Best Free Alteryx Alternatives for Data Prep & ETL (2025)
7 powerful tools for data preparation without the $5,195/year cost
Quick Comparison
| Tool | Price | Ease of Use | Data Cleaning | Row Limit | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alteryx | $5,195-50,000/year | ⭐⭐⭐ Medium | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Excellent | Billions | Enterprise workflows |
| Diwadi | Free | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Easy | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Very Good | Billions | Most users 🏆 |
| Tableau Prep | $840/year | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Easy | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Good | Billions | Tableau users |
| Python pandas | Free | ⭐⭐ Hard (coding) | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Excellent | Billions | Data professionals |
| OpenRefine | Free | ⭐⭐⭐ OK | ⭐⭐⭐ Good | Millions | Data cleaning focus |
Why Look for Alteryx Alternatives?
Alteryx is excellent software, but:
❌ Extremely expensive
- Designer: $5,195/year
- Server: $25,000-50,000/year
- Out of reach for individuals, small businesses, startups
❌ Overkill for simple tasks
- Most users only need: open large files, clean data, remove duplicates, filter rows
- Alteryx has 100+ tools (most people use <10)
❌ Complex for beginners
- Workflow designer (drag-drop nodes)
- Steep learning curve
✅ Great for:
- Enterprise ETL workflows
- Complex data pipelines
- Teams with budget ($5K+/year/user)
For 95% of users: Free alternatives provide the same core data cleaning features
1. Diwadi (Free, Desktop, Recommended)
Type
Desktop GUI application
Price
Free (no trials, no limits)
Platforms
Mac & Windows
Same Core Features as Alteryx:
- ✅ Format conversion (Excel ↔ CSV ↔ Parquet)
- ✅ Remove duplicates (billions of rows)
- ✅ Filter rows (complex conditions)
- ✅ Data cleaning (extract columns, search, sort)
- ✅ Large file support (billions of rows, vs Excel's 1M limit)
- ✅ Fast performance (Parquet = 100x faster queries)
Advantages Over Alteryx:
- ✅ $5,195/year cheaper (Diwadi is free)
- ✅ Simpler interface (easier to learn)
- ✅ Faster for simple tasks (no workflow building needed)
- ✅ 100% local (no server, no cloud, privacy-first)
What Alteryx Has That Diwadi Doesn't:
- ⚠️ Advanced workflows (spatial analytics, predictive tools)
- ⚠️ Scheduling/automation (Alteryx Server)
- ⚠️ 100+ specialized tools
For 90% of Alteryx use cases: Diwadi provides the same functionality for free
vs Alteryx:
- • Price: Diwadi = Free, Alteryx = $5,195/year
- • Ease: Diwadi = Simpler, Alteryx = More complex
- • Features: Diwadi = Core data cleaning, Alteryx = Enterprise toolkit
Detailed Comparison
| Feature | Alteryx | Diwadi | pandas | Tableau Prep | OpenRefine |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $5,195-50,000/year | Free | Free | $840/year | Free |
| Learning Curve | Medium | Easy | Hard (coding) | Medium | Medium |
| Remove Duplicates | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Filter Rows | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Format Conversion | ✅ Yes | ✅ Excel/CSV/Parquet | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Limited |
| Max Rows | Billions | Billions | Billions | Billions | Millions |
| GUI | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (code) | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Parquet Support | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| Privacy | ⚠️ Server option | 🔒 100% Local | 🔒 Local | ⚠️ Cloud option | 🔒 Local |
| Automation | ✅ Yes (Server) | ⚠️ Manual | ✅ Yes (scripts) | ⚠️ Limited | ⚠️ Manual |
| Best For | Enterprise workflows | Large files, fast, free | Data professionals | Tableau integration | Data cleaning focus |
Cost Comparison (3 Years)
Alteryx Designer:
$15,585
$5,195/year × 3 years
Tableau Prep:
$2,520
$840/year × 3 years
Diwadi:
$0
Free
pandas:
$0
Free (coding required)
Savings with Diwadi: $15,585 over 3 years
Recommendation
For Most Users (Simple Data Cleaning):
Use Diwadi - Free, simple, handles billions of rows
- Perfect for: Removing duplicates, filtering, format conversion
- Savings: $5,195/year vs Alteryx
For Data Professionals (Can Code):
Use pandas - Free, unlimited power, automation
- Perfect for: Complex workflows, automation, max flexibility
- Savings: $5,195/year vs Alteryx
For Enterprise (Complex Workflows):
Use Alteryx - Worth the cost for advanced features
- Perfect for: Complex ETL, spatial analytics, predictive tools, scheduling
- Cost: $5,195-50,000/year
Bottom Line
Alteryx is excellent - truly world-class data prep software.
BUT for most users:
- • 95% of Alteryx usage = data cleaning, duplicates, filtering, format conversion
- • Diwadi does all of this for free
Save $5,195/year → Use Diwadi for everyday data tasks
Invest in Alteryx only if you need advanced enterprise features