# Census vs dbt Core

**Leader by Vioscale score:** Census

| Attribute | Census | dbt Core |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 82.3 (74% (medium)) | 64.9 (77% (high)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | - | 100 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | - | 553 |
| adoption.github_stars | - | 13,694 |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | - | 21,005,917 |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"hybrid":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | A fully managed data integration platform that moves data from 900+ sources into warehouses, lakes, and applications, then transforms and activates it for analytics and AI. Supports real-time and scheduled synchronization with enterprise security and compliance certifications. | dbt is a framework that enables data teams to transform data using SQL-based development practices similar to software engineering, with built-in testing, version control, and deployment capabilities. It provides lineage tracking, documentation, and can run locally or in the cloud. |
| features.capabilities | `{"cdc":true,"role":"elt","lineage":false,"paradigm":"both","dbt_native":true,"data_quality":false,"elt_pushdown":true,"python_first":false,"managed_cloud":true,"connector_count":"900+ sources and destinations","self_hosted_oss":false,"incremental_runs":true,"distributed_executor":true}` | `{"role":"transform","lineage":true,"paradigm":"batch","dbt_native":true,"data_quality":true,"managed_cloud":true,"connector_count":"6+ named integrations with broader ecosystem","self_hosted_oss":true}` |
| integrations.count | 900 | 6 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Snowflake"},{"name":"Google BigQuery"},{"name":"Salesforce"},{"name":"Databricks"},{"name":"AWS Redshift"},{"name":"Azure Synapse"},{"name":"Marketo"},{"name":"HubSpot"},{"name":"Zendesk"},{"name":"Braze"},{"name":"Facebook Ads"},{"name":"Google Ads"},{"name":"Postgres"},{"name":"MySQL"}]` | `[{"name":"Tableau"},{"name":"Fivetran"},{"name":"OpenAI"},{"name":"Snowflake"},{"name":"Azure AI"},{"name":"Databricks"}]` |
| language.primary | - | Rust |
| license.spdx | - | Apache-2.0 |
| market.availability | `{"hqCountry":"US","primaryMarkets":["US","EU"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"primaryMarkets":["US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"web":true}` | `{"cli":true,"mac":true,"web":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"usage","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Free","summary":"Free up to 500k MAR connections, 3.5k MAR activations, 5k MMR transformations","features":["Access to core platform","700+ connectors","200+ activation destinations","dbt Core integration"],"description":"Introductory offering for low-volume data with core platform functionality","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"activations_mar":"3.5k/month","connections_mar":"500k/month","transformations_mmr":"5k/month"}},{"free":false,"name":"Standard","summary":"Usage-based pricing on Monthly Active Rows; $5 base charge per connection (1-1M MAR range)","features":["Unlimited users","15-minute syncs","700+ fully managed connectors","200+ fully managed activation destinations","dbt Core integration","Role-based access control","REST API access","SSH tunnels"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":5,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Core platform functionality for teams automating data movement","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{}},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise","summary":"All Standard features plus premium sync speed and deployment flexibility","features":["All Standard features","1-minute syncs","Fivetran Activations Audience Hub","Enterprise database connectors","Custom roles","VPN tunnels","SCIM/user provisioning","Multi-cloud provider choice (GCP/AWS/Azure)","Hybrid deployment"],"commitment":"annual","description":"Greater platform flexibility and granular control for scale","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{}},{"free":false,"name":"Business Critical","summary":"Enterprise-grade security with customer-controlled encryption and advanced compliance","features":["All Enterprise features","Customer-managed keys for encryption","PCI DSS Level 1 certification","Private networking options"],"commitment":"annual","description":"Highest data protection and compliance for regulated or sensitive data","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{}}],"addOns":[{"name":"Professional Services"},{"name":"Enterprise License Agreement"}],"summary":"Free tier available. Usage-based pricing starting $5/month base + per-MAR metering. Annual contracts save up to 22%. Enterprise License Agreements available for fixed annual pricing.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.getcensus.com/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-08-13T22:21:48.361Z","freeTrialDays":14,"startingPrice":{"amount":5,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month","year"]}` | `{"type":"hybrid","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Developer","summary":"Free","features":["Browser-based IDE","Multi-factor authentication (MFA)","Job scheduling","Keep on the latest dbt release"],"minSeats":1,"description":"The fastest way to get started with dbt","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"seats":"1","projects":"1","successful_models_per_month":"3,000"}},{"free":false,"name":"Starter","summary":"$100/seat/month","features":["All Developer features","dbt Catalog basic","dbt Semantic Layer basic","dbt Copilot code generation","API access"],"minSeats":5,"components":[{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"seat","amount":100,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Pay as you go pricing for your first dbt project","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"seats":"5","projects":"1","queried_metrics_per_month":"5,000","successful_models_per_month":"15,000"}},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise","summary":"Custom pricing","features":["All Starter features","dbt Catalog advanced","dbt Semantic Layer advanced","dbt Copilot","dbt Canvas","dbt Insights","dbt Mesh Enterprise"],"contactSales":true,"includedLimits":{"projects":"30","queried_metrics_per_month":"20,000","successful_models_per_month":"100,000"}},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise+","summary":"Custom pricing","features":["All Enterprise features","PrivateLink","IP Restrictions","Rollback","Hybrid projects"],"contactSales":true,"includedLimits":{"projects":"Unlimited","queried_metrics_per_month":"20,000","successful_models_per_month":"100,000"}}],"summary":"Free Developer tier, $100/seat/month for Starter, custom pricing for Enterprise","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.getdbt.com","retrievedAt":"2026-08-05T13:08:54.690Z","freeTrialDays":14,"startingPrice":{"amount":100,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | freemium | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | low | free |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| release.cadence_days | - | 2 |
| release.history | - | `[{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/releases/tag/v1.12.3","date":"2026-08-21T00:28:55Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.12.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/releases/tag/v1.11.14","date":"2026-08-20T15:48:47Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.11.14"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/releases/tag/v2.0.0-beta.2","date":"2026-08-18T18:00:10Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.0.0-beta.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/releases/tag/v1.8.10","date":"2026-08-14T06:08:39Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.8.10"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/releases/tag/v1.7.20","date":"2026-08-14T06:51:29Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.7.20"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/releases/tag/v1.6.19","date":"2026-08-14T08:06:53Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.6.19"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/releases/tag/v1.5.12","date":"2026-08-14T08:46:08Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.5.12"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/releases/tag/v1.4.10","date":"2026-08-14T10:47:20Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.4.10"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/releases/tag/v1.3.8","date":"2026-08-14T13:11:35Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.3.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/releases/tag/v1.2.7","date":"2026-08-14T13:54:14Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.2.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/releases/tag/v1.1.6","date":"2026-08-14T13:48:20Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.1.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/releases/tag/v1.9.11","date":"2026-08-13T20:13:01Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.9.11"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/releases/tag/v1.12.2","date":"2026-08-12T19:27:40Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.12.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/releases/tag/v1.12.1","date":"2026-08-12T10:43:22Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.12.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/releases/tag/v1.11.13","date":"2026-08-12T15:48:56Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.11.13"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/releases/tag/v1.10.23","date":"2026-08-12T16:28:10Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.10.23"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/releases/tag/v2.0.0-beta.1","date":"2026-08-10T15:35:44Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.0.0-beta.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/releases/tag/v2.0.0-alpha.5","date":"2026-07-20T10:03:00Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.0.0-alpha.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/releases/tag/v1.12.0","date":"2026-07-16T13:56:39Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.12.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/releases/tag/v1.12.0rc3","date":"2026-07-14T22:48:06Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.12.0rc3"}]` |
| reliability.status_page | yes | yes |
| security.gdpr | yes | yes |
| security.hipaa | yes | - |
| security.iso27001 | yes | yes |
| security.pci | yes | - |
| security.scorecard | - | 6 |
| security.soc2 | yes | - |
| security.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"}` |

## Capabilities (Data Engineering Tools)

| Capability | Census | dbt Core |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Tool role | ELT / ingestion | Transformation |
| Processing paradigm | Batch + streaming | Batch |
| **Connectivity** |  |  |
| Connector count | 900+ sources and destinations | 6+ named integrations with broader ecosystem |
| 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) | ✓ | - |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T15:22:32.104Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*