Fivetran vs Alteryx: Which Data Integration Tool Is Better For You?

Are you still stuck on the Fivetran vs Alteryx question? Let us help you.

If your data stack had a toolbox, Fivetran and Alteryx would sit on opposite shelves. One gives you a quick and easy setup option, the other offers power and control.

Both are great at what they do, but what you need depends on where you are headed.

Whether you’re setting up easy pipelines or managing complex datasets for analysis, this guide will help you figure out which platform makes more sense for your team. From features and pricing to pros and cons, we have compared everything that matters.

Read through to the end to pick the tool that works best.

Key Takeaways

Fivetran is a hands-off ELT solution that simplifies data syncing. Its core strength lies in automation, offering 700+ connectors and a no-code setup that helps you sync data from multiple sources in near real-time.

Alteryx is a powerful data analytics platform that excels in complex transformations and visual workflows. You get more control over data preparation, blending, and advanced modeling without writing code.

When to choose:

Choose Fivetran if your team requires simplicity, speed, and reliability in moving large volumes of data into a warehouse. It’s ideal for businesses seeking a plug-and-play solution for analytics-ready data that requires minimal technical expertise.

Choose Alteryx if you are looking for an all-in-one platform that supports in-depth data preparation, statistical analysis, and reporting. It suits teams that work closely with business users and need a more hands-on, visual approach.

Why Hevo? Hevo combines real-time syncing, smart transformations, and error handling in a cost-effective platform. It is built for speed and smoothly scales with data stacks, making it an easy choice, even for small teams.

What Is Fivetran?

G2 Rating: 4.2 (436)

Gartner Rating: 4.6 (296)

Fivetran is an ELT platform that makes it easy to transfer data from multiple sources into cloud warehouses. It’s best known for its 700+ pre-built connectors, no-code setup, and automatic schema updates.

It is designed with enterprise needs in mind and offers advanced security features, error handling, role-based access, and compliance with major regulations, like SOC2 and GDPR. Analytics teams prefer Fivetran when they need simple, minimum-setup pipelines.

Key features of Fivetran

• Change Data Capture (CDC): Tracks and syncs only the changed data, making updates near real-time and reducing data load.
• Automated transform orchestrations: Automatically triggertriggers dbt transformations after each sync for easier post-load workflows.
• Built-in scheduling flexibility: Helps you set custom sync intervals and offers optimization based on usage patterns.
• Performance monitoring metrics: Provides detailed metrics to monitor sync health, identify bottlenecks, and resolve issues quickly with Fivetran HVR.
• Pre-built analytics models: Offers ready-to-use models for common sources like Salesforce and NetSuite to speed up analysis.

Use cases

• Real-time product analysis: Sync event data from tools like Segment or Mixpanel to analyze feature usage and user behavior.
• Marketing performance tracking: Centralize campaign data from ad platforms and CRMs for cross-channel ROI analysis.
• Regulatory data archiving: Create audit-ready backups of transactional data to meet compliance standards.
• Revenue operations reporting: consolidates sales, billing, and support data to optimize pipeline and retention insights.

Pricing

Fivetran’s pricing bills you based on the Monthly Active Rows (MAR) used for each connection.

• Free plan: Includes 500k MAR and 5k model runs.
• Standard: Starts at $500 for 1 million active rows.
• Enterprises: Scales with usage and unlocks advanced features.
• Business critical: Designed for high-security and compliance needs.

All paid tiers offer a 14-day free trial. Charges increase per million MAR for additional usage.

Pros and cons

Pros

• High uptime and reliability.
• Extensible through APIs.
• Now offers Reverse ETL through Census acquisition.
• Supports historical syncs.

Cons

• Expensive for scaling.
• No in-flight transformations.
• Might have occasional schema inconsistencies.
• Relies on third-party tools for transformations.

What Is Alteryx?

G2 Rating: 4.6 (643)

Gartner Rating: 4.1 (162)

Alteryx is one of the leading data wrangling tools and an end-to-end analytics platform that helps teams prepare, blend, analyze, and share data without coding. It supports two data integration environments, Designer Desktop for on-premises and hybrid workflows, and Designer Cloud for cloud-native pipelines. Both use a drag-and-drop interface and built-in intelligence.

It offers 100+ connectors for sources like cloud services, relational databases, APIs, and flat files. Alteryx helps prepare and unify data for downstream use cases. This reduces turnaround time and increases accuracy across departments.

Key features of Alteryx

• In-database transformations: Runs joins, filters, and formulas directly inside databases to reduce data movement.
• Automated data profiling: Scans new datasets to identify missing values, anomalies, or duplicates before building workflows.
• Reusable macros: Lets you build custom macros and batch routines to automate repetitive tasks, ideal for recurring pipelines or multi-table logic.
• Data catalog and lineage tracking: The Connect module helps you track lineage, collect metadata, and reuse data assets.
• AI-driven workflow builder: Alteryx Copilot suggests and places tools using natural language input.

Use cases

• Creating complete profiles: Integrate and clean data from multiple systems to build accurate, deduplicated customer profiles.
• Automated financial reporting: Consolidate Excel, SAP, and HR data into workflows for month-end reports.
• Retail inventory optimization: Blend POS, supply chain, and vendor data for stock forecasting and reduce overstock or stockouts.
• Churn prediction pipeline: Connect behavioral and transactional data to create clean inputs for churn modeling.

Pricing

Alteryx uses a subscription model and offers a 30-day free trial.

• Starter Edition: $250/user/month billed annually. Supports 1 to 10 users and includes basic cloud-based data prep with flat files.
• Professional Edition: Includes full data access, AI Copilot, and advanced preparation.
• Enterprise Edition: For 10+ users. Adds automation, governance, and scalable enterprise analytics.

Add-ons, like AI builder and automation capacity, are available for professional and enterprise plans.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Offers location-based analytics.
• Strong integration with Tableau and Power BI.
• Supports cloud, on-premises, and hybrid deployment.
• Active user community and resource hub.

Cons

• Has a learning curve for advanced features.
• Might be expensive for small teams.
• Proprietary file formats might cause vendor lock-in.
• Batch-focused syncs.

Fivetran vs Alteryx vs Hevo: A Detailed Comparison Table

			Try Hevo for Free
Reviews	4.2 (400+ reviews)	4.6 (630+ reviews)	4.5 (250+ reviews)
Pricing	MAR-based pricing	Subscription based pricing	Usage-based pricing
Free Plan
Free Trial	14-day free trial	30 days free trial	14-day free trial
Core functions	Automated ELT platform	Data prep, analytics, and automation	ELT/ETL Automation
Ease of use	No-code, easy	Drag-and-drop, easy	No-code, easy
Connector base	700+ connectors	100+ connectors	150+ connectors
Transformation capabilities	Post-load with dbt	Data prep, cleansing, and blending	Pre- and Post-load transformations
Real-time sync	Near real-time sync in higher plans	Batch focused	Real-time sync
Security and compliance	ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type II, and HITRUST	ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type II	GDPR, HIPAA, CCPA, and SOC 2 Type II
Support and community	24/7 severity-based support	Community support and in-app chat	Tiered 24/7 support

This table shows that while Fivetran has a wide connector coverage and automated syncs, it isn’t ideal if you are looking for built-in transformation.

Alteryx, on the other hand, handles preparation, transformation, and analytics. However, it’s not the best choice for real-time sync.

So, what can you do if you need all these capabilities in one platform?

One promising choice is Hevo. It provides a reliable no-code setup, native transformations, real-time data syncs, unified orchestration, and enterprise security, all in one place.

If you are looking for a middle ground, Hevo is one of the best Alteryx and Fivetran alternatives. 

Alteryx vs Fivetran: In-Depth Feature & Use Case Comparison

Want something more detailed than a table? Let’s compare both the tools feature by feature and see which one wins.

1. Ease of setup and maintenance

Fivetran: Built for hassle-free setup, with little manual setup needed. Once connected, it automatically adjusts to schema changes, handles errors, and rarely requires intervention. Its plug-and-play design enables faster deployment, making it ideal for building pipelines for Tableau ETL tools or other BI platforms.

Alteryx: It provides a drag-and-drop interface, but it still requires some manual effort if you want to add advanced features. Plus, it comes with a learning curve.

This gives Fivetran the edge for being more compatible with non-technical users.

Setting up connectors is very easy and intuitive. Their customer support has been amazing so far. We are using Fivetran as our sole Extraction and Loading tool for our data warehouse

Juan D.

Manager, Data Stragegy

2. Connector library

Fivetran: Offers 700+ connectors across databases, SaaS tools, and file systems. It covers most modern analytics use cases and frequently adds new connectors. Additionally, the Connector SDK lets you create your custom connectors with Python.

Alteryx: Includes a decent library of 100+ connectors, but many are limited in functionality or require extra configuration. Some advanced connections need third-party support. 

Fivetran’s connector breadth and quality make it a stronger choice.

As a small data team supporting 800+ employees Fivetran is essential for us to quickly develop, maintain, and iterate over new data pipelines. The large library of \"off the shelf\" connectors allows us to quickly deliver value to our business partners. The Fivetran SDK program also allows us to have custom configurations and setup pipelines outside of the existing library.

Data Engineer

Software

3. Data transformation and preparation

Fivetran: Operates on the ELT model and pushes raw data into warehouses. Transformations happen in-warehouse through tools like dbt, which may require some technical assistance.

Alteryx: Provides powerful, code-free data preparation tools. You can join, clean, filter, and enrich data through a visual interface, even handling advanced analytics and modeling in the same flow.

The win goes to Alteryx for its transformation-heavy workflows that give you more control without coding.

As an auditor, I appreciate how Alteryx streamlines complex data preparation and analysis without needing extensive coding. It allows for quick transformation, validation, and reconciliation of large data sets, saving significant time during audits. The drag-and-drop workflow is intuitive, and the transparency in data lineage supports audit documentation and review.

Verified User

Accounting

4. Real-time sync

Fivetran: Supports up to 1-minute syncs for supported connectors. For most pipelines, updates occur in minutes, and the system automatically scales sync frequency based on load.

Alteryx: Supports real-time data access with LiveQuery, but it’s better suited for batch syncs as it doesn’t support continuous data updates or streaming.

Fivetran is the better fit if real-time syncing is your priority.

Users can set up and manage data pipelines with minimal technical expertise. Fivetran supports near real-time data syncing, which is crucial for making timely decisions based on the most current data. It can handle large volumes of data and scale as your data needs grow. This scalability ensures that performance remains consistent even as data complexity and volume increase.

Ajay S.

Software Developer

5. Analytics and advanced capabilities

Fivetran: Focuses purely on data movement and doesn’t offer visualization or modeling features. You’ll need to rely on external platforms once the data is loaded. 

Alteryx: Offers a suite of tools for data analysis, including spatial analytics, predictive modeling, and AI capabilities, in a single interface. It is immensely helpful for analysts and data scientists working with complex scenarios.

Alteryx wins again, thanks to its built-in analytics tools for insight generation.

We uses Alteryx to analyse historical sales data, supplier lead times and seasonal trends for our supply chain teams to improve demand planning. Alteryx’s predictive analytics tool helped us to forecast inventory demand without needing an external software. We also schedule the process to run daily using automated work flow execution, to ensure our team always had up-to-date stock predictions. By automating this workflow, we reduced stockouts by 15% and overstocking by 10%, helping the company save on operational costs.

Michael B.

Risk and Compliance Analyst

6. Pricing

Fivetran: Follows a usage-based model determined by the Monthly Active Rows (MAR). While this gives you flexibility, it can become unpredictable and expensive at high volumes.

Alteryx: Uses a subscription model per user with additional add-ons available. The professional and enterprise plans, however, have custom pricing.

The choice depends on your requirements. If you are a small business and don’t have heavy data volume yet, Fivetran might be more affordable.

Alteryx isn’t suitable for small businesses, but it is a good choice if you are investing in a centralized platform for a team of analysts or data scientists and want predictable pricing.

Absolutely love fivetrans pricing to ensure efficient budget consumption. Fivetran helped us reduced the time to acquire data from acquisitions by 92%!

SR DIRECTOR OF DATA AND ANALYTICS

Software

Why Choose Fivetran?

Choose Fivetran if you’re a data-driven team that needs a set-it-and-forget-it solution to move large volumes of data reliably. If you’re tired of data pipeline maintenance, want automated schema handling, and your team already uses transformation tools like dbt, Fivetran would fit well into your workflow.

It’s best suited for enterprises that want stability over flexibility and don’t mind paying a premium price for it. However, if you’re looking for more control over transformations or affordable options, you may want to explore other options.

Want to know more about how Hevo might help? Check out our recent Hevo vs Fivetran article.

Why Choose Alteryx?

If your workflows involve blending multiple data sources for reporting and you value flexibility over automation, go for Alteryx. It is built for teams that need advanced data preparation, statistical modeling, and visualization over real-time syncs.

It’s a good fit for analysts who want to build complex workflows with minimal effort and work with on-premises data. With built-in features for statistical modeling, geospatial analysis, and reporting, Alteryx can help you derive insights from raw data quickly. If that’s something you’re looking for, Alteryx delivers a reliable solution.

Want to see if there are better options? Read this detailed Alteryx vs Matillion comparison.

Why Does Hevo Stand Out?

Hevo compensates where Fivetran and Alteryx fall short, especially in real-time no-code pipelines. Its log-based Change Data Capture enables quicker data syncs, which keep your dashboards fresh all day.

Unlike data pipeline tools that rely heavily on downstream processing, Hevo lets you transform data in-flight, whether it’s before, during, or after loading. It also handles errors and schema changes, and retries failed tasks automatically, making it truly low-maintenance.

Plus, it is transparent with its pricing and has no hidden charges that could surprise you later. Once you’re in, you can get started quickly, track every column that moves, and reach out to support anytime.

Want to try it out? Sign up for Hevo’s 14-day free trial.

FAQs on Fivetran vs Alteryx

Chirag Agarwal Principal CX Engineer, Hevo Data

Chirag is a seasoned support engineer with over 7 years of experience, including over 4 years at Hevo Data, where he's been pivotal in crafting core CX components. As a team leader, he has driven innovation through recruitment, training, process optimization, and collaboration with multiple technologies. His expertise in lean solutions and tech exploration has enabled him to tackle complex challenges and build successful services.