ETL vs ELT: Where the Transform Runs and How to Choose

Description:
ETL and ELT use the same three steps, extract, transform and load, in a different order. This video shows what that swap changes: where the transformation runs, what the target system receives, and the trade-offs each pattern brings.

It then gives three questions for choosing between them (platform, data and rules) and why many real platforms mix both. Tool names as of October 2026.

Chapters
0:00 Same steps, different order
0:13 ETL: transform first
1:09 ELT: load first
2:03 How to choose

Sources
Snowflake documentation: https://docs.snowflake.com/
Databricks documentation: https://docs.databricks.com/
Talend documentation (Qlik Help): https://help.qlik.com/talend/
SQL Server Integration Services (Microsoft Learn): https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/integration-services/sql-server-integration-services
Informatica documentation: https://docs.informatica.com/

More from EthanCorp: https://ethancorp.com