DataHub vs OpenMetadata: Open Source Data Catalogs (2026)

Quick verdict

Short answer

Choose DataHub if you want an API-first metadata platform with a very large connector set, column-level lineage, data contracts and incident management in the free edition, and you may later buy DataHub Cloud for observability monitors, access workflows and an uptime SLA. Choose OpenMetadata if you want catalog, lineage and data quality tests in one open source product, or a no-cost managed start through the Collate Free Tier (5 users, 500 data assets). Both are free to self-host, and both need real operations effort when you do.

How we know: This comparison is research-based: licences, editions, feature splits between open source and paid editions, release dates and published plan limits were checked on 7 November 2026 against the projects' websites, documentation, GitHub repositories and release notes and Collate's pricing page. We have not deployed either product, so nothing here is a measured result.

DataHub began at LinkedIn and is developed in the open as DataHub Core under Apache 2.0. The company that commercialises it, founded as Acryl Data, rebranded as DataHub in May 2025, and Acryl Cloud became DataHub Cloud. The official comparison lists 140+ source connectors, column-level lineage and impact analysis, business glossary, data contracts, incident management and GraphQL and MCP retrieval in both editions. Core v1.8.0 shipped on 22 October 2026.

OpenMetadata is an Apache 2.0 metadata platform whose trademark is owned by Collate, Inc., the company built by the project's creators. It combines discovery, lineage, data quality tests and profiling, glossary, classifications, data products and data contracts in one knowledge graph, with 130+ connectors listed on the project site. The 2.0 line arrived on 24 August 2026; 2.0.7 shipped on 27 October 2026 and a 2.1.0 release candidate followed on 28 October. Collate is the managed edition.

What about Amundsen and Apache Atlas? Amundsen, another open source catalog, was archived in September 2026 for inactivity, so it is not a sensible new choice. Apache Atlas is still maintained but is focused on the Hadoop ecosystem. See the Amundsen and Apache Atlas profiles.

Side by side

Aspect	DataHub	OpenMetadata
Licence	Apache 2.0 (DataHub Core)	Apache 2.0
Managed edition	DataHub Cloud, by quote	Collate: Free Tier, Premium and Enterprise (Premium and Enterprise by quote)
Free managed option	None published	Collate Free Tier: multi-tenant SaaS, 5 users, 500 data assets
Connectors (vendor stated)	140+ source connectors in Core and Cloud	130+ connectors on the project site; unlimited on all Collate plans
Lineage	Column-level lineage and impact analysis in Core	Table and column-level lineage with impact analysis
Data quality in the open source edition	Data contracts and incident management; quality monitors (freshness, volume, schema, custom SQL) are Cloud only	Data quality tests and profiling built in
Glossary and governance	Glossary, domains, data products, structured properties, data contracts	Glossary, classifications and tags, domains, data products, data contracts
AI and API access	GraphQL API, SDKs and MCP retrieval in Core; hosted MCP server and AI documentation in Cloud	APIs, SDKs and an MCP server; Collate adds AI agents
Self-hosting	Docker or Kubernetes; needs a search engine (OpenSearch or Elasticsearch)	Docker, Kubernetes (EKS, AKS, GKE, on premises via Helm) or bare metal
Paid-only features	Observability monitors, access request workflows, fine-grained access control, 99.5% uptime SLA	Automated PII classification and SSO from Collate Premium; audit logs and custom integrations in Enterprise
Latest release (7 Nov 2026)	v1.8.0 (22 October 2026); v1.9.0 release candidates in November	2.0.7 (27 October 2026); 2.1.0 release candidate on 28 October

Key differences

Where data quality lives

This is the clearest functional difference. OpenMetadata treats data quality as part of the catalog: you define tests and profiling on tables in the open source product and see results next to the documentation, so one tool covers discovery and basic quality checks. On Collate, the Free Tier is limited to 10 quality test cases and 5 alerts; Premium and Enterprise lift those limits.

DataHub Core includes data contracts and incident management, so you can record expectations and track problems, but the official comparison lists the observability features, including AI anomaly detection, freshness, volume, schema and column monitoring, custom SQL checks, a data health dashboard and pipeline circuit breakers, as DataHub Cloud only. Teams on Core usually run quality checks in another tool (for example dbt tests or a dedicated quality product) and push the results into DataHub. If you want quality checks inside a free self-hosted catalog, OpenMetadata covers more out of the box.

Open source versus paid edition split

Both projects keep the catalog core open and sell the operational and enterprise extras. According to DataHub's comparison page, every feature in Core is also in Cloud, and Cloud adds a fully managed deployment, AWS PrivateLink and an in-VPC remote ingestion agent, access request and action workflows, a hosted MCP server, AI documentation generation and a 99.5% uptime SLA.

For OpenMetadata, the split is between the open source build and Collate. Collate's published plans add single-tenant, hybrid or bring-your-own-cloud hosting, faster metadata refresh and lineage updates (weekly on Free, hourly on Enterprise), automated PII classification and SSO from Premium, and audit logs and custom integrations in Enterprise. Some features in OpenMetadata release notes are marked Collate only, so check the notes before assuming parity with the open source build.

Running it yourself

Self-hosting either catalog means operating several services, not a single binary. DataHub documents Docker and Kubernetes deployments and supports OpenSearch 2.x and 3.x or Elasticsearch 8.x as its search engine. OpenMetadata documents a Docker Compose quick start, production guides for EKS, AKS, GKE and on-premises Kubernetes through Helm charts, and bare-metal installs, and links a separate production requirements page for sizing. Check each project's current requirements for the database, search engine and ingestion scheduler you will need, and plan for regular upgrades: both projects released several versions in October 2026 alone.

Ingestion model and extensibility

DataHub supports both push and pull ingestion and positions itself as API first, with GraphQL, a full API and SDKs; v1.8.0 added sources such as Informix, Monte Carlo and SQLMesh, and made data products nestable. OpenMetadata builds its model around a single metadata knowledge graph with APIs and SDKs, and its connectors cover databases, warehouses, dashboards, pipelines, messaging and ML systems. Both have long connector lists, so the useful check is whether the connectors for your sources extract what you need (lineage, usage, column descriptions), not the headline count.

Pricing and licensing

DataHub. DataHub Core is free under Apache 2.0; you pay for the infrastructure you run it on. DataHub Cloud has no published plans, prices or free tier on datahub.com; it is sold by quote after a demo.

OpenMetadata. The open source project is free under Apache 2.0. Collate's pricing page lists a Free Tier (multi-tenant SaaS, 5 users, 500 data assets, unlimited connectors, weekly metadata refresh, 10 quality test cases), Premium (single-tenant or hybrid SaaS, 25 users, 5,000 assets, SSO, automated PII classification, APIs and SDK) and Enterprise (single-tenant, hybrid or private BYOC, 50 users and 10,000 assets with unlimited options, audit logs, custom integrations). No prices are shown for Premium or Enterprise; both are by sales contact.

Pricing checked on the vendors' official pages on 7 November 2026. Prices change; confirm before buying.

Where each one leads

DataHub strengths

Large connector set (140+) and column-level lineage in the free edition
Data contracts and incident management in Core
API first, with GraphQL, SDKs and MCP retrieval in Core
Every Core feature is also in the managed Cloud edition, which eases a later move
Very active release cadence in 2026

OpenMetadata strengths

Data quality tests and profiling built into the open source product
Collate Free Tier gives a managed start with no payment
Published plan limits for all three Collate plans
Kubernetes guides for EKS, AKS, GKE and on premises, plus bare-metal installs
Glossary, classifications, data products and contracts in one knowledge graph

Limitations

DataHub limitations

Observability monitors and access workflows are DataHub Cloud only
No published prices or free tier for DataHub Cloud
Self-hosting means operating several services, including a search engine

OpenMetadata limitations

Some features are Collate only, so parity with the open source build varies
Collate Free Tier is capped at 5 users, 500 assets and 10 quality test cases
No published prices for Collate Premium or Enterprise

When to choose each

Choose DataHub if

You want an API-first catalog to integrate deeply with your own tooling
You already run data quality checks elsewhere and want results pushed into the catalog
Column-level lineage across many sources is the main requirement
You may want a managed edition later with the same feature base
Your platform team is comfortable operating Kubernetes services

Choose OpenMetadata if

You want catalog and data quality tests in one free product
You want to try a managed catalog at no cost before committing
Your team is small and the Collate Free Tier limits fit
You want published plan limits when planning a paid managed edition
You need bare-metal installation outside Kubernetes

When neither is right

You need a vendor-supported governance suite with formal stewardship workflows: see Collibra vs Alation.
You want a commercial SaaS catalog with no infrastructure at all: see Atlan vs Collibra.
Nearly all your data is in Databricks or Snowflake: start with the platform catalog; see Unity Catalog vs Snowflake Horizon.
You only need to document a single database schema: a database documentation tool may be enough; see database documentation tools.

Final recommendation

Bottom line

Both are healthy, Apache 2.0 projects with strong lineage and glossary support, so the decision usually comes down to two things. If you want data quality checks inside the free catalog, or a no-cost managed trial, OpenMetadata is the more direct fit. If you want the broadest connector set and an API-first platform, and you are content to run quality checks elsewhere or buy DataHub Cloud for monitoring, DataHub is the more direct fit. Deploy both against three or four of your real sources, compare the lineage and metadata each extracts, and weigh the operations effort before choosing.

Frequently asked questions

Are DataHub and OpenMetadata really free?

Yes, both are open source under the Apache 2.0 licence and free to self-host; you pay for the infrastructure and the people who run it. Their managed editions, DataHub Cloud and Collate, are commercial, although Collate has a free tier with 5 users and 500 data assets.

Which has data quality checks?

OpenMetadata includes data quality tests and profiling in the open source product. DataHub Core has data contracts and incident management, but its quality monitors (freshness, volume, schema and custom SQL checks) are listed as DataHub Cloud only.

What is the relationship between OpenMetadata and Collate?

Collate, Inc. owns the OpenMetadata trademark and was built by the project's creators. It sells Collate, the managed version of OpenMetadata, in Free, Premium and Enterprise plans.

What happened to Acryl Data?

Acryl Data, the company behind DataHub, rebranded as DataHub in May 2025 alongside its Series B announcement, and Acryl Cloud was renamed DataHub Cloud. The legal name Acryl Data, Inc. still appears in the website footer.

Should I pick Amundsen instead?

No. The Amundsen repository was archived in September 2026 for inactivity, so it is no longer a sensible choice for a new deployment.

Sources

Checked November 2026.

How we research comparisons: our editorial method.