Top 10 Informatica Alternatives & Competitors in 2025

In this stage, where data analytics is growing, an ETL platform that performs data integration in less time comes in handy. Informatica is one of the best data integration tools. Its customer retention rate is 94%^[1], and it has developed strong customer loyalty over time. 

Although it is the best ETL platform for the IT industry, it is not the best for the telecommunication, health care, and insurance industries because of its non-transparent pricing structure and because it requires some programming expertise and knowledge.

Furthermore, it is not an open-source platform, which poses difficulties for users because it offers less flexibility and less data reliability.

Today’s market is flooded with ETL tools such as Hevo Data, Microsoft SQL Server Integration Services, SAP HANA Cloud, Alteryx, etc. The right ETL tool can be selected based on the use case, scalability, error handling capability, performance optimization, and cost optimization.

This article describes the Top 10 Informatica Competitors and Alternatives extensively. Based on an organization’s use case and requirements, a suitable ETL Solution is chosen.

How Have I Curated This List? I’ve compiled this list by combining real user reviews on trusted sites like G2 and Capterra with detailed assessments of key features, pricing, scalability, etc. My goal was to find solutions that not only address common challenges faced by Informatica users but also deliver a user-friendly experience without compromising on performance.

What are the Top 10 Informatica Alternatives?

I have listed the Top Informatica Alternatives based on the use case, scalability, pricing structure, ease of deployment, budget, data processing speed, and setup time.

1. Hevo Data

Gartner Rating: 4.6

Best Informatica Replacement for teams that need Real-time data.

After putting various ETL tools to the test, I really liked how well Hevo Data worked in the real-time integration of data. With the help of a no-code interface, setting up data pipelines became an incredibly easy task. Smooth onboarding meant that within minutes, I was connected to multiple data sources of both SaaS apps and cloud warehouses. With automation capabilities eliminating plenty of manual work, I could spend time deriving insights instead of fixing broken pipelines. 

Hevo’s attraction was its real-time data sync. Some other ETL tools would take hours to sync records, whereas Hevo ensures my data is constantly fresh. I also liked its pre-load transformation feature, which allows one to clean and modify data before it even hits the destination database. If you’re looking for an ETL tool that requires minimal maintenance and transparent pricing, Hevo is a solid choice.

Key Features

• 150+ prebuilt connectors for seamless data movement.
• Automated schema mapping & real-time sync.
• Transparent pricing with a free trial.
• Zero maintenance with a fault-tolerant architecture.
• Pre-load transformations to clean and format data before ingestion.
• Scalability with a pay-as-you-grow pricing model.

Pros

• Transparent Pricing: Say goodbye to complex and hidden pricing models. Hevo’s transparent pricing brings complete visibility to your ELT spending. Choose a plan based on your business needs. Stay in control with spend alerts and configurable credit limits for unforeseen spikes in the data flow.
• Pre-Load Transformation: Format your data on the fly with Hevo’s pre-load transformations using the drag-and-drop interface or our nifty Python interface.
• Intuitive UI: Using Hevo you can automate and control end-to-end data pipelines – from combining raw data to driving last-mile business actions – all within one intuitive, zero-maintenance platform.
• Ease of Use: Hevo’s UI is intuitive and easy to learn. With a couple of clicks, you can quickly build scalable pipelines.

Informatica	Hevo Data
Does not offer transparent pricing.	Hevo offers transparent pricing with a free trial and a starter pack of $239/month.
Slightly complicated to use.	Easy-to-use, friendly UI.
Free trial not available.	Free trial available.

Pricing

• Free Plan: Supports up to 1M events per month for 5 users per team
• Starter Pack: Starting at 299$ per month with up to 50M monthly events with SSH/SSL encryption connection.
• Professional Pack: This pack starts at $679 monthly and includes up to 100M monthly events, reverse SSH, and unlimited users.
• Business Critical: If you want to transfer for more than 100M monthly events, you can contact their sales team for a custom quote.

What Do Customers Think About Hevo?

Ebury, one of Hevo’s recent customers, previously used Fivetran for its data migration needs. They switched to Hevo for better support, enhanced reliability, and attractive pricing. Here’s what they said:

With Hevo, our data is more reliable as it was compared to Fivetran at a way better price. Hevo allows us to build complex pipelines with ease, and after factoring in the excellent customer service and reverse ETL functionality, it is undoubtedly the best solution available in the market.

– Juan Ramos, Analytics Engineer, Ebury

Another user wrote on G2, “I love the simplicity and ease free nature of setting up pipelines. As some members in our team who come from non-tech background having knowledge in data, this tools helps them get the work done faster without having to worry about the programming and infrastructure side of it. It easily integrates in our platform. The customer support is excellent as well.” 

Final Verdict

Hevo is a great alternative to Informatica for anyone looking for a modern, complete, and managed ETL solution. It has real-time capabilities with an intuitive user interface. With its no-code setup and transparent pricing with real-time data sync, it is one of the leading picks for companies in search of an easy solution for data integration. 

2. Microsoft SQL Server Integration Services

Gartner Rating: 4.4

Having spent years working with Microsoft products, SSIS was the next logical step if you are someone using SQL Server. It is a very powerful and advanced tool for companies already invested in SQL Server because of its tight integration with Microsoft’s data ecosystem. On the other hand, the learning curve can be steep; setting up ETL workflows requires knowing about SSIS packages, which can be difficult for a first-time user. 

However, I appreciated the inbuilt debugging tools, as they quickly pinpointed errors in my pipelines. Performance is reliable for moderate-sized datasets, although, I did notice some slowdowns when ingesting more extensive datasets. If you’re using SQL Server, SSIS is probably the cheapest, most dependable service for handling ETL, but it may not be the best fit for hybrid or cloud-native infrastructures. 

Key Features

• Seamless SQL Server integration for businesses operating in Microsoft’s ecosystem.
• Extensible API for workflow automation.
• Pre-built ETL components for faster deployment.
• Advanced transformation capabilities, including data cleansing and enrichment.
• Integration with Azure Data Factory, allowing hybrid cloud workflows.

Pros

• It has connections to numerous sources.
• It makes managing projects and packages simple.
• It is extensible and highly customizable.
• It allows for SSIS’s easy deployment and configuration and allows developers to reuse scripts across various projects.

Cons

• For use with JSON, it isn’t always effective.
• For new users, it frequently becomes complicated and challenging to learn.
• Connection managers can occasionally be challenging to configure.
• Third-party tools that support SSIS can be difficult to find.
• Complex coding and experience with developers are required.

Informatica	Microsoft SQL Server Integration Services
Deployment is complex.	Easy deployment and configuration.
More Expensive	Less Expensive
No clear pricing plan.	Pricing is clear, for SSIS A4 V2 it is $328.290/month

Pricing

The Data Factory integration runtime (cloud-hosted only) provides a fully managed execution environment for running SQL Server Integration Services packages. Usage is billed in per-second increments and supports SQL Server Integration Services Standard and Enterprise capabilities using A-series, D-series, and E-series virtual machines (VMs). Learn more about A-series, D-series, and E-series VMs.

What Do Customers Think About SSIS?

A G2 customer wrote, “The Express version is flexible enough to attend a number of small companies, and can be used as BI tool storage for this companies also. The easy way to connect the database to another tool, like Excel, Power BI, or any kind of BI tool like Qlik View, Tableau etc. The version of Microsoft SQL Express is very complete and attend many sizes of business.”

Another customer mentioned what they dislike about SSIS, “Although SQL Server is user-friendly, yet some features of it might seem challenging to beginners. For larger systems, setting up an SQL server could take up an ample amount of time, which is a downside. Customer support is good, but sometimes the response time could be high for things which has higher urgency.”  

Final Verdict

If you are an existing SQL Server user, SSIS is a good alternative, yet it may not be the best option for multi-cloud or hybrid environments. Because of Microsoft-oriented products, this solution is very handy for enterprises that have, let’s say, invested heavily into the Microsoft ecosystem. However, the steep learning curve and the inflexibility outside SQL Server environments make it less suitable for a more heterogeneous data landscape. 

3. SAP HANA Cloud

Gartner Rating: 4.3

I was deeply impressed with all the capabilities related to in-memory computing from the first time I saw and explored SAP HANA Cloud. Unlike traditional ETL, the SAP HANA implementation has no reliance on disk storage for its functionalities. Other than extremely fast realization of queries and transformations, SAP HANA can be seen as a game-changer in handling often very large datasets. One would think that an enterprise-level system might use it for real-time analytics.

However, SAP HANA Cloud is not the easiest tool to start with. The interface took time to explore and bring to light what could be done. While it seamlessly works with the rest of the SAP portfolio, configuring how it will work with non-SAP environments takes a bit more. An ultra-fast, enterprise-grade ETL solution is SAP HANA Cloud, which, again, is priced steeply. 

Using SAP HANA Cloud as a stand-alone solution or as an addition to your current on-premise environment you can utilize the cloud features like automatic software updates, elasticity, and low total cost of ownership.

Key Features

• In-memory computing for real-time analytics.
• Columnar data storage for optimized query performance.
• Hybrid cloud and multi-cloud deployment options.
• Advanced security and compliance features.
• AI-powered data processing for predictive analytics.

Pros

• SAP HANA offers real-time analysis and decision-making capabilities. Thanks to it, large amounts of data can be processed while the business runs. As a result, it provides quick real-time insights.
• Data processing and transactions are incredibly quick thanks to in-memory database technology because the data is stored in RAM. So, from there, data can be processed quickly and directly.
• You can use SAP HANA to perform data integration and aggregation from various applications and data sources without interfering with currently running business operations. Additionally, you can incorporate SAP Business Object BI solutions into it.

Cons

• SAP HANA does not support all ERP Products. ERP users who want to use SAP HANA must modify their architecture to make it HANA-compatible.
• SAP HANA server has shut down when it is under a lot of computational and data processing load.
• Utilizing hybrid HANA solutions, such as running partially in the cloud and partially on-premise, results in numerous problems and poor performance.

Informatica	SAP HANA Cloud
Transaction and Data Processing are slower as compared to SAP HANA Cloud.	Faster Transaction and Data Processing.
Does not support parallel processing.	Supports parallel processing with OLTP and OLAP support.
Does not allow data aggregation from different sources.	Allows data aggregation from different sources.

Pricing

Custom pricing based on usage and configuration.

What Do Customers Think About SAP HANA?

“SAP HANA and Analytics allows us to move quickly when it comes to analyzing the information and making decisions,” Ferrara VP and CIO George Lesko said in an SAP video.

A customer wrote about their experience on G2, citing, “The best part of SAP HANA Cloud is that it is easy to use and integrate. The data are accessible anywhere, hence the frequency of use has increases. The features in SAP HANA Cloud has been the talk of the town.” 

However, a few customers also reported about a few challenges they faced with HANA. One of the customers mentioned on G2, “The licensing cost is high despite in the cloud and the learning curve is still as complex as before.” 

To know more about the SAP HANA, check out their product tour. 

4. Alteryx

Gartner Rating: 4.4

When I first started using Alteryx, I was immediately impressed with its easy and intuitive visual workflow builder. In contrast to other ETL tools, which need complex programming and scripting, Alteryx allows drag-and-drop components to be created into powerful data pipelines, making it a great prospect for both technical and non-technical users to blend, prepare, and analyze data with ease.

Another one of the highlighted aspects was advanced analytics. Alteryx’s predictive analytics, geospatial analysis, and machine learning workflows stand out from any regular ETL tool, which usually does ETL to extract and transform the data. Large datasets require in-depth insights and, therefore, Alteryx provided that and much more.

The biggest downside was its pricing. At $5,195 per user per year, it is far more expensive than most ETL tools. Although Alteryx is powerful, it can be resource-intensive, and I noticed performance lags when dealing with extremely large datasets. 

Key Features

• Drag-and-drop workflow builder for no-code ETL development.
• Prebuilt connectors for various databases, cloud platforms, and applications.
• Advanced analytics support, including predictive modeling and geospatial analysis.
• Automated data preparation with intelligent recommendations.
• Cloud and on-premise deployment options.

Pros 

• Alteryx is adaptable because it makes it simple to create various project types. It can assist you in making your data visualizations appear polished and appealing.
• Alteryx allows users to quickly iterate and test out various business scenarios because it processes information up to 30 times faster than other conventional tools. It is suitable for advanced data analytics use cases because it can handle files up to 50GB in size, processing larger file sizes than other tools.
• Alteryx is a great tool, especially when working with Big Data and streaming data that needs to be integrated into the workflow, as it supports all different types of data sources and is not constrained by any particular databases or formats.

Cons

• Due to the nature of its algorithms, Alteryx can occasionally process data slowly. You must make sure that your computer has enough resources, such as memory and disc space, to prevent this from occurring too frequently.
• The price of Alteryx can be a problem for those who are just starting in the field. Depending on how many users you have and the level of support they need, you might need to pay them up to $1,000 or more per year for their services.
• Although Alteryx allows for basic data visualizations and exploration, it is not a good tool for creating intricate dashboards or reports. 

Pricing

Along with a free trial, Alteryx offers two editions of pricing : 

• Designer Cloud: Starting at $4950 per user/ year for the Professional plan. You can get a quote from their sales team for the Enterprise plan for large organizations with advanced controls and security.
• Designer Desktop: Starts at $5195 

Learn more about their pricing here. 

Informatica	Alteryx
Free trial not available.	Free trial available.
Slower compared to Alteryx.	Faster in processing data.
Does not Incorporate multiple functions for data analysis.	Incorporates multiple functions for data analysis such as Statistical analysis, Spatial analysis, etc.

What Do Customers Think About Alteryx?

Alex Barr, Senior Manager for Revenue Data at DoorDash, said,“ Alteryx Analytics cloud is a key game changer in our business process transformation. We’re probably saving 25,000 hours a year and millions in ROI.” 

Another customer applauded Alteryx’s ease of use by writing on G2, “Best part about Alteryx is that data owners can manage data and does not require highly coding individual. It is extremely helpful for our data preparation and blending for case analysis for better targetting of our future customer.This platform is has also good user interface and customer support is also great.” 

Discover how Alteryx and Matillion stack up as Informatica alternatives in our detailed comparison of top data integration tools for 2025.

Final Verdict

Alteryx is an excellent choice for organizations looking to go beyond traditional ETL and incorporate advanced analytics. However, the high cost and resource requirements may be prohibitive for smaller businesses. If you need a self-service analytics tool with powerful ETL capabilities, Alteryx is a strong Informatica alternative.

5. Talend 

Gartner Rating: 4.1

I was thoroughly impressed by the open-source flexibility of Talend right from my start. Unlike some proprietary ETL solutions, Talend brings on board a free Open Studio version, making it accessible for startups and small businesses alike. This means that integration could be done with Big Data technologies such as Hadoop and Spark to analyze very large datasets. 

I was also impressed by the rich array of pre-built connectors. Pulling data out of a SQL database, uploading it onto cloud storage, or loading it with an API was a smooth process with Talend. However, I did notice that while the Open Studio version is powerful, many enterprise features, such as data governance and advanced security, require a paid plan.

Key Features of Talend

• Comprehensive data governance and compliance tools.
• A broad range of data integration solutions.
• Suitable for large enterprises with complex needs.
• Supports an extensive range of databases, SaaS applications, and legacy systems.

Pros

• Business logic for applications can be developed centrally with the aid of many connectors.
• The overhead of repository management and deployment is decreased by continuous integration.
• Due to its connections to all the major data sources, it also integrates the entire analytical perimeter in terms of data quality, making it possible to integrate the various sources and destinations more simply and reliably than with others.

Cons

• Only Talend’s Enterprise editions offer the scheduling feature, which is a very basic one; the open studio distribution is not available.
• You must purchase the Real-time big data package for Talend to support Spark Streaming and Machine Learning.
• Installation and Driver Configurations are time-consuming and complex.

Informatica	Talend
Supports only Commercial Data Integration.	It employs a wide range of open-source and paid-for data integration solutions.
You can get free access to Talend’s open-source edition.	To use Informatica, you must purchase a single-user license and a multi-user license.
Does not support Java.	Supports Java.
Deployment requires advancement in automation.	Deployment is easy and simple.

Pricing

• Starter
• Standard
• Premium
• Enterprise

What Do Customers Think About Talend?

Ranadip Dutta, Solution Architect Manager at Lenovo said, “Talend gave us the real automation we needed, along with collation, massaging, cleansing, scheduled jobs and more. The execution was really smooth.” 

Another prominent customer of Talend, Dan Djuric, Vice President, Global Infrastructure and Enterprise Information Management at Domino’s praised the ease of use Talend provides. “Talend is now our data mobilization platform,” he says. “Everything that happens in our ecosystem starts with Talend. It captures data, cleanses it, standardizes it, enriches it, stores it, and allows it to be consumed by multiple teams.”

A user took to G2 to highlight the difficulties they’ve been facing; he wrote,“ Setting up and configuring the software is very hard. Also, it has a learning curve for graphical interface.” 

Final Verdict

Talend is one of the best open-source ETL tools, making it a solid alternative to Informatica. If you’re a startup or a small business, Talend Open Studio provides a free and flexible solution. However, for enterprise-level features like security and governance, you’ll need to invest in the paid version.

6. IBM InfoSphere DataStage

Gartner Rating: 4.4

My experience with IBM InfoSphere DataStage was that it’s an enterprise-grade ETL tool designed for high-performance parallel processing. It is an ideal tool for companies with immense datasets and complex transformations. I appreciated the capability of running parallel jobs, making the processing extremely efficient.

 Another of its strong points was its seamless integration with IBM’s ecosystem, especially with Watson and Cloud Pak for Data. However, if you are unfamiliar with the IBM ecosystem, the tool might seem too complicated and costly as it is far beyond what a small business needs. 

Data warehouses, Data Marts, Operational Data Stores, Real-time Web Services, Messaging Systems, and other business applications can all receive the transformed data. 

Key Features of IBM DataStage

• Process data at scale by optimizing ETL performance with a best-in-breed parallel engine.
• Execute cloud runtimes remotely wherever the data resides while maintaining data sovereignty and minimizing costs.
• Protect sensitive data with metadata exchange using IBM Watson.
• Use governance capabilities on IBM Cloud Pak for Data.

Pros

• The best mapping product that is highly effective at managing project data and scaling.
• Reporting functions are easy to use and all the features can be easily customized.
• One of its best features is Data Collaboration.

Cons

• It is difficult to manipulate deep functions.
• Utilizing cloud services to manipulate tools is difficult.
• Big data management is difficult.

Informatica	IBM InfoSphere DataStage
Debugging the workflows and mappings is very hard with Informatica.	Mapping is highly effective and helps manage projects in IBM InfoSphere DataStage.
Does not support parallelism.	Supports component, data, and full pipeline parallelism.
Does not have any special reporting capabilities.	Reporting Functions that are easy to use and highly customizable.

Pricing

• Lite: It is a Free plan limited to 15 capacity unit hours per month. 
• Standard: $1.828/Capacity Unit-Hours per month. 
• Small Enterprise Bundle: $8260/Instance or $1.828/Capacity Unit-Hour with 5000 CUH included.
• Medium Enterprise Bundle: $14600/Instance or $1.828/Capacity Unit-Hour with 10000 CUH included.
• Large Enterprise Bundle: $32000/Instance or $1.83/Capacity Unit-Hour with 25000 CUH included.

What Do Customers Think About DataStage?

A Datastage wrote on G2, “We use InfoSphere DataStage for ETL in our organisation and as datastage can easily handle large data (Tbs) and we can transform our data easily. It’s easier to design our jobs in datastage and to run them.”

Another G2 user mentioned ease of use along with some difficulties faced, “The thing that I don’t like about IBM Infosphere DataStage application is a plan of it is costly. Also, the Metadata propagation in Jobs is somewhat complex for some users and issues in the processing of XML.” 

These reviews portray DataStage as powerful for handling large data volumes and simplifying job design, making it effective for enterprise-level ETL. However, users cite high costs and complexities related to metadata propagation and XML processing as notable drawbacks.

Final Verdict

IBM InfoSphere DataStage is a top-tier ETL solution for large enterprises, particularly those already using IBM Cloud and Watson AI. However, its high cost and complexity make it a better fit for large organizations rather than small to mid-sized businesses.

7. Integrate.io

Gartner Rating: 4.5

I found Integrate.io to be one of the most user-friendly ETL tools on the market. It’s designed for small to mid-sized businesses that need a no-code, drag-and-drop interface for data integration. Setting up workflows was incredibly easy, and I appreciated how seamlessly it connected to cloud data warehouses like Snowflake, Redshift, and BigQuery.

One of the standout features for me was its built-in data transformation capabilities. Unlike some ETL tools that require writing SQL or Python scripts, Integrate.io allows for prebuilt transformations that simplify tasks like data cleansing and enrichment. However, I noticed that while it’s great for beginners, advanced users may find it somewhat limited in customization options compared to tools like Talend or Alteryx.

Every business can instantly connect to a variety of data stores using Integrate.io, which also offers a wide range of pre-built data transformation components.

Key Features

• No-code ETL builder with a drag-and-drop interface.
• Prebuilt connectors for major cloud platforms.
• Built-in data transformations for easy data processing.
• Batch processing and real-time data sync.
• Secure data integration with compliance support (GDPR, HIPAA, etc.).

Pros

• Application Integration boosts worker productivity. Employees won’t have to repeatedly key in the same information into different systems because it will all be in one system. Additionally, they won’t have to constantly sift through various systems to find what they need to do their jobs.
• Customer Data Integration (CDI) is the process of gathering information about customer behavior from various sources and combining it to make it simple for all departments to access. The outcome is a data source, also referred to as a 360-degree customer view, that can aid in improving the customer experience.
• Through integrations with several important business tools, such as Salesforce, Zendesk, and HubSpot, Integrate.io can help promote accuracy.

Cons

• Integrating data from multiple systems introduces new security flaws. Data transfers through new system gateways create vulnerabilities that hackers might use. 
• Multiple systems are not simply combined into one system when they are integrated. It merely connects them. Each system still needs to undergo maintenance and upgrades. Upgrading can be difficult and time-consuming if your business controls all the systems.
• You’ll have to pay for access to each system separately if you’re integrating with third-party systems. Depending on how many systems there are, the price increases.

Informatica	Integrate.io
Requires a trained data engineer to operate the platform.	It is easy for anyone to use.
Powerful ETL but complex.	Combines Powerful ETL with ease of use.
High licensing fees and auxiliary costs.	No auxiliary costs and pricing is based on the number of connectors.

Pricing

Usage-based pricing based on the number of connectors used.

What Do Customers Think About Integrate.io?

Grofers, India’s one of the largest online grocery stores, saved 480+ hours of data engineering every month using Integrate.io. Satyam Krishna, a Data Engineer at Grofers, stated, “Integrate.io gave us the ability not to have data engineers in every team. Instead, data analysts can get the data in the form and shape they want, without worrying about how an ETL process works or the underlying infrastructure.” 

A verified G2 user wrote, “Our team has been using Integrate.io for a while now. It is a user-friendly drag-and-drop tool. The new team members can work on it quickly because of its easy-to-use interface. Cloud-based storage is one of the reasons why our team has been using it. The customer support team is responsive and helped us with a lot of queries.” 

Final Verdict

Integrate.io is perfect for small to mid-sized businesses looking for a no-code ETL tool. It offers great cloud connectivity and security but lacks the depth of customization that advanced users might need.

8. Pentaho

Gartner Rating: 3.6

Pentaho is one of the most versatile open-source ETL and BI platforms I’ve used. What I loved about it was its robust data visualization capabilities, making it a hybrid ETL and analytics tool. Unlike other ETL platforms that focus purely on data movement, Pentaho allows for advanced reporting and dashboarding within the same system.

However, while the community edition is free, the enterprise version can get expensive. Additionally, setting up Pentaho Data Integration (PDI) required some scripting knowledge, which could be challenging for beginners.

Key Features:

• Open-source ETL tool with BI capabilities.
• Data visualization and dashboarding within the platform.
• Support for both structured and unstructured data.
• Integration with cloud and on-premise databases.
• Machine learning and advanced analytics support.

Pros

• ETL operations are made simple and practical.
• Large amounts of data can be handled by it.
• It is simple to comprehend and effective at resolving complex data integration issues.

Cons

• The handling of unstructured data by transformations is poor.
• Access to online resources is not integrated properly.
• Compared to other tools, online reading resources are fewer.

Informatica	Pentaho
Is not open source.	Is open source.
Does not support BI Standard Reporting.	Supports BI Standard Reporting.
Does not support Data Discovery and Visualization.	Supports Data Discovery and Visualization.
Does not have Mobile Capabilities.	Has Mobile Capabilities.

Pricing

It provides four pricing models: Developer, Starter, Pro, and Pro Suite. 

What Do Customers Think About Pentaho?

Rebecca Main, project manager for Bing Lee’s modernization efforts, said, “We’ve been using the intuitive drag and drop Pentaho tools, to update or create business logic during this project. It will allow us to easily add or change ETLs on an ongoing basis.” 

Bell Canada, a leading name in telecommunications, used Pentaho to integrate data from multiple sources and enable real-time analytics. “Pentaho helps us make user-friendly reports available for all users – from entry-level roles all the way up to management. This means we have a 360-degree view of data across the whole of our professional services operation”, said Jude Vanniasinghe, Senior Manager of Business Intelligence at Bell Business Markets Shared Services

Although Pentaho has been one of the user favorites, a few customers have also mentioned limitations such as lack of documentation and support. A verified user wrote on G2, “Since there are no detailed explanations of the errors on the logging screen, sometimes we cannot find the cause of the error. Also in the user community microsoft, oracle is not as strong.” 

Final Verdict

Pentaho is a great ETL and BI tool, but it’s better suited for technical users who can leverage its full capabilities. If you need data visualization along with ETL, Pentaho is a solid choice.

9. Fivetran

Gartner Rating: 4.5

Fivetran is one of the leading ELT solutions I’ve used. Unlike traditional ETL tools that require manual intervention, Fivetran completely automates data extraction, loading, and transformation. It works exceptionally well for SaaS applications and cloud-based data sources, making it a favorite among companies that rely on tools like Salesforce, HubSpot, and Google Analytics.

One thing I appreciated was its incremental data sync feature, which ensures that only new or changed records are updated, rather than performing full-table updates. This improves efficiency and lowers costs. However, pricing can get expensive quickly, especially as data volume increases.

Key Features

• Fivetran supports 500+ data connectors, making integrating data from multiple sources easy.
• It automatically synchronizes data, ensuring your data is always fresh and ready for analysis.
• Fivetran adheres to SOC 1 & 2, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, HIPAA, CCPA, GDPR, and HITRUST regulations.
• Fivetran offers robust customer support and a vibrant community, which provides ample resources for troubleshooting and learning.

Pros

• Connectors must be built and maintained, which takes time, resources, and expertise. 500+ Prebuilt Connectors are available from Fivetran, and more are always being added.
• Routing, error recovery, incremental loading, and scheduling are just a few of the pipeline management tasks that Fivetran handles. As a result, the workload is reduced.
• Fivetran is a SaaS product, so there is no software to set up or servers to maintain.

Cons

• There are occasional delays in the Integration process. Since there isn’t much information available about the service Fivetran is attempting to use or predictions as to when a delayed connection might catch up, it makes it difficult and time-consuming.
• Fivetran uses dbt to manage challenging transformations that normalize data into appropriate data structures for analytics. There are multiple tools and managing them becomes a tedious process.
• Fivetran lacks more comprehensive data management features like Data Virtualization, Data Governance, and Data Quality capabilities that are present in more enterprise-focused tools.
• Opaque and confusing pricing model. 

Informatica	Fivetran
Lacks transparent pricing	Has pricing that is both transparent and clear starter package costs $120 per month.
Creating a pipeline is difficult.	Pipeline creation is simple and easy.
SaaS connectors are limited.	There are many SaaS connectors in Fivetran.

Pricing

MAR based pricing depending on type and number of connectors. 

What Do Customers Think About Fivetran?

A Fivetran user wrote on G2, mentioning low reliability, “Not reliable enough. FiveTran constantly fails to update connectors before API updates, resulting in very random and steep spikes in charges as their system continues to ping API over and over again when it continues to face errors due to calling depreciated version of API… as well as very unreliable flows of data. Highly recommend testing any and all alternatives before proceeding with any tests with fivetran.”

Another user mentioned the lack of support and missing connectors: ” Some connectors are outdated and missing columns; sometimes connectors fail for days straight, support is terrible, and the communication in general from Fivetran leaves a lot to be desired. I want more control over setting sync schedules for my pipelines. The email notifications that come with the starter plan aren’t really good. The alerts are noisy as some connectors, depedning on sync frequency, will always be delayed. They should recommend different sync times. Slack should be available for every account. API access is only available with more expensive plans which isn’t great for us.”

Fivetran pricing has been a pain point for many users. Few wrote, “Fivetran costs are quite high, especially with third party tools where you can’t control the format of the data”, ” Fivetran is very opaque about pricing.”

Final Verdict

Fivetran is perfect for SaaS-heavy businesses that need a fully automated ELT solution. However, its cost structure and limited transformation capabilities make it less ideal for companies needing heavy data transformations or those on a tight budget.

10. AWS Glue

Gartner Rating: 4.2

AWS Glue is an excellent choice for serverless ETL, especially if you’re already invested in the AWS ecosystem. What impressed me was its ability to automatically generate ETL code based on your data structure, reducing development time. It integrates seamlessly with S3, Redshift, and Athena, making it a strong option for cloud-based data processing.

The serverless architecture means no infrastructure management, which is a huge plus. However, the learning curve is steep, particularly if you’re new to AWS services. Additionally, debugging jobs can be challenging due to limited UI-based monitoring.

Key Features

• Glue is fully serverless, meaning you do not need to provision or manage any infrastructure.
• AWS Glue works well with other AWS products, particularly S3, Redshift, and Athena, making it the best solution if you’re already an AWS user.
• Glue provides a managed data catalog feature that discovers and indexes your data for you. This makes it easy to identify the data requirements.
• It scales resources to the organization’s needs so that your ETL jobs will be processed regardless of their size.

Pros

• Since Glue is serverless, managing resources is not necessary. You give up some control over the resources your jobs use in exchange for this.
• Glue is simple to use and sets up quickly. A wizard-style interface is used to manage workflows, and many common transforms can be set up quickly.
• Numerous AWS services are integrated into Glue as a source or destination endpoint. Additionally, Athena tables, for example, can be sourced from Glue catalogs, which makes it very simple to expose data for ad-hoc querying. 

Cons

• The computing resources are really out of your control. The only instance types that Glue provides are General Purpose, Memory-intensive, and Machine Learning. 
• Spark is powered by Glue, which only permits Python or Scala scripts.
• Glue can recognize schemas, but cannot distinctly do it. You might need to write a custom classifier for complicated and/or nested data structures, which are complex. Additionally, testing classifiers can significantly increase the setup time.

Informatica	AWS Glue
Secure agent to be installed in a computer for set up.	Easy Set up as it is serverless.
Is only scalable when deployed on a cloud using individually priced secure agents.	Scaling is automatically handled because of serverless architecture.

Pricing

AWS Glue provides region-based pricing and job-based pricing. There are four types of AWS Glue jobs: Apache Spark, Apache Spark Streaming, Ray (Preview), and Python Shell. 

What Do Customers Think About AWS Glue?

A certified G2 user wrote, “AWS Glue integrates very well with AWS services which are now widely being used by almost every company, since it’s AWS original tool, it easily integrates with all others like S3 and redshift.” 

Another user wrote about their difficulties, “At first, especially if you are unfamiliar with cloud services, it might be a little difficult to understand the pricing. Monitoring usage is essential to preventing unforeseen expenses. Furthermore, even though the graphical user interface is excellent, more customization choices might be available for sophisticated users who want to optimize their data workflows.” 

Final Verdict

AWS Glue is a cost‑effective Informatica alternative for AWS‑centric businesses, offering seamless integration, scalable performance, and a serverless architecture. However, if you require a tool that works equally well in multi‑cloud environments, you may need to consider other options.

Discover how Boomi stacks up against Informatica in a detailed Gartner-rated iPaaS comparison

Factors to Consider While Evaluating Informatica Competitors

Factor	Description
Ease of Use	Does the tool provide a no-code or low-code interface? Is it user-friendly for both technical and non-technical users?
Scalability	Can the tool handle increasing data volumes and support enterprise-scale operations without performance degradation?
Integration Capabilities	Does the tool support multiple data sources, cloud platforms, SaaS applications, and on-premise databases?
Real-Time Processing	Does the tool offer real-time or near-real-time data processing, or is it limited to batch processing?
Cost & Pricing Transparency	Is the pricing model clear, or does it have hidden costs? Does it offer a free trial or flexible pricing plans?
Data Transformation Capabilities	How robust are the built-in transformation features? Can users apply complex transformations easily?
Security & Compliance	Does the tool support security standards like GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 2? How well does it handle data encryption and access control?
Automation & Maintenance	Does the platform require frequent manual intervention, or does it provide automated data pipeline monitoring and recovery?
Support & Documentation	Is customer support available 24/7? Does the tool provide detailed documentation, tutorials, and community support?

Conclusion

Choosing the right alternative to Informatica boils down to individual business needs, budget, and data infrastructure. Hevo Data is a fully managed and affordable option for real-time data integration; SSIS is best for companies within the Microsoft ecosystem, and Alteryx is tailored more toward anyone interested in advanced analytics. 

Those seeking open-source flexibility find Talend and Pentaho to be superb options, while IBM InfoSphere DataStage is a preferable choice for enterprises that require high-performance parallel processing. Fivetran is another worthy mention, with automation and low maintenance at its core. Finally, AWS Glue would be an ideal choice for those organizations looking for ETL that is serverless and cloud-native. 

You can select the ETL tool that best aligns with your data strategy and operational goals by evaluating key factors like scalability, cost, automation, and integration capabilities. Hevo Data is one such tool. Sign up for a 14-day free trial and explore more about effortless data migration.

Frequently Asked Questions