Talend vs. MuleSoft vs. Integrate.io:
Which One Does ETL Better?

The key differences between Talend, MuleSoft, and Integrate.io:

1. Coding skills: Talend and MuleSoft exist in a low-code environment, so users still require basic coding skills. Integrate.io requires little to no code.
2. Support: Talend offers support to paying users; MuleSoft offers free support to customers using its Enterprise tier. Integrate.io provides free support for all users. 
3. Price: Integrate.io doesn't charge by data volume/lines of data but by the connector. Talend has a case-by-case pricing structure. MuleSoft doesn't publish its prices. 
4. Architecture: Talend has ESB, API gateway, iPaaS, and ETL capabilities; MuleSoft is an iPaaS platform with ETL functionality. Integrate.io focuses on ETL/ELT. 
5. User satisfaction scores: Integrate.io and MuleSoft have the highest user satisfaction scores on G2.com (4.4/5 and 4.5/5, respectively). Talend has a score of 4/5.

Enterprise data volumes are increasing by 63 percent per month, according to a recent study. Twenty percent of organizations draw from 1,000 or more data sources. How do these companies extract and move all this data to a centralized destination for business analytics? As we know, Extract, Transform, and Load (ETL) streamlines this entire process. But smaller organizations lack the coding skills required for successful implementation. 

Talend, MuleSoft, and Integrate.io all facilitate ETL but in different ways. We compared these three tools to see which one does best. Here are the results. 

Talend vs. MuleSoft vs. Integrate.io Features Table

Talend vs. MuleSoft vs. Integrate.io Overview

Talend Overview

Talend uses ETL as part of a much larger framework. Talend Data Fabric, which combines various Talend services into one product and incorporates ETL into its capabilities. This review refers to Talend Data Fabric. 

Talend executes data integration jobs at a fast speed, updating data warehouses with time-critical information for analytics. As a result, users identify real-time trends that power their business. 

ETL isn't Talend's focus. The platform has a much larger footprint than the other two tools on this list, with various apps for data integration and data integrity. One could describe Talend as a "jack of all trades," with ESB, API gateway, iPaaS, and ETL capabilities. However, some businesses might prefer a more targeted ETL solution. 

For a more detailed Talend vs. Integrate.io review, click here. 

MuleSoft Overview

MuleSoft, like Talend, has many capabilities other than ETL. It serves as an iPaaS platform first and foremost but provides ETL functionality on the side. Again, businesses might prefer a solution that focuses solely on ETL.

MuleSoft executes ETL via its Anypoint Exchange, which moves data between locations with pre-built connectors. This makes it easier to identify trends and make business-critical decisions about data stored in various places. One helpful feature is custom data integrations for different languages. 

Salesforce owns MuleSoft, and some of the world's most successful brands use this platform, including AT&T, Spotify, Verizon, and Mastercard.

For a more detailed MuleSoft vs. Integrate.io review, click here.  

Integrate.io Overview

Unlike Talend and MuleSoft, Integrate.io focuses exclusively on ETL/ELT, providing targeted solutions to common data integration problems. This cloud-native ETL platform comes with 100 out-of-the-box transformations, customizations, and features. It gathers data from various sources, changes it into a readable format, and places it in a secure destination. The result? Powerful analytics, without the fuss.

Though Talend and MuleSoft are not code-intensive, they still require some level of skill. Integrate.io requires no code, perfect for the majority of businesses that do not support an in-house data engineering team.

Integrate.io also has a unique Salesforce-to-Salesforce integration feature. 

Data Sources and Integrations

Talend

• Talend has various data integration connectors. 
• Popular integrations include Amazon S3, Amazon SQS, Bonita, Elasticsearch, and Google Drive.

MuleSoft

• Users integrate databases, apps, and standard integration protocols through MuleSoft's AnyPoint Connectors. 
• Popular integrations include Oracle, Salesforce, Derby, SAP, and Amazon.  

Integrate.io

As we mentioned, Integrate.io has 100+ out-of-the-box transformations:

• Database integrations include Amazon Aurora, Amazon Redshift, Google BigQuery, Google Cloud Spanner, Microsoft Azure SQL Database, MongoDB, Snowflake, and more.
• BI tool integrations include Periscope Data, Looker, Chartio, and more.
• Cloud service integrations include Amazon Kinesis, Base CRM, Close.io, Elasticsearch, Google My Business, Marketo, NetSuite, HubSpot and more.
• Salesforce-to-Salesforce integration. 

Support and Training 

Talend

• Community forums
• Knowledge base 
• Tutorials 

MuleSoft

• Videos and webinars
• eBooks and white papers
• Analyst reports

Integrate.io

• Developer resources
• Books
• Guides
• Webinars
• Documentation 
• Free customer service support for all customers 

Pricing

Talend

Talend has a case-by-case pricing structure, which charges users based on the size of the company and the resources required. There is a free version of Talend (Talend Open Studio), but there is no customer support available for this option.  

• Users need to contact Talend for a custom price.
• There are other costs: Users might need assistance creating applications and workflows or additional staff to maintain the platform.

MuleSoft

MuleSoft doesn't post prices online, making it difficult to compare costs with Integrate.io and Talend. However, there are two different pricing tiers: Community (Kernel) and Enterprise.  

Integrate.io

Integrate.io's flat-rate pricing structure charges for the number of connectors. 

• There's no charge for data volume or lines of data. 
• The price stays the same every month.
• Integrate.io offers free support for all users regardless of the number of connectors or the size of the company.

Conclusion

The tools above let users extract, transform, and load data from various locations to one ultimate destination. However, there are differences that businesses need to consider. Talend and MuleSoft require some coding skills, making these tools difficult to use for some teams. These two platforms also handle other tasks such as iPaaS, which might complicate things even further.

Integrate.io focuses on ETL and exists in a no-code environment. Plus, it offers free support for all users, with a pricing structure that favors growing businesses. The wealth of integrations and various training resources also make Integrate.io a solid pick.

Integrate.io is a cloud-based ETL solution that requires no code, perfect for businesses of all sizes. Contact our support team to schedule a demo or get a risk-free 14-day pilot and experience the Integrate.io platform for yourself.