Apache Gravitino
Best for self-hosting
Why teams pick it
Organizations with data spread across multiple clouds, regions, or on-premises systems
Open-source alternatives to AWS Glue Data Catalog
Compare community-driven replacements for AWS Glue Data Catalog in data catalogs & governance workflows. We curate active, self-hostable options with transparent licensing so you can evaluate the right fit quickly.
AWS Glue Data Catalog
AWS Glue Data Catalog stores and organizes table metadata, auto-discovers data with crawlers, computes column statistics, and tracks lineage for ETL and analytics.Read more
Key stats
- 9Alternatives
- 1Support self-hosting
Run on infrastructure you control
- 9Active development
Recent commits in the last 6 months
- 8Permissive licenses
MIT, Apache, and similar licenses
Counts reflect projects currently indexed as alternatives to AWS Glue Data Catalog.
Start with these picks
These projects match the most common migration paths for teams replacing AWS Glue Data Catalog.
OpenMetadata
Privacy-first alternative
Why teams pick it
Organizations adopting data mesh or decentralized data ownership
All open-source alternatives
CKAN
Powerful platform for publishing, sharing, and managing open data
Active developmentIntegration-friendlyAI-powered workflowsPython
Why teams choose it
- Rich searchable catalog with versioning
- Full RESTful API for metadata and resources
- Built‑in data visualisation widgets
Watch for
Requires Python and PostgreSQL expertise to deploy
Migration highlight
National open data portal
Provides a centralized catalog, public API, and searchable interface for all government datasets, improving transparency and citizen engagement.
ODD Platform
Unified data discovery, lineage, and observability platform
Active developmentPermissive licenseFast to deployJava
Why teams choose it
- Federated data catalog with end‑to‑end lineage across heterogeneous sources
- Built‑in data quality dashboard compatible with Great Expectations and DBT
- Automatic ML experiment tracking and parameter logging
Watch for
Requires a PostgreSQL backend to store metadata
Migration highlight
Accelerate dashboard creation
Analysts quickly locate source tables and understand lineage, reducing time to build reliable BI reports.
Apache Gravitino
Geo-distributed federated metadata lake for unified data governance
Self-host friendlyActive developmentPermissive licenseJava
Why teams choose it
- Unified API for managing metadata across Hive, MySQL, HDFS, S3, and more
- Geo-distributed architecture for multi-region and multi-cloud metadata sharing
- Direct connector integration with immediate reflection of upstream changes
Watch for
Windows builds are not currently supported
Migration highlight
Multi-Cloud Data Lake Federation
Unified metadata access across AWS S3, Azure Data Lake, and on-premises HDFS, enabling cross-cloud analytics without data migration.
Apache Atlas
Unified metadata governance for Hadoop and enterprise data ecosystems
Active developmentPermissive licenseFast to deployJava
Why teams choose it
- Centralized metadata store with shared access
- Automated lineage tracking enriched by business taxonomies
- Integrated security via Apache Ranger (RBAC & ABAC)
Watch for
Primarily focused on Hadoop ecosystems
Migration highlight
Regulatory compliance reporting
Generate audit‑ready lineage reports to demonstrate data handling compliance.
OpenMetadata
Unified platform for data discovery, governance, and observability
Active developmentPermissive licensePrivacy-firstTypeScript
Why teams choose it
- Unified data catalog with keyword search and advanced queries
- Column‑level lineage visualization and editable no‑code editor
- 84+ pluggable connectors for diverse data services
Watch for
Self‑hosting requires operational expertise and resources
Migration highlight
Centralized Data Catalog
Teams locate tables, dashboards, and pipelines from a single searchable UI, reducing time spent searching for assets.
Amundsen
Google‑style search engine for data assets across your organization
Active developmentPermissive licenseIntegration-friendlyPython
Why teams choose it
- Relevance‑ranked search across tables, dashboards, ML features, and people
- Extensible ingestion pipeline with 30+ built‑in connectors
- Pluggable metadata stores: Neo4j, Apache Atlas, relational DBs, AWS Neptune
Watch for
Requires multiple services (frontend, search, metadata) to run
Migration highlight
Find frequently queried tables for ad‑hoc analysis
Analysts locate high‑usage tables instantly, cutting discovery time from days to minutes.
Magda
Federated data catalog with scalable search and Kubernetes‑native deployment
Active developmentPermissive licenseFast to deployJavaScript
Why teams choose it
- Scalable OpenSearch‑based search across federated data sources
- Kubernetes‑orchestrated microservices with Helm charts for cloud‑agnostic deployment
- Extensible metadata registry using dynamic JSON aspects and plug‑in connectors/minions
Watch for
Requires Kubernetes expertise for installation and upgrades
Migration highlight
Cross‑agency open data portal
Aggregates datasets from multiple government portals, providing citizens a single searchable interface.
Marquez
Centralized metadata service for data lineage and lifecycle
Active developmentPermissive licenseFast to deployJava
Why teams choose it
- Collects OpenLineage events via HTTP API
- Interactive web UI with lineage graph visualization
- Beta GraphQL endpoint for flexible metadata queries
Watch for
No built‑in authentication or authorization
Migration highlight
Data pipeline debugging
Visual lineage graphs let engineers pinpoint failing jobs and understand upstream dataset impacts.
DataHub
Unified metadata platform for modern data discovery and governance
Active developmentPermissive licensePrivacy-firstJava
Why teams choose it
- Real‑time metadata graph for instant search and impact analysis
- Extensible connectors covering databases, pipelines, and BI tools
- Docker quickstart and Helm charts for flexible deployment
Watch for
Initial setup can require infrastructure expertise
Migration highlight
Cross‑source Data Discovery
Analysts can search across databases, dashboards, and pipelines from a single UI, reducing time to find relevant assets.
Choosing a data catalogs & governance alternative
Teams replacing AWS Glue Data Catalog in data catalogs & governance workflows typically weigh self-hosting needs, integration coverage, and licensing obligations.
- 1 project let you self-host and keep customer data on infrastructure you control.
- 9 options are actively maintained with recent commits.
Tip: shortlist one hosted and one self-hosted option so stakeholders can compare trade-offs before migrating away from AWS Glue Data Catalog.