Decision comparison
Fivetran vs Matillion
Fivetran excels at automated, hands-off data ingestion with the largest connector library in the industry, while Matillion provides a more comprehensive data transformation platform with visual design, coding flexibility, and AI-powered pipeline building.
Direct comparison. These are reviewed substitutes bought for the same job, so the differences below are the ones that decide between them.
These are different kinds of product — ELT Platform and ETL Platform.
Quick Comparison
| Decision factor | Fivetran | Matillion |
|---|---|---|
| Ease of Use | Fully managed connectors with minimal configuration needed; set up pipelines in minutes with zero coding required | Visual drag-and-drop designer with low-code canvas plus SQL and Python options for advanced users |
| Data Integration | 700+ pre-built, fully managed connectors for SaaS apps, databases, ERPs, and files with automatic schema management | 150+ pre-built connectors with custom connector builder via REST API; supports structured and unstructured data |
| Transformation | ELT-first approach with built-in dbt integration and Quickstart data models for analytics-ready transformations | Warehouse-native pushdown transformations with visual designer, SQL, Python, and dbt support built into the platform |
| Pricing Model | Fivetran is consumption-priced on monthly active rows and quoted through its own estimator. The plans are Free, Standard, Enterprise and Business Critical. The Free plan covers up to 500,000 monthly active rows for connections, 3,500 for activations and 5,000 model runs. Fivetran advertises savings of up to 22% on an annual contract. No per-plan price is published. | Matillion offers a time-bound, fair-use Maia trial. Data Productivity Cloud pricing uses consumption-based Matillion Credits for task hours and additional developer users across Developer, Teams, and Scale editions; no public paid currency rates are listed. |
| Security | SOC 1 and SOC 2, GDPR, HIPAA BAA, ISO 27001, PCI DSS Level 1, HITRUST certifications with hybrid deployment | Pushdown architecture keeps data in your cloud platform; SSO, MFA, RBAC; hybrid deployment option available |
| Scalability | Syncs 9.1+ petabytes monthly with 500+ GB/hr throughput; handles 22.2M+ schema changes and 156.5M+ syncs monthly | Containerized stateless agents run in parallel for unlimited concurrency; 99.9% uptime with cloud-native scaling |
Fivetran
- Ease of Use:
- Fully managed connectors with minimal configuration needed; set up pipelines in minutes with zero coding required
- Data Integration:
- 700+ pre-built, fully managed connectors for SaaS apps, databases, ERPs, and files with automatic schema management
- Transformation:
- ELT-first approach with built-in dbt integration and Quickstart data models for analytics-ready transformations
- Pricing Model:
- Fivetran is consumption-priced on monthly active rows and quoted through its own estimator. The plans are Free, Standard, Enterprise and Business Critical. The Free plan covers up to 500,000 monthly active rows for connections, 3,500 for activations and 5,000 model runs. Fivetran advertises savings of up to 22% on an annual contract. No per-plan price is published.
- Security:
- SOC 1 and SOC 2, GDPR, HIPAA BAA, ISO 27001, PCI DSS Level 1, HITRUST certifications with hybrid deployment
- Scalability:
- Syncs 9.1+ petabytes monthly with 500+ GB/hr throughput; handles 22.2M+ schema changes and 156.5M+ syncs monthly
Matillion
- Ease of Use:
- Visual drag-and-drop designer with low-code canvas plus SQL and Python options for advanced users
- Data Integration:
- 150+ pre-built connectors with custom connector builder via REST API; supports structured and unstructured data
- Transformation:
- Warehouse-native pushdown transformations with visual designer, SQL, Python, and dbt support built into the platform
- Pricing Model:
- Matillion offers a time-bound, fair-use Maia trial. Data Productivity Cloud pricing uses consumption-based Matillion Credits for task hours and additional developer users across Developer, Teams, and Scale editions; no public paid currency rates are listed.
- Security:
- Pushdown architecture keeps data in your cloud platform; SSO, MFA, RBAC; hybrid deployment option available
- Scalability:
- Containerized stateless agents run in parallel for unlimited concurrency; 99.9% uptime with cloud-native scaling
Public signals
Verified factual signals only. Bars appear only for like-for-like metrics with five weekly assessments for every tool; missing evidence stays explicit. These signals do not establish enterprise adoption, product quality, or total cost.
| Metric | Fivetran | Matillion |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub commits, 90d(Developer adoption) | 19 | Not available |
| GitHub stars(Developer adoption) | 134 | Not available |
| Search interest(Market interest) | 1 | 0 |
| Hacker News mentions, 90d(Community interest) | 3 | 0 |
| Product Hunt comments(Community interest) | 9 | Not available |
| Product Hunt rating(Community interest) | 5.0/5 | Not available |
| Product Hunt reviews(Community interest) | 1 | Not available |
| Product Hunt votes(Community interest) | 85 | Not available |
| PyPI weekly downloads(Developer adoption) | 29.0k | Not available |
| Stack Overflow questions(Community interest) | 22 | 86 |
As of September 21, 2026 — updated weekly.
Health & risk evidence
Observed public-source checks for mapped package versions and repositories.
Fivetran
September 21, 2026Package vulnerabilities
PyPI · fivetran-connector-sdk@2.12.1
0 vulnerabilities
across 1 package
Repository security score
Not available
Matillion
Package vulnerabilities
Not available
Repository security score
Not available
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Fivetran | Matillion |
|---|---|---|
| Data Connectivity | ||
| Pre-built Connectors | 700+ fully managed connectors covering SaaS, databases, ERPs, files, and event streams with automatic maintenance | 150+ pre-built connectors for popular sources with custom connector builder via no-code REST API configuration |
| Change Data Capture | Log-based CDC replication for efficient database syncs with minimal source impact and low latency | Log-based CDC to replicate database changes as they occur, integrated into the Data Productivity Cloud pipeline |
| Custom Connectors | Connector SDK for building fully managed custom pipelines; partner-built connector ecosystem; by-request program | No-code custom connector builder using open REST API; option to request Flex Connectors delivered in days |
| Transformation Capabilities | ||
| Visual Pipeline Designer | Configuration-driven setup focused on data movement; transformations handled through dbt integration and Quickstart models | Full drag-and-drop visual Designer with pre-built transformation components for filtering, aggregating, and joining data |
| Code Support | dbt Core integration for SQL-based transformations; REST API for programmatic pipeline management | Native SQL, Python, and dbt support directly in the platform with Git integration for version control and DataOps |
| AI Capabilities | Supports AI and GenAI workflows as a data foundation; rELT for activating data back into applications | Maia agentic AI platform for building pipelines; RAG capabilities, LLM prompt components, and AI lineage tracing |
| Platform Architecture | ||
| Cloud Platform Support | Destinations include Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, Databricks, and data lakes on AWS, GCP, and Azure | Native pushdown to Snowflake, Databricks, and Amazon Redshift with purpose-built integrations for each platform |
| Deployment Options | Fully managed SaaS with hybrid deployment option for running pipelines in your own secure environment | Hosted SaaS, hybrid SaaS deployment, or running inside Snowflake directly; containerized PipelineOS architecture |
| Pipeline Orchestration | Automated scheduling with 1-minute to 24-hour sync frequencies; monitoring dashboards with logs and alerts | Built-in scheduling, automation, and pipeline observability with real-time monitoring and data lineage tracing |
| Security and Governance | ||
| Compliance Certifications | SOC 1, SOC 2, GDPR, HIPAA BAA, ISO 27001, PCI DSS Level 1, and HITRUST certified | GDPR and HIPAA compliant with encryption, SSO, MFA, and RBAC; pushdown architecture ensures data stays in your cloud |
| Access Control | Role-based access control with custom roles on Enterprise tier; SCIM provisioning for user management | Role-based access control with SSO and MFA; audit logging available on Team and Enterprise plans |
| Data Protection | Customer-managed encryption keys on Business Critical tier; SSH and VPN tunnels; private networking options | Pushdown architecture means data never leaves your cloud platform; secure-by-design with hybrid deployment option |
| Operations and Monitoring | ||
| Pipeline Monitoring | Reliability dashboards with sync health logs, alerts for schema changes, and application log exports for auditing | Real-time pipeline observability with monitoring, diagnostics, and data lineage from source to target |
| Schema Management | Automatic schema evolution handling with 22.2M+ schema changes managed monthly across the platform | Schema management handled through the visual Designer and transformation components with warehouse-native execution |
| Developer Experience | REST API for programmatic control; dbt Core integration; Connector SDK for custom development | Native Git integration for version control and DataOps; SQL, Python, and dbt coding support alongside low-code canvas |
Data Connectivity
Pre-built Connectors
Change Data Capture
Custom Connectors
Transformation Capabilities
Visual Pipeline Designer
Code Support
AI Capabilities
Platform Architecture
Cloud Platform Support
Deployment Options
Pipeline Orchestration
Security and Governance
Compliance Certifications
Access Control
Data Protection
Operations and Monitoring
Pipeline Monitoring
Schema Management
Developer Experience
Which to choose
Fivetran excels at automated, hands-off data ingestion with the largest connector library in the industry, while Matillion provides a more comprehensive data transformation platform with visual design, coding flexibility, and AI-powered pipeline building.
Best-fit scenarios
Choose Fivetran if:
Choose Fivetran when your primary need is reliable, automated data ingestion from hundreds of SaaS and database sources into your cloud warehouse. Fivetran is the stronger choice for teams that want a fully managed, set-and-forget data movement platform with minimal engineering overhead. Its 700+ connectors, automatic schema evolution, and enterprise-grade compliance certifications (SOC 2, HIPAA, PCI DSS Level 1) make it ideal for organizations that need broad source coverage and rigorous security standards without building custom pipelines.
Choose Matillion if:
Choose Matillion when your team needs both data ingestion and powerful in-platform transformations with a visual designer. Matillion is the stronger choice for data teams that want to build, orchestrate, and transform complex pipelines in one unified platform. Its drag-and-drop Designer, native SQL and Python support, Git integration for DataOps, and the Maia AI assistant make it ideal for organizations that need hands-on control over transformation logic while still supporting non-technical users with low-code tools.
These scenarios reflect the available product evidence. Your requirements, existing stack, and team expertise should guide the final decision.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main difference between Fivetran and Matillion?
Fivetran is a fully managed data movement platform focused on automated ELT ingestion with 700+ pre-built connectors. It handles extraction and loading with minimal configuration, relying on dbt for transformations. Matillion is a unified data integration and transformation platform with a visual drag-and-drop designer, native SQL and Python support, and AI-powered pipeline building through Maia. The core difference is that Fivetran specializes in getting data into your warehouse automatically, while Matillion provides a complete platform for both moving and transforming data with more hands-on control over pipeline logic.
How do Fivetran and Matillion pricing models compare?
Fivetran uses usage-based pricing measured in monthly active rows (MAR). Its free tier includes 500,000 MAR for connections, and paid tiers (Standard, Enterprise, Business Critical) add features like 1-minute syncs, hybrid deployment, and customer-managed encryption keys. Matillion uses a consumption-based credit system metered by agent hours. It offers a free Developer tier for 1 user with unlimited projects, a Team plan for 5 developer users with audit logging, and Enterprise plans with custom pricing. Both platforms avoid per-seat pricing on their core tiers, but Matillion explicitly offers unlimited users across plans while Fivetran includes unlimited users on all tiers as well.
Can Fivetran and Matillion work together in the same data stack?
Yes, Fivetran and Matillion complement each other well in a modern data stack. A common architecture uses Fivetran for automated data ingestion from hundreds of SaaS sources and databases into a cloud warehouse like Snowflake or Databricks, and then uses Matillion for complex data transformations and pipeline orchestration within that warehouse. This approach leverages Fivetran's strength in connector breadth and reliability for the extract-and-load phase, while taking advantage of Matillion's visual Designer and warehouse-native pushdown processing for the transformation phase. Many organizations use both tools together to cover the full ELT pipeline.
Which tool has better security and compliance certifications?
Fivetran holds a broader set of formal compliance certifications, including SOC 1, SOC 2, GDPR, HIPAA BAA, ISO 27001, PCI DSS Level 1, and HITRUST. Its Business Critical tier adds customer-managed encryption keys and private networking. Matillion takes a different security approach with its pushdown architecture, where data never leaves your cloud platform during transformations. Matillion supports SSO, MFA, RBAC, and offers hybrid deployment. For organizations in highly regulated industries like healthcare or financial services that require specific certifications such as PCI DSS Level 1 or HITRUST, Fivetran provides more documented compliance coverage.