The data landscape keeps expanding, and reliable movement of information across systems is now a basic requirement. Data integration tools streamline loading into warehouses, lakes, and operational stores, but the options can feel overwhelming. This guide compares Fivetran, Airbyte, and Estuary so you can match the tool to your latency, reliability, security, and cost needs.
First, clarify your requirements
- Data sources: Databases, SaaS apps, events, files, and cloud storage
- Data dynamics: Volumes and rate of change
- Data integrity: Acceptable tolerance for duplicates and gaps
- Latency: Seconds, minutes, or hours
- Scalability: Future growth and complexity
- Budget: Pricing model fit and total cost of ownership
- Team skills: Required DevOps and data engineering lift
Fivetran: Managed ELT with wide connector coverage
What it is
Fivetran is a fully managed ELT service focused on ease of use and a large connector catalog.
Strengths
- Managed infrastructure and automatic maintenance
- Broad connector library and automated schema handling
- Clear documentation for sync schedules and operations
Important details for 2025
- Pricing: Usage based and measured in Monthly Active Rows. MAR counts inserts, updates, and deletes, and is a frequent source of cost variability.
- Latency: Default sync frequency is every 6 hours, and can be customized in minutes through the API. Fivetran’s guidance links overall latency to the selected sync frequency. Continuous CDC is not the default model.
Best for
- Teams that want a managed experience and wide connector coverage
- Batch analytics where minute level freshness is acceptable
Airbyte: Open source flexibility with scheduled syncs
What it is
Airbyte is an open source ELT platform with hundreds of connectors and both self hosted and cloud options.
Strengths
- Large connector ecosystem and extensibility
- Choice of self hosted or cloud
- Community momentum
Important details for 2025
- Sync frequency: Airbyte Cloud limits scheduled runs to a maximum of once every 60 minutes by default. Self hosted deployments can schedule as fast as every 5 minutes.
- CDC behavior: Many CDC connectors use Debezium under the hood, which provides at least once delivery rather than exactly once. Duplicates are possible without downstream de duplication.
Best for
- Engineering led teams that want open source flexibility and can manage infrastructure
- Projects where hourly level freshness is acceptable on the hosted product
Estuary: The platform for dependable, right time data movement
What it is
Estuary is a unified platform for CDC, streaming, and batch. It moves data when it matters for your business, whether that is sub second, seconds, or on a schedule, and it emphasizes dependable delivery and predictable cost. Define right time once in your article as the ability to choose when data moves rather than a one speed real time claim.
Strengths
- Unified streaming and batch in one system with exactly once delivery for reliable analytics and operations
- Flexible deployment including public cloud, Private and BYOC options for control and data locality
- Security and compliance posture that includes SOC 2 Type II and support for HIPAA, GDPR, CCPA, and CPRA
Best for
- Dashboards and applications that need fresh data within seconds
- Enterprises that require deployment control or strict compliance
Security and compliance at a glance
Fivetran
Managed cloud with enterprise controls. Security posture and operations are handled by the vendor. Sync frequency is configured per connection and impacts latency.Airbyte
Self hosted gives you control over security hardening. Airbyte Cloud provides enterprise features but limits default scheduling to hourly. Teams must account for at least once CDC behavior.Estuary
Private and BYOC deployment options keep data in your environment. Platform holds SOC 2 Type II and supports major privacy regimes. Exactly once delivery helps avoid duplicate driven data quality issues.
Which tool fits where
- Choose Fivetran if you want managed ELT, a large connector set, and are comfortable with scheduled syncs and MAR based pricing.
- Choose Airbyte if you want open source control, can operate the stack, and are fine with hourly or five minute schedules depending on deployment.
- Choose Estuary if you need dependable streaming and batch in one platform, seconds level latency, exactly once delivery, and flexible deployment including Private or BYOC.
Quick comparison table
| Factor | Fivetran | Airbyte | Estuary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Movement type | Scheduled ELT with some CDC | Scheduled ELT with CDC | Streaming and batch in one |
| Typical hosted sync | Customizable from a 6 hour default via API | Up to every 60 minutes on Cloud | Seconds for streaming plus scheduled options |
| CDC semantics | Varies by connector | Debezium based, at least once | Exactly once delivery |
| Deployment | Cloud | Self hosted or Cloud | Cloud, Private, BYOC |
| Pricing | Usage based via MAR | OSS free, Cloud tiers | Volume based, predictable |
| Compliance | Managed vendor controls | Varies by deployment | SOC 2 Type II and major privacy regimes |
✅ Key takeaways
- Match latency and delivery guarantees to your use case. Exactly once delivery helps protect metric accuracy at scale.
- Expect MAR based pricing to fluctuate with change volume on Fivetran. Plan budgets accordingly.
- Airbyte Cloud caps default scheduling at one run per hour while self hosted can run more frequently.
- Estuary combines streaming and batch with deployment options that meet compliance and data locality needs.
Top comments (0)