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, Linux
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