Insights from 100+ data professionals in our latest cost and pricing survey report
Introduction
Each month, we run a short survey through our Newsletter to understand what’s top of mind for data teams. By sharing these monthly findings, we aim to give data professionals timely benchmarks and real-world insights they can use to plan and optimize their own stacks. We use the insights to produce short, actionable reports that help teams benchmark themselves and surface trends across tooling, spend, and strategy.
This month’s survey focused on cost and pricing across the data stack. With budgets tightening and stacks growing more complex, teams are being pushed to optimize spend while still delivering insights fast. 113 data professionals participated. Here's what we found.
Why This Survey Matters
As more teams shift to cloud-first architectures and adopt best-of-breed tooling, cost management has become one of the most pressing concerns in the data ecosystem.
A recent survey by Foundry (formerly IDG) on cloud computing trends in 2024 reported that 94% of enterprises are using some form of cloud services, and 62% say optimizing existing cloud use for cost savings is their top cloud initiative. This reflects a growing emphasis not just on scaling data infrastructure, but on understanding and controlling the costs associated with it.
These pressures are even more acute in data-intensive organizations, where tools for ingestion, storage, transformation, and orchestration often come with usage-based pricing models that are difficult to forecast.
As stacks grow more complex, cost visibility and value alignment have become top priorities for engineering, data, and finance leaders alike. Organizations are increasingly consolidating tools and prioritizing platforms that offer better predictability and ROI across their entire data pipeline.
“According to this 2025 Integrate.io survey, 44% of companies spend between $25,000 and $100,000 per month on their data stack, with storage and ingestion tools accounting for the largest share of spend.”
Methodology
This report is based on a survey conducted by Integrate.io in April 2025. The survey was shared with our newsletter audience and partner community, targeting data professionals across engineering, analytics, and operations roles.
Total respondents: 113
Company sizes represented: From startups to global enterprises
Main Industries: SaaS, manufacturing, retail, healthcare, and media
Highlights
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44% of companies spend between $25,000 and $100,000 per month on their data stack
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Storage and ingestion tools account for the biggest portion of spend
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Only 12% of respondents feel they’re getting strong ROI from their stack
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The most common pain point is a lack of cost visibility
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41% of teams have consolidated tools to cut spend
Spend Trends
How much are teams spending?
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Insights
The mid-market is investing heavily in data tooling. Many teams are operating with enterprise-level infrastructure but without enterprise-level resources, making cost control a growing priority.
Where Costs Concentrate
Top cost categories reported:
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Cloud data warehouses and ingestion tools are driving the most spend. These platforms are powerful but come with usage-based pricing that can escalate quickly if not monitored.
ROI and Satisfaction
Overall satisfaction with cost vs. value:
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Insights
There’s a wide gap between perceived value and actual investment. Many teams are unsure whether they’re using tools to their full potential or overpaying for features they don’t need.
Pricing Pressure Points
What causes the most frustration?
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Insights
Respondents want simpler pricing models and better forecasting tools. Lack of visibility often leads to budget overruns and makes vendor negotiations difficult.
Optimization Tactics
How teams are cutting costs:
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Insights
Tool consolidation is the top strategy, especially when one platform can cover multiple functions. Teams are rethinking what’s essential and seeking platforms that reduce vendor sprawl.
Closing Thoughts
As the modern data stack grows more sophisticated, cost control is emerging as a top concern. The companies that succeed won’t necessarily spend the least, but they will have the best understanding of how their tools create value. We’ll continue to monitor how teams are adjusting, consolidating, and navigating pricing models in future surveys.
About Integrate.io
Integrate.io helps data teams reduce complexity and control costs by unifying ingestion, transformation, and orchestration in a single low-code platform. We help eliminate the need for multiple point tools, enabling faster pipelines and easier cost forecasting.
Interested in seeing how this could look in your stack? Request a demo!