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Fivetran vs Estuary Flow

SEPT 2026 audit

A comparison of Fivetran and Estuary Flow built from values read directly from each provider's own documentation, with the source recorded against every figure.

Reviewed by Palash BagchiUpdated 23 criteria comparedSources last checked

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.

Neither quite fits? Every other option, ranked by iScore: Fivetran alternatives · Estuary Flow alternatives

12 sourced criteria separate them — see where, with sources, below.

Visit Fivetran documentationVisit Estuary Flow documentation

No affiliate links, sponsored placements or paid rankings appear on this site. Ordering follows the sourced data and the stated criteria.

01.

At a glance.

CriterionFivetranEstuary Flow
Pricing
Free tierYesYes
Kind of free offerFree tierFree tier
What the free plan includes500,000 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 endsEach 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 modelConsumption 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 frequency15-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.
HIPAAHIPAA requirements are met under a business associate agreement signed by Fivetran.Estuary is SOC 2 Type II certified with zero exceptions and HIPAA-compliant.
Encryption at restData, keys, and credentials are encrypted in transit and at rest.Server-facing services use Let’s Encrypt, and all data at rest is encrypted with AES-256.
Role-based access controlRole-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.
Private networking / VPC
Avoid exposure to the public internet by connecting via AWS PrivateLink, Azure Private Link, or Google Private Service Connect.
Estuary’s Zero-Trust architecture supports any enterprise deployment model: managed VPC, private network, or hybrid cloud.

Only criteria both providers publish appear here; a tinted cell marks a real difference. Criteria only one of them documents are listed below, and an absence there means we found no source — not that the feature is missing. How we source this.

The small bar above a value is inetGeek's own lean toward that side — computed from the same facts shown, never a number the provider published. See the picker below "The short answer" to weigh only the criteria you care about.

02.

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) →

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) →

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) →

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) →
  • 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 · Report a correction

  • 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 · Report a correction

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.

Estuary Flow

Two data processing regions on the Cloud plan, US and EU. Custom region support is an Enterprise feature.

Sources (2) →
  • 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 · Report a correction

  • Estuary Pricing & Plans ↗

    “Bring your own cloud storage US/EU data processing regions SSH tunnel support”

    Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing · Report a correction

Connectors published

Fivetran

700+ fully managed connectors, plus 200+ fully managed activation destinations for the reverse direction.

Estuary Flow

200+ fully managed connectors across databases, cloud storage, APIs, SaaS apps and streaming platforms.

Sources (2) →

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) →

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) →

HIPAA

Fivetran
HIPAA requirements are met under a business associate agreement signed by Fivetran.
Estuary Flow
Estuary is SOC 2 Type II certified with zero exceptions and HIPAA-compliant.
Sources (2) →

Encryption at rest

Fivetran
Data, keys, and credentials are encrypted in transit and at rest.
Estuary Flow
Server-facing services use Let’s Encrypt, and all data at rest is encrypted with AES-256.
Sources (2) →

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) →
  • 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 · Report a correction

  • 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 · Report a correction

Private networking / VPC

Fivetran
Avoid exposure to the public internet by connecting via AWS PrivateLink, Azure Private Link, or Google Private Service Connect.
Estuary Flow
Estuary’s Zero-Trust architecture supports any enterprise deployment model: managed VPC, private network, or hybrid cloud.
Sources (2) →

When these numbers change, hear about it. Sources are re-checked monthly; a repricing goes out as a short note.

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03.

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 — except where we say we read the other provider's own page on a given date and it does not state it. Those rows lean, and the provider can correct them with a link.

Credit card to startEstuary Flow: No
When you exceed a capEstuary Flow: Passing the free tier raises a warning and offers a choice: continue on usage-based billing, or pause the pipelines.
Startup credit programFivetran: $50,000 of free Fivetran for Y Combinator companies joining the startup program.
Uptime SLAEstuary Flow: No figure is published. SLA terms are custom and negotiated on the Enterprise plan.
SAML single sign-onEstuary Flow: Limited
ISO 27001Fivetran: ISO 27001. Fivetran states it meets the requirements of the standard.Estuary Flow: not stated on its own page when read on 2026-09-21 — corrections welcome · every such claim about Estuary Flow.
GDPR / data residencyFivetran: You can ensure Fivetran data processing always occurs in the EU, for example, to help meet your GDPR requirements.Estuary Flow: not stated on its own page when read on 2026-09-21 — corrections welcome · every such claim about Estuary Flow.
PCI DSSFivetran: PCI DSS Level 1, assessed annually by qualified security assessors against the current requirements.Estuary Flow: not stated on its own page when read on 2026-09-21 — corrections welcome · every such claim about Estuary Flow.
Customer-managed keysFivetran: Customer-managed keys for encryption arrive on Business Critical, above Enterprise.Estuary Flow: not stated on its own page when read on 2026-09-21 — corrections welcome · every such claim about Estuary Flow.
04.

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.

Provider pages

FivetranA managed ELT platform billed on monthly active rows, where a row that changes many times in a month is counted once.Estuary FlowA streaming ELT platform billed per gigabyte moved plus a flat monthly fee for each connector instance, with millisecond latency on the entry paid plan.

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Comments

Every page here is sourced and dated.