France verdict (TL;DR)
Verified 2026-05-19Collibra leads the French enterprise governance segment at CAC 40 companies and regulated industries. Atlan is the fastest-growing modern catalog at French tech and digital-transformation programs. DataGalaxy, founded in Lyon, is the credible French-origin data catalog champion; French buyers with European-first or France-first procurement policies should rank DataGalaxy higher. Alation holds positioning at French enterprises with Snowflake-heavy data stacks. RGPD (CNIL enforcement), ANSSI data-governance guidance, and EU AI Act data-lineage requirements for AI system documentation are the primary French compliance drivers. The French public sector and CAC 40 industrial groups increasingly require European-origin catalog tools for data-sovereignty reasons, which strengthens both DataGalaxy and SonarSource-adjacent French software choices.
Picks for France
- French enterprise governance (CAC 40, financial services): collibra Broadest enterprise governance workflow depth. Default for French regulated industries (financial services, insurance, energy) with formal data-office mandates. Established SI partner ecosystem in France.
- French-origin catalog for European procurement preference: data-world DataGalaxy (Lyon) is the correct French local champion pick; this slot intentionally notes it. See localChampions. For global catalog coverage, data.world is the data-mesh alternative.
- Modern French tech and digital-transformation programs: atlan Fastest product velocity. Active metadata, column-level lineage, modern-stack native. Best for French tech companies and CAC 40 digital transformation programs on Snowflake and dbt.
- French engineering-led data teams wanting OSS: datahub OSS model resonates with French engineering culture. Self-hosted option for data-sovereignty. LinkedIn-originated, Acryl Data commercial offering for managed service.
- French SMB and mid-market data teams: secoda Modern AI-assisted catalog with transparent EUR-equivalent pricing. Best for 50-500 employee French data teams wanting a catalog without enterprise procurement overhead.
How the data catalog software market looks in France
France has a distinctive data-catalog market shaped by three factors: strong RGPD enforcement by the CNIL (among the most active EU DPAs), ANSSI influence on data-security tooling, and a meaningful French-origin software ecosystem that creates genuine buy-French-first procurement preference at public sector and large industrial buyers.
DataGalaxy is the most important France-specific catalog story. Founded in Lyon, DataGalaxy built a business-glossary-first data catalog with a French-language UI and French-language support, and has established a material customer base among French financial services, insurance, and public-sector organizations. For French buyers with European-first procurement policies, data sovereignty concerns, or a preference for a vendor with CNIL-compliant data residency by default, DataGalaxy is the correct local shortlist entry and should rank higher for French buyers than its global category position would suggest.
Collibra has strong CAC 40 presence in financial services (BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, AXA, Societe Generale) and energy (TotalEnergies, EDF tier). The French SI partner ecosystem (Capgemini, Sopra Steria, Atos) delivers Collibra implementations. Post-2023 Collibra layoff concerns are known to French procurement teams but the switching cost from established enterprise deployments is high.
EU AI Act compliance is the emerging French catalyst for data-catalog investment. The EU AI Act (in effect from 2026 for high-risk AI systems) requires organizations developing or deploying high-risk AI systems to document training data, data quality, and data lineage. French enterprises developing AI systems in regulated sectors (healthcare AI, financial risk AI, public-sector decision AI) are evaluating catalogs with AI lineage modules as EU AI Act compliance infrastructure. Collibra and Atlan have the most developed AI governance metadata modules.
RGPD (CNIL enforcement): CNIL is one of the most active EU DPAs; data catalogs processing personal data metadata require RGPD Article 28 DPAs with French-law-compliant clauses. Data-flow mapping as required by RGPD Article 30 records of processing is a core catalog use case; Collibra and Atlan have the strongest automated data-flow mapping modules. CNIL guidance on AI: CNIL has issued guidance on RGPD and AI systems; catalogs tracking training data lineage for AI models must satisfy RGPD Article 5 data-minimization and Article 5(1)(b) purpose-limitation principles. ANSSI data governance: ANSSI guidance on data governance for information systems (including critical systems) references data classification, lineage, and inventory as security controls; OIV operators under LPM must evidence data governance practices. EU AI Act: organizations deploying high-risk AI systems in France must document training data, data quality, and lineage under Article 10; data catalogs with AI governance modules (Collibra, Atlan) are the infrastructure for EU AI Act technical documentation. NIS2 (transposition via ANSSI): essential and important entities must implement data governance controls; catalogs satisfying ANSSI data-security guidance satisfy NIS2 data-governance requirements. SecNumCloud: public-sector and OIV buyers requiring SecNumCloud-qualified services may need self-managed catalog options or DataGalaxy (which has French-hosted deployment options); US-origin SaaS catalogs may face SecNumCloud barriers.
Quick comparison, ranked for France
| Product | Best for | Starts at | 10-emp/mo* | Pricing | G2 | Geo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Collibra | Upper mid-market through global enterprise | Quote | - | 4.1 | Global; strongest in US, EU, UK | |
| 2 Atlan | Modern data teams from SMB through upper mid-market | Quote | - | 4.7 | Global; strongest in US, EU, UK, India | |
| 4 data.world | Enterprise and public sector, data-mesh adopters | Quote | - | 4.4 | Global; strongest in US federal and public sector | |
| 7 DataHub | Engineering-led teams, mid-market through enterprise | $0 | $0 | 4.5 | Global; strongest in US, EU, India | |
| 5 Secoda | SMB and mid-market modern data teams | $0 | $0 | 4.7 | Global; strongest in US, Canada, UK, EU | |
| 6 Select Star | Modern data teams, lineage-led | $0 | $0 | 4.7 | Global; strongest in US | |
| 8 Metaplane | Mid-market and Datadog-anchored enterprise | Quote | - | 4.6 | Global; strongest in US, EU | |
| 9 Amundsen | Engineering teams with DevOps capacity | $0 | $0 | 4.3 | Global (community) | |
| 10 Apache Atlas | Enterprises running Cloudera CDP / HDP | $0 | $0 | 3.9 | Global (community) | |
| 3 Alation | Mid-market through enterprise, Snowflake-anchored | Quote | - | 4.4 | Global; strongest in US, EU, UK |
*10-employee monthly cost = base fee + (per-employee × 10) using the lowest published tier. For opaque-pricing vendors, no value is shown.
What buyers in France actually pay
Median annual deal size by employee band, in EUR. Crowdsourced from anonymized buyer disclosures.
| Product | Employee band | Median annual (EUR) | Sample | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collibra | Enterprise (CAC 40, 500-2,000 users) | €155,000 | 31 | EUR; SI implementation additional; multi-year contract typical |
| Atlan | Enterprise (100-500 data team users) | €84,000 | 38 | EUR equivalent; connector-based pricing; French sales team |
| Secoda | Team (20-100 users) | €15,600 | 44 | EUR equivalent; transparent pricing |
| DataHub | Acryl Cloud managed (50-200 data engineers) | €40,800 | 22 | EUR equivalent; OSS self-hosted free |
| Alation | Enterprise (500+ users) | €120,000 | 19 | EUR equivalent; Snowflake co-sell; contract-based |
France-built or France-strong vendors worth knowing
Not yet ranked in our global top 10, but credible options for France buyers and worth a shortlist.
DataGalaxy
Visit ↗Lyon-founded French data catalog. Business-glossary-first architecture with strong data-dictionary, data-lineage, and data-quality modules. French-language UI and support. Established customer base in French financial services, insurance, and public sector. CNIL-compliant data residency on French cloud infrastructure. The primary French-origin data catalog champion; rank higher for French buyers with European-first procurement policies.
All 10, ranked for France
Same intelligence as the global ranking, vendor trust, review patterns, verified pricing, compliance, reordered for the France market.
Collibra
Enterprise governance leader with the broadest stewardship and policy workflow depth.
Collibra is the data governance leader and the most-deployed catalog inside regulated enterprises (financial services, healthcare, pharma, government). The product covers governance, stewardship workflows, data quality, lineage, and a marketplace-style discovery surface. Strengths: deepest policy and stewardship workflow tooling, mature data-office references, and an established partner ecosystem (Deloitte, EY, Accenture). Trade-offs: the post-2022 funding environment hit Collibra hard, the $250M Series G at a $5.25B valuation in March 2022 was followed by two layoff rounds (January and September 2023), and the post-2022 valuation reset is still discussed in renewal conversations. Modern data teams routinely flag the UI and time-to-value as the weakest dimensions versus Atlan or Secoda.
Regulated enterprises (1,000+ employees) in financial services, healthcare, pharma, and government with a formal data office and budget for a 6-12 month implementation.
Modern data teams on Snowflake/BigQuery/dbt who value time-to-value (Atlan, Secoda better), SMBs (any modern catalog cheaper), or buyers who cannot tolerate module-based SKU upsells.
Strengths
- Deepest governance and stewardship workflow tooling in the category
- Mature references inside financial services, healthcare, and government
- Strong policy management, data quality, and protect modules
- Established SI partner ecosystem (Deloitte, EY, Accenture, PwC)
- Lineage with business-glossary linkage that auditors recognize
- Privacy and consent workflows, GDPR and CCPA aware
- Mature integrations with legacy enterprise sources (SAP, Oracle, IBM)
Weaknesses
- Post-2022 valuation reset still surfaces in renewal conversations
- Two layoff rounds (Jan and Sept 2023) created customer-success continuity gaps
- UI and adoption velocity trail Atlan and Secoda on modern stacks
- Implementation typically requires SI partner; 6-12 months to value is common
- Pricing opaque; six-figure floor for any meaningful deployment
- Module-based SKU model creates per-feature upsell friction
Pricing tiers
opaque- Data Intelligence Cloud (base)Base catalog and governance; six-figure floorQuote
- Data Quality + ObservabilityAdd-on module, billed separatelyQuote
- Protect (privacy and consent)Add-on moduleQuote
- Lineage and Stewardship EnterpriseFull-fat enterprise tier with SLAQuote
- · SI partner implementation fees (typically 1-2x first-year license)
- · Per-module upsells (DQ, Protect, Lineage are separate SKUs)
- · Premium support tier required for true 24x7 SLA
- · Connector/integration packs sometimes billed separately
- · Multi-year contracts standard; auto-renewal escalators in many deals
Key features
- +Governance and stewardship workflows
- +Business glossary and data dictionary
- +Column-level lineage
- +Data quality (via Collibra DQ, formerly OwlDQ)
- +Protect (privacy and consent management)
- +Policy management
- +Marketplace-style data discovery
- +Workflow engine with approvals and stewardship handoffs
Atlan
Modern stack-native catalog with the fastest product velocity in the category.
Atlan is the modern data catalog leader for the modern stack, native on Snowflake, BigQuery, Databricks, dbt, Looker, Tableau, and Power BI. Strengths: active metadata architecture from day one, column-level lineage parsed from dbt and warehouse query logs, Slack-first collaboration, and the fastest product velocity in the category. Raised $100M Series C in May 2024 (Insight Partners-led) at $750M+ valuation, the round positions Atlan as the modern leader through 2026. Trade-offs: governance and stewardship workflow depth trails Collibra at the high enterprise tier (regulated buyers still pick Collibra), and pricing remains opaque (the move from per-seat to platform-based pricing in 2024 surprised some customers).
Modern data teams (50-5,000 employees) on Snowflake/BigQuery/Databricks + dbt + Looker/Tableau/Power BI who want active metadata, fast time-to-value, and Slack-first collaboration.
Regulated enterprises with formal data-office governance mandates (Collibra deeper), legacy stacks (SAP, Oracle EBS heavy, Informatica still better), or buyers who require per-seat pricing.
Strengths
- Active metadata architecture, not retrofitted
- Column-level lineage parsed from dbt and warehouse query logs
- Slack-first collaboration genuinely changes adoption versus legacy catalogs
- Native on Snowflake, BigQuery, Databricks, dbt, Looker, Tableau, Power BI
- Best-in-class onboarding and time-to-value (weeks, not months)
- AI Copilot for documentation and discovery (cautious editorial: test on real metadata)
- Strong product velocity, multiple ship cycles per quarter
Weaknesses
- Governance depth trails Collibra at regulated enterprise tier
- Pricing opaque; platform-based model surprises buyers expecting per-seat
- Some legacy enterprise integrations (SAP, Oracle EBS) less mature
- Heavy dbt anchoring means non-dbt teams see less out-of-box value
- Series C valuation creates renewal anchoring concerns at small accounts
Pricing tiers
opaque- StarterSMB and mid-market platform tierQuote
- ProMid-market and growth-stageQuote
- EnterpriseFull governance, advanced lineage, SSO, audit logsQuote
- · Active user count escalators at renewal
- · Premium connector packs (some legacy sources billed separately)
- · AI Copilot consumption charges at higher tiers
- · Multi-year contracts increasingly standard; renewal anchoring
Key features
- +Active metadata graph
- +Column-level lineage (warehouse + dbt + BI)
- +Slack-first collaboration and notifications
- +AI Copilot (documentation, discovery, query generation)
- +Trust signals and data quality surface
- +Business glossary and stewardship
- +Custom metadata and attributes
- +API and webhooks for active metadata flows
data.world
Knowledge-graph catalog aligned with data mesh and strong in public sector.
data.world is the knowledge-graph-anchored catalog, the architecture is built on RDF and SPARQL, which aligns naturally with data mesh and federated, domain-led ownership models. Strengths: strong public-sector and federal pedigree (FedRAMP track record), knowledge-graph architecture differentiates on lineage and discovery for complex enterprise topologies, and the GenAI / agent-native pitch is grounded in the underlying graph (not retrofitted). Raised $50M Series C in 2022. Trade-offs: outside data-mesh and public-sector accounts, data.world is the third or fourth catalog evaluated rather than the lead, and modern data teams routinely default to Atlan or Secoda first.
Federal and public-sector buyers, plus enterprises (1,000+ employees) running a data-mesh model with federated, domain-led data ownership.
Modern data teams on Snowflake + dbt + Looker (Atlan faster), SMBs (Secoda better), or buyers who do not value knowledge-graph paradigm.
Strengths
- Knowledge-graph (RDF/SPARQL) architecture aligns with data mesh
- Strong federal and public-sector references (FedRAMP track record)
- Lineage and discovery for complex enterprise topologies
- GenAI and agent-native pitch grounded in the underlying graph
- Mature business glossary and ontology tooling
- Strong community and open data heritage
- Hybrid and on-prem deployment available for federal
Weaknesses
- Outside data-mesh and public sector, rarely the lead evaluation
- Modern data teams default to Atlan or Secoda first
- Knowledge-graph paradigm has a learning curve for SQL-only teams
- Pricing opaque; enterprise floor typical
- Connector ecosystem narrower than Collibra or Atlan
Pricing tiers
opaque- TeamDepartmental and growth-stageQuote
- EnterpriseFull catalog, governance, knowledge graphQuote
- FedRAMPFederal and public-sector tierQuote
- · Premium connector packs
- · Implementation services on Enterprise and FedRAMP
- · Multi-year contracts standard
Key features
- +Knowledge-graph (RDF/SPARQL) data model
- +Business glossary and ontology
- +Column-level lineage
- +Data mesh and data products tooling
- +Eureka GenAI assistant
- +FedRAMP-authorized deployment option
- +Open data and community features
- +Federation across distributed domains
DataHub
LinkedIn-originated open-source catalog with Acryl Data behind the commercial offering.
DataHub is the most-adopted open-source data catalog, originally built at LinkedIn and open-sourced in 2019-2020. Acryl Data was founded in 2020 by the original LinkedIn DataHub team to commercialize a managed cloud offering (Acryl Cloud) on top of the open-source core. Raised $26M Series A in 2022. Strengths: production-grade open source with a real corporate sponsor, strong engineering-led adoption, broad connector ecosystem, and the most-cited reference catalog in the data-engineering community. Trade-offs: self-hosted DataHub requires non-trivial DevOps capacity, and Acryl Cloud (the managed offering) is the path enterprises typically pick once volume becomes serious.
Engineering-led data platform teams (200-50,000 employees) with DevOps capacity, or enterprises wanting open-source insurance with optional managed cloud (Acryl Cloud).
SMBs without DevOps capacity (Secoda or Atlan easier), regulated buyers needing formal governance workflows (Collibra deeper), or teams wanting time-to-value in days.
Strengths
- Production-grade open source with real corporate sponsor (Acryl Data)
- Strong engineering-led adoption (LinkedIn, Saxo, AirAsia, Pinterest references)
- Broad connector ecosystem
- Active metadata graph architecture
- Apache 2.0 license; no rug-pull risk on the core
- Acryl Cloud managed offering for teams without DevOps capacity
- Strong community contribution velocity
Weaknesses
- Self-hosted requires meaningful DevOps capacity (Kafka, Elasticsearch, MySQL)
- Acryl Cloud pricing opaque; enterprise floor typical
- UI and onboarding less polished than Atlan and Secoda
- Governance depth still trails Collibra at the high enterprise tier
- Two-track product (OSS and Acryl Cloud) creates feature parity friction
Pricing tiers
partial- DataHub OSSApache 2.0; self-hosted, free$0 /mo
- Acryl Cloud StarterManaged cloud entry tierQuote
- Acryl Cloud EnterpriseFull governance, SSO, premium supportQuote
- · Self-hosted DataHub: Kafka, Elasticsearch, MySQL infra and operating cost
- · DevOps and platform engineering time on self-hosted
- · Acryl Cloud connector premiums
- · Multi-year contracts standard at Enterprise tier
Key features
- +Active metadata graph
- +Column-level lineage
- +Data quality assertions (DataHub Actions)
- +Business glossary and ontology
- +Search and discovery
- +Stewardship workflows
- +Open-source with Apache 2.0 license
- +Acryl Cloud managed offering
Secoda
Modern SMB-to-mid-market catalog with strong AI-assisted documentation.
Secoda is the modern catalog priced for SMB and mid-market, founded 2020 in Toronto. The product covers metadata discovery, column-level lineage (warehouse + dbt), AI-assisted documentation, and a Slack-first collaboration surface. Strengths: clear public pricing (rare in this category), genuine time-to-value (days, not months), AI assistant for auto-documentation, and modern stack defaults. Raised $14M Series A in 2023. Trade-offs: enterprise governance depth trails Collibra and Atlan, and the smaller installed base means fewer reference customers at the upper mid-market tier.
SMB and mid-market data teams (50-500 employees) on Snowflake/BigQuery + dbt who want a working catalog without enterprise procurement.
Regulated enterprises (Collibra or Alation deeper), data-mesh-heavy enterprises (data.world fits paradigm), or teams that require on-prem governance.
Strengths
- Clear public pricing (rare in this category)
- Genuine time-to-value, days not months
- AI assistant for auto-documentation and discovery
- Modern stack defaults (Snowflake, BigQuery, dbt, Looker)
- Slack-first collaboration
- Strong SMB and mid-market fit
- Active product velocity
Weaknesses
- Enterprise governance depth trails Collibra and Atlan
- Smaller installed base, fewer upper-mid-market references
- Series A stage creates some renewal anchoring concerns at small accounts
- Connector ecosystem narrower than the leaders
- Less mature on regulated and on-prem deployment requirements
Pricing tiers
public- FreeUp to 5 users; limited integrations$0 /mo
- Team$50/user/month billed annually$50+$50 /mo +/emp
- Business~$75-$100/user/month; AI features, SSO$0 /mo
- EnterpriseAdvanced governance, dedicated supportQuote
- · AI assistant consumption charges on higher tiers
- · Premium connectors and custom integrations
- · Multi-year contracts standard at Business and Enterprise
Key features
- +AI-assisted auto-documentation
- +Column-level lineage (warehouse + dbt)
- +Slack-first collaboration
- +Business glossary
- +Metadata search and discovery
- +Question and answer module for analyst self-serve
- +Modern stack-native integrations
- +Public pricing with self-serve onboarding
Select Star
Lineage-anchored modern catalog with automatic column-level parsing.
Select Star is the lineage-anchored modern catalog, the founding bet was that automatic, column-level lineage parsed from warehouse query logs is the highest-leverage feature in a catalog. The product covers lineage, metadata discovery, impact analysis, and business glossary, with a clean modern stack-native integration set. Strengths: best-in-class automatic column-level lineage, founder-led product velocity, and clean alignment to impact-analysis and regulatory-reporting use cases. Trade-offs: smaller installed base than Atlan and Secoda, less governance depth than Collibra/Alation, and the lineage-first positioning can feel narrow when the buying motion is broader catalog adoption.
Modern data teams (50-1,000 employees) where lineage and impact analysis are the primary buying motion (regulatory reporting, migration projects, schema-change impact).
Enterprise governance-led buyers (Collibra deeper), data-mesh enterprises (data.world fits paradigm), or buyers wanting a broad catalog rather than lineage-led.
Strengths
- Best-in-class automatic column-level lineage parsing
- Strong impact analysis for regulatory and migration work
- Founder-led product velocity
- Clean modern-stack integration set (Snowflake, BigQuery, dbt, Looker, Tableau)
- Useful Chrome extension for in-context lineage in BI tools
- Public starter pricing on the marketing site
Weaknesses
- Smaller installed base than Atlan and Secoda
- Less governance depth than Collibra and Alation
- Lineage-first positioning can feel narrow on broader catalog buying motions
- Series A stage; renewal anchoring on smaller accounts
- Connector ecosystem narrower than the leaders
Pricing tiers
partial- StarterFrom ~$500/month entry-point$0 /mo
- TeamMid-market tier with lineage and discoveryQuote
- EnterpriseFull lineage, governance, SSO, custom integrationsQuote
- · Premium connector packs
- · Per-seat scaling at growth-stage
- · Multi-year contracts standard at Enterprise
Key features
- +Automatic column-level lineage
- +Impact analysis (downstream and upstream)
- +Metadata discovery and search
- +Business glossary
- +Chrome extension for in-context lineage
- +dbt integration
- +Documentation and tagging
- +API for active metadata flows
Metaplane
Observability-anchored catalog acquired by Datadog; standalone roadmap unclear.
Metaplane is the observability-anchored catalog, founded 2020 in Boston with a thesis that catalog and data observability should be one product. Raised $14M Series A in 2023. Acquired by Datadog in October 2024 (terms undisclosed); the product strategy under Datadog observability ecosystem is unclear as of May 2026, integration into the broader Datadog platform is underway but the standalone catalog roadmap has not been publicly clarified. Strengths: strong observability heritage, column-level lineage, and credible AI-assisted documentation. Trade-offs: post-acquisition product direction is the dominant editorial concern, buyers should evaluate cautiously and confirm roadmap commitments in writing.
Teams already standardizing on Datadog observability who are willing to bet on the Metaplane + Datadog integration roadmap, and who want catalog plus observability under one vendor.
Pure-play catalog buyers (Atlan, Secoda, Select Star clearer), regulated enterprises (Collibra deeper), or buyers who want explicit standalone roadmap commitments.
Strengths
- Strong observability and freshness-monitoring heritage
- Column-level lineage parsed from warehouse query logs
- Useful AI-assisted documentation
- Datadog acquisition (Oct 2024) means deeper pockets and infra
- Slack-first collaboration
- Modern stack-native (Snowflake, BigQuery, dbt, Looker)
Weaknesses
- Post-Datadog acquisition product strategy unclear as of May 2026
- Standalone catalog roadmap has not been publicly clarified
- Pricing opaque under Datadog SKU model (Datadog billing complexity is its own thing)
- Risk of being folded into broader Datadog observability rather than maintained as catalog
- Catalog buyers may prefer pure-play vendors with clear catalog roadmap
Pricing tiers
opaque- Metaplane (legacy)Pre-acquisition pricing being migrated to Datadog SKUQuote
- Datadog Data ObservabilityPost-acquisition Datadog tier; bundled with broader observabilityQuote
- · Datadog SKU and billing complexity
- · Bundling pressure into broader Datadog observability
- · Migration costs for legacy Metaplane customers
Key features
- +Data observability (freshness, volume, schema, lineage)
- +Column-level lineage
- +AI-assisted documentation
- +Catalog discovery surface
- +Slack-first alerting
- +Anomaly detection on metric monitors
- +Datadog integration (post-acquisition)
Amundsen
Lyft-originated open-source catalog with no commercial entity behind it.
Amundsen is the Lyft-originated open-source catalog, open-sourced in 2019 and contributed as an Apache project. Strengths: clean foundational architecture, broad open-source adoption in 2019-2022, and free self-hosted deployment. Trade-offs: development pace has slowed since 2023, there is no commercial entity (no Acryl Data equivalent), and the project is realistically in maintenance mode versus the active development pace at DataHub. Recommended only for engineering teams with DevOps capacity who explicitly want a free, self-hosted catalog with no managed alternative on offer.
Engineering teams (200+ employees) with DevOps capacity who explicitly want a free, self-hosted catalog and accept no commercial support path.
Teams without DevOps capacity, regulated buyers needing formal governance, or anyone who needs vendor accountability and an SLA path.
Strengths
- Open source, free self-hosted
- Clean foundational architecture from Lyft
- Broad community familiarity (2019-2022 adoption wave)
- Apache project governance
- Basic lineage, discovery, and metadata search
Weaknesses
- Development pace slowed since 2023
- No commercial entity (no Acryl Data equivalent for Amundsen)
- Realistically in maintenance mode versus DataHub
- No managed cloud offering
- Lineage and active metadata trail DataHub and modern catalogs
- Connector ecosystem narrower than DataHub
Pricing tiers
public- Amundsen OSSApache 2.0; self-hosted, free; no managed alternative$0 /mo
- · Self-hosted infra (Neo4j or Atlas backend, Elasticsearch, Postgres)
- · DevOps and platform engineering time
- · No commercial support path; community-only
Key features
- +Metadata search and discovery
- +Basic lineage
- +Business glossary
- +Apache project governance
- +Lyft-originated architecture
- +Self-hosted on Kubernetes
Apache Atlas
Hadoop-ecosystem heritage catalog with declining adoption as Hadoop matures down.
Apache Atlas is the Hadoop-heritage data catalog, originally built inside Hortonworks (now Cloudera) and contributed as an Apache project in 2015. Strengths: deep integration with Cloudera (HDP, CDP), Hive metastore, and Ranger for fine-grained access control, plus a mature lineage model. Trade-offs: adoption is declining as the Hadoop ecosystem matures down, the development cadence has slowed materially over 2022-2025, modern stacks (Snowflake, BigQuery, Databricks) are not the primary integration focus, and the UI is dated even by open-source standards. Recommended only for teams already running Cloudera and needing in-place metadata for HDP/CDP clusters.
Teams already running Cloudera (HDP, CDP) needing in-place metadata for Hadoop-ecosystem clusters; rarely the right choice for net-new evaluations.
Modern data stacks (Snowflake, BigQuery, Databricks, dbt), teams without Hadoop infra, SMBs, or anyone evaluating catalogs net-new in 2026.
Strengths
- Deep Cloudera (HDP, CDP) integration
- Hive metastore and Ranger integration mature
- Apache project governance
- Mature lineage model for Hadoop-ecosystem workloads
- Free open source under Apache 2.0
Weaknesses
- Adoption declining as Hadoop ecosystem matures down
- Development cadence slowed materially over 2022-2025
- Modern stack (Snowflake, BigQuery, Databricks) is not the primary integration focus
- UI dated even by open-source standards
- No commercial entity beyond Cloudera distribution
- Realistically a legacy choice in 2026
Pricing tiers
public- Apache Atlas OSSFree, self-hosted; typically deployed alongside Cloudera CDP$0 /mo
- · Hadoop infra (HBase, Solr, Kafka) operating cost
- · Cloudera CDP license if deployed in supported context
- · DevOps and Hadoop platform engineering time
Key features
- +Hadoop-ecosystem metadata management
- +Lineage across Hive, HDFS, HBase, Kafka
- +Ranger integration for fine-grained access control
- +Apache project governance
- +Classification and tagging
- +Business glossary
- +REST API
Alation
Snowflake-investor-anchored catalog with deep BI and DW metadata integration.
Alation is the original modern data catalog (2012) and the most-cited Snowflake-anchored catalog in enterprise buying motions. Snowflake Ventures participated in the $123M Series E in November 2022 at a $1.7B valuation, and the strategic relationship still influences procurement (Snowflake reps frequently route Alation in joint accounts). Strengths: mature behavioral analysis (query log mining), strong Snowflake and Tableau/Power BI integration, and Alation Lexicon as a credible business-glossary surface. Trade-offs: product velocity has lagged Atlan over 2023-2025, IPO speculation in 2024-2025 has not converted to an S-1 filing, and modern data teams routinely flag the UI as the weakest dimension.
Snowflake-anchored mid-market and enterprise (500-10,000 employees) with formal data office, wanting one catalog vendor across BI and DW with mature governance.
Modern data-team-led buyers (Atlan ships faster), Databricks-only or BigQuery-only stacks (Atlan more neutral), or buyers who need on-prem governance (Collibra deeper).
Strengths
- Mature behavioral analysis from query log mining
- Strong Snowflake metadata integration and joint go-to-market
- Tableau and Power BI lineage with column-level depth
- Lexicon business-glossary surface accepted by data-office buyers
- Mature stewardship and governance workflows
- Established mid-market and enterprise references
- On-prem and hybrid deployment options for regulated buyers
Weaknesses
- Product velocity has lagged Atlan over 2023-2025
- IPO speculation 2024-2025 has not converted to S-1 filing
- UI flagged as weakest dimension versus Atlan/Secoda
- Pricing opaque; six-figure floor at enterprise tier
- Snowflake-investor relationship creates perception bias in non-Snowflake accounts
Pricing tiers
opaque- Alation Cloud ServiceBase catalog and stewardship; six-figure floorQuote
- Data Governance AppAdd-on governance moduleQuote
- Data Quality (via integration)Often paired with third-party DQ toolQuote
- EnterpriseFull-fat tier with SSO, advanced lineage, premium supportQuote
- · SI partner implementation fees (typically 0.5-1x first-year license)
- · Per-module upsells (Governance App, DQ via integration)
- · Premium connector packs
- · Multi-year contracts with renewal escalators
Key features
- +Behavioral analysis (query log mining)
- +Lexicon business glossary
- +Column-level lineage (DW + BI)
- +Stewardship workflows
- +Snowflake-deep integration
- +Alation Anywhere (in-context catalog within BI tools)
- +Data Governance App (separate SKU)
- +AI assistance (Alation ALLIE)
Frequently asked questions
The questions buyers actually ask before they sign.
Is DataGalaxy a serious enterprise option, or just a local vendor with limited capability?
What does EU AI Act compliance require from a data-catalog perspective?
Can French public-sector buyers use US-origin data catalog SaaS under RGPD and ANSSI guidance?
What does a data catalog actually do, and when do you actually need one?
Data catalog vs data observability vs data lineage, what is the difference?
AI-assisted cataloging, is it real or hype?
Open source vs proprietary, which fits better?
What is the Snowflake-Alation relationship, and should it influence my buying?
What happened with Metaplane after the Datadog acquisition?
Collibra had layoffs and a valuation reset, is it still safe to buy?
How much should I budget for a data catalog?
How long does a catalog implementation actually take?
Should we evaluate via free trial or proof of concept?
Final word
Looking at a different market? See the global Data Catalog Software ranking, or pick another country at the top of this page.
Last updated 2026-05-19. Local pricing reverified quarterly. Found something inaccurate? Tell us.