Airbyte vs Fivetran

by Gralio Mar 07, 2025

Airbyte and Fivetran are both robust data integration platforms catering to different needs. Airbyte offers a cost-effective, open-source approach with extensive customization options, appealing to technical users. Fivetran provides a simpler, fully managed service with a focus on reliability and ease of use, making it suitable for businesses seeking a hassle-free data integration solution.

At Gralio.ai we help to simplify your decision-making process by offering detailed, side-by-side software comparisons like this one, to help you confidently choose the tool that aligns with your business goals.

This comparison was created by analysing 460 reviews and 46 websites, saving 2 hours, 56 minutes of reading.

Airbyte

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Fivetran

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About

Airbyte is a data integration platform that helps you connect and move data between different software systems. It offers a large library of pre-built connectors for popular applications and databases, and you can also create custom connectors without coding. Airbyte is suitable for companies of all sizes who need to centralize their data for analysis, reporting, or other purposes. It's a reliable and secure way to automate your data workflows and make your data work harder for you.

Fivetran helps businesses like yours gather all your data in one place. It connects to all your apps and databases, automatically pulls out the information, and sends it to a central data warehouse. With Fivetran, you can trust your data is accurate and up-to-date, so you can make informed decisions about your business.

Summary

Main difference

Airbyte is a more affordable open-source solution with a larger connector library, ideal for tech-savvy users comfortable with self-hosting. Fivetran offers a fully managed, user-friendly experience with robust support, better suited for businesses prioritizing ease of use and reliability, even at a higher cost.

Relative strengths of Airbyte (compared to Fivetran)

Broader connector selection (350+ vs. Fivetran's smaller library).
Open-source flexibility and cost-effectiveness for self-hosting.
Active community support and customizability.

Relative weaknesses of Airbyte (compared to Fivetran)

Potential reliability challenges and less mature connectors (alpha stage, BigQuery limitations).
Limited control and features in the open-source version (retries, user management).
Steeper learning curve and higher maintenance compared to Fivetran's managed service.

Who should use Airbyte VS. Fivetran

Airbyte is a versatile data integration platform ideal for data professionals, especially data engineers. Users praise its user-friendly interface and extensive connector library, simplifying complex data pipelines. While some users note occasional server errors and documentation gaps, the open-source nature and active community provide strong support. Airbyte empowers businesses to centralize data for enhanced analytics and reporting.

Fivetran centralizes your business data by connecting to various apps and databases, automating data extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL) processes. Users praise its ease of use, diverse connectors, and seamless integration with Snowflake. However, some note discrepancies in usage reporting and limited connector customization. Fivetran is well-suited for companies needing a scalable, reliable data pipeline.

Ideal for small to large businesses seeking robust data integration.
Particularly suited for finance, e-commerce, and IT.

Best for medium to large businesses (100+ employees) seeking robust data integration.
Ideal for data-driven sectors like healthcare, ecommerce, manufacturing, education, and software.

Airbyte and Fivetran features

Supported

Partially supported

Not supported

Type in the name of the feature or in your own words tell us what you need

Pre-built connectors

Supported

Airbyte offers over 350 pre-built connectors, simplifying integration with popular applications.

Supported

Fivetran offers pre-built connectors for many applications.
ETL Process Support

Supported

Airbyte supports Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) processes.

Supported

Fivetran automates the entire ETL process, from extraction to loading.
Data Source Integration

Supported

Airbyte supports integration with many external data sources.

Supported

Fivetran integrates with various external data sources through connectors.
Data source connectors

Supported

Airbyte connects to databases, cloud services, and likely spreadsheets via custom connectors.

Supported

Fivetran connects to various data sources like databases, spreadsheets, and cloud services.
API connectors

Supported

Airbyte allows connecting to REST APIs using its low-code framework.

Supported

Fivetran supports connecting to REST APIs using custom connectors and functions.
Data Warehouse Integration

Supported

Airbyte integrates with various data warehouses like Snowflake, MongoDB, and BigQuery.

Supported

Fivetran integrates with various data warehouses like Snowflake and BigQuery.

Qualities

Value and Pricing Transparency

No data

-0.33

Rather negative sentiment
Customer Service

No data

+0.25

Neutral sentiment
Ease of Use

+1

Strongly positive sentiment

+1

Strongly positive sentiment
Reliability and Performance

No data

+0.5

Rather positive sentiment
Ease of Implementation

No data

+1

Strongly positive sentiment
Scalability

No data

No data

Airbyte and Fivetran Pricing

No data

See full Pricing page

No data

User sentiment

Rather negative

-0.33

See full Pricing page

Airbyte and Fivetran review insights

460 reviews analysed from and

Users love

Wide range of pre-built connectors for various data sources.
Easy-to-use interface for creating and managing data pipelines.
Open-source and cost-effective for self-hosting.
Active community and responsive support.
Customizable and extensible with the ability to create custom connectors.

Easy-to-use UI and setup process for data pipelines.
Wide range of pre-built connectors for diverse sources.
Handles high volumes of data and real-time transactions effectively.
Seamless integration with Snowflake and other data warehouses.
Automated data extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL) capabilities.

Users dislike

Some connectors are in alpha and lack full BigQuery compatibility.
Limited control over job execution and retries in the open-source version.
Occasional 500 internal server errors reported.
Documentation for some connectors needs improvement, including more code samples.
Lack of user management in the open-source version.

Discrepancies between actual usage and Fivetran reported usage.
Limited connector customization options.
Some connectors are verbose, automatically unnesting JSON and not allowing disabling of tables.
Lack of Slack integration for alerts.
Limited support for on-premise use cases where security is a concern.
Missing some log connectors (e.g., ELK).
Inability to run dbt commands from Fivetran UI.

Airbyte and Fivetran Ratings

G2

4.5/5

(49)

G2

4.2/5

(400)
Capterra

4.7/5

(20)
Glassdoor

3.5/5

(358)

Company health

Employee growth

4% increase in the last year

10% increase in the last year

Web traffic

14% decrease in the last quarter

5% decrease in the last quarter

Financing

September 2021 - $181M

January 2023 - $853M

How do Airbyte's open-source features compare to Fivetran's paid model?

Airbyte's open-source nature offers cost-effectiveness for self-hosting and allows for customization and extension through creating custom connectors. Fivetran's paid model, while not free, focuses on providing a managed service with a wide range of pre-built connectors, automated data extraction, and seamless integration with data warehouses like Snowflake. Choosing between them depends on your needs and resources: Airbyte for flexibility and cost control if you have the technical expertise, Fivetran for ease of use and managed convenience if you prefer a hands-off approach.

Which product offers better connector documentation and support for complex setups?

Airbyte offers better connector documentation and support for complex setups. While both platforms offer numerous pre-built connectors, Airbyte users praise the platform's open-source nature and active community support, which likely contributes to better documentation and community-driven solutions for complex scenarios. Conversely, Fivetran users report limited connector customization options and a lack of desired integrations, suggesting potential challenges for more intricate setups. Airbyte's open nature allows users to create and share custom connectors, further enhancing its suitability for complex integrations.

What are the advantages of Airbyte?

Airbyte's advantages include a larger library of pre-built connectors (350+) compared to Fivetran, catering to a wider range of integrations. Its open-source nature offers cost-effectiveness for self-hosting and greater customizability through creating custom connectors, appealing to technically proficient teams. Airbyte's active community and responsive support contribute to a collaborative environment for troubleshooting and development. A user-friendly interface simplifies data pipeline creation and management.

What are the disadvantages of Airbyte?

Airbyte's open-source version has limitations, including a lack of user management and limited control over job execution and retries. Some connectors are still in alpha or beta stages and may lack full compatibility with certain destinations like BigQuery. Users have also reported occasional server errors and noted that documentation for some connectors could be improved.

Alternatives to Airbyte and Fivetran

Hevo Data

Hevo Data is a cloud-based data integration platform designed to simplify how businesses gather and use data. It allows you to pull data from over 150 different sources, like your company's sales software, marketing tools, or databases. Hevo automatically combines this data in a central location for easy analysis, freeing your team from manually managing data and ensuring it's always accurate and up-to-date. Hevo prides itself on its ease of use, reliability, and security, making it suitable for businesses of all sizes.

Skyvia

Skyvia is a cloud-based platform that helps businesses connect, manage, and utilize their data without needing coding skills. It offers tools for tasks like moving data between different systems (like moving data from your sales software to your marketing software), backing up important information, and creating reports. Skyvia is designed to be easy to use and is suitable for businesses of all sizes, from small companies to larger enterprises.

Talend Data Quality

Talend Data Quality helps you create reliable data for better business decisions. It automatically identifies and fixes data errors, like duplicates or missing information. You can easily check data quality and share it securely. This frees up your team to focus on more important tasks while ensuring your data is accurate and compliant with regulations.

AWS Glue

AWS Glue is a service designed to make it easier to work with data in the cloud. It helps you gather information from different sources, organize it, and prepare it for analysis or use in applications. AWS Glue can connect to various databases, storage systems, and applications, making it suitable for businesses that need to combine and analyze data from different places. It provides a visual interface for creating data processing workflows, so you don't need to be a coding expert.

Dataddo

Dataddo is a data integration platform that helps you connect, move, and transform data between various sources like business apps, databases, and data warehouses. It offers a no-code interface for simple connections and advanced features for complex data workflows. Dataddo manages the technical aspects like API changes and pipeline maintenance. It suits various needs such as sending data to dashboards, comprehensive data integration (ETL, ELT, Reverse ETL), and even building custom data products. It prioritizes security and compliance with industry standards.

Integrate.io

Integrate.io is a data platform that helps businesses automate their data processes using a simple, visual interface. Its specialty is operational ETL, which focuses on automating ongoing business tasks. This makes it easy to connect various data sources, clean and prepare your data, and send it to systems like Salesforce or data warehouses. While not as extensive in pre-built connections as some competitors, Integrate.io shines in its ease of use and strong customer support, making it ideal for mid-sized companies wanting a user-friendly way to manage their data without complex coding.

Page co-authored by

Michal Kaczor

CEO at Gralio

Michal has worked at startups for many years and writes about topics relating to software selection and IT management. As a former consultant for Bain, a business advisory company, he also knows how to understand needs of any business and find solutions to its problems.

Tymon Terlikiewicz

CTO at Gralio

Tymon is a seasoned CTO who loves finding the perfect tools for any task. He recently headed up the tech department at Batmaid, a well-known Swiss company, where he managed about 60 software purchases, including CX, HR, Payroll, Marketing automation and various developer tools.

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