# Fivetran vs Estuary Flow

Canonical: https://inetgeek.com/compare/fivetran-vs-estuary/

Every value below is read from Fivetran's and Estuary Flow's own documentation. See https://inetgeek.com/methodology/ for how.

## At a glance

| Criterion | Fivetran | Estuary Flow |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Kind of free offer | Free tier | Free tier |
| What the free plan includes | 500,000 monthly active rows for connections, 3,500 MAR for activations and 5,000 model runs for transformations, on Standard plan features. The allowance renews monthly rather than expiring. | 10 GB a month across up to 2 concurrent connector instances, with no time limit on it. |
| When the free offer ends | Each new connection carries its own 14-day free trial, which runs alongside the standing free plan rather than replacing it. | A 30-day Cloud trial that begins automatically once the free tier limits are passed, with no credit card to start it. |
| Entry paid plan | $5 base charge per standard connection using between 1 and 1 million MAR in a month, charged on top of per-MAR usage. There is no plan fee to clear first, so a single light connection is the floor. | $100 a month for the first connector instance on the Cloud plan, before any of the $0.50 per GB moved. |
| Pricing model | Consumption on monthly active rows. Inserts and updates count, deletes included; rows that come back unchanged on a scheduled re-sync do not, and neither does the initial bulk load when a connector is set up. Metered per million MAR. | $0.50 per GB moved, plus a flat monthly fee for every active connector instance — $100 each for the first six and $50 each after that. A connector instance is one connection to a source or to a destination, so a single pipeline costs two of them. |
| Regions | Seven processing locations: United States, Canada, European Union, United Kingdom, Australia, India and Singapore. The location is chosen per destination, and every connection in that destination runs there. | Two data processing regions on the Cloud plan, US and EU. Custom region support is an Enterprise feature. |
| Connectors published | 700+ fully managed connectors, plus 200+ fully managed activation destinations for the reverse direction. | 200+ fully managed connectors across databases, cloud storage, APIs, SaaS apps and streaming platforms. |
| Sync frequency | 15-minute syncs on Standard. One-minute syncs arrive on Enterprise, two plans up. | Millisecond latency or batch on the Cloud plan at no extra charge, and delivery latency is configurable per destination. |
| SOC 2 | SOC 1 and SOC 2 auditing procedures cover the security and management of data. | SOC 2 and HIPAA compliance reports are an Enterprise feature, above the Cloud plan. |
| Role-based access control | Role-based access control is included on Standard. Custom roles are an Enterprise feature. | Role-based access control is included on the Cloud plan, the entry paid tier. |

## Where they differ

### What the free plan includes

- Fivetran: 500,000 monthly active rows for connections, 3,500 MAR for activations and 5,000 model runs for transformations, on Standard plan features. The allowance renews monthly rather than expiring. ([source](https://www.fivetran.com/pricing))
- Estuary Flow: 10 GB a month across up to 2 concurrent connector instances, with no time limit on it. ([source](https://estuary.dev/pricing))

### When the free offer ends

- Fivetran: Each new connection carries its own 14-day free trial, which runs alongside the standing free plan rather than replacing it. ([source](https://www.fivetran.com/pricing))
- Estuary Flow: A 30-day Cloud trial that begins automatically once the free tier limits are passed, with no credit card to start it. ([source](https://estuary.dev/pricing))

### Entry paid plan

- Fivetran: $5 base charge per standard connection using between 1 and 1 million MAR in a month, charged on top of per-MAR usage. There is no plan fee to clear first, so a single light connection is the floor. ([source](https://www.fivetran.com/pricing))
- Estuary Flow: $100 a month for the first connector instance on the Cloud plan, before any of the $0.50 per GB moved. ([source](https://estuary.dev/pricing))

### Pricing model

- Fivetran: Consumption on monthly active rows. Inserts and updates count, deletes included; rows that come back unchanged on a scheduled re-sync do not, and neither does the initial bulk load when a connector is set up. Metered per million MAR. ([source](https://www.fivetran.com/pricing))
- Estuary Flow: $0.50 per GB moved, plus a flat monthly fee for every active connector instance — $100 each for the first six and $50 each after that. A connector instance is one connection to a source or to a destination, so a single pipeline costs two of them. ([source](https://estuary.dev/pricing))

### Regions

- Fivetran: Seven processing locations: United States, Canada, European Union, United Kingdom, Australia, India and Singapore. The location is chosen per destination, and every connection in that destination runs there. ([source](https://www.fivetran.com/pricing))
- Estuary Flow: Two data processing regions on the Cloud plan, US and EU. Custom region support is an Enterprise feature. ([source](https://estuary.dev/pricing))

### Connectors published

- Fivetran: 700+ fully managed connectors, plus 200+ fully managed activation destinations for the reverse direction. ([source](https://www.fivetran.com/pricing))
- Estuary Flow: 200+ fully managed connectors across databases, cloud storage, APIs, SaaS apps and streaming platforms. ([source](https://estuary.dev/pricing))

### Sync frequency

- Fivetran: 15-minute syncs on Standard. One-minute syncs arrive on Enterprise, two plans up. ([source](https://www.fivetran.com/pricing))
- Estuary Flow: Millisecond latency or batch on the Cloud plan at no extra charge, and delivery latency is configurable per destination. ([source](https://estuary.dev/pricing))

### SOC 2

- Fivetran: SOC 1 and SOC 2 auditing procedures cover the security and management of data. ([source](https://www.fivetran.com/security))
- Estuary Flow: SOC 2 and HIPAA compliance reports are an Enterprise feature, above the Cloud plan. ([source](https://estuary.dev/pricing))

### Role-based access control

- Fivetran: Role-based access control is included on Standard. Custom roles are an Enterprise feature. ([source](https://www.fivetran.com/pricing))
- Estuary Flow: Role-based access control is included on the Cloud plan, the entry paid tier. ([source](https://estuary.dev/pricing))

## Which should you choose?

Pick Fivetran if Sources whose rows keep changing. A monthly active row is counted once however many times it changed that month, unchanged rows on a re-sync cost nothing, and the initial bulk load is excluded entirely — so a churny table is billed on how many rows moved, not how often. 500,000 MAR free, standing.

Pick Estuary Flow if Pipelines that have to be fresh. Millisecond latency or batch is included on the entry paid plan at no extra charge, where the other three gate sub-15-minute syncs behind a higher tier or a sales call. The free tier runs indefinitely at 10 GB a month with no card.

Consider something else: Fivetran — Many DISTINCT rows change each month. A growing fact table bills every new row, and the meter that forgives churn does not forgive breadth. Freshness is also gated: 15-minute syncs are the Standard ceiling and 1-minute syncs are two plans up on Enterprise.

Consider something else: Estuary Flow — You need the compliance paperwork or a lot of pipelines. SOC 2 and HIPAA reports, SSO and any SLA at all are Enterprise-only, and no availability figure is published anywhere. The per-instance fee compounds: a pipeline is two connector instances, so three of them is $600 a month before a byte moves.

## Documented by only one

- Credit card to start: Estuary Flow: No
- When you exceed a cap: Estuary Flow: Passing the free tier raises a warning and offers a choice: continue on usage-based billing, or pause the pipelines.
- Startup credit program: Fivetran: $50,000 of free Fivetran for Y Combinator companies joining the startup program.
- Uptime SLA: Estuary Flow: No figure is published. SLA terms are custom and negotiated on the Enterprise plan.
- SAML single sign-on: Estuary Flow: Limited
- ISO 27001: Fivetran: ISO 27001. Fivetran states it meets the requirements of the standard.
- HIPAA: Fivetran: HIPAA requirements are met under a business associate agreement signed by Fivetran.
- PCI DSS: Fivetran: PCI DSS Level 1, assessed annually by qualified security assessors against the current requirements.
- Customer-managed keys: Fivetran: Customer-managed keys for encryption arrive on Business Critical, above Enterprise.

## Questions this comparison answers

**Entry paid plan: Fivetran or Estuary Flow?**

Fivetran: $5 base charge per standard connection using between 1 and 1 million MAR in a month, charged on top of per-MAR usage. There is no plan fee to clear first, so a single light connection is the floor.
Estuary Flow: $100 a month for the first connector instance on the Cloud plan, before any of the $0.50 per GB moved.

**Should I choose Fivetran or Estuary Flow?**

Pick Fivetran if Sources whose rows keep changing. A monthly active row is counted once however many times it changed that month, unchanged rows on a re-sync cost nothing, and the initial bulk load is excluded entirely — so a churny table is billed on how many rows moved, not how often. 500,000 MAR free, standing.
Pick Estuary Flow if Pipelines that have to be fresh. Millisecond latency or batch is included on the entry paid plan at no extra charge, where the other three gate sub-15-minute syncs behind a higher tier or a sales call. The free tier runs indefinitely at 10 GB a month with no card.