Census vs Hightouch (2026) Compared
Census and Hightouch both pioneered reverse ETL. They're so similar that most teams pick based on vibes and pricing. Here's what actually differentiates them.
The Short Version
Census is the better pick for data engineering teams that want a developer-first reverse ETL tool with strong dbt integration and a focus on data quality. Hightouch is the better pick for marketing and revenue ops teams that want a broader data activation platform with audience building, customer studio features, and more self-service capabilities for business users. Both do core reverse ETL well. The split comes down to your team's technical depth and how much you want business users to self-serve.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | Census | Hightouch |
|---|---|---|
| Core Reverse ETL | Full sync engine with 200+ destinations | Full sync engine with 200+ destinations |
| Audience Builder | Basic segmentation | Visual audience builder (Customer Studio) |
| dbt Integration | Native, deep model support | Supported, less tightly coupled |
| Data Quality | Built-in observability and freshness checks | Basic sync monitoring |
| Business User Access | SQL-first, less self-service | Visual UI, self-service friendly |
| Event Tracking | Census Entities | Hightouch Events |
| Identity Resolution | Basic | Built-in identity graph |
| Free Tier | Community edition available | Free tier with limits |
| Warehouse Support | Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, Databricks | Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, Databricks |
Deep Dive: Census
What They're Selling
Census calls itself the operational analytics platform. Its core thesis: your data warehouse is your single source of truth, and Census moves that data into every tool your team uses. Built by data engineers for data engineers, with deep dbt integration and a focus on data quality and observability.
What It Actually Costs
Census offers a free community edition for small teams. Paid plans start around $200/month and scale based on synced records and destinations. Mid-market companies typically pay $500-$2,000/month. Enterprise pricing is custom and can run $30K-$80K/year depending on sync volume.
What Users Say
Data engineers love the dbt integration and developer experience. The platform feels like it was built by people who understand the modern data stack. Complaints center on pricing at scale (record-based pricing gets expensive with large datasets) and the UI being less accessible for non-technical users. It's a tool for data teams, not marketing teams.
Pros
- Best-in-class dbt integration for model-based syncing
- Built-in data observability and quality monitoring
- Developer-friendly with Git-based workflows
- Strong community edition for small teams
Cons
- Less accessible for non-technical business users
- Record-based pricing can get expensive at scale
- Audience building features are less developed than Hightouch
- Smaller go-to-market presence than Hightouch
Deep Dive: Hightouch
What They're Selling
Hightouch positions itself as the leading data activation platform. It started as reverse ETL but has expanded into audience building, customer studio, identity resolution, and AI-powered personalization. The pitch: activate your warehouse data across every channel without writing code.
What It Actually Costs
Hightouch has a free tier with limited destinations and sync frequency. Paid pricing is custom and typically starts at $500+/month for mid-market. Enterprise deals range from $40K-$100K+/year. Hightouch has been aggressive about pricing to win market share, so negotiation is expected.
What Users Say
Marketing ops and RevOps teams love the visual audience builder and the ability to create segments without SQL. The platform has evolved from a pure reverse ETL tool into something closer to a customer data platform. Complaints focus on sync reliability at very high volumes, occasional UI complexity as the platform adds features, and pricing opacity.
Pros
- Visual audience builder empowers business users to self-serve
- Broader platform: audiences, identity resolution, personalization
- More go-to-market investment and market awareness
- Strong partner ecosystem and integrations
Cons
- Feature sprawl can make the platform feel complex
- Pricing is opaque and negotiation-heavy
- dbt integration exists but isn't as tight as Census
- Data quality and observability features are less mature
Which Should You Pick?
The Honest Take
Census and Hightouch are the two leaders in reverse ETL, and their core syncing capabilities are comparable. The real difference is audience: Census is built for data engineering teams that want developer-grade tooling and tight dbt integration. Hightouch is built for go-to-market teams that want self-service data activation with visual tools. Pick based on who will own the platform day-to-day. If it's your data engineer, Census. If it's your marketing ops person, Hightouch.
Questions to Ask Before Buying
- Who will own and manage the reverse ETL platform day-to-day?
- Do you use dbt, and how central is it to your data stack?
- Do business users need self-service audience building, or will the data team handle all syncs?
- What's your expected sync volume (records per month)?
- Do you need identity resolution or just straightforward warehouse-to-SaaS syncing?
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Census or Hightouch better for reverse ETL?
Both are excellent at core reverse ETL. Census has a slight edge for data engineering teams because of its deeper dbt integration and observability features. Hightouch has a slight edge for marketing teams because of its visual audience builder.
Do Census and Hightouch replace a CDP?
Partially. Both can replace some CDP functions (audience building, activation) if you already have a well-modeled data warehouse. They don't replace CDPs for real-time event streaming, anonymous visitor tracking, or companies without a mature warehouse.
Which is cheaper, Census or Hightouch?
Census has a more accessible free tier (community edition). For paid plans, pricing is similar and depends on sync volume. Both charge based on records synced or destinations active. Get quotes from both and compare against your specific volume.
Can I switch from Census to Hightouch or vice versa?
Yes. Both connect to the same warehouse sources and SaaS destinations. Migration is straightforward since the core function (SQL query > sync to destination) is standard. The main effort is recreating sync configurations and audience definitions.