Apache Atlas vs Grai
Apache Atlas
atlas.apache.orgGrai
grai.ioSide by side
| Figure | Apache Atlas | Grai |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Data Lineage Tools | 8.9 (#3) | 8.3 (#7) |
| Deployment | The repository provides Docker build instructions and produces server, source and multiple hook distribution archives. | The project says it is open source and can be self-hosted, including with Docker Compose or Kubernetes examples and Helm charts. |
| Founded | 2015 | 2021 |
| Integrations | Documented metadata sources include Hive, Sqoop, Falcon, Storm and HBase. | Listed connectors include Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, Postgres, MySQL, SQL Server, dbt, Fivetran, flat files, Metabase, and Looker (alpha). |
| Lineage | Atlas provides a web lineage view and REST operations for reading and updating lineage. | Grai says it can automatically build column-level lineage across warehouses and production services. |
| Purpose | Apache Atlas provides open metadata management and governance capabilities to catalog, classify, govern, and support collaboration around data assets. | Grai describes itself as a data lineage tool for understanding and testing how data relates across databases, warehouses, APIs, and dashboards. |
| Security | Atlas supports fine-grained access controls for metadata entities and classification operations. | Grai’s privacy policy says it uses commercially acceptable means to protect personal data but cannot guarantee absolute security. |
| What it does | Apache Atlas is an extensible metadata governance service for Hadoop and broader enterprise data ecosystems. | Grai helps users understand and test how data relates across databases, warehouses, APIs, and dashboards. |
Plans
In their own words
Apache Atlas
Apache Atlas is open-source software for managing metadata and governance around data assets. It supports cataloging, classification, governance, and collaboration, with predefined metadata types and tools for defining custom types, entities, and relationships. Teams can create classifications, associate them with multiple entities, and propagate them through data lineage. The interface displays lineage, and REST APIs can access and update it. Metadata search works by type, classification, attribute value, or free text, including through a SQL-like language. Fine-grained access controls apply to metadata entities and classification operations. Integration with Apache Ranger can use classifications for authorization and data masking. Atlas exposes REST endpoints for metadata types, entities, lineage, and discovery; documented integrations include Hive, HBase, Sqoop, Storm, and Kafka. Atlas is server software for self-hosted deployment, built and packaged for an environment with HBase and Solr. It is listed for Linux, web, API, and self-hosted use, at free.
Grai
Grai is a data lineage tool for tracing and testing relationships among databases, warehouses, APIs, and dashboards. It can automatically build column-level lineage across warehouses and production services. Centralized validation tests run when upstream data sources change, and GitHub Actions can alert CI/CD workflows when production changes affect warehouses or dbt projects. Listed connectors include Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, Postgres, MySQL, SQL Server, dbt, Fivetran, flat files, Metabase, and Looker; the Looker connector is marked alpha. Grai describes itself as open source and self-hostable, with Docker Compose and Kubernetes examples and Helm charts. Grai Cloud is available to run for free. The frontend is a React web application, and the CLI is a Python client for the Grai server. The repository lists an MIT-0 license. The privacy policy says Grai collects email addresses, cookies, and usage data, and names AWS and Google Cloud Platform among its service providers. It says commercially acceptable measures are used to protect personal data but cannot guarantee absolute security. The repository lists [email protected] and points to Slack and a community roadmap for requests and bug reports.