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Updated yesterday · Independent Analysis
dbt Cloud vs Fivetran
Capability Overview
dbt Cloudvs Fivetran
4.7G2+0.4 vs Fivetran
Only in dbt Cloud
- ✦ SQL-Based Data Transformation
- ✦ Data Testing Framework
- ✦ Data Documentation
✓ Free planFrom $100/mo(cheaper)50k+ users · est. 2016
Fivetranvs dbt Cloud
4.3G2-0.4 vs dbt Cloud
Only in Fivetran
- ✦ Automated ELT Pipelines
- ✦ 500+ Pre-built Connectors
- ✦ Schema Drift Handling
✓ Free planFrom $500/mo(pricier)5k+ users · est. 2012
Quick VerdictIndependent Analysis
dbt Cloud and Fivetran are both Data Observability tools. dbt Cloud starts at $100/mo, Fivetran at $500/mo. Compare features, pricing, and ratings below to find the best fit for your team.
When to Choose dbt Cloud vs Fivetran
The question that matters: “In what situation will I regret choosing A over B after 3 months?”
dbt Cloud Unique Strength
CI/CD for SQL Models With Automated Testing on PRs
dbt Cloud's job scheduler runs dbt test and build on every PR, blocking merges that break downstream model dependencies or fail data quality tests before they reach production.
→ Choose dbt Cloud if this scenario applies to you. Fivetran doesn't offer a comparable solution.
dbt Cloud Unique Strength
Model Performance Monitoring via dbt Explorer
dbt Explorer surfaces model execution time trends, failed runs, and source freshness in a visual dependency graph, letting data engineers spot degrading models before pipelines miss SLAs.
→ Choose dbt Cloud if this scenario applies to you. Fivetran doesn't offer a comparable solution.
dbt Cloud Unique Strength
Column-Level Lineage for Regulatory Data Tracing
dbt Cloud's column-level lineage traces a specific sensitive field from its source table through every transformation to the final reporting table, satisfying data lineage requirements for financial audits.
→ Choose dbt Cloud if this scenario applies to you. Fivetran doesn't offer a comparable solution.
Pricing Comparison & PlansHigh· Verified Jun 28, 2026
dbt Cloud Plans
Free tier available
Developer
FreeBest for: Fastest way to get started
- ✓1 developer seat
- ✓3,000 successful models built/mo
- ✓1 project
- ✓browser-based IDE
- ✓MFA
View on vendor site
MOST POPULARStarter
$100/user/moBest for: First dbt project, pay-as-you-go
- ✓5 dev seats
- ✓15,000 models/mo
- ✓5,000 queried metrics/mo
- ✓1 project
- ✓dbt Catalog basic
View on vendor site
Enterprise
Contact SalesBest for: Scale for analytics + AI
- ✓Custom dev seat count
- ✓100,000 models/mo
- ✓20,000 metrics/mo
- ✓30 projects
- ✓dbt Catalog advanced
View on vendor site
Enterprise+
Contact SalesBest for: Maximum control + security
- ✓PrivateLink
- ✓IP Restrictions
- ✓Rollback
- ✓Hybrid projects
- ✓Unlimited projects
View on vendor site
Fivetran Plans
Free tier available
Free
FreeBest for: Low volumes, core features
- ✓Core platform functionality
- ✓Access to Standard Plan features within limits
- ✓Suitable for evaluation and small-scale projects
View on vendor site
MOST POPULARStandard
$500/per million MAR/moBest for: Automating data movement
- ✓Unlimited users
- ✓15-minute sync frequencies
- ✓Access to 700+ fully managed connectors
- ✓Integration for dbt Core
- ✓Fivetran REST API
View on vendor site
Enterprise
$667/per million MAR/moBest for: Greater flexibility + control
- ✓All Standard Plan features
- ✓Faster 1-minute syncs
- ✓Enterprise database connectors
- ✓Custom roles
- ✓VPN security tunnels (with annual contract)
View on vendor site
Business Critical
$1067/per million MAR/moBest for: Highest data protection + compliance
- ✓All Enterprise Plan features
- ✓Advanced security and compliance capabilities
- ✓Tailored for large organizations with stringent governance controls
View on vendor site
Capability Breakdown
3 differences found across 15 standardized features
Feature
dbt Cloud
Fivetran
Custom Rules
✓
✗
SQL Transformation
✓
✗
Column-level Lineage
✓
✗
Total (raw)
16
16
dbt Cloud Features
- •SQL-Based Data Transformation
- •Data Testing Framework
- •Data Documentation
- •Version Control (Git)
- •CI/CD for Data
- •Lineage Visualization
- •dbt Semantic Layer
- •dbt Explorer
- •Orchestration
- •Development IDE (Cloud IDE)
- •Job Scheduling
- •Slack Alerting
- •Multi-Project Support
- •Environment Management
- •API
- •SOC 2 Compliance
Fivetran Features
- •Automated ELT Pipelines
- •500+ Pre-built Connectors
- •Schema Drift Handling
- •Incremental Data Sync
- •Data Transformation (Quickstart dbt)
- •Log-Based CDC
- •Reverse ETL
- •Data Quality Monitoring
- •Metadata API
- •Snowflake/BigQuery/Redshift/Databricks Support
- •RBAC
- •SSO
- •Audit Logs
- •Slack Alerts
- •Data Blocking
- •HIPAA/SOC2 Compliant
Strengths & Limitations
Evaluative strengths and weaknesses: not feature lists
Pros
- +50k+ companies make it the standard for analytics engineering
- +Software engineering best practices (Git, CI/CD) for data
- +dbt Semantic Layer creates consistent business metrics
- +Vibrant community and ecosystem of packages
Cons
- −dbt seems quite adequate currently, but if I needed to name a few areas for improvement, I would mention the migration of code to
- −dbt is not as stable as preferred, as it has had a few outages in the current year itself, so improvement should be made in the ou
- −dbt can be improved as I find the co-pilot in dbt is not very good, and my team has tried using it but opted to move off it and us
- −With AI, everything is advancing so fast, so I would say that the most important thing is to try to integrate with more platforms.
- −The solution must add more Python-based implementations.
Pros
- +500+ managed connectors eliminate pipeline engineering overhead
- +Automatic schema drift handling prevents pipeline breaks
- +CDC enables near-real-time data replication
- +dbt integration for transformation after ingestion
Cons
- −The experience of using SDK connectors can be improved, as it lacks computational power, which is an area that needs enhancement.
- −If Fivetran can build in more transformations, that would be really helpful in my opinion.
- −Fivetran could improve by adapting more for technical users and by providing more options for such users.
- −In our case, we ultimately did not end up using Fivetran because we were able to do custom connects at a lower cost compared to Fi
- −There is not a lot of options to customize the pipeline, and the cost is high.
At a Glance
User Rating
4.7/5vs4.3/5
dbt Cloud
▲
Fivetran
Starting Price
$100/movs$500/mo
dbt Cloud
Fivetran
▲
Feature Count
16 featuresvs16 features
dbt Cloud
Fivetran
User Base
50vs5
dbt Cloud
▲
Fivetran
dbt Cloud · Price & Data SyncLast verified: June 28, 2026 · CE-DATA-2026W26-F54F85 · ✓ Pricing updated May 26, 2026
Fivetran · Price & Data SyncLast verified: June 28, 2026 · CE-DATA-2026W23-0E57DA · ✓ Pricing updated May 30, 2026
Recent Price History
Fivetran
Fivetran updated "Enterprise" from Custom to $667/mo
Price change · May 30, 2026
Fivetran
Fivetran removed the "Starter" plan
Plan removed · May 30, 2026
Fivetran
Fivetran updated "Standard" from Custom to $500/mo
Price change · May 30, 2026
Fivetran
Fivetran updated "Business Critical" from Custom to $1067/mo
Price change · May 30, 2026
dbt Cloud
dbt Cloud added a new "Enterprise+" plan (Custom pricing)
Plan added · May 26, 2026
dbt Cloud
dbt Cloud removed the "Team" plan
Plan removed · May 26, 2026
dbt Cloud
dbt Cloud added a new "Starter" plan at $100/user/mo
Plan added · May 26, 2026
Fivetran
Fivetran added a new "Business Critical" plan
Plan added · May 21, 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Comparisons
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