Fivetran vs Xplenty: Compare Features, Pros, Cons, & Pricing

If you’ve ever Googled data integration tools, chances are Fivetran and Xplenty (now Integrate.io) were leading the list.

Most users think of Fivetran as the reliable, low-maintenance sync engine that helps you speed and scale. And Xplenty? It’s a flexible, no-code builder that lets you drag, drop, and transform without needing to write a single query.

Both are popular for a good reason, but that doesn’t mean they readily fit your needs, especially if you’re scaling fast. So, how do you resolve the Fivetran vs. Xplenty dilemma?

This guide breaks it all down by features, pricing, and use cases so you can make the right call.

By the end, you’ll know which tool you should pick and why.

What Is Fivetran?

G2 Rating: 4.3 (788)

Gartner Rating: 4.6 (296)

Fivetran is a cloud-native, automated data movement platform that uses Extract, Load, Transform (ELT) to ingest raw data into the data warehouse.

It offers a set-it-and-forget-it experience. You choose a warehouse, connect sources, and Fivetran does the rest. It pulls data from hundreds of sources, like SaaS applications, databases, and event streams. It also handles schema mapping, data normalization, and incremental updates automatically.

This makes it one of the most reliable data pipeline tools for data engineers, analysts, and operations teams who require analytics-ready data without manual effort.

Key features of Fivetran

• Fully managed connectors: Offers 700+ pre-built connectors that auto-adjust to API changes and schema shifts without manual fixes. 
• Log-based Change Data Capture (CDC): Uses database logs to capture changes efficiently, with minimal impact on the source system.
• In-warehouse transformations: Offers native dbt integration for post-load SQL-based transformations directly in your data warehouse, with pre-built models and snippets.
• Destination-aware scheduling: Optimizes sync frequency and logic based on your warehouse’s compute and rate limits.
• Historical re-syncs: Enables full historical re-syncs of a connection or specific table without rebuilding the pipeline.

Use cases

• Zero-maintenance SaaS analytics: Sync data from SaaS apps like Salesforce, NetSuite, and HubSpot without managing APIs or writing ETL jobs.
• Financial reporting: Enable near real-time reporting from PostgreSQL, Oracle, or SQL Server using CDC.
• Cross-warehouse data sync: Consolidate data from multiple business units using different warehouses into a unified analytics layer.
• Automated archival and backfill: Stay audit-ready by automating complete historical syncs or targeted backfills to meet retention policies.

Pricing

Fivetran’s pricing is calculated based on Monthly Active Rows (MAR) per connection.

• Free plan: Monthly 500,000 MAR and 5,000 model runs.
• Standard: Starts at $500 for the first million MAR.
• Enterprise: Includes 1-minute syncs and hybrid deployment.
• Business critical: Offers 1-minute syncs, customer-managed encryption keys, and enterprise-grade security.

It also offers a 14-day free trial.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Guaranteed data delivery SLAs.
• Simplified data lake integration.
• Built-in sync monitoring and alerting.
• On-premises and hybrid deployment.

Cons

• Unpredictable pricing
• Requires coding expertise for custom integrations
• Minimal graphical user interface (GUI) based transformations
• Focuses on batch syncs

What Is Xplenty?

G2 Rating: 4.3 (207)

Gartner Rating: 4.5 (6)

Xplenty, now Integrate.io, is a cloud-native ETL and reverse ETL solution. It offers over 150 pre-built connectors for sources such as SaaS apps, databases, and REST APIs, allowing you to move data without writing code.

You can build and automate data pipelines quickly with a visual drag-and-drop interface. It also supports monitoring and managing data flows through an intuitive dashboard.

This makes it a strong choice for data and operations teams who want near-real-time, reliable integrations and granular control over data movement.

Key features of Xplenty

• Built-in transformations: Offers 220+ pre-built transformation functions to clean and enrich data without scripting.
• Match and merge capabilities: Removes duplicates and merges entries into consistent, unified datasets.
• API generation service: Enables you to generate REST APIs from pipelines for easy sharing and consumption across tools.
• Metadata management: Tracks schema changes, transformations, and flow logic for better governance and collaboration.
• Workflow orchestration with triggers: Supports scheduling, cron jobs, and conditional logic for automated data pipeline execution.

Use cases

• Centralizing data for analytics: Consolidate data from SaaS tools, databases, and APIs into a single data warehouse or data lake for company-wide reporting.
• Syncing customer data across teams: Push transformed data back into tools like Salesforce or Zendesk to improve sales, support, and marketing workflows.
• Automating data flows: Build end-to-end pipelines that clean, transform, and load data into dashboards without manual intervention or scripts.
• Powering product dashboards: Deliver live user metrics from your product to internal or external dashboards using auto-generated APIs.

Pricing

Xplenty or Integrate.io follows a fixed-fee pricing model plus a custom plan.

• Integrate.io Core: $1,999/month for unlimited data volumes, pipelines, connectors, and 1-minute sync frequency.
• Design Your Perfect Plan: Custom plan with enterprise security, GPU for ML workloads, and enhanced customer support.

It also provides a 14-day free trial.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Data preview and validation steps.
• Predictable pricing.
• Unlimited phone and video support for all users.
• Two-way sync for connectors like Salesforce and HubSpot.

Cons

• Limited on-premises deployment support.
• UI may slow down with large or complex workflows.
• Error logs lack detailed, actionable insights.
• Less flexibility for technical users.

Fivetran vs Xplenty vs Hevo: Detailed Comparison Table

Fivetran offers strong automation but falls short on pricing transparency and requires third-party tools for transformations. Xplenty, on the other hand, provides flexible transformations but has a higher initial investment for smaller businesses.

Hevo simplifies complicated workflows, making it ideal for teams without full-time data engineers. It brings together everything growing teams need, like real-time syncing, easy transformations, and transparent pricing, all in one place.

If you compare these three tools, Hevo makes a compelling choice.

Want to explore more? Check out this detailed Hevo vs Fivetran comparison.

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

Here’s a feature-by-feature comparison that clears up the differences between Fivetran and Xplenty.

1. Ease of setup and use

Fivetran: Offers a straightforward setup with minimal configuration. Most connectors can be launched in just a few clicks, making it ideal if you want to avoid time-consuming onboarding.

Xplenty: Features a simple, visual drag-and-drop interface that’s quick to set up. It’s suitable for non-technical users.

Both are relatively easy to use and have no-code setups.

Its easy to set-up for someone who is new to data transfer. Fivetran did all the handholding for me.

Verified User

The system was easy to integrate and flexible for all of our systems. The system is reliable with little or no maintenance or intervention needed to maintain consistent data flows. They have excellent support and communication in both timelines and quality of response.

Chris R.

Network Administrator

2. Connector coverage

Fivetran: Provides an extensive library of over 700 fully managed connectors, including support for databases, cloud apps, file systems, and event streams. It also actively expands its catalog based on customer demand. 

Xplenty: Offers 150+ connectors, focused on popular SaaS apps and core databases. Coverage is decent but may feel limiting for larger or more complex tech stacks.

Fivetran wins with broader and more diverse connect options. It’s a clear choice for teams with wide-ranging integration requirements.

Fivetran has been a valuable tool in our modern data stack. It has helped my team automate most of our data integration needs effectively and efficiently. The pre-built connectors are simple to use and the Fivetran SDK has given us the flexibility to build custom connectors. The support team is responsive and always helps find solutions to our challenges.

DIRECTOR OF DATA ANALYTICS ENGINEERING

3. Real-time sync

Fivetran: Supports near real-time syncs depending on the source type and pricing tier. Sync intervals on the lower-tier plan start at 15 minutes but can be adjusted to as low as 5-minute syncs, which can be helpful for analytics and reporting.

Xplenty: Provides near real-time for all its tiers through Change Data Capture (CDC).

Both tools provide 1-minute syncs. However, since Xplenty doesn’t have a tier restriction, it wins this one.

It has opened up so many doors and getting data to sync on schedule seamlessly with different systems that are on prem and cloud. No more crazy scripts and sftp connections. No more wonky excel files shifting data. This made our lives much easier. The team over at Integrate.IO were/are great to work with on getting everything implemented. Support resolved issues timely. Not that there were a lot of them but nothing is perfect in IT.

Verified User in Insurance

4. Data transformation

Fivetran: Offers post-load transformations through SQL or dbt, giving control to technical teams who prefer working in-code.

Xplenty: Allows in-pipeline transformations using a visual, drag-and-drop UI with 220+ options. It’s easier for you to build and maintain workflows without any coding.

Xplenty wins this one for providing a simpler transformation experience.

Integrate.io simplifies data tranformation by allowing you to build and reuse processes. In addition to this, you can set up schedules to automate your workflow. It has many features that allow you to get exactly what you need from the data. To top things off, the customer service is fantastic.

Verified User

Insurance

5. Deployment support

Fivetran: Supports some on-premises data sources through Fivetran HVR for enterprise clients, but that requires a separate setup.

Xplenty: Supports connecting to on-premises sources through secure agents, which can be useful for legacy systems.

It’s a tie again! Fivetran excels in pure cloud environments, while Xplenty is better suited for hybrid or mixed setups.

We love HVR Fivetran! Its been pivotal in our data journey and being able to easily replicate data to Snowflake.

Verified User

Overall experience has been pretty good. Its easy to use and have all the required connector to integrate to most of the applications including on-prem.

Verified User

6. Pricing

Fivetran: Fivetran’s pricing is calculated by monthly active rows (MAR), making it difficult to estimate costs as usage grows. It does offer a free plan, but costs spike as data scales.

Xplenty: Uses a more predictable pricing model with fixed tiers, making it easier for teams to budget without surprise expenses.

Xplenty wins because its pricing is more stable and easier to forecast. However, it may be pricey for smaller teams.

Integrate.io was the only ETL provider we found who had clear pricing for our Postgres -> Redshift transfer. We want to do minimal processing/conversion of data, we just want the data moved efficiently and reliably from our application database into our warehouse. Integrate does that very well. They respond to technical issues quickly and without us needing to ask for help. Their customer support people are amazingly helpful.

Geoff H.

CTO

When to Choose Fivetran?

Fivetran might be a good fit if you want a tool that moves data from a large number of sources into your warehouse. It’s quick to set up, runs smoothly on the cloud, and works well for teams that are comfortable handling transformation later using SQL or dbt.

It shines with its wide connector coverage and hands-off pipeline management. That said, the pricing and lack of in-pipeline transformations are a challenge. So, if you are scaling fast, you might want to look for Fivetran alternatives.

When to Choose Xplenty?

Choose Xplenty if you require more flexibility in how and when you transform data. Unlike Fivetran, it allows both pre- and post-load transformations with a no-code interface, which can be helpful if your team isn’t technically skilled. It’s also more predictable with pricing.

If you’re looking for a balance between ease of use and transformation control, Xplenty fits the bill. But it may fall short if extremely low-latency syncs, extensive integrations, or scalability are your priority.

Why Does Hevo Stand Out?

Hevo stands out by offering a no-code data integration platform that blends ease of use with flexibility. While Fivetran focuses heavily on automation and Xplenty on customization, Hevo gives you both.

You get pre- and post-load transformations, real-time data syncs, and automatic schema mapping, all built in. It also offers event-level observability, detailed error handling with retries, and Webhook support for custom integrations.

Plus, Hevo’s pricing is affordable, starting at just $239 per month. In short, you don’t need to choose between control and usability. It combines them in a single platform.

Want to test it out yourself? Start your 14-day free trial today!

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