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Software · head to head

Census vs Cognito Forms

Census logo

Census

Software

The reverse ETL infrastructure for data activation

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Cognito Forms logo

Cognito Forms

Software

Powerful forms made easy

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Census census was folded into Fivetran Activations, per the vendor: "Previously, this was called a sync in Census", and its own pricing page redirects to Fivetran pricing rather than showing Census plans; Cognito Forms individual free plan caps at 100 entries per month and 1 user

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Census and Cognito Forms actually diverge.

Attributes where Census and Cognito Forms differ
AttributeCensusCognito Forms
Pricing modelusage-basedfreemium
PlatformsWeb, ApiWeb
Founded2020Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Census

  • Reverse ETL
  • Data syncing
  • Transformation
  • Real-time activation
  • Error handling
  • Monitoring
  • Analytics
  • 150+ destinations

Only in Cognito Forms

Nothing recorded that Census does not also cover.

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Census

  • Syncing customer data from a warehouse into marketing and sales tools (reverse ETL)not Cognito Forms

Cognito Forms

No use cases recorded yet. See the Cognito Forms review.

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Census

  • Census was folded into Fivetran Activations, per the vendor: "Previously, this was called a sync in Census", and its own pricing page redirects to Fivetran pricing rather than showing Census plans
  • Free Fivetran Activations tier caps at 3,500 monthly active rows

Cognito Forms

  • Individual free plan caps at 100 entries per month and 1 user
  • Pro plan ($24/mo monthly, $19/mo billed annually) still limits to 2 users and 2,000 entries per month
  • HIPAA compliance and single sign-on are restricted to the Enterprise tier ($174/mo monthly, $129/mo annual)

Pricing, plan by plan

Census

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Basic syncing
    • Limited destinations
  • Pro$250/month
    • Advanced syncing
    • Email support
  • Enterprise$1500/month
    • Unlimited syncing
    • Dedicated support

Cognito Forms

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Cognito Forms review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Census if

  • You need reverse etl.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want data syncing.
Census review

Choose Cognito Forms if

  • You want to start without paying.
Cognito Forms review

Questions people ask

Is Census or Cognito Forms better?
Neither clearly leads. Census starts at Free and Cognito Forms at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Census or Cognito Forms?
Census starts at Free and Cognito Forms at Free.
Does Census or Cognito Forms run on more platforms?
Census runs on Web, Api. Cognito Forms runs on Web.
Can I use Census for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Census best used for?
Census is most often used for syncing customer data from a warehouse into marketing and sales tools (reverse etl). Of those, syncing customer data from a warehouse into marketing and sales tools (reverse etl) is not what Cognito Forms is typically brought in for.
What can Census do that Cognito Forms cannot?
Census covers Reverse ETL, Data syncing, Transformation, Real-time activation.
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Related pages

More on Census

More on Cognito Forms

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