with a composite score of 72/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

dbt Core full profile →Hightouch full profile →

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

dbt Core66

★Hightouch72

Attribute comparison across 2 tools
Attribute	dbt Core	HightouchLeader
vioscaleAI score	66 / 100medium · 73%	72 / 100medium · 71%
Pricing
Free tierpricing.free_tier	✓	✓
Modelpricing.model	open_source	freemium
Price levelpricing.price_level	free	low
Transparentpricing.transparent	✓	✓
Integrations
Countintegrations.count	6	102
Security
Gdprsecurity.gdpr	✓	✓
Hipaasecurity.hipaa	-	✓
Iso27001security.iso27001	✓	✓
Scorecardsecurity.scorecard	6	-
Soc2security.soc2	-	✓
Vulnerabilitiessecurity.vulnerabilities	Count: 4 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=pypi&package_name=dbt-core&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0 · Max severity: HIGH	-
Reliability
Status pagereliability.status_page	✓	✓
Adoption
Dependent reposadoption.dependent_repos	553	-
Github starsadoption.github_stars	14,028	-
Package downloads weeklyadoption.package_downloads_weekly	21,005,917	-
Activity
Commits last 30dactivity.commits_last_30d	100	-
Release
Cadence daysrelease.cadence_days	2	-
Historyrelease.history	20 items	-
License
Spdxlicense.spdx	Apache-2.0	-
Language
Primarylanguage.primary	Rust	-
Market
Availabilitymarket.availability	Available worldwide · Popular in US	Available worldwide · HQ US
Content
Faqcontent.faq	8 items	7 items

Score

vioscaleAI score

dbt Core66 / 100medium · 73%

Hightouch72 / 100medium · 71%

Pricing

Free tier

dbt Core✓

Hightouch✓

Model

dbt Coreopen_source

Hightouchfreemium

Price level

dbt Corefree

Hightouchlow

Transparent

dbt Core✓

Hightouch✓

Integrations

Count

dbt Core6

Hightouch102

Security

Gdpr

dbt Core✓

Hightouch✓

Hipaa

dbt Core–

Hightouch✓

Iso27001

dbt Core✓

Hightouch✓

Scorecard

dbt Core6

Hightouch–

Soc2

dbt Core–

Hightouch✓

Vulnerabilities

dbt CoreCount: 4 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=pypi&package_name=dbt-core&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0 · Max severity: HIGH

Hightouch–

Reliability

Status page

dbt Core✓

Hightouch✓

Adoption

Dependent repos

dbt Core553

Hightouch–

Github stars

dbt Core14,028

Hightouch–

Package downloads weekly

dbt Core21,005,917

Hightouch–

Activity

Commits last 30d

dbt Core100

Hightouch–

Release

Cadence days

dbt Core2

Hightouch–

History

dbt Core20 items

Hightouch–

License

Spdx

dbt CoreApache-2.0

Hightouch–

Language

Primary

dbt CoreRust

Hightouch–

Market

Availability

dbt CoreAvailable worldwide · Popular in US

HightouchAvailable worldwide · HQ US

Content

Faq

dbt Core8 items

Hightouch7 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	dbt Core	Hightouch
Core
Tool role	Transformation	Reverse-ETL
Processing paradigm	Batch	Batch + streaming
Connectivity
Connector count	6+ named integrations with broader ecosystem	300+
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

dbt CoreTransformation

HightouchReverse-ETL

Processing paradigm

dbt CoreBatch

HightouchBatch + streaming

Connectivity

Connector count

dbt Core6+ named integrations with broader ecosystem

Hightouch300+

CDC / log-based replication

dbt Core-

Hightouch-

Transformation

In-warehouse transformation (push-down)

dbt Core-

Hightouch✓

dbt-native orchestration

dbt Core✓

Hightouch✓

Deployment

Self-hosted / open-source available

dbt Core✓

Hightouch✗

Managed cloud available

dbt Core✓

Hightouch✓

Governance

Data lineage / asset catalog

dbt Core✓

Hightouch-

Authoring

Python-first authoring

dbt Core-

Hightouch-

Execution

Incremental / partition-aware runs

dbt Core-

Hightouch✓

Quality

Built-in data quality / tests

dbt Core✓

Hightouch-

Scale

Horizontal scale (distributed executor)

dbt Core-

Hightouch-

What each one is

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

dbt Core

A data transformation framework that applies software engineering principles—such as version control, testing, and modularity—to SQL-based analytics workflows.

Independently observed

Hightouch

Leader

A data activation platform that syncs information from data warehouses to business applications, with support for numerous pre-built integrations and the ability to create custom connections without coding.

Independently observed

Pricing

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

dbt Core

from $100/moHybridFree tier14-day trial

Free Developer tier, $100/seat/month for Starter, custom pricing for Enterprise

DeveloperFree
- Browser-based IDE
- Multi-factor authentication (MFA)
- Job scheduling
- Keep on the latest dbt release
Starter$100/seat/month
- All Developer features
- dbt Catalog basic
- dbt Semantic Layer basic
- dbt Copilot code generation
- API access
EnterpriseContact sales
- All Starter features
- dbt Catalog advanced
- dbt Semantic Layer advanced
- dbt Copilot
- dbt Canvas
- +2 more
Enterprise+Contact sales
- All Enterprise features
- PrivateLink
- IP Restrictions
- Rollback
- Hybrid projects

as of 2026-08-05verify ↗

Hightouch

Leader

Usage-basedFree tier

Usage-based pricing with free tier. Mix-and-match products based on actual usage.

Basic Reverse ETLFree
- Up to 2 active syncs
- Unlimited destination count
- Unlimited user seats

as of 2026-08-13verify ↗

Platform & deployment

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

Platform and deployment support comparison
Supports	dbt Core	Hightouch
WebPlatforms	✓	✓
macOSPlatforms	✓	✗
WindowsPlatforms	✓	✗
LinuxPlatforms	✓	✗
CLIPlatforms	✓	✗
Cloud / SaaSDeployment	✓	✓
Self-hostedDeployment	✓	✗

Platforms

Web

dbt Core✓

Hightouch✓

macOS

dbt Core✓

Hightouch✗

Windows

dbt Core✓

Hightouch✗

Linux

dbt Core✓

Hightouch✗

CLI

dbt Core✓

Hightouch✗

Deployment

Cloud / SaaS

dbt Core✓

Hightouch✓

Self-hosted

dbt Core✓

Hightouch✗

Integrations

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

In common (2)

Snowflake
Databricks

dbt Core

6 total - 4 not shared

Tableau
Fivetran
OpenAI
Azure AI

Independently observed

Hightouch

Leader

92 total - 90 not shared

Acoustic
ActiveCampaign
Adobe Analytics
Adobe Campaign Classic
Adobe Experience Platform
Adobe Target
Airship
Airtable
Algolia
Amplitude
Anaplan
Apache Kafka
AppsFlyer
Asana
Attentive
Auth0
Awin
AWS Lambda
Azure Blob Storage
Azure Functions
BigCommerce
Bloomreach
Bluecore
Braze
+66 more

Independently observed

Still deciding?

dbt Core or Hightouch: 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.