Fivetran and dbt Merge: What It Means for Data Teams

If you’re a data engineer, analyst, or anyone working with data pipelines, you’ve probably heard the news by now. Fivetran and dbt Labs, two of the biggest names in the modern data stack, are merging. 

And if you’re anything like the thousands of folks discussing this online, you’re probably wondering: What does this actually mean for me?

Let’s break it down:

• What actually changes for users
• What industry voices are saying
• How consolidation shifts the landscape
• How Hevo helps keep data teams agile and future-proof

Fivetran and dbt Merge Details

Fivetran and dbt Labs announced an all-stock merger that creates a combined company with around $600 million in annual recurring revenue and over 10,000 customers. George Fraser (Fivetran’s CEO) will lead the merged company, with Tristan Handy (dbt’s CEO) coming on as President.

“This is a refounding moment for Fivetran and the broader data ecosystem. As AI reshapes every industry, organizations need a foundation they can trust — one that is open, interoperable, and built to scale with their ambitions. Our admiration for dbt and its remarkable community runs deep — this is about bringing together the best of both worlds to accelerate innovation and create lasting impact across the data community.” – George Fraser, CEO of Fivetran. “

For those new to these tools: Fivetran is the go-to platform for automated data integration. It’s powerful but also known for premium pricing that can make your finance team gulp.

dbt Labs revolutionized how we transform data. Their open-source tool, dbt Core, turned SQL into a software engineering practice with version control, testing, and documentation. Their managed service, dbt Cloud, added scheduling and collaboration features that teams love.

The companies say they want to create an “open data infrastructure” that covers everything from data ingestion to transformation and activation, all while staying flexible about which warehouse or compute engine you use.

What Changes for Users

Both brands are staying separate for now. dbt will still be dbt, and Fivetran will still be Fivetran. The companies promise no immediate disruption to existing customers.

On the open-source front, dbt Core will remain open source under its current license. They’re even exploring which Fivetran components might become open source, too. Tristan Handy is taking charge of the open-source strategy, which should reassure the community (at least a little).

Why This Merger Makes Sense

1. Pressure from Big Players

Both companies were feeling the squeeze. On one side, you’ve got cloud data platform giants like Databricks and Snowflake building end-to-end solutions. They’re bundling ingestion, transformation, orchestration, and analytics all into one package. 

When your warehouse vendor throws in “free” data connectors as part of a bigger contract, suddenly Fivetran’s premium pricing becomes a harder sell.

Companies actually want simplicity. One vendor. One contract. One support team to call when things break at 2 AM. No more juggling five different tools with five different bills and five different renewal cycles.

2. Competition from Budget Tools

On the other side, cheaper alternatives have been eating away at market share. ELT tools like Hevo, Airbyte, DLTHub, and Meltano offer similar data integration capabilities—often free if you self-host, or at a fraction of Fivetran’s cost for managed versions.

Both Fivetran and dbt were hitting growth ceilings. The merger gives them a new story to tell investors and a path to compete against the platform giants. 

Does it actually work? Well, that’s the billion-dollar question.

What Data Engineers Are Saying?

The data engineering community has opinions about this merger. And they’re not holding back.

1. Concerns About Open Source

The biggest worry? What happens to dbt Core? The beloved open-source tool that launched a thousand data transformation careers.

Many fear it’ll become abandonware. New features will only land in the paid dbt Cloud version, while Core slowly withers. 

As one Reddit user put it: “Core is gonna stay unchanged while Cloud keeps gaining new features. Eventually, it will be end-of-life.”

But there’s a counter-argument too. dbt Core has over 2,000 forks on GitHub and a license that protects it from being yanked away. If Fivetran tries anything shady, the community can, and likely will, fork the project and keep it alive independently.

2. Pricing Worries

Fivetran recently raised prices 4-8x for some customers. Now they’re acquiring dbt. You don’t need a crystal ball to see where this might go. As one user bluntly stated: “dbt pricing going to the moon.”

History isn’t encouraging either. Remember when Salesforce bought Tableau? Or Google acquired Looker? 

Both saw stagnant innovation and climbing prices. The community is worried this merger follows the same playbook.

3. Questions About Strategy

Fivetran already owns SQLMesh, which is actually a dbt competitor with some more advanced features. So why buy dbt too?

They bought SQLMesh for the technology and dbt for the customer base. 80-90% of Fivetran’s customers already use dbt. There’s very little room for cross-selling. The overlap is almost complete.

Still, some optimism exists. Better integration between ingestion and transformation is valuable. Unified support might reduce friction. And if the merger pushes more Fivetran components toward open source? That could actually be good for everyone.

What is the Impact on the Modern Data Stack?

The Consolidation Trend

This merger isn’t happening in isolation. The entire data industry is consolidating. Microsoft has Fabric. Databricks has Lakeflow. Everyone’s building bigger, more integrated platforms.

The modern data stack’s original promise was “best-of-breed” tools that you could mix and match. Pick the best connector platform, the best transformation tool, the best orchestrator, and the best BI layer. It was flexible! It was powerful! It was also… kind of a mess.

Tool sprawl became a real problem. So did integration headaches. The consolidation we’re seeing now is the market’s correction. Companies trading some flexibility for simplicity and integration.

Orchestration Gaps

Here’s an interesting question: what’s missing from the Fivetran-dbt combo?

Orchestration, for one. Neither tool handles complex workflow orchestration particularly well. 

dbt Cloud has basic scheduling—run this model after that one finishes. Fivetran does simple sync schedules. 

But if you need complex dependencies, conditional logic, or cross-system orchestration? You’re still reaching for Airflow or Dagster.

Some in the community are speculating about future acquisitions. Will they buy Dagster next? Partner with managed Airflow providers? Or build their own orchestration layer? Time will tell.

What does this mean for your Data Team?

If You Use These Tools

Short term: Take a breath. Expect minimal changes right away. Your existing contracts will continue as-is.

Medium term: Watch for what happens at renewal time. Will they pressure you to consolidate contracts? Change pricing models? Bundle features differently? Pay attention to the signals in those conversations.

Long term: Start thinking about vendor lock-in. You don’t need to panic or rip everything out. But having an exit strategy, even if you never use it, gives you negotiating leverage and peace of mind.

If You’re Choosing New Tools

Consider pausing if you’re about to sign a long-term contract with either company. Let the dust settle and see how the merger actually plays out.

Evaluate alternatives now rather than waiting until you’re frustrated and desperate. Open-source options and independent vendors give you more flexibility and often better pricing.

Ask tough questions about pricing roadmaps, and open-source commitments. Don’t accept vague promises. Get specifics in writing.

Why Flexible, Vendor-Agnostic Tools Like Hevo Matter More Than Ever

Big mergers create opportunity. Data teams need to stay nimble, avoid lock-in, and maximize optionality.

Hevo Data Advantage:

• 150+ integrations for diverse data sources
• Automatic schema handling reduces manual ops pain
• Transparent pricing—no sticker shock down the road
• Real-time pipelines for operational agility
• Easy migration from legacy pipelines
• Best-in-class support
• Orchestration-friendly: Integrates with Airflow, supports conditional logic, and plays nice with both traditional and cloud-native warehouses.

Comparison Table: Hevo vs Fivetran + dbt Cloud

Feature	Hevo Data	Fivetran + dbt Cloud
Pricing Transparency	Clear + Predictable	History of hikes, complex
Open Source Commitment	Community integrations	Core open, but Cloud paywall
Vendor Lock-In Risk	Low (easy migration)	Medium–High
Orchestration Capabilities	Airflow & native support	Limited scheduling
Community Support	High, open roadmap	New uncertainty
Supported Integrations	150+ sources	Strong
Uptime/Incident Response	Fast, SLA-backed	Industry norm

What to Watch: The Road Ahead?

Will dbt Core development continue? 

Track the GitHub repository. Watch commit frequency. See if new features ship to Core alongside Cloud.

How will pricing evolve? 

The first real indication comes when existing customers hit their renewal cycles. Pay attention to what they’re saying.

Will the community fork dbt Core? 

Watch for competing projects gaining traction. If a credible fork emerges with active development, that’s a leading indicator.

What gets acquired next? 

There are still gaps in the stack—orchestration, semantic layers, data cataloging. If they’re serious about end-to-end, more acquisitions are coming.

This isn’t the last consolidation we’ll see. Other vendors are feeling the same pressures. Expect more mergers or acquisitions by the major cloud platforms.

But here’s the thing about consolidation: it creates opportunities. When big players get slow and expensive, that’s when nimble startups with better ideas gain traction. The next generation of data tools is probably being built right now by someone frustrated with the status quo.

Tools like Hevo Data help you build robust, real-time data pipelines while keeping your options open. With 150+ integrations, automatic schema handling, and transparent pricing, you get enterprise capabilities without betting everything on how one merger plays out.

What’s your take on the merger? Are you sticking with Fivetran and dbt, or exploring alternatives? 

Explore Hevo’s data pipeline solutions to see how we’re helping data teams stay flexible as the landscape shifts.

The data infrastructure world is changing fast. But with the right approach and the right tools, you can turn uncertainty into opportunity.