ComparisonMarch 22, 2026

Provero vs Great Expectations vs Soda Core

Name: Provero
Author: Provero

Three tools, three philosophies. Here's how they compare on what actually matters: how much code you write, what license you accept, and what you get out of the box.

At a glance

	Provero	Great Expectations	Soda Core
License	Apache 2.0	Apache 2.0	ELv2 (restricted)
Config format	YAML	Python + YAML	SodaCL (YAML-like)
Lines for 5 checks	~10	~80	~15
Check types	16	50+	25+
Anomaly detection	Built-in (stdlib)	Via plugins	Cloud only
CLI tool	Yes	No (Python API)	Yes
Data contracts	Yes	No	Partial
dbt integration	Export command	Native	Native
Airflow provider	Yes	Yes	Yes
Cloud/SaaS	No	GX Cloud (paid)	Soda Cloud (paid)
Streaming support	Not yet	Not yet	Not yet
Maturity	New (v0.2)	Established (v1.x)	Established (v3.x)

Config complexity

The same validation (not_null + unique + range on an orders table) in each tool:

Provero (8 lines)

source:
  type: postgres
  connection: ${POSTGRES_URI}
  table: orders

checks:
  - not_null: [order_id, amount]
  - unique: order_id
  - range:
      column: amount
      min: 0

Soda Core (12 lines)

checks for orders:
  - missing_count(order_id) = 0
  - missing_count(amount) = 0
  - duplicate_count(order_id) = 0
  - min(amount) >= 0

Great Expectations (~40 lines of Python)

import great_expectations as gx

context = gx.get_context()
ds = context.sources.add_postgres(
    "my_pg", connection_string=POSTGRES_URI
)
asset = ds.add_table_asset("orders", table_name="orders")
batch = asset.build_batch_request()

suite = context.add_expectation_suite("orders_suite")
suite.add_expectation(
    gx.expectations.ExpectColumnValuesToNotBeNull(
        column="order_id"
    )
)
suite.add_expectation(
    gx.expectations.ExpectColumnValuesToNotBeNull(
        column="amount"
    )
)
suite.add_expectation(
    gx.expectations.ExpectColumnValuesToBeUnique(
        column="order_id"
    )
)
suite.add_expectation(
    gx.expectations.ExpectColumnValuesToBeBetween(
        column="amount", min_value=0
    )
)

checkpoint = context.add_checkpoint(...)
result = checkpoint.run()

Provero and Soda are in the same ballpark for simple configs. GX requires significantly more boilerplate. The gap grows with check count: Provero stays linear (one line per check), GX grows quadratically.

Licensing

This is where the three tools diverge most. Great Expectations core is Apache 2.0, same as Provero. You can use, modify, and distribute it without restrictions.

Soda Core moved to the Elastic License v2 (ELv2) in 2023. ELv2 prohibits offering Soda as a managed service and restricts some commercial uses. If you're building an internal tool, you're probably fine. If you're a data platform vendor or consultancy embedding Soda in your product, you need a commercial license.

Provero is Apache 2.0 with no plans to change. The anomaly detection, data contracts, and all 16 check types ship in the open source package. There is no “cloud-only” tier.

Where each tool wins

Provero

Simplest config. Built-in anomaly detection with no dependencies. FK validation in YAML. SodaCL migration in one command. Apache 2.0 with zero feature gates.

Great Expectations

Largest check library (50+). Mature ecosystem with extensive docs. Native dbt and Spark integration. Data docs generation. Battle-tested in production at scale.

Soda Core

Clean SodaCL syntax. Good incident management in Soda Cloud. Native dbt integration. Schema evolution detection. Broader connector support.

When to use what

Use Provero if you want the fastest path from zero to validated data. If you're a small team, a solo data engineer, or someone who values simplicity and open licensing over ecosystem breadth.

Use Great Expectations if you need the largest check library, have a Python-heavy team comfortable with programmatic APIs, or need GX Cloud for collaboration.

Use Soda if you're already invested in the Soda ecosystem, need Soda Cloud features, or the ELv2 license terms work for your use case.

Switching from Soda to Provero

If you're considering a move, the switching cost is low:

$ provero import soda your_checks.yaml -o provero.yaml
$ provero run

The converter handles missing_count, duplicate_count, row_count, freshness, and valid values. Unsupported checks are preserved as comments.

Try Provero Read the docs