CData Arc vs Node-RED
CData Arc
arc.cdata.com
Node-RED
nodered.orgSide by side
| Figure | CData Arc | Node-RED |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $2,916.67/mo | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 4 | 2 |
| Spec score · Integration Platform as a Service Software | 9.2 (#4) | 8.6 (#26) |
| API management | Yes | Yes |
| Data transformation | Yes | Yes |
| Documentation | The knowledge base includes beginner-to-expert API material, hosting guides, scripting references, sample flows, troubleshooting and high-availability deployment instructions. | The documentation includes installation guides, platform instructions, user guides, API references, node-creation material and security guidance. |
| Funding news | Axios reported on June 26, 2024 that CData raised $350 million from Warburg Pincus, Accel and Updata, with the company founded in 2016. | FlowFuse announced a $7.25 million funding round on 10 June 2025. |
| License | Arc is proprietary software; its EULA restricts installation to licensed servers and prohibits copying, modification, reverse engineering and redistribution. | Node-RED core is licensed under Apache 2.0; third-party nodes may use different licenses. |
| Limit: documentation | A Gartner reviewer found the help documentation incomplete and one script-connector example inaccurate or not runnable. | A G2 reviewer says documentation is not detailed enough for some concepts and beginners. |
| Rating on G2 | 4.5 out of 5 from 56 reviews. | 4.5 out of 5 from 25 reviews |
| Rating on GetApp | 4.8 out of 5 from 27 reviews. | 4.8 out of 5 from 4 reviews |
| Rating on TrustRadius | 0 out of 10 from 0 reviews or ratings. | No overall score; 3 reviews and ratings |
| Real-time sync | Yes | Yes |
| Release news | The July 28, 2026 Q3 release added AES-256-GCM encryption at rest, an MCP diagnostic server, Git diffs and guided database migration. | Node-RED 5.0 was released on 9 June 2026 with a modernized editor and features including pausing the Debug sidebar and bundled npm dependency. |
| Security controls | Security features include FIPS-mode encryption, OpenPGP, AES, RSA, TLS/SSL, certificate and key management, LDAP or Active Directory authentication, MFA options and audit logs. | HTTPS, username/password authentication and OAuth/OpenID authentication can be configured for the editor and Admin API. |
| What it does | CData Arc is a visual workflow platform for managed file transfer and EDI integrations. | Node-RED is a low-code, flow-based tool for collecting, transforming and visualizing real-time data in event-driven applications. |
| Workflow orchestration | Yes | Yes |
Plans
CData Arc
- Arc MFT Unlimited$35,000 a year
- EnterprisePriced on request
- ProfessionalPriced on request
- StandardPriced on request
In their own words
Node-RED
Node-RED is a free, open-source tool for building event-driven applications with flow-based programming. It is designed to collect, transform and visualize data, and its listed capabilities include workflow orchestration, real-time sync and API management. In the browser-based editor, users connect nodes into flows and deploy them to the runtime. Core nodes support triggering, inspecting, changing, routing and templating messages. The lightweight runtime is built on Node.js and is intended for use on low-cost edge hardware or in the cloud. More than 5,000 nodes and flows are available through the community Flow Library. Flows are stored as JSON for importing, exporting and sharing, and projects use Git for version control and collaboration through remote repositories. Node-RED can run on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, self-hosted systems and the web, among other listed installation options. Its editor is unsecured by default: anyone with access to its IP address can access it and deploy changes. The project points users to its community forum and Slack for help.