Census Review: Pricing, Features & What the Data Shows
Reverse ETL platform that pushes data from your warehouse into the tools your team actually uses.
What Census Does
Census is a reverse ETL platform that solves a specific but critical problem: getting the modeled, trusted data from your warehouse into the business tools your team actually uses. While Fivetran and Airbyte move data into your warehouse for analytics, Census moves it back out — syncing customer segments, lead scores, product usage metrics, and enriched data from Snowflake, BigQuery, or Redshift into Salesforce, HubSpot, Marketo, Google Ads, and 150+ other destinations. The concept is simple: your data warehouse has the most complete, most accurate version of your customer data, so it should be the source of truth for every downstream tool.
Census was founded in 2018 and has become one of two dominant reverse ETL platforms alongside Hightouch. The core workflow is straightforward: data teams build models in dbt or write SQL queries in the warehouse, then Census syncs those models to business tools on a schedule. A common example: a data team builds a lead scoring model in the warehouse using product usage, firmographic, and engagement data — Census pushes those scores to Salesforce nightly so reps see updated scores every morning without anyone manually uploading a CSV.
The platform has expanded beyond basic reverse ETL into what Census calls an 'operational analytics' platform. The Audience Hub feature lets marketers build segments using a visual interface on top of warehouse data — no SQL required. Computed columns enable transformations during the sync process. Entity resolution helps match records across systems. These features are designed to make Census accessible to business users who benefit from warehouse data but can't write SQL themselves.
The practical buyer consideration is whether you have the data infrastructure to support reverse ETL. Census requires a data warehouse with clean, modeled data — if you don't have Snowflake, BigQuery, or Redshift with dbt models or well-structured tables, Census has nothing to sync. Organizations with mature data stacks get enormous value from Census because it operationalizes the data they've already invested in modeling. Organizations without a warehouse should invest in that infrastructure first before considering reverse ETL.
Census Key Features
Reverse ETL Syncs
The core feature. Takes SQL queries or dbt models from your warehouse and syncs the results to business tools — Salesforce, HubSpot, Marketo, Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Intercom, and 150+ other destinations. Syncs can be scheduled (hourly, daily, weekly) or triggered by events. Census handles field mapping, record matching, and change detection — only updated records are synced to minimize API usage on destination tools. The sync engine is reliable and includes alerting for failures.
150+ Destination Connectors
Pre-built connectors for CRMs (Salesforce, HubSpot), marketing automation (Marketo, Braze, Iterable), advertising platforms (Google Ads, Facebook, LinkedIn), analytics tools, and more. Each connector handles authentication, field mapping, and rate limiting specific to the destination. Connector quality varies — Salesforce and HubSpot integrations are mature and handle complex operations, while some newer connectors support only basic create/update operations.
Audience Hub
A visual segment builder that lets marketers create audience segments from warehouse data without writing SQL. Marketers can define segments using filters on warehouse-modeled attributes (product usage tiers, lead scores, lifecycle stages, firmographic criteria) and sync those segments to advertising platforms and marketing tools. This feature bridges the gap between data teams who build models and marketing teams who need segments — reducing the 'can you pull me a list?' bottleneck that plagues data-marketing collaboration.
Sync Monitoring & Observability
Real-time monitoring of sync health, record counts, and error rates. Alerts fire when syncs fail, when record volumes change unexpectedly, or when mapping errors prevent records from syncing. Historical sync logs show exactly which records were created, updated, or rejected in each run. This observability is critical for production workflows — a failed Census sync that goes undetected means stale lead scores in Salesforce or outdated segments in ad platforms.
Computed Columns & Transformations
Apply transformations during the sync process — mapping values, computing fields, and formatting data for destination requirements. This eliminates the need to build transformation logic in the warehouse for destination-specific formatting. Common examples: mapping warehouse product tier names to Salesforce picklist values, computing 'days since last activity' at sync time, or formatting phone numbers for SMS platforms. These lightweight transformations keep warehouse models clean while accommodating destination quirks.
Entity Resolution
Matches records across systems when identifiers don't align perfectly. A warehouse record keyed by internal user ID can be matched to a Salesforce contact by email address or a HubSpot record by company domain. Census handles the matching logic and maintains a mapping table for ongoing syncs. For organizations where the same customer exists in multiple systems with different identifiers, entity resolution is essential for accurate data activation.
Who Uses Census
Operationalizing Lead Scores & Product Data
The canonical Census use case for RevOps teams. The data team builds a product-qualified lead (PQL) scoring model in the warehouse, combining product usage data (feature adoption, login frequency, team size), firmographic data (company size, industry, funding), and engagement data (website visits, content downloads). Census syncs these scores to Salesforce every night, so SDRs start each morning with a prioritized list of product-qualified accounts to call. Without Census, this data stays trapped in dashboards — visible to analysts but invisible to the reps who need to act on it. Typical deployment cost: $800-2,000/month.
Marketing Audience Activation
Marketing teams use Census to push warehouse-modeled customer segments to advertising and email platforms. Instead of manually uploading CSV audience lists to Google Ads or Marketo, Census syncs segments automatically and keeps them updated. A common workflow: the data team defines 'high-intent enterprise accounts' as a warehouse model → Census syncs this segment to Google Ads for retargeting, to Marketo for email nurture, and to Salesforce for rep visibility — all from a single source of truth. The Audience Hub feature lets marketers modify segment criteria without bothering the data team for every adjustment.
Customer Success & Retention Analytics
Customer success teams use Census to push product health scores, usage trends, and renewal predictions from the warehouse into their CS tools (Gainsight, Salesforce, Slack). A churn risk model built in the warehouse identifies accounts with declining product usage — Census syncs the risk scores to Gainsight and triggers Slack alerts to CSMs for proactive intervention. This use case transforms the data team's predictive models from analytical assets into operational tools that drive action.
Census Pricing
Free
1 destination, limited syncs, community support
Core
Multiple destinations, scheduling, standard support
Platform
Audience hub, advanced sync options, SSO
Enterprise
SLAs, dedicated support, custom contracts
Census's pricing is based on synced record volume and destination count. The free tier includes one destination and limited sync volume — useful for proof-of-concept testing. The Core plan starts at $800/month with multiple destinations, scheduled syncs, and standard support. Platform and Enterprise tiers are custom-priced with Audience Hub, advanced sync options, SSO, and SLAs.
Most mid-market deployments running 3-5 destination syncs with 50K-200K synced records per month cost $1,000-3,000/month. Enterprise deployments with many destinations, high record volumes, and premium support features can exceed $5,000/month.
The pricing dynamic to monitor is record volume growth. As your warehouse grows and you activate more data across more destinations, sync volumes increase — and so does your Census bill. Starting with a focused use case (e.g., syncing lead scores to Salesforce only) keeps initial costs manageable, and you can expand destinations as the ROI is proven.
Compared to Hightouch: pricing is broadly similar for equivalent sync volumes. Hightouch tends to offer more features at each tier (composable CDP, more granular audience tools), while Census positions itself as simpler and more opinionated. Both offer free tiers for evaluation. For teams that just need basic reverse ETL without advanced audience building, Census's simplicity can be an advantage.
Job Market Demand for Census
Census appears in 6 job postings across 3 companies in our database of 23,338+ analyzed job postings. The average salary range for roles requiring Census: $85K - $110K.
Company Stage
Department
- VP, Sales Consultant - Pittsburgh
- Regional Vice President, Retirement Sales (South Texas Territory)
- Regional Vice President, Retirement Sales (Central California Territory)
- ascensus (4)
- shaw industries (1)
- aaa roofing (1)
Commonly Used With Census
Based on job posting co-occurrence data, these tools are most frequently mentioned alongside Census:
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Turns your data warehouse into the single source of truth for all tools
- 150+ destination connectors covering CRM, MAP, ad platforms, and more
- SQL-based syncs let data teams define audiences without engineering
- Audience hub feature makes it easy for marketers to build segments
- Reliable sync monitoring with alerts when something breaks
Cons
- Requires an existing data warehouse with clean, modeled data
- Pricing can escalate as sync volume and destinations grow
- Not useful without a data team to maintain warehouse models
- Narrower feature set compared to Hightouch's composable CDP offering
- Free tier is too limited for anything beyond a proof of concept
Best for: Data and RevOps teams with a modern data stack (warehouse + ETL) who want to operationalize their warehouse data across business tools
Not ideal for: Companies without a data warehouse, or teams that don't have SQL-proficient staff to build and maintain warehouse models
Census Alternatives
| Tool | Starting Price | Job Mentions | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hightouch | $0 | 3 | Data teams with a modern data stack who want to activate warehouse data and potentially replace a traditional CDP |
| Fivetran | $0 | 11 | Data and RevOps teams that need reliable, automated data pipelines without dedicated data engineering resources |
| Airbyte | $0 | 2 | Data engineering teams that want control over their integration infrastructure without vendor lock-in. Ideal for startups and mid-market companies with some engineering capacity, especially those running modern data stacks with dbt and a cloud warehouse. |
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between ETL and reverse ETL?
ETL (or ELT) moves data from your business tools into a data warehouse. Reverse ETL does the opposite: it pushes data from your warehouse back out to business tools. You need both. Fivetran or Airbyte gets data in. Census or Hightouch gets it out. Together, they create a loop where your warehouse is the central hub.
Census vs Hightouch: which should I pick?
Both are strong reverse ETL platforms. Census is simpler and more opinionated, which makes it faster to set up. Hightouch has a broader feature set, including a composable CDP, more granular audience building, and a wider connector library. If you want straightforward reverse ETL, Census. If you want a platform that can grow into a full CDP, Hightouch.
Do I need Census if I already have Fivetran?
They solve different problems. Fivetran moves data into your warehouse. Census moves it back out to tools like Salesforce and Google Ads. If you're only doing analytics and reporting, Fivetran is enough. If you want to use your warehouse data to power marketing campaigns, lead scoring, or CRM enrichment, you need a reverse ETL tool like Census.
Our Verdict on Census
Census is the right choice for data and RevOps teams with a mature data warehouse (Snowflake, BigQuery, or Redshift) that want to operationalize their warehouse data across business tools. If your data team has built valuable models — lead scores, customer health metrics, audience segments — that are trapped in dashboards, Census turns those models into operational data that drives action in Salesforce, marketing platforms, and ad tools. The platform does one thing well: syncing warehouse data to destinations reliably.
The trade-off is infrastructure dependency and cost. Census requires a functioning data warehouse with clean, modeled data — if you don't have that foundation, Census has nothing to sync. Organizations that haven't invested in a modern data stack (Fivetran + Snowflake + dbt) need to build that infrastructure first. And at $800-3,000+/month, Census is a meaningful line item that needs to be justified by the operational value of the data it activates. For simple data movement between two SaaS tools, Zapier is far more appropriate and affordable.
Census appears in 6 job postings across 3 companies in our database, with an average salary range of $85K-$110K. It co-occurs most frequently with DemandTools (4 mentions), suggesting it's used alongside data quality tools in RevOps stacks focused on CRM data integrity. The concentrated company distribution (4 of 6 postings from one company) limits the generalizability of the job market data, but the tool's inclusion in job requirements signals that reverse ETL experience is becoming a valued skill in data-savvy RevOps organizations.