Hightouch and Simon Data both are tools that allow you to sync data to downstream marketing destinations like CRM tools, email tools, and advertising platforms. Both platforms have the functionality to collect events via an SDK, resolve identities, and sync data to downstream tools.
However, the devil is in the details. The architecture of each are vastly different. Simon Data is a “hybrid CDP” build exclusively for Snowflake users while Hightouch “composable CDP” supporting any data warehouse source.
There are additional architectural differences in how platforms collect, prepare, and activate data as well.
Compare Hightouch and Simon Data
| Functionality | Hightouch | Simon Data |
|---|---|---|
| Data Collection | Client-side, server-side, & other 3rd-party sources | Client-side, server-side, & other 3rd-party sources |
| Data Storage | Your existing data infrastructure (data warehouse, data lake, or database) | Simon Data's managed Snowflake instance or your existing owned Snowflake instance |
| Data Retention | Unlimited lookback & history | 2 years for Simon's managed Snowflake Instance (unlimited lookback & history available when using your existing Snowflake instance) |
| Data Schema | Controlled by you (supports any custom entity or object) | Supports custom objects, but you must rebuild your data warehouse models to fit in Simon Data
|
| Audience Management | No-code audience builder (supports any online or offline data stored in your data warehouse) | No-code audience builder (can reference data from Snowflake) |
| Journey Orchestration | Yes | Yes |
| Identity Resolution | No-code tool to define exact or fuzzy-match rules to build owned identity graphs within your data warehouse | Deterministic IDR managed in Simon Data's infrastructure |
| Identity Graph Storage Location | Lives in your warehouse | Owned by Simon Data |
| Reverse ETL | Core sync engine that integrates with existing toolsets & workflows | Limited to Snowflake as a source |
| Real-Time Audience Computation | Dependent upon data landing in the warehouse | Yes (limited to clickstream/behavioral data with no time-based lookbacks) |
| Real-Time Streaming (Event Forwarding) | Yes | Yes |
| Low-Latency Profile API | Yes | Yes |
| Streaming Reverse ETL | Yes | No |
| Data Activation Flow | Warehouse to destination (no data is stored in Hightouch) | Snowflake to destinaton |
| Activation Destinations | 250+ | 45+ |
| Source of Truth | Single: Your owned data warehouse | Snowflake Data Cloud |
| Security & Compliance | Data lives in your infrastructure (can be configured to be GDPR, CCPA, & HIPAA compliant) | Data lives in your Snowflake instance or a Snowflake instance managed by Simon Data (can be configured to be GDPR, CCPA, & HIPAA compliant) |
| Pricing | Unbundled: individually priced features with no MTU billing | Bundled (variable-based pricing) |
| Proof of Concept (POC) | Less than 1 month | 4-6 months |
Pros and Cons of Hightouch
Pros
Most powerful point & click audience builder (supports any offline & online customer data)
Warehouse-native campaign analytics to experiment, measure & analyze audiences
Publicly available customer support metrics (99% CSAT Score)
Cons
Newer vendor in the CDP market
Must have actionable data available in a data platform
Pros and Cons of Simon Data
Pros
Non-supported cloud sources can be ingested into Simon Data via Stitch ETL pipelines
Built-in email service provider (ESP) via Simon Mail
Some AI capabilities to build predictive data science models
Cons
Only integrates with Snowflake
Limited number of activation destinations
Some aspects of IDR are outsourced via FullContact
Should I Buy Hightouch or Simon Data?
When deciding whether to invest in a Hightouch (a Composable CDP) or Simon Data (a Hybrid CDP), it's important to consider the unique needs of your business.
It really comes down to how the tool will be adopted. Simon Data has proved to be more difficult to set up and be less accessible for marketers. Additional security requirements due to the fact Simon Data will store your data also slows down implmentation.
If you are looking for a tool that can be used across an organization to get data to all of your tools, Hightouch is a much more built out and flexible tool to do so.
