The 14 Best Data Lineage Tools and Software to Consider for 2024

Solutions Review’s listing of the best data lineage tools is an annual mashup of products that best represent current market conditions, according to the crowd. Our editors selected the best data lineage tools and software based on each solution’s Authority Score; a meta-analysis of real user sentiment through the web’s most trusted business software review sites and our own proprietary five-point inclusion criteria.

The editors at Solutions Review have developed this resource to assist buyers in search of the best data lineage tools to fit the needs of their organization. Choosing the right vendor and solution can be a complicated process — one that requires in-depth research and often comes down to more than just the solution and its technical capabilities. To make your search a little easier, we’ve profiled the best data lineage tools and software all in one place. We’ve also included platform and product line names and introductory software tutorials straight from the source so you can see each solution in action.

For an in-depth breakdown of supporting data quality processes with data lineage, our editors recommend this short guide courtesy of MANTA.

Note: The best data lineage tools are listed in alphabetical order.

The Best Data Lineage Tools and Software

Alation

Tool: Alation Data Catalog

Description: Data Catalog helps you find, understand, and govern all enterprise data through a single pane of glass. The product uses machine learning to index and make discoverable a wide variety of data sources including relational databases, cloud data lakes, and file systems. Alation democratizes data to deliver quick access alongside metadata to guide compliant, intelligent data usage with vital context. Conversations and wiki-like articles capture knowledge and guide newcomers to the appropriate subject-matter expert. The intelligent SQL editor empowers users to query in natural language, surfacing recommendations, compliance flags, and relevant policies as users query.

Atlan

Platform: Atlan

Description: Atlan’s data workspace platform offers capabilities in four key areas, including data cataloging and discovery, data quality and profiling, data lineage and governance, and data exploration and integration. The product features a Google-like Search interface, automatic data profiling, and a searchable business glossary for generating a common understanding of data. Users can also manage data usage and adoption across an ecosystem via granular governance and access controls, no matter where your data goes.

Collibra

Platform: Collibra Platform

Related products: Collibra Catalog, Collibra Privacy & Risk

Description: Collibra’s Data Dictionary documents an organization’s technical metadata and how it is used. It describes the structure of a piece of data, its relationship to other data, and its origin, format, and use. The solution serves as a searchable repository for users who need to understand how and where data is stored and how it can be used. Users can also document roles and responsibilities and utilize workflows to define and map data. Collibra is unique because the product was built with business end-users in mind.

CloverDX

Platform: CloverDX Enterprise Data Management Platform

Description: CloverETL (now CloverDX) was one of the first open-source ETL tools. The Java-based data integration framework was designed to transform, map, and manipulate data in various formats. CloverETL can be used standalone or embedded, and connects to RDBMS, JMS, SOAP, LDAP, S3, HTTP, FTP, ZIP, and TAR. Though the product is no longer offered by the provider, it can be downloaded securely using SourceForge. CloverDX still supports CloverETL in line with their standard support agreement as well.

Datameer

Platform: Datameer Enterprise

Related products: Datameer X

Description: Datameer offers a data analytics lifecycle and engineering platform that covers ingestion, data preparation, exploration, and consumption. The product features more than 70 source connectors to ingest structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data. Users can directly upload data or use unique data links to pull data on demand. Datameer’s intuitive and interactive spreadsheet-style interface lets you transform, blend and enrich complex data toward the creation of data pipelines.

Dremio

Platform: Dremio SQL Lakehouse Platform

Description: Dremio offers a data lake engine that provides fast query speed and a self-service semantic layer that operates directly against data lake storage. The solution connects to S3, ADLS, Hadoop, or wherever enterprise data resides. Apache Arrow, Data Reflections, and other Dremio technologies work together to hasten query speeds, and the semantic layer enables IT to apply security and business meaning. Users do not have to send data to Dremio or have it stored in proprietary formats to access it.

Immuta

Platform: Immuta

Description: Immuta’s automated data governance platform lets users discover and access data through a dedicated data catalog. The product features an intuitive policy builder that provides author policies in plain English, without code so security leaders can write policies across any data. Immuta also enables compliant collaboration via projects, controlled workspaces where users can share data. When users switch projects, they assume the right permissions and controls. Immuta runs as a containerized solution on-prem, in the cloud or via a hybrid model.

Informatica

Platform: Axon Data Governance

Related products: Informatica Product 360, Informatica Customer 360, Informatica Supplier 360

Description: Informatica Axon Data Governance is an integrated and automated data governance solution that enables quick access to curated data. The product ensures teams can find, access, and understand the data they need via a curated marketplace. Axon also enables data dictionary development for a consistent source of business context across multiple tools. Users can visualize data lineage, automatically measure data quality, and ensure data privacy with this solution as well.

Keboola

Platform: Keboola

Description: Keboola is a cloud-based data integration platform that connects data sources to analytics platforms. It supports the entire data workflow process, from the point of data extraction, preparation, cleansing, warehousing, and all the way to its integration, enrichment, and loading. Keboola offers more than 200 integrations and features an environment that allows users to build their own data applications or integrations using GitHub and Docker. The product can also automate low-value activities while accounting for audit trail, version control, and access management.

MANTA

Platform: MANTA Platform

Description: MANTA offers a unified data lineage platform that maps all information flows to provide a complete overview of your data pipeline. The product reveals the data’s origins and its journey through all data processing systems to you. MANTA automatically updates lineage whenever necessary and shows data flows in a way that is user-friendly, clear, and understandable. The solution was designed to be integrated into any data management ecosystem as well.

Octopai

Platform: Octopai Platform

Related products: Octopai Automated Data Discovery, Octopai Automated Data Lineage, Octopai Automated Business Glossary

Description: Octopai is a centralized, cross-platform metadata management automation solution that enables data and analytics teams to discover and govern shared metadata. The product does metadata scanning by automatically gathering it from ETL, databases, and reporting tools. Metadata is stored and managed in a central repository, and a smart engine using hundreds of crawlers searches all metadata and presents results quickly. Octopai is best used for use cases in business intelligence, governance, and data cataloging.

OvalEdge

Platform: OvalEdge

Description: OvalEdge offers an on-prem data catalog and governance toolset that crawls databases, data lakes and back-end systems to create a smart catalog of the information. The product provides a discovery platform that both novice and experienced analysts can use to discover data quickly. OvalEdge includes built-in governance tools that help define a standard business glossary, data assets, PIIs, and limits access by various roles. It also organizes data automatically via machine learning and advanced algorithms.

Talend

Tool: Talend Data Catalog

Related products: Talend Open Studio, Talend Data Fabric, Talend Data Management Platform, Talend Data Preparation, Talend Big Data Platform, Talend Data Services Platform, Talend Integration Cloud, Talend Stitch Data Loader

Description: Talend Data Catalog automatically crawls, profiles, organizes, links, and enriches metadata. Up to 80 percent of information associated with the data is documented automatically and kept up-to-date through smart relationships and machine learning. Data Catalog key features include faceted search, data sampling, semantic discovery. categorization, and auto-profiling. The tool also includes social curation and data relationship discovery and certification, as well as a suite of design and productivity tools.

Trifacta

Platform: Trifacta

Description: Trifacta offers an open and interactive cloud platform for data engineers and analysts. Its Data Engineering Cloud solution enables users to collaboratively profile, prepare, and pipeline data for analytics and machine learning. Trifacta touts multi-cloud support, flexible execution (you can choose between ETL, ELT, or an optimal combination of the two based on performance and cost), and universal connectivity for ingesting data from enterprise sources.