Fivetran vs Hevo Data: MAR or Events Pricing? (2026)

Quick verdict

Short answer

Choose Fivetran if you need the widest managed connector list, enterprise options such as hybrid deployment, customer-managed keys and 1-minute syncs, or a single vendor for ingestion, dbt transformations and reverse ETL now that Fivetran has merged with dbt Labs and folded Census into Fivetran Activations. Choose Hevo Data if you want a simpler fixed monthly plan with a published price, in-flight Python or drag-and-drop transformations, and mainstream sources. Model your own data on both: tables that are updated many times a month favour Fivetran's MAR counting, while low-change, high-row workloads can suit Hevo's event plans.

How we know: This comparison is research-based: plans, metering rules, connector coverage, deployment models and corporate events were checked against Fivetran's and Hevo Data's official pricing pages, documentation and press releases in October 2026. We have not run either service, so nothing here is a measured result.

Fivetran is a managed ELT service whose pricing page lists more than 700 fully managed connectors. It runs in Fivetran's cloud (SaaS deployment) or as Hybrid Deployment, where data is processed inside your own network while Fivetran orchestrates. Fivetran acquired Census, a reverse ETL company, in 2025; Census is now offered as Fivetran Activations. Fivetran then merged with dbt Labs: the all-stock merger was announced on 13 October 2025 and completed on 1 June 2026, and the combined company operates as "Fivetran + dbt Labs", with George Fraser as CEO and Tristan Handy as President.

Hevo Data sells Hevo Pipeline, a managed, no-code ELT and ETL service. Its documentation lists database, SaaS and file sources, loading into warehouses such as Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift and Databricks, or into databases. It supports log-based CDC pipelines, Python and drag-and-drop transformations and a Schema Mapper, and offers two pipeline architectures, Standard and the newer Edge. Hevo has a Free plan and fixed monthly paid plans sized in events.

Side by side

Aspect	Fivetran	Hevo Data
Billing unit	Monthly Active Rows (MAR), counted per connection: each distinct row counts once a month however many times it changes	Events: each record inserted, updated or deleted in the destination counts as one event
Plan structure	Usage-based: Free, Standard, Enterprise, Business Critical; spend rate per million MAR	Fixed monthly plans: Free, Starter, Professional, Business Critical; on-demand charge above quota
Free plan	500,000 MAR for connections, 5,000 model runs for transformations	1 million events per month, free sources only, up to 5 users, hourly scheduling
Minimum charge	USD 5 base charge per connection with 1 to 1M MAR on paid plans	The plan's monthly fee
Connectors	700+ managed connectors; Connector SDK for custom Python connectors	150+ connectors on paid plans; no custom connector SDK found
Fastest syncs	Standard: 15 minutes; Enterprise: 1 minute	Free: hourly; streaming pipelines on Business Critical
Transformations	dbt-based transformations in the destination (billed in model runs)	In-flight Python and drag-and-drop blocks; dbt integration on paid plans
Reverse ETL	Fivetran Activations (formerly Census)	Not on the pricing page
Deployment	SaaS or Hybrid Deployment (Hybrid for custom connectors needs Enterprise or Business Critical)	Managed service only
Main trade-off	Widest coverage and enterprise options, but usage-based bills are harder to predict	Predictable plans and in-flight transforms, but fewer connectors and frequent updates use events quickly

Key differences

Metering: Monthly Active Rows versus events

Fivetran defines MAR as the number of distinct rows synced from a source to your destination in a calendar month, tracked by primary key separately for each connection. Its documentation states that once a row is active it is counted only once that month, however many updates it receives. Initial syncs do not incur cost for the historical data they load, and some re-syncs are free. Since the pricing launched on 1 March 2025, each connection is metered on its own, with a USD 5 base charge for paid connections that use between 1 and 1 million MAR.

Hevo counts events: each record inserted, updated or deleted in the destination. Its events documentation adds that rows generated by JSON parsing or transformations, and duplicates when deduplication is not applied, count, while historical loads do not. On paid plans, usage above the quota is charged as On-Demand events; on the Free plan, Hevo holds back events over the quota until you upgrade or the next month starts.

In our view this is the most important difference between the two. A table of 100,000 rows where each row changes ten times in a month is, per the vendors' definitions, about 100,000 MAR on Fivetran but could be up to about a million events on Hevo, depending on how often Hevo syncs and how the changes are batched. A table that only receives new rows behaves similarly on both. Estimate your change volume per table before comparing quotes, and use each vendor's calculator or trial rather than our illustration.

Coverage and custom sources

Fivetran lists 700+ fully managed connectors, and its Connector SDK lets you write a custom connector in Python that Fivetran hosts and runs, billed in MAR like any other connector. Hybrid Deployment for SDK connectors requires the Enterprise or Business Critical plan.

Hevo lists 150+ connectors on its paid plans, covering mainstream databases (including PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle, SQL Server and MongoDB), SaaS applications and file stores. The Free plan is restricted to sources Hevo marks as free. We did not find a custom connector SDK in Hevo's documentation, so check that every source you need is listed.

Transformations: in the warehouse versus in flight

Fivetran follows the ELT pattern: data lands as-is and is transformed in the destination, with dbt-based transformations billed in monthly model runs (the Free plan includes 5,000). The merger with dbt Labs makes dbt the natural transformation layer for Fivetran customers, although the combined company has not yet announced a final brand.

Hevo can transform records before loading: Python transformations change properties, keys and data types, and drag-and-drop blocks hash or mask fields, parse JSON and rename fields. That helps when personal data must be masked before it reaches the warehouse. Events created by transformations count towards the quota. For the trade-offs between the two approaches, see ETL vs ELT.

Enterprise and platform scope

Fivetran's higher plans add 1-minute syncs (Enterprise), customer-managed encryption keys and PCI DSS Level 1 certification (Business Critical), and Hybrid Deployment for processing inside your own network. With Activations (reverse ETL) and the dbt Labs merger, Fivetran now covers ingestion, transformation and activation from one vendor.

Hevo's Business Critical plan adds streaming pipelines, role-based access, SSO, multiple workspaces and VPC peering, on a quoted price. Hevo stays focused on getting data into the warehouse, with Edge as its newer pipeline architecture for database replication. In our view, Hevo suits teams that want a narrower, simpler product, while Fivetran suits teams that expect to need its broader platform.

Pricing and licensing

Fivetran. Connections are billed on usage: total monthly MAR multiplied by a spend rate per million MAR, which falls as volume rises and depends on your plan. A USD 5 base charge applies to each connection with 1 to 1 million MAR (not on the Free plan). As one example from Fivetran's pricing page in October 2026 (USD), a Facebook Ads connection with 34,479 MAR is shown as costing USD 22.06 per month on the Standard plan. The Free plan includes 500,000 MAR for connections, 3,500 MAR for Activations and 5,000 model runs. New connections get 14 days of free usage. Annual contracts are listed with discounts of up to 22%.

Hevo Data. As listed on Hevo's pricing page in October 2026 (USD): Free costs nothing for up to 1 million events per month; Starter starts at USD 299 per month billed monthly, or USD 265 per month billed annually, for its entry tier (5M, 20M or 50M events per month are offered); Professional starts at USD 849 per month billed monthly, or USD 750 per month billed annually (20M, 50M or 100M events); Business Critical is quoted. Events above the quota are charged On-Demand. A 14-day trial needs no credit card.

Pricing checked on the vendors' official pages on 7 October 2026. Prices change; confirm before buying.

Where each one leads

Fivetran strengths

700+ managed connectors, plus a Python Connector SDK for custom sources
MAR counts each row once a month however often it changes
Enterprise options: 1-minute syncs, Hybrid Deployment, customer-managed keys, PCI DSS Level 1
One vendor for ingestion, dbt transformations and reverse ETL (Activations)
Free plan of 500,000 MAR and free historical syncs

Hevo Data strengths

Fixed monthly plans with published prices
In-flight Python and drag-and-drop transformations, including masking and hashing
Free plan of 1 million events with no credit card
Unlimited users from the Professional plan

Limitations

Fivetran limitations

Usage-based bills are harder to forecast, and each small connection carries a USD 5 base charge
No in-flight transformation; transformation happens in the destination
1-minute syncs, Hybrid Deployment for SDK connectors and compliance features need higher plans
Post-merger branding and packaging with dbt Labs are still being settled

Hevo Data limitations

Updates and deletes each count as events, so frequently changing tables use quota quickly
Smaller connector catalogue and no custom connector SDK found
Managed service only, with no hybrid or self-hosted option
Streaming pipelines and SSO need the quoted Business Critical plan

When to choose each

Choose Fivetran if

You need many or uncommon SaaS sources, or custom connectors
Your source tables are updated many times a month
You need hybrid processing, customer-managed keys or PCI DSS Level 1
You want reverse ETL and dbt transformations from the same vendor

Choose Hevo Data if

You want a fixed, published monthly price
You need to mask or reshape data before it lands in the warehouse
Your sources are mainstream databases and SaaS apps on Hevo's list
Your data is mostly appended, with few updates or deletes

When neither is right

You need to self-host or keep the whole pipeline in your own environment: see Airbyte vs Hevo Data and Airbyte vs Fivetran.
Your team wants ingestion as version-controlled code: see Airbyte vs Meltano.
You want a low-cost managed tool for a few common sources: see Fivetran vs Stitch, noting that Stitch is now part of Qlik.
Your main need is scheduling SQL and scripts rather than moving SaaS data: see Apache Airflow vs Airbyte.

Final recommendation

Bottom line

Both are managed services, so neither asks you to run infrastructure. Fivetran is the broader platform: more connectors, custom connectors through its SDK, hybrid deployment, enterprise compliance and, after the Census acquisition and the dbt Labs merger, transformation and reverse ETL from one vendor. Hevo Data is the simpler buy: a fixed monthly plan with a published price, in-flight transformations and a generous free tier for mainstream sources. The pricing models reward different data shapes, so the deciding step is to estimate rows changed per month (for Fivetran) and inserts, updates and deletes per month (for Hevo) for your real tables, and to run both trials on the same sources before signing.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between MAR and events?

Fivetran's Monthly Active Rows count each distinct row (by primary key, per connection) once a month, however many times it changes. Hevo's events count each record inserted, updated or deleted in the destination, so a row that changes several times can produce several events.

Is Hevo Data cheaper than Fivetran?

It depends on your data. Hevo publishes fixed monthly plan prices, while Fivetran bills per million MAR per connection plus a USD 5 base charge per small connection. Tables with many updates tend to favour MAR counting; append-only data behaves more similarly. Compare quotes on your own volumes.

Did Fivetran merge with dbt Labs?

Yes. Fivetran announced an all-stock merger with dbt Labs on 13 October 2025 and completed it on 1 June 2026. The combined company operates as "Fivetran + dbt Labs", with George Fraser as CEO and Tristan Handy as President.

Does Fivetran have a free plan?

Yes. As of October 2026 the Free plan includes 500,000 MAR for connections, 3,500 MAR for Activations and 5,000 model runs for transformations per month. Hevo's Free plan includes 1 million events per month on free sources.

Can either be self-hosted?

Neither offers a fully self-hosted edition. Fivetran's Hybrid Deployment processes data inside your network while Fivetran's cloud orchestrates it. Hevo is a managed service only. For a self-hosted option, see Airbyte.

Sources

Checked October 2026.

How we research comparisons: our editorial method.