ETL vs. ELT: The Complete Guide
Serverwatch, February 21st, 2023
Extract, Transform, and Load (ETL) and Extract, Load, and Transform (ELT) are the two most popular techniques for getting data from single or several sources into a centralized system for simple access and analysis.
Both ETL and ELT use extract, transform, and load phases to compile data. The difference lies in the sequence of events. Though you might assume that a small modification to the order of the phases wouldn't matter, in fact it drastically alters how the integration process flows.
In short, ETL processes data from multiple sources and then loads it into a single database, while ELT waits until after it has been loaded to process it, allowing it to be transformed multiple times as needed.