11 Best Airbyte Alternatives & Similar Tools for 2025

If you’re exploring Airbyte alternatives and competitors in 2025, this guide gives a detailed breakdown of the top 11 platforms with insights drawn from user reviews, industry research, and real-world testing.

While Airbyte is known for its open-source flexibility and connector extensibility, many teams eventually face challenges related to maintenance effort, inconsistent community connectors,  limited support, and performance issues.

We assessed each platform across connector coverage, engineering effort, pricing, product usability, and support responsiveness. This guide outlines who each tool is best suited for and how it compares to Airbyte, helping you choose the right fit for your data stack.

What is Airbyte?

Airbyte is an open-source ELT platform that enables teams to build and operate data pipelines with a code-first approach. Its Python-based Connector Development Kit (CDK) allows engineers to build connectors.

However, this flexibility creates operational overhead. Managing uptime, updates, schema changes, and limited community support becomes harder as data grows. Teams wanting hands-free, production-grade reliability often look to managed ELT platforms like Hevo that automate these responsibilities.

Key Features of Airbyte

• CDC Support: Includes batch and log-based CDC for select databases.
• Open-Source Edition: Available for self-hosting with full access to source code.
• Airbyte Cloud: Offers a managed version with usage-based pricing.
• Connector Catalog: Offers wide set of connectors, though many are maintained by the community.

Why are People Moving Away from Airbyte?

Airbyte offers open-source flexibility, but ongoing issues with reliability, maintenance, and scaling often indicate it may be time to consider other solutions.

1. High Maintenance and Engineering Overhead

Airbyte’s self-hosted edition requires ongoing upkeep, including managing Docker or Kubernetes environments, patching, and upgrading connectors. Users usually report that setup is time-consuming and frustrating.

As an Airbyte open source user, when things don't work, it's frustrating to troubleshoot. Last year, I had a challenge to install, and documentation was not up-to-date and it's hard to get support from community. It's very rare though, as we don't install new instance every day. Once it's installed and running, it keeps on running until next major upgrade.

Eric H.

User in Small Business

2. Limited Support

Support for the open-source version relies heavily on the community, which means slow or inconsistent response times. Debugging is equally challenging, given the limited documentation and guidance, which slows recovery during failures or integration issues.

3. Inconsistent Connector Quality

Because many Airbyte connectors are community-built, quality varies widely. Users often encounter random 500 errors and issues fetching data from specific sources. This affects reliability for production workloads.

4. Unpredictable and Rising Costs

Airbyte Cloud uses a credit-based model tied to sync frequency and data volume. Several users highlight that costs rise quickly as workloads grow, making the platform expensive over time and prompting teams to consider alternatives with more predictable pricing.

5. Performance and Reliability Issues 

Growing data volumes often cause pipeline failure, slower sync times, and the need for manual configuration. Logging issues and unstable connectors further reduce reliability, making Airbyte difficult to operate at scale without dedicated engineering oversight.

11 Best Airbyte Alternatives for 2025

Based on product testing, user feedback, and industry benchmarks, here are the top 11 Airbyte alternatives to consider in 2025.

Below are 11 Airbyte alternatives that teams commonly evaluate when they need more reliability, stronger support, or lower maintenance overhead. Before diving into detailed overviews, here’s a quick comparison of the top tools, covering their best use cases, core differentiators, and key limitations to help you identify the right fit for your data stack.

Software	Best Use Cases	Key Differentiator	Limitations
Hevo	No-code, reliable data pipelines with complete visibility	Hevo provides transparent pricing, robust fault-tolerant pipelines, detailed logs, and 24/7 expert support	Cloud-only
Talend	Teams needing compliance-focused workloads	Provides on-premise and hybrid data integration	Complex setup and higher engineering requirements
Matillion	Teams needing in-warehouse SQL transformations	Visual pipeline builder and push-down ELT	Credit-based pricing and warehouse-dependent compute costs
AWS Glue	Organizations operating primarily inside the AWS ecosystem	Serverless ETL engine tightly integrated with AWS services	Steep learning curve and limited SaaS connectors
Rivery	Companies needing Reverse ETL and orchestration capabilities	Strong workflow automation and activation features	Pricing grows quickly; documentation gaps
Stitch	Lightweight data replication for small teams	Straightforward ELT with minimal setup overhead	Limited connectors, slower syncs, basic monitoring
Integrate.io	Teams wanting easy-to-build and Reverse ETL support	Drag-and-drop interface for building pipelines	Performance tuning and cost transparency challenges
Fivetran	Teams needing prebuilt connectors	Catalog of managed connectors	Opaque MAR-based pricing and unreliable support response
Workato	Teams looking for workflow automation	iPaaS automation to automate workflows	Not designed for large-scale ELT; high cost for data workloads
Supermetrics	Marketing analytics extraction	Specialized marketing data connectors	Limited beyond marketing sources; not a full ELT platform
Skyvia	Lightweight SaaS syncing and backups	Guided integrations with built-in backup and restore options	Not built for high-volume or complex pipelines

1. Hevo – Built for teams that value simplicity, reliability, and predictable pricing  

⭐ 4.4 on G2 | 4.7 on Capterra

Hevo is a fully managed, no-code ELT platform that makes data movement simple, reliable, and scalable. With fault-tolerant pipelines, transparent pricing, and complete end-to-end visibility, Hevo ensures your data flows seamlessly and stays trustworthy at every stage.

Key Features

1. Easy to Use

Hevo is simple to start and effortless to maintain, with guided setup, an intuitive interface, and automatic scaling that keeps pipelines running without engineering or operations overhead.

2. Scalable

Hevo automatically scales to handle growing data volumes and high-throughput workloads without downtime or manual tuning. Its performance-first design ensures consistent speed, even as pipeline complexity increases.

3. Reliable

Hevo automatically detects and recovers from transient failures. Whether it’s a schema change, API timeout, or warehouse overload, Hevo triggers intelligent retries and adjustments with zero manual intervention, keeping pipelines stable and reliable.

4. Predictable Pricing

Hevo’s predictable pricing model provides complete cost transparency, allowing teams to forecast spend accurately as data grows. There are no hidden fees, usage credits, or surprise charges, only clear and consistent billing.

5. 360° Visibility

Track every pipeline in real time through unified dashboards and detailed logs. Batch-level checks help detect anomalies early, keeping your data accurate, consistent, and fully trustworthy across all systems.

Why Choose Hevo Over Airbyte?

• Hevo removes the maintenance burden that teams face with Airbyte. Hevo handles hosting, upgrades, connector reliability, scaling, and error recovery, so teams can run stable pipelines without spending engineering time on maintenance.
• Hevo provides fast, hands-on assistance through 24/7 expert support, ensuring issues are resolved quickly and pipelines stay healthy. Airbyte’s slower, community-dependent support often leaves teams stuck during outages, causing data delays, missed SLAs, and avoidable firefighting for engineering teams.
• Hevo provides predictable, transparent pricing that is easy for teams to plan around. Airbyte Cloud uses a credit-based model that often results in unpredictable spikes when data volumes grow or sync frequencies increase. Hevo eliminates this uncertainty and gives teams complete cost clarity.
• Pipelines remain stable with Hevo’s auto-healing capabilities, batch-level checks, and intelligent retries that prevent the sync failures and connector inconsistencies commonly reported with Airbyte’s community-driven connectors.

Pricing

• Free Plan: Supports up to 1M events per month for 5 users per team.
• Starter Plan: Starting at 239$ per month with SSH/SSL encryption connection.
• Professional Plan: This pack starts at $679 monthly and includes functionalities like reverse SSH, and unlimited users.
• Business Critical: If you want to transfer more than 100M monthly events, you can contact our sales team for a custom quote.

For a detailed breakdown of how the two platforms compare, explore Hevo vs Airbyte

2. Talend – Best for Hybrid Data Integration

Talend is a data integration platform designed for complex, hybrid environments. Acquired by Qlik in 2023, it continues to focus on building a unified ecosystem that combines data integration, data quality, and governance.

Talend delivers strong governance and data management features, but using them effectively often requires more configuration, more resources, and more technical skills.

Pros

• Flexible deployment across on-premise, hybrid, and cloud environments.
• Wide library of connectors for enterprise systems and legacy sources.
• Good alignment with compliance standards (GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 2).

Cons

• Complex setup and higher infrastructure management burden.
• Requires technical expertise for configuration and ongoing maintenance.
• Performance can slow down with large data volumes, consuming more resources and time.
• Licensing and professional services costs can grow quickly.

Advantages of Talend Over Airbyte

• Hybrid Deployment Flexibility: Talend supports on-premise and hybrid deployments, which Airbyte does not. However, running and maintaining hybrid environments requires more configuration, infrastructure planning, and engineering oversight.
• Data Quality: Talend includes native data validation features that help enforce qualityc checks. These capabilities add setup time and can slow performance, especially compared to fully managed platforms that handle quality checks automatically.

Pricing

• Starter and Standard editions are billed based on data volume.
• Premium and Enterprise editions are billed based on data volume, job executions, and hours.

For a full breakdown of the two platforms, explore our Fivetran vs Talend Comparison.

3. Matillion – Best for In-Warehouse Data Transformations

Matillion is a cloud-based ELT tool used primarily for building and managing transformations directly inside modern data warehouses. It offers a visual job designer that helps teams structure SQL-driven workflows. 

Pros

• Provides an interface for building complex ELT workflows.
• Native pushdown transformations that execute directly in your warehouse.
• Supports destinations like Snowflake, Redshift, BigQuery, and Databricks.

Cons

• Requires setup and management within the user’s data warehouse environment.
• Compute costs that scale with warehouse usage during transformation jobs.
• Limited GitHub integration and API access can hinder usability, whereas Hevo offers seamless integrations for smoother, more flexible workflows.

Advantages of Matillion Over Airbyte

• In-Warehouse Transformations: Matillion specializes in post-load transformations with native pushdown execution, leveraging your warehouse for processing. However, this also means higher compute usage and cost. 
• Workflow Customization: Matillion provides a visual job builder to build transformation logic compared to Fivetran’s fixed connector workflows. This flexibility requires more engineering involvement and ongoing management, especially for complex pipelines.

Pricing

Matillion uses a credit-based pricing model tied to compute usage and plan tier. All the plans follow a pay-as-you-go model where you are billed on actual usage. The basic plan costs $2 per credit.

• Credit-Based Model: Usage billed in credits; 1 credit = 1 vCore-hour (ETL).
• Editions & Plans: Developer, Teams, and Scale editions

4. AWS Glue – Best for AWS ecosystem

AWS Glue is a fully managed ETL software in the AWS ecosystem that works closely with services like S3, Redshift, and Athena, making it suitable for organizations that rely on AWS for their data workloads. 

While Glue automates many aspects of data processing, setting up workflows and designing pipelines typically requires familiarity with AWS tools and concepts.

Pros

• Effortless integration within the AWS ecosystem.
• Serverless architecture with auto-scaling infrastructure.
• Supports both batch and event-driven workflows.

Cons

• Complex setup and steep learning curve for non-engineers.
• Requires familiarity with Spark, Python, and AWS IAM configuration.
• Limited out-of-the-box connectors for non-AWS SaaS tools.
• Debugging and performance tuning can be time-consuming.

Advantages of AWS Glue Over Airbyte

• Native AWS Integration: Glue integrates smoothly with AWS storage and compute services, giving AWS-focused teams greater control. However, its strong reliance on AWS limits flexibility across multiple clouds. In contrast, Hevo works with all major warehouses and SaaS tools, allowing seamless data movement, whether AWS or otherwise.
• Serverless Flexibility: Glue scales infrastructure automatically based on workloads, but you still need Spark expertise to tune jobs and ensure reliability. Hevo delivers the same scalability with no code or infrastructure management, fully managed and ready to deploy in minutes.

Pricing

• Feature-Based Charges: Additional services like DataBrew, Data Quality tasks, development endpoints, and catalog storage incur extra costs, so overall pricing increases as more functionalities are used.
• Pay-as-You-Go: Based on Data Processing Units (DPUs) used per job.

5. Rivery – Best for reverse ETL

Rivery is a cloud-based data integration and orchestration platform designed to help teams manage ELT pipelines, workflows, and data activation in one environment.

However, Rivery’s broad DataOps capabilities can add cost and complexity for teams that simply need reliable, no-code data movement into their warehouse.

Pros

• Combines ELT, orchestration, and reverse ETL in a single platform.
• Provides prebuilt connectors for data warehouses and SaaS applications.
• Flexible transformation options with SQL, Python, and REST APIs.

Cons

• Pricing based on compute and API calls can grow unpredictable as workloads expand.
• Learning curve for non-technical users due to nested workflow structures (“Rivers”)
• Gaps in documentation and unclear error messages make troubleshooting harder.
• Occasional bugs and ETL implementation issues that impact overall usability.

Advantages of Rivery Over Airbyte

• Built-In Orchestration: Rivery supports multi-step workflows and reverse ETL in a single platform, while Airbyte focuses mainly on ingestion. These capabilities add flexibility but can introduce complexity for teams that only need straightforward ELT pipelines.
• Flexible Transformations: Rivery supports transformations through SQL, Python, and REST APIs, offering more customization than Airbyte’s connector-driven model. However, it requires engineering effort to set up.

Pricing

• Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing with advanced governance, SLAs, and dedicated support.
• Base Plan: Starts at $0.75 per BDU credit with pay-as-you-go flexibility.
• Professional Plan: Provides functionalities for smaller data teams.

6. Stitch – Best for basic data replication

Stitch is a lightweight ELT tool designed for teams that need quick, minimal data replication. Stitch is suitable for companies looking for a lightweight, managed solution to replicate data, though its functionality is primarily centred around extraction and loading rather than full end-to-end pipeline management.

Pros

• Quick setup with a minimal learning curve
• Simple UI suitable for non-engineering users
• Works well for small datasets and low-frequency replication

Cons

• Connector coverage is basic compared to modern ELT platforms
• Support is limited and slow, leaving issues unresolved for extended periods
• Data syncs can lag, making it less suitable for operations that require up-to-date data

Advantages of Stitch Over Airbyte

• Simple Setup: Stitch offers a faster, simpler setup experience compared to Airbyte’s self-hosted environment that requires ongoing maintenance.. However, this simplicity also means fewer controls, slower syncs, and weaker reliability, areas where Hevo delivers stronger performance with reliable, auto-healing pipelines.
• Managed Connectors: Stitch provides a fully hosted service with managed connectors, reducing the need to monitor or troubleshoot issues that are more common with Airbyte’s community-built connectors. This comes at the cost of less customization and slower syncs for complex sources.

Pricing

• Advanced plans: Custom pricing for higher volumes and enhanced features
• Standard tiers: Starting around $100 per month based on row limits

7. Integrate.io – Best for ETL and Reverse ETL

Integrate.io is a cloud-based data integration platform that supports ETL, ELT, Reverse ETL, and API integrations through a single interface. The platform is commonly used for sending processed data back into operational tools like CRMs and marketing platforms. 

Pros

• Visual pipeline builder with SQL and drag-and-drop options.
• Prebuilt connectors for various tools.
• Supports API integrations and custom dataflows with SQL or scripts.

Cons

• Limited documentation makes it harder for users to fully leverage the platform without additional guidance.
• Performance tuning and job scheduling can require manual setup.
• Pricing can become opaque with usage-based tiers and add-ons.

Advantages of Integrate.io Over Fivetran

• Visual builder: Integrate.io offers a visual, drag-and-drop interface that simplifies building pipelines, while Airbyte requires more engineering effort for connector setup and maintenance.
• Reverse ETL Capabilities: Integrate.io supports sending data back into CRMs and SaaS tools, unlike Fivetran’s one-way ELT focus. However, its bidirectional syncs can require manual job tuning. 

Pricing

• Plans typically start at around $1,999/month.
• Enterprise plans are custom-quoted based on security, compliance, and workload requirements.

8. Fivetran – Best for prebuilt connectors 

Fivetran is a managed ELT platform widely used for pulling data from common SaaS applications into cloud warehouses.  

However, many teams soon hit roadblocks with unpredictable pricing, inconsistent support responses, and limited customization. 

Pros

• Catalog of pre-built SaaS connectors
• Minimal setup effort with automated schema handling
• Fivetran uses a dbt Core integration to run transformations

Cons

• MAR-based opaque pricing makes costs difficult to forecast as data volume increase
• Limited control over table- or field-level selection
• Slower support response reported in many user reviews
• Less flexibility for custom logic or connector modifications

Advantages of Fivetran Over Airbyte

• Managed Connector: Fivetran handles connector updates which reduces the engineering effort compared to Airbyte’s community-driven and self-hosted connectors. This reduces maintenance effort but limits customization capabilities.
• Less maintenance: Fivetran’s hosted environment removes the need to manage upgrades, or deployment setups required in Airbyte’s self-hosted version. However, this convenience comes with higher recurring costs, which is why many teams choose Hevo for a fully managed experience without the pricing unpredictability.

Pricing

• Fivetran uses a MAR-based opaque pricing model, where you are billed for every row that is inserted, updated, or deleted. This makes pricing heavily tied to data change rates rather than simple usage.
• Fivetran offers Starter, Standard, Enterprise, and Business Critical plans
• Costs become unpredictable as MAR spikes during schema changes or re-syncs.

Even with higher-tier plans, costs still rise with MAR usage, creating unpredictable bills. This is why many teams prefer Hevo’s transparent, volume-based pricing that stays stable as data grows.

9. Workato – Best for Workflow Automation

Workato is an iPaaS and automation platform designed to integrate applications and automate business workflows. While it can move data between systems, it is primarily built for operational automations rather than large-scale ELT. 

Pros

• Strong iPaaS capabilities for automating workflows across applications
• Wide catalog of connectors for business applications
• Low-code interface for building automations

Cons

• Limited capabilities for complex transformations or high-volume ingestion
• Not designed for large-scale ELT or analytical workloads
• Pricing increases quickly as automations scale

Advantages of Workato Over Airbyte

• Workflow Automation: Workato allows teams to automate operational workflows and trigger actions. These automation capabilities are powerful but can add cost and complexity when used for data movement instead of dedicated ELT tools.
• Low-Code Framework: Workato provides a low-code recipe builder that simplifies automating business processes.

Pricing

• Workato uses a recipe-based pricing model, where costs are tied to the number of workflows and tasks executed.
• Workato offers platform editions such as Standard, Business, Enterprise, and Workato One.

10. Supermetrics – Best for Marketing Analytics

Supermetrics is a data extraction tool focused primarily on marketing and advertising platforms. It helps marketing teams consolidate campaign and spend data from tools like Google Ads, Meta Ads, and LinkedIn Ads. 

While it works well for marketing-specific pipelines, it is not designed for general-purpose ELT or large-scale ingestion.

Pros

• Strong coverage of marketing and advertising data sources
• Simple setup for standard analytics and reporting workflows
• Works with spreadsheets, BI tools, warehouses, and data lakes

Cons

• Limited to marketing and analytics use cases; not suitable for broader ELT
• Does not support complex transformations or multi-step workflows
• Not built for high-volume pipelines or engineering-driven data stacks
• Pricing increases as more connectors or destinations are added

Advantages of Supermetrics Over Airbyte

• Marketing Coverage: Supermetrics provides deep coverage for advertising and analytics platforms, offering more reliable connectors in this category than Airbyte. However, this specialization limits its usefulness for teams needing broader data ingestion capabilities.
• Easier Reporting: Supermetrics delivers data straight into dashboards and spreadsheets for quick reporting. This is convenient for marketers but not ideal for deeper analytical pipelines.

Pricing

• Supermetrics offers pricing that starts at $39/month for a single connector, $99/month for multiple connectors with higher usage limits, and custom pricing for larger teams and enterprise needs.
• Supermetrics uses a connector-based pricing model, where costs depend on the number of marketing sources and destinations used.

11. Skyvia – Best for lightweight use cases

Skyvia is a cloud-based data integration platform for teams that need simple ETL, data sync, and backup capabilities. It enables users to build data pipelines, automate workflows, and access data via SQL or visual query tools.

Pros

• Provides a wizard-style, user-friendly interface to build pipelines
• Prebuilt connectors for popular SaaS and CRM systems
• Lower entry-level cost compared to many SaaS ELT tools

Cons

• Transformations are basic, not as advanced as modern ELT frameworks
• Skyvia lacks in-app notifications and error logs, making troubleshooting harder
• Jobs may fail under high data volumes or complex logic

Advantages of Skyvia Over Fivetran

• Lower Entry Cost: Skyvia is budget-friendly for smaller workloads, but limited monitoring, lack of alerts, and reliability gaps make scaling difficult. Hevo offers predictable pricing with production-grade stability as data volumes grow.
• Backup + Sync Options: Skyvia offers backup and two-way sync features that Fivetran doesn’t provide, though these capabilities don’t scale well for larger workloads.

Pricing

• Free Plan: Basic integration for a small volume of data.
• Basic to Professional Plans: Varied plans based on data volume and connectors
• Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing for high-volume or compliance-focused use cases.

Pro Tip: Before choosing a vendor, run a demo with your most important data sources and destinations. This is the fastest way to evaluate setup effort, pipeline reliability, and long-term cost in your environment.

You can start a free trial with Hevo to experience its simple setup, consistent reliability, and transparent pricing firsthand.

Conclusion

Each Airbyte alternative brings something different to the table, from fully managed ELT platforms to enterprise data integration suites and workflow automation tools. But as teams move beyond initial experiments and begin operating production pipelines, priorities quickly shift toward reliability, predictable pricing, and reduced maintenance overhead.

Hevo is the most practical alternative to Airbyte for teams that want reliable pipelines without the engineering burden of managing infrastructure or debugging community-built connectors. With automatic scaling, fault-tolerant performance, transparent pricing, and 24/7 expert support, Hevo gives teams a stable ELT foundation without maintenance overhead or unpredictable costs.

Frequently Asked Questions