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Comparison · Analytics
dbt Core vs Keboola
A side-by-side editorial comparison of dbt Core and Keboola — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
dbt Core vs Keboola: at a glance
What is dbt Core?
Fusion's 2.0 train has become adapter work: Exasol from scratch, ClickHouse toward parity.
dbt-core is running two lines at once. The 2.0 Fusion train ships near-daily dev tags whose notes are dominated by adapter surface — an Exasol adapter built from nothing, ClickHouse being pulled up to what the Python adapter already does, and Databricks configuration filling in. The 1.x Python line, meanwhile, receives only backports: an Azure Blob artifact-upload fix and a sqlparse CVE pin, nothing else.
What is Keboola?
Keboola is smoothing the seams — MCP login, direct workspace writes, and BigQuery catching up to Snowflake
Keboola's August work is concentrated on removing intermediate steps. The MCP server swapped pasted Storage API tokens for a one-time browser login that reaches every project on a stack, workspaces write straight into Storage without an output-mapping job, and branched storage arrives on BigQuery to match Snowflake. Alongside that sits a run of runtime and authentication deprecations with hard dates.
dbt Core vs Keboola: editorial side-by-side
dbt Core
6.3ANALYTICS
Fusion's 2.0 train has become adapter work: Exasol from scratch, ClickHouse toward parity.
◆ Current state
dbt-core is running two lines at once. The 2.0 Fusion train ships near-daily dev tags whose notes are dominated by adapter surface — an Exasol adapter built from nothing, ClickHouse being pulled up to what the Python adapter already does, and Databricks configuration filling in. The 1.x Python line, meanwhile, receives only backports: an Azure Blob artifact-upload fix and a sqlparse CVE pin, nothing else.
◆ Where it's heading
The recurring theme across dev.30, dev.33 and beta.2 is not new capability but acceptance: Fusion learning to take the config shapes dbt Core tolerates, ClickHouse incremental strategies resolving exactly like their Python counterparts, contracts and constraints enforced end-to-end. That is a rewrite closing the gap with the thing it replaces. The 1.x releases read as a maintenance line kept alive on security patches while attention sits on 2.0.
◆ Prediction
Expect the dev tags to keep grinding through adapter parity — ClickHouse projections and codec are named in the notes as available but not working yet, which is the next obvious box to tick. The 1.x branches will likely see only dependency and CVE releases.
Keboola
5.0ANALYTICS
Keboola is smoothing the seams — MCP login, direct workspace writes, and BigQuery catching up to Snowflake
◆ Current state
Keboola's August work is concentrated on removing intermediate steps. The MCP server swapped pasted Storage API tokens for a one-time browser login that reaches every project on a stack, workspaces write straight into Storage without an output-mapping job, and branched storage arrives on BigQuery to match Snowflake. Alongside that sits a run of runtime and authentication deprecations with hard dates.
◆ Where it's heading
Two threads run in parallel: making the assistant and workspace surfaces less ceremonious, and dragging the BigQuery backend to parity with Snowflake ahead of Branches 2.0. The deprecation notices — Python 3.10, Snowflake password auth — suggest a platform clearing old ground before the next structural release.
◆ Prediction
Branches 2.0 with approval workflows and conflict resolution is the next substantial release, and it should land once BigQuery parity work is finished.
Alternatives to dbt Core and Keboola
Other Analytics products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either dbt Core or Keboola.
Chord
Chord is turning its analytics assistant into something with memory, and now feeding it more sources
Datawrapper
Datawrapper ships one small fix at a time, each named for the chart it touches
Holistics
After a summer fencing in its AI layer, Holistics points it at the question analysts get asked most.
AgencyAnalytics
Reporting tool turning itself into the place agencies prove AI visibility to clients
Stitch
Stitch is running a fleet-wide Python 3.12 migration across its connector estate.
See all dbt Core alternatives → · See all Keboola alternatives →
Recent activity from dbt Core and Keboola
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 2d agodbt Coredev.34 re-tags dev.33 with identical notes
- 2d agodbt CoreFusion dev.33 pulls ClickHouse up to Python-adapter parity
- 6d agodbt CoreFusion dev.30 adds a full-surface Exasol adapter
- 8d agoKeboolaKeboola MCP: Log In Once, Work Across Every Project
- 12d agodbt Core1.12.3 fixes Azure Blob artifact uploads and pins sqlparse
- 13d agodbt Core1.11.14 backports only the sqlparse CVE pin
- 13d agoKeboolaPython 3.10 Deprecation for Streamlit Data Apps
- 15d agodbt CoreFusion beta.2 fills in ClickHouse materializations and catalogs
- 23d agoKeboolaFlows: New Condition Operators and Run Selected Tasks
- 26d agoKeboolaBranched Storage on BigQuery
- 27d agoKeboolaWorkspaces Now Write Directly to Storage Tables
- 28d agoKeboolaNew Python Versions Available for Transformations and Workspaces
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between dbt Core and Keboola?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. dbt Core is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 5.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is dbt Core better than Keboola?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. dbt Core is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 5.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Analytics products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to dbt Core?
Top dbt Core alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "dbt Core alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/dbt-core for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to Keboola?
Top Keboola alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Keboola alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/keboola for the full list with editorial commentary on each.