Fivetran vs Estuary Flow
SEPT 2026 auditA comparison of Fivetran and Estuary Flow built from values read directly from each provider's own documentation, with the source recorded against every figure.
The short answer
Choose 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.
Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved
Choose 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.
Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved
Consider something else if…
- 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.
- 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.
9 sourced criteria separate them — see where, with sources, below.
Pick the criteria you care about. The chart counts how many of them lean toward each provider — the same read as scanning the bars below, just totalled for the ones you chose.
Fivetran 0
Estuary Flow 0
At a glance.
| Criterion | Fivetran | Estuary Flow |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||
| 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. |
| Infrastructure | ||
| 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. |
| Pipelines | ||
| 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. |
| Compliance | ||
| 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.
- Estuary Flow
- 10 GB a month across up to 2 concurrent connector instances, with no time limit on it.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Fivetran Pricing ↗
“free up to the following: 500,000 monthly active rows (MAR) for connections 3,500 monthly active rows (MAR) for activations 5,000 monthly model runs (MMR) for transformations”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
- Estuary Pricing & Plans ↗
“Free up to 10 GB/month 2 concurrent connector instances”
Read 2026-09-15 · official 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.
- Estuary Flow
- A 30-day Cloud trial that begins automatically once the free tier limits are passed, with no credit card to start it.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Fivetran Pricing ↗
“Each new connection comes with a 14-day free trial.”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
- Estuary Pricing & Plans ↗
“The free trial provides new users with 30 days of access to all the features of our Cloud Plan. It automatically begins once you exceed our free tier limits (2 connector instances and 10GB/month).”
Read 2026-09-15 · official 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.
- Estuary Flow
- $100 a month for the first connector instance on the Cloud plan, before any of the $0.50 per GB moved.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Fivetran Pricing ↗
“We apply a $5 base charge to all standard connections that have a monthly usage between 1 MAR and 1M MAR.”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
- Estuary Pricing & Plans ↗
“First 6 connector instances cost $100/month each, additional connector instances are $50/month each.”
Read 2026-09-15 · official 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.
- 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.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Fivetran Pricing ↗
“monthly usage refers to the number of monthly active rows (MAR) processed by Fivetran in a calendar month. This usage is measured based on per million MAR. Usage includes: Inserts: New rows added to your destination. Updates: Modifications made to existing rows in your destination, including deletes. Usage excludes: Unchanged rows: Rows retrieved during scheduled re-syncs that haven't changed since the previous sync. Initial syncs: The initial bulk data load performed when setting up a connector.”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
- Estuary Pricing & Plans ↗
“A connector instance is a connection to a source (capture) or destination (materialization). First 6 connector instances cost $100/month each, additional connector instances are $50/month each.”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
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.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Fivetran Pricing ↗
“Fivetran runs data connectors on servers in the United States (US), Canada, European Union (EU), United Kingdom (UK), Australia, India, and Singapore. You can select your preferred data processing location when configuring your target destination.”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
- Estuary Pricing & Plans ↗
“Bring your own cloud storage US/EU data processing regions SSH tunnel support”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
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.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Fivetran Pricing ↗
“700+ fully managed connectors 200+ fully managed activation destinations”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
- Estuary Pricing & Plans ↗
“200+ fully-managed connectors Unlimited users Millisecond latency or batch, no extra charge”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
Sync frequency
- Fivetran
- 15-minute syncs on Standard. One-minute syncs arrive on Enterprise, two plans up.
- Estuary Flow
- Millisecond latency or batch on the Cloud plan at no extra charge, and delivery latency is configurable per destination.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Fivetran Pricing ↗
“Unlimited users 15-minute syncs 700+ fully managed connectors [...] All Standard features, plus: 1-minute syncs”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
- Estuary Pricing & Plans ↗
“200+ fully-managed connectors Unlimited users Millisecond latency or batch, no extra charge”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
SOC 2
- Fivetran
- SOC 1 and SOC 2 auditing procedures cover the security and management of data.
- Estuary Flow
- SOC 2 and HIPAA compliance reports are an Enterprise feature, above the Cloud plan.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Fivetran Security ↗
“SOC 1 & SOC 2 Auditing procedures ensure security and management of data.”
Read 2026-09-15 · official site
- Estuary Pricing & Plans ↗
“Everything in Cloud, plus Volume-based discounts SOC 2 & HIPAA compliance reports Single sign-on (SSO) Custom SLA terms”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
Role-based access control
- Fivetran
- Role-based access control is included on Standard. Custom roles are an Enterprise feature.
- Estuary Flow
- Role-based access control is included on the Cloud plan, the entry paid tier.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Fivetran Pricing ↗
“Role-based access control Access to Fivetran REST API [...] All Standard features, plus: 1-minute syncs Fivetran Activations' Audience Hub Enterprise database connectors Custom roles”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
- Estuary Pricing & Plans ↗
“Unlimited users Millisecond latency or batch, no extra charge Role-based access control (RBAC) Bring your own cloud storage”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
When these numbers change, hear about it. Sources are re-checked monthly; a repricing goes out as a short note.
Documented by only one.
These criteria are published by one provider and not the other. An absence here means we have not found a source, not that the feature is missing.
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.